Mixing

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio setup for mixing is based around Klein and Hummel 0300 Monitors, NS10M Studio monitors powered by a Yamaha P-2200 power amp for monitoring. A Slate Raven MTi touch screen is my mixer and my DSP and convertors are two Universal Audio Apollos, Apollo Twin and Satellite boxes for total of 22 DSP's. My plugins are from Universal Audio, McDSP, U-He, Slate, Fab-Filter and Valhalla. I mix in Pro Tools, Logic X and Studio One Pro.

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

A: I produced, engineered and mixed a record for the band The Samples called "Rehearsing for Life". It was one of the hardest records to work on because we built the record from a set of demos that the band had not rehearsed. I t was so rewarding because of how it turned out.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm recording and mixing songs for a San Francisco based solo artist.

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

A: I think very highly of my peer Robert L Smith. He's such a nice guy and real professional.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital becuase as long as the meal tastes good nobody cares what kind tools you used to cook it.

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

A: I promise to take your project seriously.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love taking people's music that's in pieces inside a DAW and assembling it and shaping it to have energy and draw others in.

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

A: What format do I need the files sent in. I always say send me either consolidated WAV files that all start at the same point in the DAW timeline or send me the session file.

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

A: I'm not sure. Every artist has different amounts of recording experience and some really understand mixing and others are completely baffled by it.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I like it when clients send me reference tracks they like. As long as there is some aspect of the clients music that is similar.

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

A: Make sure when you send me your session it's not missing any files. That is the number one problem I run into to. Clients sometimes are not aware that their files have been spread across the internal drive and their music drive. It's always best to learn where your files are located for the song file.

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

A: A set of monitors, a laptop, convertors, DAW, and UA plug ins.

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

A: I started out as a drummer and transitioned to the other side of the glass. I have been involved in record making as an audio engineer since 1994.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I adapt my style to suit the music. I always do what I think the song needs rather than what I personally want to do. The song is my boss!

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

A: I would love to work with the Foo Fighters. They are a great bunch of musicians who know how to write a song.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: If you don't have a ton of recording experience and you are recording yourself I always recommend recording without any eq or compression and to leave plenty of headroom (in other words, don't record really hot signals).

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

A: I mostly mix rock and country based projects and all sub genres of rock and country.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Listening.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I like to think I bring sonic strength and muscle to a song.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I always start by listening to the rough mix to get an idea of where things are at. Next I go through a discovery process by listening to individual tracks to assess their strengths and weaknesses. After that I just dig into the mix to make it the best I can given the material.

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

A: I'm greatly inspired by the mixing of Tchad Blake, Craig Schumacher, Vance Powell, Andrew Scheps, Chris Lord-Alge and of course the great Bob Clearmountain

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

A: For Soundbetter clients I concentrate on mixing since it is not limited by geography.