Sound Design, Editing & Mixing

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

A: A loaded up PC, a pair of Sennheiser HD 650's, a UAD Apollo interface, a small Eurorack setup and a Sennheiser MKH-416.

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

A: I was initially inspired to begin producing music because of Porter Robinson's "Worlds" album. His process of "growing up on the internet" and learning everything about music through online forums and learning resources resonated with me, ultimately leading me to take the same approach. Currently, my main musical inspirations are Bladee, Bon Iver (Justin Vernon), The 1975, Lontalius, Instupendo, Yung Lean, Porter Robinson, A.G. Cook, Ecco2k and Whitearmor.

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

A: Most of my work consists of Sound Design and Mixing. I've been fortunate enough to work on a multitude of different projects ranging from sound-design for commercials, recording/editing/mixing/mastering audiobooks, recording choir ensembles, producing jingles for large corporations, along with the more common work that consists of vocal, dialogue and instrumental recording, editing and mixing. Variety keeps it interesting :)

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What do you expect out of me? Are you looking for me to implement my own taste onto the record or are you looking for me to elevate the rough mix? What references can you provide me with that would better allow me to understand the direction your project needs to head in? Would you like me to make additional edits (clean room tone, tuning/time alignment) or is the current production/arrangement to your liking? (I ask a lot of questions).

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

A: Please never feel like you're asking too many questions. If the process is confusing in any way shape or form, I'm happy to dedicate the time to making sure you're in-the-know so that we're both on the same page. I would also recommend clients maintain perspective regarding quality-control expectations. A vocal recording performed through a $50 microphone into a $30 interface will inherently fall short of a major record recorded through a $40,000 vocal chain on a "technical" level, however what really matters is that the character and the vibe of the performances are on point. Tons of incredible music was and continues to be recorded using less-than-ideal equipment in less-than-ideal environments. With that being said, never feel like your music can't be great solely because you lack access to a multi-million dollar recording space!

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

A: "The Baby Mine Project" was the project that I was most proud to contribute to because regardless of winning a NAPPA Award, from the very beginning of the project I knew that it's intentions were so much bigger and more meaningful than any accolade. This nonprofit, children's album comes directly from the hearts of David Shipman and Aaron Safer. David's volunteer work in multiple parts of Africa allowed him to develop an especially tight bond with many orphaned children that ultimately led to him helping with education programs, creating documentaries for village fundraising and building a protective wall around the village orphanage. David and Aaron decided to pursue "The Baby Mine Project: A Lullaby Collection" in order to create a soundtrack of classic children's songs in a lullaby format for orphaned and hospitalized children. I was brought onto the project by GRAMMY-nominated engineer/producer Chris Jay, as an Assistant Engineer. My roles consisted of setting up recording sessions, experimenting with microphone polar patterns, builds, and micing techniques, operating Pro Tools for portions of the recording and editing processes, vocal tuning, striking sessions, and providing my input on the project's sonic footprint.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: A lot (lol). Between recording a few projects simultaneously, mixing on a daily basis and producing music on the side, I've definitely got a full plate of work.

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

A: Daniel Escobar. Having worked with him on projects in the past, he's incredibly motivated, skilled in interpersonal communication and an incredible engineer. His work ethic is staggering and he'll make sure your expectations are exceeded.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both, because theres a time and a place for quantized recording mediums just as there's a time and a place for continuous recording mediums. It doesn't always make sense to run trap drums through a tape machine "because it's analog". The "clean" sound of digital audio can be just as fitting and desirable as the "warmer", more "attitude-driven" sound of analog. Let the music decide whether you need a digital, analog, or hybrid approach.

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

A: My promise is that there will be no shortcuts taken. I'm only happy when you're happy.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I've always been a people pleaser and I get an unexplainable amount of joy from hearing positive feedback on my work. As someone who produces and records music in my personal time outside of my clients' work, I understand the tens of hundreds of thousands of hours that can go into a project. Amplifying my clients' project in ways they may have not known was possible is an indescribable feeling.

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

A: "Can you make it sound like this?", to which my answer is almost always, "I can only make it sound like you". I can implement all of the technical and creative effects in the world (long hall reverbs, 1/32D delays, extreme AutoTune, etc.) but if you're performing the song, it can only sound like your performance, not that of another performer. Why? Because you're you, and they're them.

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

A: The role of an "audio engineer" is often misunderstood. Some people think it means we produce the music and others think it's a sole technical skill that requires no interpersonal abilities or creative judgment. Even my own family doesn't quite understand my job, lol.

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

A: My career path began as me wanting to be an electronic musician. After playing some shows and constantly seeking new opportunities through learning instruments, performing in bands and collaborating, I found a special interest in the technical aspect of engineering. The combination of an art meeting a science is inspiring to me. I'm a traditional learner, but introducing creativity to the technical aspects maintains my interest. I've been working on music for 5 years and my "professional" career as an audio engineer began in 2018.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style can be described as thrill-seeking as I oftentimes try to push things to the extreme. Music is meant to be bold, and I try to avoid the less experimental approach of taking the "safe" route. Whether it's driving outboard hardware/hardware emulation plug-ins a bit over the limit, I find the grit it contributes can be supplemental to the project at hand.

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

A: I'd love to work with Bladee because his music is constantly evolving and ever-changing. His approach to music makes it so that he can perform in a lower tone or manipulate his voice to be androgynous. His ability to hit what would traditionally be the "wrong" notes in AutoTune creates a detuned effect that I'm very inspired by. His ear for production and melody is unlike many I've ever heard before.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Less is more.

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

A: I usually work on Hip-Hop, Experimental Electronic/Hip-Hop, Hyperpop, Pop, and R&B music. I find most of my clients are passionate about pushing the envelope of what's "normal" or "expected" of a song within it's genre.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My strongest skill is my ability to read the room. Whether it be through the intention of the work provided to me through remote delivery or simply from being present in a recording session, I'm confident in my ability to feel the intentions of the work.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring honesty to every record I work on. I don't believe in approaching someone else's work by trying to make it my own. Too often have I found clients coming to me because the previous engineer wanted to mix the body of work to their specifications while disregarding the clients' overall vision. I also understand that a client and an engineer need to hear the music the same way in order to achieve a desirable final result. As the old saying goes, "you can't mix what you can't hear", and when the client and the engineer don't hear the music the same way, there's no hard feelings in parting ways to find the right match!

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My work process typically consists of me pairing my initial reaction to the body of work with the artist/client's intended vision. I believe music is best when made spontaneously and not overly-complicated. I find my workflow to be meticulous and with attention to detail from start to finish. I believe that, depending on the record and its intended message, there's beauty in imperfections, whether it be some room tone that leaked into the vocal microphone or some background ambiance that snuck its way into the recording. You can't recreate vibe in post-production.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My studio setup depends on the day and my current location. With much of my work requiring me to travel to and from Miami to Orlando, I generally find myself working on SSL and Neve consoles. Most often the SSL's I work on are 4000E's, Duality's, AWS' and 9000J's while the Neves are either 8078's or 8068's. My home-setup is quite humble, consisting of ADAM Audio T5V's, Beyerdynamic DT990's, Audio Technica ATH-M50x's, my MacBook Pro and Pro Tools rig, an SSL2+ interface, a WARM Audio 87-R2, and tons of effects pedals for generating interesting sounds and textures. Although most of my work is done in major recording facilities that differ on a daily basis, my home setup is consistent, reliable, and in the age of evolving digital audio fidelity, accurate.