Mixing Engineer, Guitarist

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Listening to new music, from scratch, falling in love with it, and then having the privilege to add my own grain of sand to it.

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

A: Alejandra Jimenez's "Casa". It's a combination of styles, harmonies, and a beautiful vocal performance. Playing it, producing it, and mixing was a true joy.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Alejandra Jimenez's EP, 6 more songs that should be released in march.

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

A: Camilo Silva is one of the top mastering engineers on this site and I always refer my mixing clients to him.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital, for flexibility, variety, and "recallability"

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

A: I will be open, direct, and communicate promptly on everything we work on.

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

A: They usually want to know how to master their track, and how to release it. Because I don't master myself, I usually refer them to Camilo Silva, which I've worked with a lot in the past and is accustomed to my sound. As for releases, I gladly help them through the process of self-releasing via CD Baby or Distrokid.

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

A: That I can make a bad song/performance work with a good mix. Mixes don't save songs, performers and songwriters save songs.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: 1. What expectations do they have from me, given the music they're handing over. 2. What they're proudest of in their track 3. Conversely, what their biggest fear or insecurity with their track is

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

A: A few! 1. Make sure your tracks are the absolute best you can deliver performance AND audio quality-wise 2. Have a mix reference of what you're thinking it should sound like 3. Make sure to clear any fx on the stems, unless it's an important part of the production.

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

A: Violet Amethyst, RME 800, Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro, and a Martin Dreadnaught acoustic guitar. I'm assuming the computer doesn't count!

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

A: I studied music production and engineering at Berklee College of Music. I've worked at a few commercial studios as an in-house engineer in my native Colombia, and I currently write and produce music for tv. I have also worked as a recording engineer with Christian Castro. Recently, I've been working with many local acts, which has led me to experiment and learn a lot about working with self-produced music.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Mixing-wise, relaxed and open. The more space to appreciate the details, the better.

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

A: Dua Lipa. Her voice is absolutely incredible.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: ANY instrument that has a natural decay (drums, guitar, piano) benefits GREATLY from parallel compression. Do it!

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

A: A lot of folky pop and latin.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Vocal mixing and production. Many times I've suggested ideas and changes for the vocal that have gone over very well, as well as offered my expertise in aligning and tuning vocals so that they sound beautifully performed and in tune, yet natural. I've yet to have anyone say the didn't like my work on the vocal.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Clarity, and direction. Many times, songs are great but undecided as to what the most important factors are, which make them unmemorable. I bring the ability to identify hooks and concepts (that are not always vocal) and shining a spotlight on them, which in turn makes the listeners remember it more clearly.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: For mixing, I typically set up and color all the tracks as I listen to the full session, with all the tracks at 0 dB. After I have an idea of what the song is about, I focus on building the drums/bass. On top of that I add the vocal - and that should sound like a finished record for me. Only AFTER drums/bass/vocals is completely solid, I start bringing in all the external elements, making sure they fit in properly.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I have my own dedicated mixing room and desk, with a pair of Adam A7X, and 2 pairs of "awful" speakers which I listen to for balance and mono compatibility. It's a relatively big room, with a Reflection Free Zone (RFZ) setup, so it doubles very well as a recording studio for all of my acoustic and electric guitar work. I work in pro tools, with waves, soundtoys, Brainworx, and SPL plugins. As for my hardware, I have a 414, a 57, a R121, and a Violet Amethyst (our current favorite). I run these through an RME800, a beautiful interface with clear as day preamps AND converters. Very happy with the results!

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

A: I have a soft spot of british musicians. I very much enjoy Ed Sheeran, Adele, Sam Smith, and all these vocal heavy artists that can TRULY sing their hearts out. On a different note, I'm a huge fan of Alan Parsons and the Alan Parsons Project.

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

A: Mixingwise, my most common request (and by far my favorite thing to do) is to make the voice the centerstage of the track. It is my pleasure to make everything revolve around the vocal, and make sure it catches everyone's ear!