Recording/Mix Engineer

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

A: Nasty Knowledge for sure. His drive and work ethic is unparalleled. But I also worked with a local group in Albuquerque New Mexico that goes by the name of Paul Pino and the Tone Daddies. They recorded 10 tracks in 6 hours. Minimum overdubs. I was astonished! The mix was fun and the master was loud and clean.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I’m currently working with a phenomenal Hip hop artist named Nasty Knowledge. He is one one of the most driven artists I’ve worked with

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

A: Jon Paz-Gale

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. Analog has that sauce!! But digital editing is a time saver!

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

A: That you will get a highly competitive song/album.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Getting to see incredibly talented artists do what they do best.

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

A: I recorded at another studio. Can you fix drums or bass that may not have been recorded right? Through quantizing/elastic audio/virtual instruments/and other audio Kung fu techniques, most common recording errors won’t be an issue.

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

A: That analog isn’t always the best approach.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Who do you want to sound like?

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

A: Have all stems or track outs bounced or consolidated to the same time as the song.

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

A: - Solid State Logic Origin 32 channel - Aurora (N) 32 channel - A solid computer - Neumann U87 - Hairball 1176 red stripe

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

A: I’ve been in pro audio for about 18 years. But have been tracking, mixing and mastering for about 12 years.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Tight and loud!!

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

A: Honestly, any artist would be great. Any day behind the console is a good day. But Bad Religion or Poor Man’s Poison would be a pleasure to track/mix.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Record at least at 48k sample rate and 24 bit resolution.

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

A: I work on Hip Hop/Rap, Dance, New Mexican, Rock, Punk Rock, Pop Punk, and Death Metal

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skills are tracking and mixing. Although I’ve put out plenty of competitive and loud masters.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I look at what the song needs to convey emotionally. I of course will speak with the artist before hand to understand what kind of sound they are after. But I don’t typically see the genre as the deciding factor on whether the song needs to be aggressive, smooth, delicate, etc. My goal is to give every song the utmost attention and vibe it deserves.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I typically start with the drums. Quantize for time alignment. Then I phase align everything together. Phase coherency is paramount in my workflow. If there is more than one microphone on a source, I ensure that there is no phase cancellations. I begin mixing the drums. Making sure every piece of the set is EQ’d and compressed/gated if necessary. Ensuring every piece is heard and well placed within the stereo field. Then I move on to Bass or 808 processing. If the bass grooves well with the drums my work is usually done. I move on to process guitars, synths and keys. Then I end on vocals. On vocals I of course make sure they are in time and aligned, as well as in tune. All tracks are given some sort of analog treatment. Whether individually, or summed.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Studio A: Solid State Logic Origin 32 channel Studio B: Avid S1 (4) Avid Dock Outboard: 2x SSL VHD Pre 2x RND 511 2x Lola pre 2x Gold pre 2x BLA Bluey 2x Heritage Audio HA81A 2x Hairball Audio 1176 rev F 2x La2a (diy) 2x Stam LA3A (with LA4 mod) Converters: Studio A) Lynx Aurora (n) 32HD Studio B) Avid Carbon Monitors: Genelec 8341A Genelec 8340A Avantone Mixcubes (active) Mics: 2x Neumann u87 2x AKG c414xls 2x Royer R121 5x Sennheiser md421 Sennheiser re20 Shure sm7b 4x Shure sm57 Blue bluebird Beyerdynamic m201tg Shure ksm44 diy phone (lofi) mic Software: Pro Tools Ultimate w/ HDX Studio One Logic Pro Reason Nuendo RX9 Source Connect Pro 3.9 with Replace

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

A: Joe Barresi is a big influence.

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

A: I am a tracking and mixing engineer.