Award winning jazz Mix& Master

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

A: My Adam A77X mixing monitors, my Dunlavy Mastering monitors, my Chord SPM 1000B power amp, my RealTraps acoustic panels, and my RME converters.

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

A: I have been mixing and mastering for over 20 years. I started mixing to tape in 100% analog studios, learning my craft on both sides of the Atlantic working in studios in Boston and then London. When software mixing became possible, I got into that early because I could see where things were going. So I've been using software alongs side analog for almost as long. I eventually specialised in jazz, world music and progressive rock and I also work on some classical music. I got work for a couple of well known jazz labels in the US, many of the albums I mixed and mastered got great reviews from audiophile magazines as well as some high profile music reviews mentioning the quality of the mixes. This led to a lot more work and eventually I ended up mixing or mastering three different Downbeat Magazine Masterpiece Albums of the Year and a JazzWise Magazine Best Release of the Year.

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

A: I think most people know what mixing is in a basic sense. However there is so much more to it than moving controls and balancing the instruments. A good mix engineer brings a deep knowledge of your genre of music into how they mix. I know jazz inside out, every era of it from the 1940's to the most contemporary music happening today. I've heard every famous jazz album and many of them 100 times. So I know this music and I know how different sub-genres should sound. I know how all the instruments used in jazz sound at their best. I bring the experience and skills of over two decades of mixing jazz to your project. Mastering can be less well understood. Some people think that mastering is just about getting the technical details and loudness right for the various release platforms. And of course this is a vital part of it. But mastering is also a creative art and a good mastering engineer needs to really feel the music in order to make it sound it's best. Ultimately this is a subjective decision based on listening to the track, talking to the artist and feeling what the music needs. As a mastering engineer I bring decades of mastering jazz and related music and a deep knowledge of the genre.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Carefully positioning each instrument in the soundstage is important to make the listening experience as immersive as possible. This is done by careful use of reverbs and other soundstage tools. Reverb has many uses and they are all different and require different types of reverbs and setting. It's very easy to overdo it and crate a messy wash of reverb or under-do it and end up with a mix which is too dry and so tiring to listen to. So it's very important to understand the various functions of reverb in a mix and how to use them. Using world-class reverbs makes a huge difference to the overall quality of the sound. Using cheap or low quality reverbs or simply adding any reverb without knowing exactly what you are trying to achieve with the soundstage is likely to cause problems in a mix.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring over 20 years of mixing and mastering experience working with some of the best musicians in jazz. My aim is always to help the mix or master realise the artist's vision. Sometimes this means working closely with an artist or producer to get things exactly right for the way they want to hear their music sound. Other times artists will prefer to hand things over and let me decide where to take the mix. Every artist is different and for me it's important to find out exactly what each artist or producer is looking for.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I discuss with the artist or producer what they are looking for in the mix or master. If I'm mixing a track then if they have a rough mix we discuss what elements they like about it and what elements they'd like to change or improve. We may also discus reference tracks. I'll then do a "first pass" mix and we will discuss whether I'm heading in the right direction. Once the artist or producer is happy with the general direction, we start looking at the details. If I'm mastering I will discuss what the artist or producer would like to see improved and I'll discuss what changes I think would make the tracks sound their best. I will then do a "first pass" master and we will discuss whether I'm heading in the right direction. I'll then make any changes needed before producing the final masters.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I discuss their project and what they are looking for in a mix or mastering session. It's important to communicate with an artist or producer to find out what they hope you can bring to their music.

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

A: If you're a jazz based artist have a look at the provider's CV, both the artists and record labels they've worked with. Also has the provider received any press reviews, won any awards? They should have a studio website with more information which should include client testimonials. If not, it might be better to look elsewhere.

