Music Producer & Mix Engineer

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

A: I'm really happy with the work I did with my band EarlyRise and the 2 songs I recently did with Jaq Mackenzie from American Idol. I am also very happy with Drea's EP.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I just finished an EP for an artist named Drea. I'm working on an EDM project called Hamster, an EP for Tosh, and I’m doing a third album for the rock band, EarlyRise. I'm working with a great songwriter called Victor Quintero. I’ve been working on quite a few singles for a variety of artists as well.

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

A: I know Mickey Shiloh who is an amazing songwriter and also Tosh, an artist, good friend, and also a great songwriter.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital because it's flexible, much more flexible than analog. There’s a lot of misconceptions about analog these days. I actually wrote about this topic in my blog. Analog is not better, it's just different (and slower). Though I do use analog gear, I try to keep it to a minimum.

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

A: You would always get the best result I can provide, and the recording isn’t finished until they you are happy with it.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I like creating something new with an artist, and I really like seeing an artist hear how good he or she can sound, often for the first time. I always like the fact that I can give new artists a chance to compete in the industry

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

A: They almost always start with getting a sense of how much will it cost and what they will get. My answers are always straight forward.

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

A: A lot of people get confused on terminology, they confuse mixing and production. I get a lot of people asking for a mix when they are actually looking for an arrangement or a production.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I ask an artist to send me a demo, or things he or she has done in the past. I ask for as many references as I can get of the music they are into and what they’re aiming for. Then we talk about their goals for the recording, and get into specifics of how and if it makes sense to work together.

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

A: First, listen to their latest work, you won't believe how many people simply don't listen to what a producer has done recently. Second, make sure you get the price worked out before you start working together, and make sure you understand exactly what you’re getting for that price.

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

A: ADK TT My Art Pro  custom preamp Universal Audio Quad with my PC and Cubase FF800 Adam A7X Pretty much exactly what I have setup in my studio currently.

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

A: I've been producing for 13 years. Of course when I started, I wasn't even close to my abilities today, 

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Don't ever try to force something out of a song that’s not there. I get a lot of artists that come to me references to a song they like, without being aware that their own songs and voice isn’t suited for that type of sound. Embrace what you have - don't try to be something you aren’t.

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

A: In Los Angeles, I do mostly Pop/Top 40 type stuff, although before arriving in LA I was known mostly for my work with rock bands.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I would say my mixing abilities which enable me to deliver my productions sounding like a final product. This makes it easy for the artist I’m working with to know how the final track will sound.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: What I bring is a top-notch production. I’m skilled at turning ideas into fully realized recordings that reflect the artistic vision of the artist I’m working with. If the artist is going for a commercial sound, they’ll be happy to know that I thoroughly immerse myself in current trends by studying airplay and billboard charts, listening to what people are reacting to, what’s selling out clubs locally, etc, so that my work sounds very current.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I usually start by getting together in my studio, listening to the artist's previous work, listening to some of the references he or she likes and what they tend to aim for in general. If the artist already has something written, I usually start building the beat around it, then we make sure the key and tempo are right and the artist sounds the best he or she can. If the artist didn't bring anything previously written, we might start with making a beat he or she likes, or just start writing something on a guitar or piano. Then, we usually record the first verse and chorus hooks while building the beat. After we're happy with that, we will get into the full song structure, followed by finalizing the lyrics and melody. Vocals and instruments recording generally come next, then mixing and mastering. The artist can decide to record, mix or master with another engineer of course, or do everything in-house with me.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I use a PC with Cubase 8.5, going to RME800, Adam A7X monitors with SUB8. I have a Telefunken 672 preamp and ART Pro II with custom tubes. My studio has been acoustically treated for mixing. Microphones I use are ADK TT, ADK Vienna with custom capsule, TLM103, Rode nt1a, M-audio Sputnik. Acoustic guitars: Martin DRSG Taylor 810 Electric guitars: Jackson RR5 Fender Roadster Line6 JTV Epiphone Peavey bass

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

A: I would say Tove Lo, Bruno Mars and James Bay would my favorite artists currently, though I have a lot of other artist and music I love. I would absolutely love working with Mark Ronson on a production.

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

A: I provide music production, songwriting, arrangement, vocal tuning, recording, mixing, and mastering services.