Mix & Master Stereo & Atmos

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio setup is designed for versatility and precision. I primarily work "in the box" using Pro Tools, supported by an extensive collection of plugins tailored to various music genres. For high-quality sound, I use a top-tier digital-to-analog converter (Dangerous Music, 192kHz/24bit), paired with Genelec 1030A studio monitors. To enhance genres like EDM and hip hop, I recently added a subwoofer. My acoustically treated room meets AES Society audio standards, ensuring the best sound possible for stereo work. Over the past two years, I've also integrated an immersive audio setup for Dolby Atmos, featuring 11 Kali Audio speakers and a subwoofer. I maintain Dolby's specific parameters for Atmos production while continuing to work with Pro Tools and Dolby Atmos Renderer, alongside the plugins I use in stereo sessions.

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

A: There are many talented professionals who inspire me, but one stands out: Serban Ghenea. His impeccable work with top global pop artists is truly remarkable. The way he crafts sound is both powerful and inspiring, and it continues to push me to elevate my own work.

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

A: In recent years, my focus has shifted primarily to online mixing and mastering, with a strong emphasis on Dolby Atmos. Working in immersive audio has been an exciting journey—it's a new world for both me and independent artists, allowing me to deliver fresh, captivating sound experiences. In addition to full productions in my professional studio, I also collaborate with a network of talented musicians to meet every client's recording needs. With over two decades spent on stages as an F.O.H. engineer, stage manager, and technician, I now dedicate my expertise to production and post-production, continually pushing creative boundaries.

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

A: Surely it was a live by Dee Dee Bridgewater, a famous American singer in the jazz field. A concert of a few years ago, in an old theater in the city of Salerno. She sang with a big band. I did the F.o.H. engineer and recorded the entire concert in multitrack, I then did the mixing and mastering in the studio. The promoters then published online a video with the highlights of the live using my mix and master.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm on different platforms and I work everyday on different types of projects. However most of the work is mixing and mastering.

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

A: Actually no, I know there are many good professionals but I don't know one or more than one in particular.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: I have several analog outboards but I tell you digital for life! The quality of digital is now high and the management of projects with digital is magnificent. Especially when you are working on more than one song at the same time. Finally, the development of some plugins in recent years with specific and particular functions create sounds that are practically impossible to have with analog.

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

A: Actually no promises. At least I don't think that work should also be based on promises. When I interact with a potential client I provide him with a lot of my material so he has a clear idea of what quality I can provide.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The vibrations. From an early age I was fascinated by the vibrations that music creates, having the volume knob in my hands is something fabtastico, something almost personal that goes deep into me up to childhood memories.

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

A: I can't answer you on this, there are many things related to the pitch of the voice, to the editing, to the details of the mixes. In general nothing so particular as to remain so imprinted in my mind

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

A: Hard question! It is impossible to generalize, however an interesting aspect is that trust. Online it is difficult to have the customer's trust right away. Fortunately, once the first master is delivered, the client listens and understands that he can feel comfortable and that we can work together.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I usually ask clients to give me some reference tracks to understand immediately, in practical terms, what their reference are in terms of sound so that I can understand what their expectations.

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

A: I would like to advise him to look for a positive experience as well as quality, which means looking for a professional interested in him and his music, capable of understanding his point of view and guaranteeing a job well done.

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

A: Pro Tools on M1, SoundToys Devil Loc Plugin, Grado Headphones, Dangerous Music Source Converter

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring my experience and my knowledge, guaranteeing the professional quality that every artist deserves. Each song can have a huge improvement. Mixing is not just balancing volume and tone, but it is setting yourself a goal in terms of sound and getting something unique out of the piece.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: If we talk about mixing and mastering, my work process is based on simple but specific points: first of all I try to create a relationship with the artist, to understand his needs and put him in a situation of comfort by offering maximum attention and guarantee a great experience. I get the multitrack from the client and check that everything is ok, otherwise I provide further assistance to get the best files for the work. I proceed with the mix and the master and in 5/6 days I send the song to the client, from here the revision phases start: I collect all the customer's information and feedback, even the smallest details and I make the necessary revisions to achieve the highest quality that the client wants. Usually in 3 or 4 rounds of revision we get the goal

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

A: At 14 I started studying guitar, at 17 I had my first cover bands and we often played around in pubs and festivals. At 18 I started recording my first analogue works. From here began the passion for professional audio: I attended several courses of Sound Technician, at 21 I started my first professional activity, I worked as an assistant in several recording studios and finally in 2014 I opened my own studio. I have been in business for over 20 years already!

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: "Schematically creative"; may seem like an contradiction, but actually it's the basis for a great mix: basically, in the mix I apply well-established techniques and processes, following a precise work scheme and then I switch to experimentation, that leaves total room for creativity.

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

A: I have no preference. I believe that with all artists, both professionals and amateurs, you can have important and constructive experiences, always learning new things, modifying established techniques and applying new experiments.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: I really like, especially for EDM and HipHop, to use the ISOL8 plugin to split the bass on two separate tracks: the first one works on the range 35-85hz, the second one from 85hz up. In this way I can always find the right bass tone giving the mix as much depth as possible, which is essential for today's music genres.

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

A: I work in all genres: hip hop, EDM, pop, rock, also Jazz and Folk.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I guess patience! The client may ask me to raise the voice by only half a db and then, in the next revision, ask me to do exactly the opposite, namely to lower the voice by half a db: I will always be happy to do so. Creative processes involve easy mind shifts, so the key to having 100% satisfied clients is patience. There are many technical skills to be used for good work, but the human side is equally important.