Remote Mixing and Editing

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. I worked for years on Tape and used to love taking advantage of natural tape compression. In fact, one of the hardest things for me when we moved to digital was to figure out how to make a good recording without tape compression. That said, we now have loads of great plugins that give us the good elements of tape without the bad. Digital doesn't wear out when the artist works on a song for years, there is no track limit, dynamics are preserved if you want them, you don't need to rewind and there is no tape hiss.

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

A: Contact me first and share your rough mix. We can have a conversation, and if we are a good match, we can work together.

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

A: Zoom H4N, Dummy Head microphone, Laptop, Headphones, Telecaster.

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

A: After a diploma in Recording Engineering, I worked in (mostly analogue) recording studios in Dublin, Ireland during the 1990s and early 00s. I then emigrated to Spain where I setup other businesses and had quite a few years away from music. I had always planned to return to music, as it is my passion, and finally setup my dedicated mix room in Fuerteventura in 2023.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Don't leave every production sound decision to the end - commit to those guitar sounds. The exception being reverb - in general don't record the reverb with the guitar or piano (unless you really want that as a special effect).

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

A: Everything from disco to pop to rock.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: An ability to identify issues getting in the way of each other in the arrangement.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: A fresh set of ears and a desire to make the project as good as it can be.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First listen to the current or rough mix of the project and talk to the artist about what they want to achieve. Then I'll ask for the multitracks. If it's a production mix with lots of changes, then there will be some backing and forthing. If it's a straight mix, I'll get stuck in and mix.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have several sets of monitors in a treated room - but mostly use Yamaha NS10s.

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

A: Everyone from Steely Dan to Metallica to Daft Punk to Deadmau5.

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

A: I do mostly production mixes where considerable changes need to be made to get the song 'over the line' - editing, fixing poor recordings, making small (or big) changes to the arrangement and the final mix.