Hard Rock Mixing

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

A: Todd Morse

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Experiment.

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

A: Usually rock, vocals/drums/bass/guitar driven.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I like to get rough demos in and listen through to see if something catches my ear. Sometimes a band or artist will write a song that has something really great in it, but they don't lean into it enough, so I try and think about ways to make that one thing(s) more of the focal point or even the anchor of the song. Sometimes that will mean changes to to the arrangement or taking a melody line from one section and repeating it somewhere else or creating dynamics where there wasn't any before. I like to get the road map sorted well before any tracking, so the tracking is more focused on performance rather than writing. That doesn't mean in the tracking stage you won't have to pivot if something isn't working because it's also important to be flexible and open to any happy accidents along the way.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Having a background as a musician, I try and determine if broader picture things like the arrangement needs some tweaks or the melody or the chord progression. I can also help with the finer details like kick drum patterns or guitar lines or accents. I also think I have a pretty good gauge of when to leave well enough alone. Essentially, I try and add components to a song where I feel they are missing or try and elevate what's already there. It's important to identify where the song's strengths are and build on them, and use them to your advantage, but then also shore up any spots that need it.

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

A: I recently recorded and mixed a performance for the legendary Jeff Beck along with Rhonda Smith on bass and Anika Nilles on drums for the release of the new American Vintage II Stratocaster by Fender guitars. The song was filmed and recorded in one take, and it's really fun getting to work with musicians of the highest calibre.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Currently, I am mixing an album for multiple Grammy winning artist Taj Mahal, and I am producing an EP for Todd Morse (Offspring, H20, Juliette and the Licks).

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. Analog on the way in to the DAW during the recording stage, and then digital for the mixing process because of all the options and convenience it gives us. Being able to recall a session on a laptop anywhere in the world to bounce a recall mix is really handy.

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

A: Been a guitar player since I was a teenager, played mostly rock and then studied jazz for a while. Always had some type of modest recording setup, and eventually got into studio work. Then around 2010, got a live sound gig with Miley Cyrus, which was a baptism of fire for learning about pop production, and worked between studios doing engineering and going out on tour with other live acts. The last several years I was the house engineer at The Offspring's studio, where I got to work on their last record, which was another invaluable experience.