Rock, alternative, punk, metal

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

A: Produced, recorded and mixed an album with a band who was on their third album. They had gone through a line up change and recorded the album as a three piece. The band was not sure about the material coming into production and recording. We worked on it together and in the end they came out with their best album to date and it was released to raving reviews.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Check out the playlist under "News" to stay tuned to what I've been working on recently.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Keep it simple.

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

A: Every mix is important. It does not matter if you are just starting out or are already famous, I will work just as hard on all the tracks I am sent.

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

A: Guitar, microphone, interface, laptop, monitors.

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

A: Joseph Tholl is awesome!

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: This is what I do and I love everything about it. Hey, I mix and record albums, what's there not to like!?

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

A: What does it cost to record a song? What does it cost to mix a song? Does your mixing include mastering? Can we get a discount? Can you make this home recording sound like: insert band name? To be fair, this is usually from band/artists with little to no experience and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

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

A: That the mix will fix everything that wasn't done properly in the writing & recording process.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Which are their expectations about the song? How did you guys record? Can I listen to the tracks? What's your deadline and budget. Stuff like that.

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

A: Write songs that you are proud of. There is no need to rush things. The actual music, the songs are what's most important. When you have that, the rest will work itself out. Find an engineer who you like, trust and have fun working with!

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

A: Playing in bands since I was 14. Recorded my first album 1996. Got hooked on engineering, recording and mixing right of the bat. I built my own studio in 2013 and started taking on clients.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Musicality. I have been a recording musician myself for the past 25 years and I have gained a lot of experience. I know how important it is for a client to find the right engineer to mix their precious music because I have been a client too through my own bands. I sing, play guitar, bass and drums. I understand arrangements and what a song calls for when it comes time to mix. I'm thorough, detail-oriented, patient and service-minded.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Years of experience both as a musician and as an engineer. I will try any means available to enhance the material I have been provided making it sound pro, punchy and hopefully just as the client intended.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Good communication with the client is very important. I try to find out as much as I can about his/her intention, budget and expectations. If I was sent a rough mix I'm going to listen to that and get acquainted with the music. I won't bore you with all the mixing details, but in short: setup, mix, and revisions. I will usually send the first song when it's starting to sound finished, just to check that I am on the right track with the client's expectations.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Studio Humbucker consists of a treated and tuned control room and a tracking room. I work in a hybrid fashion when I mix. I use hardware gear such as compressors and EQ’s, I also make use of my favorite plugins such as UAD, Soundtoys, FabFilter & Softube, to mention a few. I really enjoy working this way, and it gives me a nice workflow, and I get the best from both worlds.

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

A: Basically, anyone that I can learn from. I always strive to learn more and not stagnate.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: It's all about the song. Gear is fun, but at the end of the day, the music and performance will dictate how great a recording sounds.

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

A: Usually band-based projects in the rock, alternative and heavy music world. I find it really inspiring to work on music performed by human beings playing their instruments.

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

A: Mixing, recording, producing and occasionally mastering band based projects such as rock, alternative, punk, and heavy music.