Production / Mix / Mastering

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

A: I've received classical training since I was 8 years old, got into rock and metal when I was 11 and formed my first band when I was 16. Ended up touring almost the whole world in my twenties. I've always been interested in the recording process, used to track myself since I was a kid using old tape machines and adding layers until those poor tapes where basically gone. At my first real studio experience as an artist I remember sitting in a corner and watching the sound guy working his magic for hours. To me it was instant love and wanted to learn everything about it. Then I began a mentorship with mixing engineer Paolo Pasquariello of Mediaset in Italy, and has also worked with Muse. Further down my path I decided to get full on into the mixing / mastering, took courses online, and started on my own albums, after 5 years of trying different things I finally started to achieve the results I was after, then soon enough other artists began approaching me. That's when I took the initiative to invest fully in my current studio, and work full time in music, for the last 4 years, so about 10 years total for production, mixing and mastering. I started out of necessity as I couldn't afford to book time at the studio, and now I'm a CEO at DTuned Brighton Productions.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work with a Slate Raven Dual MTi2 Touch Screen Console, I love a flexible and fast workflow. I manly mix in the box however I use tons of Analog Emulation Plugins. I'm a huge fan of the SSL sound and tend to mix using the BX Console SSL 9000 J or the CLA Mix Hub plugin by Waves. Plugins wise I literally have almost everything that's available on the market. I listen through a pair of JBL 3 Series, switching from time to time to the Avantone CLA 10A. As a third speakers reference I use the Slate VSX headphones which give me plenty of perspective while listening through different systems, including top studios, car systems, clubs, boombox etc. As an audio interface I've always trusted my Metric Halo ULN2, a highly transparent and reliable interface. I also got a JBL 3 series sub that I leave always on. I got a couple of analog synths such as a Korg Minilogue and a Behringer Cat, a Schecter Hellraiser electric guitar, an Ovation acoustic guitar, an Epiphone Goth Thunderbird Bass, a vintage Fender Stratocaster guitar, a Slate Microphone which gives me the freedom of choosing tons of different vintage models such as Neumann, Sony, Telefunken and many others.

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

A: I'm proud of all my work, however the ones I feel proud the most are The Dark, Corlyx, HDNF as I was there from start to finish...songwriting, production, recording, editing, mix and mastering. Two of those projects got also a record deal.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm truly blessed with a fair amount of work atm, most of it mix and mastering. I've recently done lots of production work as well which still needs to be released, totally invested in the process from start to finish.

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

A: I honestly don't know anyone else here on Soundbetter aside from some big names which unfortunately I've never had the pleasure to work with. What I can say is everyone's got their own style and you as an artist gotta find the one that fits your vibe.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog and digital. It depends what works best in context. Like I've previously mentioned I'm an analog fan, however sometimes you need a different approach. For instance, in most cases the last thing I want from a mastering limiter is to add extra color to my track as I've already took care of that previously. What I want is high precision, transparency and transient impact. Therefore I will go for a digital limiter.

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

A: I can promise you a professional service, I always take the time to give your track the extra love that it deserves and I'm obsessed with all the little details.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I'm addicted to sound. I love to work with different artists and help them reaching their goals. My own goal has always been meeting their expectations.

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

A: Usually I'm asked how long will it take me to get the job done and it's usually a pretty fast turnaround. That's one of the main things of you hiring me: I will not waste your time. Then I'm usually asked what do I think about the material, either if it's songwriting, production or a mix that I have to master. I always provide everyone with honest feedback and I indicate what would be the best way to move forward in my opinion.

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

A: Honestly the biggest misconception is when I'm hearing that all issues will be addressed and fixed during mix and mastering. Or that because we have computers everything can be fixed. Every step of the way is crucial. Starting off with arrangements that make sense, good quality of performance and recording. There's a huge difference in working to enhance or to repair audio. Let's put it this way: a great chef will shine if provided with high quality ingredients. If the ingredients are bad nothing can save us from an unwanted result.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I first listen to your material, then I ask you about what your goals are. I provide you with notes of what I think it's solid and what needs more work. Once we get on the same page about what needs to be done we can start working together.

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

A: My advice is to never be afraid of making brave choices when working on music. Fear is what stands in the way between you and your goals accomplishment. Enjoy every little step of the process, I promise we'll get somewhere. I'm also very honest when it comes to feedback. Sometimes the artist's expectations are not realistic based off their own material, in that case I will try to provide with some advice on how to get closer to the client's goal. However it happened I also turned down work in the past and if I don't think I'm the right guy for you I will let you know.

