Editing, mixing, sound design

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

A: Not at this moment in time.

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

A: Recording the RBC Orchestra and mixing it in 5.1 which was my first surround sound mix.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Building a portfolio and recording some of my own songs.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital, it is fabulous having so much gear in front of you and the bar keeps getting raised.

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

A: I always operate in a friendly, accommodating manner and if they are not happy with the final mix then money back guaranteed.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Giving a mix clarity and bringing it to life, as well as

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

A: Q: Can you make my mix sound bigger and clearer? A: Absolutely. I specialise in rock and metal, and I focus on punch, clarity and impact while keeping your original performance intact.

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

A: That plug-ins alone will make your mix sound great.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: 1) Is there editing to be done? 2) Are the tracks labelled accordingly? 3) What formats would you like the project in? 4) What type of feel do you want the mix to have? 5) What type of feelings are you trying to stir in the listener? 6) When do you want the project delivered?

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

A: Shop around and try to find somebody whose vision is aligned with yours.

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

A: My ESP EC-1000 guitar, audio interface, powerful laptop, the best speakers money can buy and Studio One.

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

A: Playing guitar for 35 years. Recording and mixing for about 7 years, although I have dabbled in recording sporadically for the past 20 years. I got into the production side through college and university.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Punchy and aggressive.

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

A: Slayer, my favourite, because they are the gods of metal.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Keep everything as simple as possible and don't rely on lots of fancy plug-ins.

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

A: In the past jazz, classical, folk, flutes, cellos and pianos but I want to evolve into metal, rock and pop mainly.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Giving each element its unique space in the mix.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Whatever the client requires, generally energy and clarity.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: After the editing, timing and tuning elements are finished, I like to start mixing backwards from the most important part of the song, through to the not so powerful. I find this is a good approach because it allows you to inject the most energy into the main section, and strip back the power as you go along for the not so important sections; this ensures the climactic parts are built up to correctly and receive the explosive finale they deserve.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I use Studio One with a PreSonus audio interface, a Dell G7 17 computer as well as Beyerdynamic DT880 headphones and M-Audio BX5 speakers. I use a variety of different plug-ins.

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

A: Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King of Slayer have written some incredible guitar riffs, as well as Chuck Schuldiner of Death. Some of the older bands like Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd have written some fascinating albums. From the production side I am inspired by the likes of Mike Senior, Warren Huart and Kevin " Black Pearl" McCloskey.

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

A: Mainly editing and mixing. In the past I have been involved in studio recording with large microphone set-ups, as well as recording straight into an audio interface. I have assisted in live recordings at the RBC, mainly jazz and classical music. I have also done some sound design and assisted in a group project which involved re-designing the audio for a video game.