Radio-Ready Mixing, Orchestral

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

A: This last Christmas, I worked for AT&T and their roundtable videos. They had employees record their own parts (mostly on phones from home you know, fans, backing track, dogs barking, kids screaming in the background) and I got to mix and produce their tracks. It was incredibly challenging and rewarding, and heard several good things about the work I had done ("I had no idea I could sound so good") sort of comments.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am working on a track for my youtube channel that is mashing up two melodies. Also have a chillhop album cooking.

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

A: Nope, I'm new here, I'd love to come back and update this later though.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both, it's 2022. I'm too poor for analog though so mostly digital right now.

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

A: That your business, idea, dream, is in hands that care. I won't mistreat your time, money, or thoughts.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Seeing people's ideas and dreams come to life. I'll never forget helping a friend record a song for his wife for their 15th anniversary.

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

A: Why does this cost so much? - My reply is to break down my process and hours spent with the customer.

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

A: That it's not a real job. I get wild-eyed stares from family when I tell them that I'm a full time mixing artist or composer.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: So many, I have an interview process. I mostly ask what their budget is, a few reference tracks they'd like it to sound like, and either the meaning behind the custom track or the goal they'd like their track to accomplish.

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

A: Don't be afraid to ask questions you're uncomfortable with. No producer should look at you and think poorly of you because you don't speak in "musical" terms. That's part of our job is to translate.

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

A: Midi Keyboard, PC, Interface, Reference Speakers, global internet card.

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

A: 5 years now. I've recently quit my job and began music from home full time.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Depends on the genre. What I've blended together from all of my experiences is certainly unique.

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

A: Zedd honestly, I'd love to get some orchestral stuff going in his tracks. His stuff has so much room in it but it still slaps.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: First mix in mono, please holy cow first mix in mono.

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

A: Custom tracking for videos, trailers, and games.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Composing by far.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Twenty-six years of being a performer and composer as well as a world traveled artist. I'm also excellent at deciphering what folks mean when they say things such as, "I want the snare drum to be more musical."

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First, I meet with the client and conduct an interview to determine their exact needs. After that, it goes into my calendar which gets shared with the client so they can see where they're at in the work process. When they're up in the queue, I let them know that I've begun work on the project. I will often communicate via email, or if the client is okay with it, by phone. Depending on the project, after I've gotten a rough sketch down, I'll send over for approval. After, I will do a mix and master and begin revisions. After revisions are done, I will bill the client and then make the files available for download.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have a small home studio with a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6, Lewitt Pure 440, PC I built myself, midi keyboard, and several percussion/guitar/random instruments I've picked up from my travels.

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

A: I'm aboslutely in love with artists such as All That Remains, Mega Neko, Leavv, and composers such as Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, Hanz Zimmer, John Powell. We could spend days discussing this.

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

A: I offer many services. From mixing stems to be radio ready, to full productions from scratch using live or digial instruments.