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

A: Mcbook Pro loaded with all my plugins and DAW, Slate VSX headphones, my Raven console, my set of speakers and tons of foam for bass traps. When I'm travelling I'm still able to get work done only with my laptop and the right pair of headphones.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I like a big, broad sound that has character and power, yet can also be intimate and epic. I like for the music to never be predictable yet always catchy. I like borrowing production tricks and elements from different genres and combine them together.

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

A: I like to work with artists who are truly passionate about their music and have an edge, music with character. Your experience level matters very little if your vibe is right. That's what I'm here for. I like to keep things professional yet fun. You can't miss out of the fun factor when doing this job.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Learning the rules is the only way to break them. Listen to all the great hits out there. One of the things that sticks out the most is that they're all somehow relatable to a well defined audience. Also I believe intellectual honesty goes along with presenting yourself with music that represents who you are without trying to be someone else who's already out there. Funny enough this can be achieved by being influenced by your favorite artists then coming up with a unique formula that tells your own story.

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

A: I tend to to work on dark music mostly. I don't go by genre, I go by vibe. My attitude is the same no matter if I'm working on metal, pop or edm. Of course rules are different, not the end goal though. Experience, skills and technical knowledge only serves one purpose: getting epic results.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: One of my strongest skills is being able to look at the bigger picture. I think I'm able to get into the artist's mind and understand what they like. I want everyone to sound unique and yet fresh and current. Most of the artists I work with end up getting signed through the records we work on together, and that's a fact.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I'm always trying to meet the artist's expectations. Producers are here to help artists to make their music dream come true. What I want is to channel the creative process into a final product that brings excitement and timeless results. I'm a signed artist myself and I think I'm capable to understand the process quite well.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When I'm approaching production I start off with listening to what the artist put together, trying to understand what's really cutting through and what could be improved. One of the things I notice the most is how hard it is even for quite experienced writers to know when the song needs to breathe. So I go ahead and detect where and how launches and drops need to happen. That goes for any genre. If more arrangement is needed I proceed in writing new parts, same goes if arrangement is too full I get rid of parts. A big sound is also achieved with simplicity, stacking too many sounds doing the same thing is the same frequency range does the opposite for your track. When I approach mixing I first start organizing the tracks and pass them through my signature mix buss. Then I proceed with doing a quick level mix, no eq or compression, just adjusting the levels, setting the correct gain and hi pass / low pass filter when needed. Level mix shouldn't take too long as I use it as a reference to get started with my next mixing process. I tend to get a first draft quickly, mostly based off feeling the track's energy and the power. After that I get more into the details, refining levels, automating effects and just getting it right. This process can take hours. Last step would be doing masking, adding extra air and overall polishing and shine. When I approach mastering I usually start setting the mix gain at -16 LUFS. Then I proceed detecting if any audio repair is needed. Most time I get rid of crackles and any sort of background noise. After that I listen to my stereo track and try to get a general picture of what the artist and the mixing engineer were going for. Fist step would be passing the track through my signature mastering chain and set the limiter close to the desired loudness. That's because the way we perceive sound is quite different based off its loudness, therefore that will lead me to make different choices. My chain is very straight forward: Eq (usually Amek Eq 200 and Knif Audio Soma), Tubes ( Elysia Phil Cascade ), compressor (Elysia Alpha Compressor or SSL G- Master Buss Compressor) and limiter (Ozone Limiter, BX Limiter True Peak or both together). I start off with subtractive eq in order to get rid of bad frequencies if any or just to increase transparency. Usually the low end area is a good place to start, as it is the one where frequencies clashes the most. Then I usually set an eq in M/S mode and start enhancing the track. When it comes to eq I'm usually never correcting or enhancing more than 2 dbs top and I keep my eq broad in order to gain musicality. My chain and my gain choices are made so we can get the maximum perceived loudness without cranking up the limiter too much so we can preserve transients and avoid artifacts. Compression is not always needed but I like to give one db to give it some movement and texture most times. I try to make the client happy in order to achieve desired loudness, however I tend to deliver the track set to a loudness between -8 and -6 LUFS top. All music is different, we gotta figure out what loudness works the best for the track or the record.

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

A: My main music production / mixers influences are Chris Lord Alge, Andy Watt and Andy Wallace. Mastering wise I'm a huge Ted Jensen's fan. I'm influenced by the 90's and 80's sound and try to present it in a modern, current format.

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

A: Most of the work I do ranges from music production, mix and mastering. Most of times I end up taking care of all of those through different stages. I also do editing if the client requires that as well.