Cholo Hermosa on SoundBetter

I help experienced record producers focus more time on production and less time mixing. Take your song to completion with HiFi-sounding, professional mixing services —without the premium price. 15dstudios.com

Higher quality at a lower price because our studio is in The Philippines.
I can tell you all about the carefully selected analog gear or near-perfect acoustics at 15D Studios (my studio name), but…

None of it matters without the philosophies of my mentors living in each mix I do for clients. One of my mentors includes the late Al Schmitt; considered to be the most successful engineer of all time, the master when it comes to the art of balancing, and keeping records sounding hifi (which audiophiles/audiophiliacs go crazy over).

This means you’ll have a mix that is just not just trendy but has the potential to stand the test of time because we are gonna do it right.

Every day, I still train to absorb various philosophies from top institutions and apply the concepts to my studio to stand out from my competitors. It helps keep the sound fresh since we all know that the sonic signature of records changes almost every 6 months in the pop domain.

I have gone around the world, learning from some of the most successful sound engineers to bring sound to my own home country. This helps me to keep the quality up and the costs down.

Would love to hear from you. Click the contact button above to get in touch.

Credits

Languages

English
Filipino

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Interview with Cholo Hermosa

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I was so proud of Lesha-No Heart because we had a great team running the production. I was the mix and master engineer for that one and would definitely consider it as one of my best works.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I'm working with a few local (Philippines) labels at the moment and helping a couple of bands finish their album.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Andrew Scheps! The man is a legend and one of the best mentors when it comes the philosophy of our craft.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both. There's an art to curating a good hybrid system. Both analog and digital have strengths and weaknesses. Getting the best of both worlds introduce more colors to the palette.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: That I will make your songs atleast 50% better.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: The solitude and the meditation like approach to solving the problems within a song.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Do I leave the plugins/fx in the tracks? If those fx make you happy by all means leave them because there's no point trying to recreate them if the original version of that effect makes you happy.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That songs will automatically become hits.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: I ask them about the deadline first, and then the vision.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Make sure you've given the production your best push.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Ooh..... 1. Audeze MM-500 Headphones 2. A maxed out Macbook Pro m3. 3. A Neumann MT 48EU Interface 4. Razer Deathadder Mouse 5. UAD Sattelite
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started as doing everything. Became a mastering engineer for a couple of years until only recently, decided to really focus on the craft I"m most passionate about. MIXING.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: I believe i'm biased towards more hifi sounding productions but i'm also inspired by 60's recording colors.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I would love to work with Tomoo from Japan. I love how her songs are arranged and produced and I think I can add an extra flavor different to her current productions.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Learn when to let go of your art.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: These days i'm getting a lot of pop and hiphop. With my own music, I mainly do psychedellic-indie.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: I would say my critical thinking when trying to solve mixes. I always look at them as puzzles.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: It's all about finding the contrast of hifi and dirt that does it for my ears. Since i'm always on the lookout for creating depth to a mix. I wanna make sure my clients get mixes that last a lifetime rather than just shock factor.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: 1. Get the files and check for errors with exporting. 2. Import to my own template via Logic Pro X or Pro Tools. 3. Create my own pre-mix before the actual mixing process. 4. Do my own first mix, rest then revisit for fresh ears. 5. Send to the client!
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I used to have a much bigger setup but now really focusing towards a more minimal hybrid setup. It helps me focus on the music more rather than just hoarding gear. Haha.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: I love how Tchad Blake mixes and was happy enought to attend one of his seminars via Mix with The Masters. The way he creates contrast through various esoteric plugins and distortions gave me so many ideas for my workflow.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I usually receive files digitally (pre-mix files from producers and bands). I then provide a proper 1st mix within a couple of days.