Engineer/Musician/Producer

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Of course when they hire me it is because the client expects my contribution but it is very important for me to understand their vision and taste in music to be able to complement their ideas in a better way.. It happens that sometimes the client does not have a clear vision for the song and that is when I have more input and space. If we talk about mixing, is convenient to initially work alone. Once the balance between drums, percussion and bass is correct and sounds solid, you will have many options and opinions to discuss with the client about how the instruments and vocals must be balanced and how to process it with effects, compression, equalization, etc.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I got rid of my analog console a few years ago because I couldn't use it for anything other than tracking. The main reason why the good old analogue equipment is no longer used is no recall, no memory. I replaced my console with an SSL digital mixing surface. I keep a lot of analog equipment like Pultecs Eqp1a, Urei 1176s, dbs 165s, etc. I still can't find a replacement for this type of equipment. My monitoring system is Genelecs 1032 with a Genelec subwoofer and an acoustically correct room. I have solid foundations in acoustics and studio design, I worked between 2000/2003 as a project manager with John Storyk in Costa Rica.

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

A: The reason I started buying recording equipment four decades ago was my need to be able to record my own songs and be able to have full control of the entire process from start to finish. . Writing music was always the driving force. As a song writer, I can say that I have my greatest admiration for Paul McCartney among many other great writers. As a record mixer my greatest respect is for Bob Clearmountain. As a producer I was too much influenced by the work of Trevor Horn, Nile Rodgers and Jeff Lynne . As a guitar player my list is too long ...

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

A: During all these years I have had to work with a wide variety of musical styles but most of my clients look to me for pop/rock projects.. As a musician I consider myself a blues/rock guitarist. I am frequently booked locally and have also toured with some international acts such as Alex Ligertwood (Santana), Bobby Kimbal (Toto), Bill Champlin (Chicago) and others.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: When I produce a song, my first step is to try to understand how the author envisions his finished song. Sometimes the client has a clear idea about what he wants, other times not completely . I start to make my contribution and check with him the progress of the song constantly during production. It happens sometimes that the author gives me total freedom to develop the production and arrangements of the song. When I'm just mixing and I receive finished projects, I also try to guess how the client imagines their project finished and that is why I question them and ask for references to understand in a better way what they consider a great mix. The same thing happens when I am hired for guitar tracking. My job is not done until the client is happy.

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

A: Pultec eqp1a, Urei 1176, Neumann U67 and BK Butler Real Tube and a Kemper for my guitar

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Music is something that cannot be "measured", in many situations it cannot be demonstrated with valid arguments what is better or worse and the only thing that remains in the end are individual tastes and opinions. This represent a potential of conflict. I believe that in addition to having a well-trained ear and good technical background, a great producer must learn to be like a good psychologist to manage the various personalities and emotions during the creative process of making music.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I can say that I have a broad vision of what the technical and creative aspects of making music are. It's probably because I have always had to train myself to do different jobs in music business in order to survive in a small and diverse music market like Costa Rica.

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

A: Forty years

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

A: I mainly receive demo songs to arrange and produce and projects for mixing and mastering. As a musician, I´m hired as both a studio and live guitarist.