Experimental Rock Mixer

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. There are so many strengths and weaknesses to both and it is important to pick and choose to create the best production process for a project. Digital allows for quick workflows and revisions while analog offers the saturated sound that is so pleasing to the ear. Digital also offers almost unlimited choices - high track and plug-in counts, while analog is by its nature limiting, whether it be track counts, limited units of gear, or editing possibilities. Blending the two approaches - instilling an analog discipline onto a digital production while also embracing the lack of limits inherent in the digital realm can really open up possibilities while maintaining a classic feel.

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

A: I always promise to put all of myself into the work while also keeping it the artist's production. I put my stamp onto the mixes I do, but at the same time my job is to create what the artist is hearing.

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

A: I think the biggest misconception is that the first draft of a mix I send out is EXACTLY how I think it should be - I always send out work I am proud of, but the revision process is always so important. I will always have my own notes on my mixes upon re-listening, in addition to the artist's.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: My first questions are always about how the artist feels about the production at its current stage - creative processes are imperfect, so it is important to me to find out what the artist is excited about as well as what is currently lacking. Then I always want to get reference material from them - other recordings that they enjoy. This is not something to copy to the current production, but it allows for the development of a common language when discussing very subjective musical and recording concepts.

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

A: My advice is to find the right person to work on your music - someone with the right production and communication style that suits your process. Then engage with the person and don't worry about budget. So often, perceived budget issues get in the way of a project moving forward - conversations and negotiations can always take place and often equitable solutions can be found for any budgeting issues.

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

A: I am now in my 20th year as a full-time engineer. I started working out of Engine Music Studios in Chicago in 2005 as a staff engineer, cutting my teeth. While there I started working with producer Brian Deck and learned how to make records under his wing. I began doing my own projects out of the studio - this was when I started developing my own mix room. I found that the studio was great for recording but the budget and scheduling constraints for mixing were often at odds with the creative process - more complex records needed more time and thought, and mixes couldn't just be done because the day was done - a freer schedule was necessary. We closed the studio in 2013, and from there I worked out of a number of studios, including Soma EMS, Shirk Studios, MinBal, and Audiotree Studios. I moved to Philadelphia in 2024, where I set up a new mix studio that I currently work out of.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I like to have a mix be of the highest possibly fidelity while still being a little rough around the edges. Blending high-end recordings with lo-fi elements. Incorporating saturated sounds, distortions, and fuzzy elements into clean recordings.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: I think the most important part of the production process is monitoring - understanding what you're hearing and how to listen is everything. It is important to recognize that all monitoring is subjective - there is no baseline or perfect listening situation. You could be in a $2000/day studio and if you don't know the monitors and the room, you still don't know what you're hearing. I find it so helpful to work on the monitors I know so well but to have an artist not listen in the same space. I want an artist to listen to mixes wherever they listen to music - it's this listening with that proper relativity that allows for the best notes - not just taking for granted that monitors they've never listened on are "accurate".

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I typically start with a conversation - its so helpful to get on the same page with an artist before beginning a mix and finding out about the production process - what they like about the recordings as well as what they may be lacking, what their ideas for the production are, as well as references to other recordings that they enjoy. I never try to copy a reference, but it helps to have that common language for subjective mix choices. Then I will listen to the tracks and rough mixes, taking my own notes on what may be needed. When I start in on the song, I start with a basic console set-up of compressors, EQs, and saturation that allows me to start actually mixing immediately and not setting up plug-ins. Then I can add or subtract processors as needed as I build the mix an element at a time. Once the mix is built, I find it important to break and listen to something else - it helps clear my ears and brain so that I can then come back and re-approach the mix as a whole. I then send the mix out for notes, ready to start the revision process, which can take as many revisions as needed to get the mix to where the artist wants it.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My mix room features a hybrid analog/digital set-up. I started developing the set-up while I was still working mainly on large format consoles and wanted to maintain the sonic character of that signal path while being able to take advantage of the creative workflow that digital "in-the-box" mixing provides - mainly the ability to instantly recall mixes and not need to stick to a rigid studio schedule, allowing for a more thoughtful note taking and revision process. I work in Pro Tools using mainly UAD plug-ins, along with some choice pieces from Waves, SoundToys, and Brainworx. D/A conversion is handled by an Avid HD I/O into a Rupert Neve Designs 5057 mixer for analog transformer saturation and finally running into an SSL 4k buss compressor.

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

A: One artist who inspires my productions is Mark Linkous/Sparklehorse. His work blend lo-fi elements with hi-fi recordings in a delicate way, which is an approach I try to bring to my work - a feeling of distortions and fuzziness while maintaining the sound of a really high fidelity recording.

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

A: I most commonly work as a remote mix engineer for singles, EPs, and LPs, working across genres including rock, folk, punk, post-punk, post-hardcore, emo, and experimental rock.