Editing, Mixing & Mastering

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

A: I went to school at an institute called Middle East Audio Suite in Lebanon to study Sound Engineering for a certificate. I got certified but was still unhappy with my knowledge of audio so I decided to travel to The Netherlands and study for a BSc in Audio Engineering at SAE Institute of Rotterdam. Throughout my time there I learned so much and even started working as an audio engineer at Redbull Studios Amsterdam where I have had the privilege of working alongside Martin Garrix at a recording session. After graduating I decided to leave The Netherlands and go back to my home country of Lebanon and search for a job. Not less than a week passed by and I landed a spot at The Brain Studio to work as a recording engineer. I was promoted to mixing engineer after impressing the studio owner with a mix I did for one of our clients. Now I work as a freelancer under my online company name Sonic Mix where I edit, mix and master for clients online.

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

A: Most of the people are still unsure about what I exactly do. When I tell them I'm an audio engineer they always tend to think I'm a DJ that plays live events.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: - What are you looking for? - Are there any limitations to the project? (Because I usually do more than what's asked for) - How do you want it to sound?

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

A: Be sure to explain as detailed as possible what you are looking for. The audio industry can be very subjective at times. Without a clear vision of what you're looking for, you are giving the provider a shot at adding his own touch to the project. You may or may not like it. If you do, then you did a wise choice working with said provider.

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

A: 1- Solar Panel 2- Laptop 3- Audio Interface 4- Speakers (preferably ADAM A7Xs) 5- Microphone (Shure SM57)

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style of work would be fast, organized, and detailed.

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

A: Caleb Shomo from Beartooth. The man is a genius. He's been solo writing all 3 of his band's albums. The cool thing is that he plays all instruments during the recordings (meaning he recorded the drums, bass, guitar, vocals, and synths)

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Always check phase between related tracks. The number one under-looked thing in mixing is phase. If u start processing a snare drum but it's just not cutting it in the mix, flip the phase (it might be out of phase with the room/oh mic's making it less punchy or visible in the mix).

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

A: All types of music. Be it classical music, pop, rap or electro, I can work on any genre and make it sound good. My main passion though is rock music, but that does not separate the fact that I can work on any genre out there.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Mixing Rock & Metal music. I tend to always get a great hard hitting drum sound (the essential element to any great mix is a solid beat).

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring life, excitement, and clarity to a song. Every mix I do, I make sure each element of the song is sonically visible and then they all merge together in a nice way. I always try to compete with award winning mix engineers' mixes to make my mixes sound better than theirs.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I receive the audio files, and start organizing the session. That means I re-name all audio files if i have to and color code them in the session. I then check each file for noise & glitches to fix. I clean up all audio tracks from un-needed regions. I do the task the client requires me to do and send it back off for approval. Once approved, the client can send me his/her notes regarding changes to be made (call it a revision).

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: The main DAW I use is Avid Pro Tools 2018. It's a great workstation for recording/editing/mixing, especially when you know all the shortcuts. Main plugins i use when it comes to mixing or editing are Waves, Izotope, Soundtoys, Slate Digital, JST, Celemony, Toontrack & Trillian. My current monitoring set up consists of Sennheiser HD 650 (Headphones) & Genelec 8030 (Speakers). Audio runs in and out through a Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 interface. I also built myself an 1176 Blackface Compressor that i usually run bass and vocal through while mixing.

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

A: As audio engineers my top 3 are Chris Lord Alge (without a doubt), David Bendeth & Andrew Wade. As musicians my top 3 are Dave Groh, Caleb Shomo & Travis Barker.

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

A: Audio editing entire sessions. This ranges from grid editing & clean up editing to vocal tuning & midi programming Mixing. Polishing sessions to the very best they can be. Giving space to each instrument in a mix while retaining their glue together to sound as professional and crisp as can be.