Mixing Engineer / Producer

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

A: "Can you make it sound like X?" Most times, I can. If not, I'll say so. The thing is, the ref is the ref and the song is the song. Different songs call for different approaches, even if they're very similar in some aspects, sometimes what works in the ref doesn't necessarily work in the actual song, or it doesn't maximize it's potential to what it could be. Comparison is a great tool to learn, but what's unique about YOU?. Your art will always dictate what you should do with it. Refs are great as parameters of something that works, and to know the boundaries of what's the most "out there" you can go on any particular element; but they're not the absolute truth for YOUR song. Learning to break from the insecurity of constantly comparing yourself from others is a great path to be in in order to seek originality and find the uniqueness we all have. After all, the difference is what makes anything stand out from the rest :)

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

A: Candela Cibrian (Della). Amazing session singer and vocal producer/coach. She's my production partner and we work together on a lot of projects, we also share our studio Estudio Panacea, where we work. Also, mastering engineer Sebastián Andreatta (Orange Sound Studio). I recommend all of my mix clients to work with him -amazing sound, premium gear and great to work with!

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What's your vision of this song? What's the message? What music do you like? Do you have any references for your project?

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

A: I've been doing this professionally for 10 years now. When I finished audio school they took me onboard there (CEARTEC) to be assistant engineer, then moved on to a production house (Chulengo) as production manager, managing a team of producers/mixers working on remixes and soundalikes and also as tracking/mixing/mastering engineer and producer myself. After that, I went on to become the house tracking/mixing engineer at a really big and important studio here in Argentina (Estudio Santito), where I learned a lot working on just about anything, including big label artists and sessions, until the studio shut it's doors a few years later. After that, we got our own place for recording and mixing (Estudio Panacea) with my production partner Candela Cibrian -who's one of the top session singers in this very site. Besides whatever studio I was working at at the moment, I was always freelancing my own tracking/mixing/production projects on the side since 2010. I also studied classical guitar at the local conservatory and played guitar/bass/keys in several projects.

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

A: I seem to get a lot of these three types of music: - commercial electronic pop that begs for a polished, commercial sound / - more traditional band pop/rock with a mixture of modern synth/fx productions but with a rock "girth" / - super nerdy instrumental rock Really different styles that call for different approaches, but what they share in common is that most times, they're HUGE big track count productions, which for some reason seems to be my bread and butter. But, of course I love to work on a lot of other genres too, I'm very open minded and listen to a lot of things. There's always something I can bring to the table, even if it's not "my usual thing".

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First, I like to have a sense of aesthetics from the artists. Have a listen to things they like, check out other things they've done. Then analyze the brief; what's written and what's not, listen to the artist's rough mix, what intentions are made clear in there. In the end, the song drives itself most times, but there's always something to take into account from the background info that should remain at the back of my head when working on it. After that I prep the mix, check out if there's anything that should be adressed prior to starting the actual mix. Talk about it with the artist, if needed. Then I mix the bulk of it, leaving details for the next day. Next day I send the mix and wait for comments. Most times , if communication was good, people love the mix and send small adjustments to make :) . Sometimes, if the communication wasn't so good, it sounds great but the general direction isn't what the artist had in mind. That's ok; that's one of the biggest pitfalls from remote collaboration in a globalized world -it happens to even the biggest names in the business. From there I might even remix the song from scratch, and that's perfectly fine. That's why I include as many as 5 revisions free of charge. I've had many mixes finish at v1, though :) After the mix is finished and approved, I'll send full-res WAV files and stems if asked for.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I mix ITB. I love the workflow, it keeps me fresh all the time, so when I'm losing perspective of a song I can go work on something else and then come back with my ears fresh. We all know mixing in consoles is pretty much dead. Tracking live bands though is another story... My mixing setup is Focal Twin 6be and Dynaudio BM6 monitors and Apogee/RME interfaces. Also really important is my fader unit (Digi Command8) which really helps my workflow and fills the gap for "humanizing" with hands-on automation, which I find really missing in lots of modern productions :) Since I work at Estudio Panacea I find myself oftentimes reamping tracks thru hardware compressors and amplifiers/stompboxes, when I find them to be lacking in character. For recordings; the studio has 2 rooms and a control room. Mics are the standard: Neumann u87, 3 Akg 414, 2 AKG 451, Audio Technica 4047, 2 Sennheiser 421, AKG D112, Shure B52, 6 Shure SM57, 2 EV RE20, 2 Fatheads etc. etc. Mic pres 2 Neve 1073, 2 Rupert Neve, 2 Grace, Chandler TG, API, Audioscape tube compressor (LA2A clone made in usa). etc. A TON of instruments and other stuff as well.

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

A: I've don a ton of recording and I love it but I'm mostly mixing and producing right now. Since I'm seeing more and more work from "bedroom" producers with not a lot of experience, I'm also doing more co production, coaching and reamping to get the best results possible from that kind of scenarios.

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

A: I think last big project was Daniela Milagros's singe: "Solitaria", published by Warner/Chappel. It's a trap/pop hit song composed by my production partner Candela Cibrian (look her up here on SB) and produced and mixed by me. Be sure to check out the cool video on youtube!

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: My priority is to always make the song stand out; it has to sound great FOR THE SONG; it's not my show and i.e.: no one cares if the snare sounds amazing but you can't make out the lyrics. The goal is to maximize the song's potential, with an overview of a cohesive aesthetic within the project and the artist. Sometimes that can be a big and lush 3D sound, sometimes it can be grungy and full of lo-fi attitude. Many clients have told me I've payed attention to production details they didn't thought much of and turned them into elements that tied together the section and made it work. I'm always focusing on what's the focal point in every part of the song, what drives the song, what's interacting with what, what's the message and how can I help deliver it within the context of the mix itself. Amazing sound is a given, but amazing sound isn't any good in itself if the song isn't well-represented aesthetically.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: I like to think I'm a bit like Spike Stent; who can deliver a super polished hi fi sound as well as grungy and lo fi sound, if needed. I work for the song, and whatever the song calls for I'll do anything I can in order to deliver it. I've been known to get creative with delay/reverb fx, though.

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

A: So many...from the top of my head; Serban Ghenea, Spike Stent, Tchad Blake, Nigel Godrich, John Congleton, etc. Some for the sound, some for the creativity, but they all share one thing in common: they all make the song better.

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

A: Satisfaction guarantee, quality of work and complete honesty are my staples.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: When the artist tells me I've elevated the song into something they hadn't expected :) But working on music every day should be plenty (and a huge responsibility!!)

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

A: I can tune, quantize, etc. etc. but I sure can't turn a bad performance into a great one. I'd love to, though :(

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

A: - Focal Twin monitors - Apogee converters - loaded Mac - Neumann u87 - Neve 1073 preamp I could do an amazing record with that. Of course, being an island I'd probably need an AC too..

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Dissect EVERYTHING you like. Try to copy it, tear it apart, twist it and make it your own. Even if you don't like it; there's a lot to learn even from the most unexpected sources.

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

A: I guess Björk. She's so insanely creative and unique, I'd love to have a peek at her production process.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I can cook a mean burger ;) In all seriousness; I guess it's making sense from the song even when it's not clear by the artists themselves. Specially in today's huge productions with hundreds of tracks/parts and layers.