Mixing Engineer

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Housekeeping, housekeeping, housekeeping, then mix. I am a firm believer that an organized session is of paramount importance if the goal is to deliver a great mix. I always clean the session, organize and comp my tracks, edit for bleed, setup all my templates including FX returns, 2-bus processing, etc. before I even think about mixing. Furthermore, once all the housekeeping is done, I will take a break before entering the mindspace of the mix. In my opinion, it's extremely important to separate technical duties like housekeeping, and artistic duties like mixing.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Mixing the new single for Probing Digit. They're a hilarious comedy rock band who will surprise you with their musical chops!

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

A: Sure! I recommend to all of my students (I teach audio engineering and production) that they sign up for SoundBetter. If a client needs a driven professional who will likely work for a smaller rate, but is also seeking to build experience and portfolio, the client should seek out any of my students.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. It allows ultra-fast work, and is flexible to any workflow. The sound-quality debate, in my personal opinion, is silly. The capture and reproduction of sound in the digital domain is perfect beyond the scope of human hearing and perception, and the science behind it is clear.

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

A: They will be happy with the result of our work together.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: It allows me to draw on my 20 years of practical experience to skillfully execute a project that at its core is an artistic statement. When I'm in front of my monitors, and my hands are on the control surface, I feel like I'm Hans Solo expertly navigating through an Asteroid field without a single drop of sweat.

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

A: What equipment do you have? My answer is typically to mention Pro Tools HD and Yamaha NS-10 monitors, but I will often steer the conversation toward what I feel is more important, and that's experience and musicianship.

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

A: 1. That mixing and mastering are the same thing, or should be done by the same person. 2. That vocal tuning, and comping performances are part of mixing. 3. That it's "just mixing" and anyone can do it.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What recordings do they like? If they are going for a certain sound, give me an example. What are the goals for distribution? CD, YouTube, Spotify? These are important considerations these days so that proper levels can be addressed in production for best outcome.

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

A: Just reach out to me. You'll find that the communication is easy, and I can more than likely provide any mixing service you need from 2-channels of singer/singwriter to 250 tracks of hugeness!

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

A: Food rations, a boat with an engine, fuel, sunscreen, and a life jacket. Once I made it home, I'd get back to mixing.

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

A: I've known I was going to be a music and audio professional since I was 11 years old. The first time I heard Bohemian Rhapsody, it was decided. I was absolutely flabbergasted. I listened to it a thousand times wondering how in the world something like that gets made.

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

A: In 2006, I recorded an EP with my band Bipolar. It was a few weekends of brotherly love, and intense comradery among me and my bandmates. Our dear friend, founding member, and drummer, Peter James, died in his sleep of an undiagnosed heart condition at the end of the production. It was his last work, and it is incredible. I'll never forget those sessions.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Clean, wide, present, deep. I always find the leading element of a mix and make sure it's right in front of you, while the supporting elements are creating a solid foundation and space. My workflow is fast, efficient, consistent, and precise.

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

A: Adele. Her voice is as real as it gets, and I'll listen to any story she has to tell if she's singing the words.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Yes. Don't second guess yourself. Make confident decisions, and move on. Mistakes are inevitable, but tweaking anything to death will result in exactly that. If your decisions are not good ones, then they'll start getting there if you make more of them.

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

A: My clients are generally in the rock genre, but I've enjoyed a diverse career. I've mixed hip-hop, death metal, jazz, barbershop, big band, and even 1800s period music! But in my heart, I'm a rocker, so that's what usually finds me.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Letting the song tell me what it needs. Every mix is different, and I'm very good at letting the song show me its destination. Though it's inevitable that a mixer will leave his mark on a song, it's most important that the song tell the mixer what it needs. I enjoy the process of discovery as much as sailing the ship.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: A musician's perspective. I have been singing for 30 years, playing guitar for 25, drums for 20, as well as bass, piano, and more. I also write and produce music. When I mix, I am a musician who happens to be a technical expert as well.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio is setup specifically for mixing. My monitors include two pairs of Yamaha NS-10s (at different angles because sometimes when I'm really getting into an automation pass, I stand up!), JBLs, Auratone-style cubes from the 1960s, and a very powerful subwoofer when I want it. I mix entirely in Pro Tools HD on a 24-channel moving fader control surface.

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

A: I had the distinct pleasure of studying with Chris Lord-Alge, who is the best mixer on the planet in my opinion. However, what surprised me was not the technical things I learned from him, but the attitude and personal approach.

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

A: I wake up, make a pot of coffee, and mix. That's what I love to do, and my 20+ years of experience have led me here with a smile on my face. Though I am an avid performer on several instruments, and I've got countless hours logged in the recording studio, my passion is taking the tracked material and building it into the sonic masterpiece it should be. I feel like a kid in a candy shop every time I load up a new session. If I'm mixing your music, you can rest assured knowing it's getting done with precision and a musician's artful touch by someone who truly cares.