Remote Mixing and Mastering

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

A: Have all your tracks named correctly, and no MP3!

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

A: Laptop, hard drives, an SM58 mic, my audio interface, headphones and a keyboard. Does a generator count? I already live in the desert!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I'm 100% in the box currently. I own very few mics but do well with what I have. Shure, Aston, Apex. I use a MAC Mini i7 CPU 16GB ram 3 TB hard drive space. REAPER for tracking editing and mixing and Harrison Mixbus 32C for mastering is my DAW's of choice using current state of the art plugins used by many famous studio's. Slate Digital, Izotope Ozone, Waves, SSL, Eventide. Mackie 8" studio monitors, Sony and Fostex, and Sennheiser headphones. Headphone distribution by ART. My studio though small is acoustically treated.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Pre-production I like to meet the band at a gig preferably and get a feel of the artist first, either on the phone, or at the gig if possible. Then tracking, mixing, and finally mastering.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Working on several projects right now. One from New Orleans LA and another local artist here in Arizona.

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

A: Par Reilly's album "I Can Feel The Heat" I did all the tracking, mixing and mastering. I also played drums and percussion on this and saw this from recording to CD artwork, album art setup and CD duplication in the jewel case and shipped to client! Another same thing except I didn't play anything just recording to CD artwork, album artwork and CD duplication. Frick & Frack.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. HA! Because analog is VERY EXPENSIVE! I DO LOVE Analog however and love using it's warm qualities when I can. I learned in the analog world but I love the limitless qualities of digital.

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

A: To give them the best product that I can possible.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: There's nothing better than creating art out of thin air, and helping the artists vision become a reality! I would be honored to be part of making that vision your reality!

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

A: Bob Katz. He a terrific engineer and audio author. Don't know anyone else here.

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

A: What should I bring? Check and make sure all your equipment is working properly prior to your session. Broken or malfunctioning equipment not only can effect recording quality but it will also hinder your performance. This includes: Fresh strings on all guitars as well as spares and don’t forget picks Good quality guitar and instrument cables Fresh batteries for all EFX pedals and pickups as well as spares (9V) Make sure to remember your power cables and adapters

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Old school producer. I think outside the box and liken it more to the the engineer extraordinaire Chris-Lord Alge in that I hear and manipulate based on feeling.

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

A: Rock n Roll and acoustic work. I am pretty good with anything. There's nothing better than creating art out of thin air, and helping the artists vision become a reality! I would be honored to be part of making that vision your reality!

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: My over 40 years audio production and engineering experience. I'm also a life time music professional drummer.

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

A: I like the old school engineers like Bob Ludwig, Ian Shepard, Alan Parsons, Tony Visconti, Bob Katz, Al Schmitt, Phil Ramone, Mike Senior also Dave Pensado as well as many others.

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

A: I'm an I.T Pro by trade. However I have been recording and engineering music seriously since the 80's.

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

A: Alice Copper. He lives close by and is one terrific human being!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Be prepared before you record. Keep an open mind and relax ! Try and work out all musical and vocal parts before coming in. You should never attempt to write in the studio, this not only consumes valuable time and money but slows the session down and breaks momentum.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Really good with rock/acoustical work. I get it!

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

A: Track, mix and master your band.

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

A: That I can turn garbage into a #1 hit!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: How many songs and what format are they. 1. Make a Plan 
Figure out in advance what instruments you will be using for what songs, who is playing what, the order of instruments to be recorded, etc. The biggest decision here is whether you will record everybody at once (live-off-the-floor), or will you multi-track one instrument at a time. In most cases you will likely be doing a combination of both - maybe record all the bed tracks together (drums, bass, rhythm guitar), then overdub everything else. This should be discussed with the producer - before you go into the studio of course.