Analog Mixing / Get That Tone

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Growing up in the 80's and being in many all analog studios and working with real equipment always made me feel like the process was much more immersive. This is the reason I've invested purposefully in an all analog studio. The workflow is completely visceral and much more pleasing. The sound is familiar to me and not simply an emulation of a piece of gear and what it’s supposed to sound like. I've got the real analog gear! I do use digital as a tape machine and use plugins simply to sweeten certain sounds when it's needed. Otherwise it's all analog for me! I'm not saying that working in the box does not sound as good it's just not my style. I hear the difference in the tone and the workflow is quite a different experience.

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

A: A computer, a good analog console, SSL buss compressor, a Distressor and a U47 Fet mic.

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

A: I've been a guitarist for over 40 years. I was in the Boston Music scene as a working musician in the early 80's until mid 2000's. I was running front of house for my band and other acts on the East coast as well as acts on the West coast. I'm very familiar on how to deliver the sound necessary to get people moving and feeling the music. I opened my own studio to help others create and deliver their vision of what they hear in their head.

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

A: Bruno Mars, Anderson. Paak (Silk Sonic), Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters, Jason Aldene. The list is long and eclectic. The Reason is due to my passion for all genres of music and being in the music scene for over 40 years.

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

A: When I lived in Boston there was a local up and coming band called Adventure Set that I would go see often. They had cut an EP and were getting radio play. Fast forward 40 years later I was thinking about those fun times back then while driving and thought I'd look them up on the web. Well, it turned out that the two founding members had gotten back together to collaborate and were putting out songs on Bandcamp and other various streaming sites. I had just finished building the studio and thought why don't I reach out and see if they'd be interested in letting me mix some of their songs. They took me up on the offer and off we went. One of the songs was chosen to be in a movie that won an award at the 2023 SunDance Film Festival. My role was co-editor and I mixed the song. We then sent it over to Justin Weiss to have it mastered. I'm proud to have been part of that project.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Freelancing for some local bands.

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

A: Matt Boudreau, Darrell Thorp

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

A: It"s not complete until you're satisfied with the results.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The ability to be creative and collaborate with artists to deliver a sonic work of art!

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

A: Q.How will you process the vocals? A. I use 4-5 different high end compressors in a parallel bus as tone machines. then send the vocals to different vintage style reverbs and delays to add depth and width. Q.Can you make everything sound better? A. That's my job! Q. How long will it take to mix my song? A. It depends how well it was recorded and how much cleaning up and editing needs to be done. Usually 2 weeks if little editing needs to be done.

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

A: People think songs just show up on the radio without understanding the incredible amount of energy and time it takes to create a 3.5 minute piece of art. When I explain the process they are blown away.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What's the emotion you're trying to project? Are the tracks all edited? Do you believe the tracks are ready to mix or will they need to be edited then mixed? What's the vibe of the song? What do you want me to focus on when listening? Whats the space you want the listener to be in? What do you believe the song could use to make it sound better?

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

A: Give me a chance to make your vision come alive!

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Patient, understanding, musical and a passion to deliver a great mix to an artist or band to help them succeed.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Understand the message that the artist is trying to convey. Music drives emotions and feelings and to be able to make that come alive through the audio engineering process is an incredible feeling. You musty have passion!

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

A: Pop, Rock, Funk, Indie, Electronic pop, R&B and more.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Communicating with an artist and the ability to understand the end result they want to achieve. Being a musician myself I understand that music is meant to move a listener and drive the emotion and intent of the message.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: The ability to soundscape a song and put it in a space that will create and invoke an emotion that can move the listener.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I like to speak with the artist to get a sense of what the message and emotion of the song is. Then translating that information in the mixing process so the song will match the artists vision and get it ready to present to the world.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: We are a purpose built analog post production studio. Using high level vintage studio grade compressors, eq's & effects with the convenience of today's digital technology. This allows us to get more depth, width and a greater 3D image "we believe" cannot be entirely produced in an all digital domain.

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

A: Having grown up in the 80's my taste for music has developed into a huge pallet of different genres. I've experienced many trends come and go over the years. My mix heroes are ..... Bob Clearmountain Michael Brauer Chris Lorde Alge Vance Powell Tony Maserati Andrew Scheps

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

A: I enjoy mixing pop, electronic pop, dance, rock, country and more.