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

A: I love working with jazz artists or any related genre, which for me include progressive rock, but I also have a real interest in world music.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Carefully positioning each instrument in the soundstage is important to make the listening experience as immersive as possible. This is done by careful use of reverbs and other soundstage tools. Reverb has many uses and they are all different and require different types of reverbs and setting. It's very easy to overdo it and crate a messy wash of reverb or under-do it and end up with a mix which is too dry and so tiring to listen to. So it's very important to understand the various functions of reverb in a mix and how to use them. Using world-class reverbs makes a huge difference to the overall quality of the sound. Using cheap or low quality reverbs or simply adding any reverb without knowing exactly what you are trying to achieve with the soundstage is likely to cause problems in a mix.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring over 20 years of mixing and mastering experience working with some of the best musicians in jazz. My aim is always to help the mix or master realise the artist's vision. Sometimes this means working closely with an artist or producer to get things exactly right for the way they want to hear their music sound. Other times artists will prefer to hand things over and let me decide where to take the mix. Every artist is different and for me it's important to find out exactly what each artist or producer is looking for.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I discuss with the artist or producer what they are looking for in the mix or master. If I'm mixing a track then if they have a rough mix we discuss what elements they like about it and what elements they'd like to change or improve. We may also discus reference tracks. I'll then do a "first pass" mix and we will discuss whether I'm heading in the right direction. Once the artist or producer is happy with the general direction, we start looking at the details. If I'm mastering I will discuss what the artist or producer would like to see improved and I'll discuss what changes I think would make the tracks sound their best. I will then do a "first pass" master and we will discuss whether I'm heading in the right direction. I'll then make any changes needed before producing the final masters.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I bring warmth and clarity to a mix, I like to hear the wood of and acoustic bass and the detail of complex ride cymbal work. I like each instrument to sound rich, vibrant and natural. Apart from that I let the music direct what I do, and approach things differently for each project's needs. The emotion of the music and of the performance is very important to me, so I work to help that project. If it's warm intimate track, I'll mix or master to help that come across and invite the listener in to the music. If it's a high energy track with intense performances, I'll mix or master to maximise the impact and power of the music. If on the other hand the music is about atmosphere and transporting the listener to another world, I will mix or master to accentuate whatever atmosphere the music is conveying. I also like to bring a sense of 3D depth to a track. This gives the instruments somewhere to be in relation to each other and I think that can help things sound more alive and real.

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

A: I spend about equal amounts of time mixing and mastering. The two activities are quite different and require a whole different set of speakers and processors. They also require a very different mind set and I love both for different reasons.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: One of THE most important aspects of any mixing and mastering studio is the acoustic treatment. My studio's acoustic treatment was designed and supplied by RealTraps, who have done many famous recording studios. Mixing monitors: The multi-award winning Adam A77X studio monitors. Adam monitors are also used by Abbey Road, Bomb Factory, Universal Studios, Deepwave, Rupert Neve, etc… etc.. Mastering monitors and amp: The acclaimed Dunlavy Viscount monitors. The speakers of choice for mastering legends Bob Ludwig, Jonathan Wyner etc.., lauded as the “Holy Grail” of accurate reference speakers. The Chord SPM 1000B is the reference amplifier of choice for many of the worlds top studios including: Abbey Road, Sony Music Studios, Decca, EMI etc… RME converters, famous for their ultra clear and detailed sound. Many high end processors both hardware and software.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both are great. I grew up mixing to tape on all analog gear so I know that world extremely well. I can tell you from experience that not all analog gear sounds good. Mediocre or badly maintained gear and take away more than it adds to the sound. But the very best analog gear, if it's well maintained, can add some very nice qualities to the sound of a recording. To me it's these truly great pieces of gear that are of interest. However, recently plugin emulations of these great pieces of hardware have started to sound so good that you really can't tell the difference. Or the difference between hardware and software is less than between two different examples of the same hardware. And these days it's sometimes the case that the software actually sounds better than the analog gear it's copying. There are also a wealth of great audio software which can do things that analog just can't do. This has allowed mixing and mastering engineers to go beyond what used to be possible with pure analog studios. I still have racks of analog gear in my studio but I find myself calling on them less and less these days.

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

A: I specialise in jazz but I also work with a lot of world music, progressive rock, fusion and some classical music.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I bring warmth and clarity to a mix, with each instrument sounding rich and natural. This allows emotion of the performance to project and the details of the playing to shine. I also like to bring a sense of 3D depth to a track. This gives the instruments somewhere to be in relation to each other and the listener, and that helps the music sound more alive and real.

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

A: Jan Erik Kongshaug who mixed many of the famous records on the ECM label is a big inspiration for me.