Remote Mixing & Mastering

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Whichever that the audio engineer prefers. The important thing is to know that no one is better than the other. It's the end product that matters—don't get hung up on the gear!

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

A: I primarily work with rock and metal music, but I'm more than capable of working on other genres. On my website, you can hear my audio samples from genres of Chinese pop, funk, as well as symphony orchestra.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Style-wise, I bring originality and differentiation to a song. A lot of folks in the metal scene now like to copy or sound like the sound of another (usually famous) band. I always think, why not be the band that others want to copy? Or at least, sound like your own band, not like another. This is why I always approach each artist differently because they all have different styles, and they deserve their own unique sound. Mix-wise, I bring musicality and energy. Mixing is not just about making everything sound good, because a mix can sound good in so many ways, and not all of those ways fit the music. Mixing is also about bringing the right feel, mood, energy and musicality from the composition. If the song's mood is angry, the mix should reflect that. In mastering, I bring enhancement, dynamics and compatibility. As the mastering engineer, I give all the good things in the mix an extra shine, while adjusting anything that I believe is lacking, especially considering the wide range of devices that the song will be played on. I also strive to preserve the dynamics of the mix—I'm against squashing a mix because what it really does is taking the life out of the music and causing listeners to have ear fatigue more quickly. I aim to keep my masters clean, punchy, and musical.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: As someone who believe that it's the end product that matters, I have chosen to work with a small but capable setup so I can keep my rates affordable for musicians. I use a pair of Adam A5X, paired with a Subpac to monitor sub frequencies, an RME interface for high quality DA conversion, and plugins for all my mixing and mastering tasks.

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

A: I'm very inspired by audio engineers who have broken the traditional rules and reinforced the philosophy that it's the ears that matter, not the gear. One of these audio engineers is Joey Sturgis. Joey Sturgis became one of the most prominent audio engineer in the modern metal industry with minimal gear and POD Farm for guitar tones. He didn't even have a treated room or a sub. He broke all the rules, and yet he became massively successful. His success really reminded everyone that it's the ears and the end product that matter, not the gear.

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

A: Most of my works are remote mixing and mastering gigs for rock and metal artists. Usually the artist would record by themselves or go to a recording studio, and then they would send the multitracks to me to mix and master. Most of the records I have done involved sampled drums, and, as a drummer myself, I always edit the drum midi file to emulate a real drummer's performance.