Award-Winning Analog Mastering

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

A: Shallow Side's EP "One", a terrific rock band from Cullman, Alabama! They're doing amazingly well, had a couple of songs on the top 40 Billboard rock charts and they're getting nice reviews on the specialized media. Another recent one was the complete score for the "Gabe" documentary, directed by Luke Terrell. around 30 music pieces...A real nice one.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Lots of albums...And a huge load of singles! From projects all around the globe.

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

A: Yes, in fact, I've been working shoulder to shoulder with Andres F. Millan, which besides being a terrific recording and mixing engineer, he's also the past president of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) Colombian section and we share many projects together. Reach him here: https://soundbetter.com/profiles/29305-andres-millan

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both! It doesn't matter anymore but nothing can beat the ergonomics and speed of tweaking in the analog domain. However, most of my problem-solving would be impossible or impractical in the analog domain.

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

A: I promise you this: A big smile on your face. Also, I promise to be honest and straightforward at all times. If that means turning down a job because I'm not the right fit for it, then I'll be honest about it and let you know. As long as you know what you want and are 100% satisfied with your mix, you'll be smiling all over :-)

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

A: Mostly about deadlines. And yes, sometimes I can deliver in about 24hrs or less depending on my workload. Sometimes I get asked about my custom-made gear. Even tho my gear choices are only relevant to me and my needs.

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

A: That would be the idea that anyone without real-world experience can do this in any room, treated or untreated, and get real-world results. Also, there's the misconception that AI or a preset on a plugin will be any better than a trained ear, a brain with good instincts, and a heart that can feel the music and react accordingly. Cheaper, yes. But no good.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Not much really. Mostly about deadlines. I let the music do the talking!

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

A: Take your time to evaluate your options. No rush! And let your prospect engineer's experience and credits do the talking. He / She needs to be a good fit for your project. Remember: Equipment is irrelevant compared to human talent.

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

A: 1 - My Barefoot MM26 speakers. 2 - My soldering iron and Hakko desoldering station, so I can modify anything I want !!. 3 - My Herman Miller chair, comfort is paramount. 4 - Cashews. Lots of them. 5 - Good company!

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

A: I've been doing this since I've finished high school. I jumped on a console as soon as I could after that. I wanted to be who I am now since I was 13. Of course, I've had luck, but I always prepared to ensure that I was worthy when the big chance arrived. Being doing this in my own mastering room since 2013 :-) And getting better each day at it. I could say more than 22-24 years (since I started doing this while in high school and I'm 41 right now), but I always count 2002 as the year I got my first world-class studio job as a recording/mixing engineer. I've been blessed winning a couple Latin Grammys and being nominated 16 times over the years. Four of them are name nominations (when the engineer is nominated by name, just as the artist, that happens on the album, song, and recording of the year). Not that such award is relevant from an engineering standpoint, but it is nice having them tho.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style is a combination of a technically-minded but very creative and ever-evolving workflow. Loud, punchy. dynamic.

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

A: Hard one...Every gig is a different journey, fun and rewarding every time but I'd like to get back in time 30-35 years and do some work with such an innovative band as Queen, maybe The Cars, something inventive and technically demanding like that...

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

A: Pretty much everything. Just check out my playlist at https://camilosilvaf.com/index.php#player

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Technical proficiency combined with experienced ears and great people skills. In other words: I'm a total client pleaser.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Perspective. Vision, objectivity, and a fresh set of skilled and experienced ears. I'm not your typical no-credits, no-name, no real-world-experience youtube-educated "mastering" guy. I've done the whole ear-educating process of being a recording and mix engineer for more than a decade. I use all that experience to my client's advantage. Remember this: A mixing engineer who also offers mastering (usually as a package and generally doing so in a mixing room not designed and optimized for mastering to keep costs down) can get good results quite often, but a true mastering engineer is irreplaceable (Gladly !). We get paid for our experience and objectivity and the ability to apply that experience and objectivity in a specialized, fine-tuned environment.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: My workflow is: Get the files, assess them and once I've verified they're fit for the process, I'll let my client know we're good to go then proceed with the mastering! For albums, I do prefer to work a single ahead of the rest but all my decision-making is context-based (For albums or EPs)

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: My setup is custom-built primarily or modified gear. I tend to dislike stock gear, so I design and build my own equipment. But it is also complemented by many key "stock" pieces like the BuzzAudio REQ Mastering equalizer or the Pendulum PL2 mastering limiter...For the monitoring, only top-notch will do, and my choice is Barefoot Sound MM26 - it may be an unusual choice for a mastering guy, but believe me, nothing I've ever used comes close for my particular needs and setup. My electro-acoustic setup is perfected using the most sophisticated acoustic correction system known to man : (((accurate))) by AudioVero. This system is so powerful that it runs on its own dedicated computer with an extensive digital i/o card (Lynx AES16) to handle all my digital sources. Accurate effectively perfects my impulse, transient, phase, and frequency response to be as perfect as physically possible, but of course, you need proper room and high-end monitoring to take full advantage of such a system. It is pretty hard to implement and really involved, definitely not plug-and-play - I had to spend a couple of months studying it before I was able to implement and integrate it into my room, but it has paid off tremendously: Decisions are quicker and more confident than ever, clients are happier than ever too! It has to be heard to be believed. This system makes any other similar system on the market (Dirac, Trinnov, IK ARC) look like a toy. I built my passive monitoring controller to be superior to any active (amplified, be it discrete, opamp, etc..) monitor controller. Its signal path is the closest you'll get to a wire, and there are no active components anywhere. Also, stereo tracking error is less than 0.1dB worst-case scenario. I made sure of that by matching every part by hand to 0.1% tolerance. My room is rated at NC (noise criterion) 20 with the ventilation system running. It's hushed. Also, I have natural lighting, which is a big plus. Comfort, comfort, comfort! This is paramount!

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

A: More than music production professionals, I'm inspired by people like me: Studio engineers who can build their own equipment or genius designers who influence all our sounds with their designs: People Like Bill Putnam (UA), Rupert Neve (Rupert Neve Designs), George Massenburg (GML)...

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

A: At this time, I'm dedicated exclusively to Mastering!

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Trust your instincts. Don't overthink. Don't procrastinate, take quick decisions and commit to them.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: That it doesn't feel like a job anymore. It's pure pleasure.