Remote Mixing and Mastering

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: I’ve been working recently with a band called TeaHouse. I’ve been their producer, keyboardist, and mixing and mastering engineer. It’s my best work so far, and I love how smooth and clean their works sounds.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: I always promise punctual quality work. If there's a deadline, the project will be done by the deadline at my best quality. I also promise two free revisions if the client should require them.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: Tracking matters. If things are not recorded properly and things are missing, I can not magically make things appear. I can always remove, but can’t add.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: Well, firstly a Mac Book pro. Especially the new ones are just amazing. Then, my Uphoria 20/20 for recording capability. A Sure SM7B as it's an incredibly versatile mic that can capture both voice and instrument, a Tube-Tech CL 1B as I use it almost everyday and is a fantastic Optical Compressor, as well as a SSL Channel Strip as it has always had such a warm and buttery sound.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I am currently working as an audio engineer at EQ Studios, and have been working professionally in the industry for over ten years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I would describe my style as a fusion of Electronic and folk for my own music.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: I would love to work with Glass Animals more than anyone at the moment, and the large reason why is to gain insight into how they make their incredibly unique sonic character to their albums and singles.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: Due to where I live, I primarily work rock, but I also work in Hip-Hop, R&B, Electronic and EDM, as well as classical.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I run everything out of either Logic Pro or Pro-Tools on an M1 Mac. At my home studio I use a Behringer U-Phoria UMC1820 running to either my Active JBL monitors or my Event 20/20s running out of a Yamaha Amplifier. I also make use of a hardware sonic maximizer for mixes. However, most of my studio is run through plugins, of which I have too many to list here. I mainly work with Waves and Plugin Alliance.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: For my own personal taste, Karen Dreijer, Glass Animals and Gus Dapperton are huge influences. Also Emo classics such as My Chemical Romance and Fallout Boy.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: I most commonly work with either either tracking services through EQ Studios in Fort Myers FL, or remote mixing services. I also can provide production services.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: At the moment I am working on a concept album with a long term client of mine, as well as several mixes for clients through the studio.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: I do not believe they are on SoundBetter sadly, but I want to get them to sign up.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Well, what are we talking about? Synths or Gear? As far as synths go, I actually prefer digital. The extra polyphony and control I find to be amazing for making truly unique sounds. With Gear (compressors and channel strips) analog all the way. The warmth and character added from analog gear is a staple of the industry at this point, and a very important sound.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: My favorite thing about this job is getting to translate people desires for their work into reality. The feeling when I get a mix perfect for a client is an amazing satisfaction.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: A lot of the time I get questions on what they think they should do to improve their sound. My answer really often depends on where they need improvement, but it realistically often lies in practice and or coaching/study. Often to I will give gear recommendations as I am rather knowledgeable on the topic.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I typically ask how many tracks, what genre, as well as what things they would like to emphasize in the final mix. Is it more vocal heavy? And instrumental track with a lead? Where do we want the elements to sit.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: Communication is key, but in music it can be very hard to describe what exactly you are looking for. Reference tracks are a life saver for people like me, as you can point directly to an element of said reference that you like and have me emulate it.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Don't get too hung up on the "rules" of music theory and production. Often times breaking these rules can create fascinating and unique sounds or progressions that are wholly yours.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Honestly, my strongest skill is my critical listening skill. I have worked hard to be able to hear a track and immediately pick out what might be causing trouble, and then tackle it in a time-efficient manner.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I emphasize a lot on character of the sound. I strive to try to make a smooth, professional sound that doesn't compromise on the artists inherit sonic character. As far as production goes, I like to focus on making percussion and sound choice stick out from the crowd.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Typical work process depends on the task. For mixing and mastering I typically organize the files, gain stage appropriately, then try to sculpt the song around whatever the focal point of the mix should be (which is often determined by the artist or label's input). Typically I start with compression and sonic characteristics before EQ, then we get into effects and sends before then looping back and making a cohesive final project.