Mix and mastering engineer

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

A: I mastered the album that got Seether signed to Wind Up Records in New York. It was a huge accomplishment as the band has gone on to tour the States many times and have grown a massive following around the world

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on mixing down and mastering of songs for a producer involved in our local football league

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

A: No one that I can find

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I use both, as each has it's pros and cons. I still prefer the sound of analogue eq as I feel it adds so much more character to a track and sounds wonderful. The clarity and precision of digital is great for most other processes as it is easy and quick to action

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

A: I promise my clients a quality product that they will be able to play in any format and not have issues with frequencies jumping out or pumping in the mix.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love setting up a mix or master and hearing the magic in the performance start to shine as the track is refined and tweaked.

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

A: What format should the project be in, how best to deliver it, what is the turnaround time, when can they have the master.

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

A: People will bring me MP3's and other lossy formats thinking that they are good enough for professional use. Or believe that the mix and master will change the musical character of a song and create magic in the performance, which isn't true, the performance has to have the magic there in order for it to shine

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What are your intentions for the music, how is it going to be presented, what sample rate and bit depth the tracks are at, do they have a rough mix and what time frame are we looking at.

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

A: Check the engineer's track record, listen to some of the projects they have worked on, choose someone right for your budget, ask as many questions as you need and make sure you are happy with the finished product.

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

A: My Sennheiser earpods, Macbook, Novation Keyboard, Nova synth and Event speakers.

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

A: I stared out editing in a small studio on Sound Tools, the baby software that Pro Tools developed from, then moved into a massive studio called CSR, filled with Japanese Oak resonators and wonderful, thick soundproofed doors. The main studio had a DDA analogue console in it, later switched to a Euphonic CS2000 with 144 inputs, Genelec monitoring and racks of outboard Teletronix, Manley, API, Empirical Labs, Lexicon and Eventide modules. I then left and built my own studio at home, fully treating and soundproofing my space. I've been doing this for 30 years now.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style is full of bass, with crisp and clear highs, powerful mid range and plenty of warmth.

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

A: I'd love to work with London Grammar as I feel they such a great sound, emotive and the singer has a very powerful voice.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: When your mix is done, listen to it really softly to make sure everything can be heard clearly. It will help to hear anything sticking out or not loud enough, and will help balance the mix as best as possible.

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

A: I usually work on most genres of pop music, mostly created electronically nowadays but have been involved in large multi-studio complexes recording live instruments too. From Afro-Pop and world music, to Techno and the other dance styles.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is mastering. I have the ability to create an open and welcoming sound that almost everybody responds to, and figure out almost any issues that are stopping a tune from being technically great.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring many years of professional studio experience. My ears are good and I am very sensitive to my clients. I always use references to get the track to where it should be and sounding great. When I was young, my grandmother used to listen to jazz standards all of the time, so had a wonderful musical background before I started to play the piano at 10. I have perfect pitch and can play, so I am able to point out any musical issues, as well as any problems with frequencies in the mix.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I'll start out by organizing all of the channels in a mix, from drums down to vocals, and then create groups make listening to different stem sections easier. Then I'll add compressors and limiting to tracks to get the peaks and dynamics under good control. I then eq to clean up any unnecessary frequencies. I'll get a basic mix going to start getting an idea of how the track is going to feel and sound. Then I'll refine, add effects like reverb and echoes and start to tailor the mix to get it ready for mixdown to stereo. Once there I'll turn the mix down soft and make sure I can hear everything properly and then mix it down. I'll listen to the mix in different environments to see if there are any issues. Then on to mastering.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I use a combination of analogue and digital gear to get my sound. I have an Allen and Heath analogue mixing console. I use an RME soundcard with fabulous converters on it. I have Event speakers and a Cerwin Vega sub. My studio is well treated and has no standing waves or sound issues. I have a Juno 60 and a Novation Nova synth, as well as a UAD card in my PC with great powered plug-ins.

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

A: Musicians that create clean and beautiful sounding music are my favourites, especially in Indie, Electronic and Pop categories. Artists like Depeche Mode, Harry Styles, London Grammar and Ben Klock create some of my favourite tunes.

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

A: I do mostly mixing and mastering for my clients, from large projects with many tracks to stems and anywhere in-between. I also master stereo tracks for them that have been mixed elsewhere.