Radio-Ready Mixing & Mastering

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. Analog character from the outboard, precision and recall from digital. I use whatever serves the track.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Hearing the excitement from a band or artist the first time their song sounds the way it did in their heads.

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

A: "Can you make it sound like my reference?" Yes, I'll get it in that world while keeping what makes your track yours.

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

A: That mixing is just turning things up and adding effects. Most of it is deciding what to take away so the song can breathe.

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

A: My Pultec pair, the SSL bus comp, the 1176, the LA-2A, and a laptop running Reaper.

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

A: I started on piano as a kid, picked up guitar at 11, then drums, becoming a state and county champion drummer. I played timpani with the Trenton State Orchestra in high school, then spent years as a working musician with Sandy Gilmour, the NY collective STILTS and Satchel Boogie, gigging from NYC to Montauk. I've been recording and mixing for over 40 years in some form, and launched my own business in 2020. Today I mix, master and produce for independent artists, compose for film and sync, and run Storyline Records.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Punchy, warm and emotional. Big, live-sounding drums, vocals that sit up front, and builds that actually pay off.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Get it right at the source. A great performance through a good preamp beats any plugin you'll fix it with later.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Hearing a song like a player. Decades on drums, guitar, keys and vocals mean I know what each part is supposed to do, so my mixes serve the song.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I work in Logic and Reaper with a hybrid chain: a pair of Pultec EQs, an SSL bus compressor, an LA-2A and 1176 for vocals, and API, SSL and Neve preamps up front. Everything else is in the box, and I have access to most major plugins. But tools are just tools; the sound comes from experience.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Releases for Storyline Records, my indie label, including WarHall, Stilts and Asher Aday.

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

A: Your song will sound bigger and clearer, and still like you. Honest communication and no surprise fees.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What's your reference track, what's your release date, and what do you love and hate about the rough mix?

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

A: Listen to before/after samples in your genre, send a reference, and pick someone you can talk to easily. Communication matters as much as gear.

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

A: Mostly rock, pop and indie, plus cinematic and orchestral scoring as a composer.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: A mix that hits hard on streaming and in the car but still sounds like the band, not like me. I make sure the vocal and the hook lead, and I'm happy to handle the production side too if a song needs it.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: You send stems, a reference track and a few notes. I do a first mix, you give feedback, and two revisions are included. Master and delivery in 3–5 days, with rush available.

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

A: Mixing and mastering for independent rock, pop and indie artists. Bands send me stems or multitracks plus a reference, and I bring them back a punchy, polished, release-ready track.