
Mixing and mastering engineer with lots of top pop and indie credits
Rob cut his teeth at Downtown Music Studios in NYC, where he engineered for artists including Britney Spears, Mark Ronson, Mike Posner, Wiz Khalifa, Gavin Degraw and countless more. He transitioned into independent mastering where his clients included David Gray, Sia, Miike Snow, and Major Lazer. Wanting to escape the big city, he moved to Austin in 2012 where he operated Poolside Sound for more than half a decade before moving back to the his home state of Vermont and building his current musical home Wilderfox Studio. He continues to work with household names like ODESZA or Pussy Riot, but also spends most of his time working with up and coming artists. A classically trained jazz guitarist with a master’s degree in sound recording, Rob started his career recording live classical and jazz concerts, and previously worked restoring and remastering archives for the Metropolitan Opera and US Air Force before moving into major recording studios. Although known for his Pop and EDM work, Rob is equally at home in Country, Classical, Jazz, or Singer-Songwriter genres.
Rob has adopted a modern workflow, and prides himself on keeping his rates low by owning his own studio, keeping his schedule full, and only charging for services needed via a la carte rates, rather than charging for services and time not needed.
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Credits
AllMusic verified credits for Rob Murray- Gavin DeGraw
- Vacationer
- Britney Spears
- Wiz Khalifa
- 4Troops
- 4Troops
- Lizz Wright
- Mark Ronson
- Mark Ronson and the Business Intl
- Falloe
- Falloe
- Falloe
- Bronze Radio Return
- Bronze Radio Return
- Running Red Lights
- Joe Miller
- Pee Wee Crayton
- 2000 Lbs. of Blues
- 2000 Lbs. of Blues
- George "Harmonica" Smith
- Smokey Wilson
- Jimmy Rogers
- Johnny Dyer
- Rod Piazza
- Geneva
- Geneva
- Ros
- LIVVIA
- Ros
- Brock
- Phosphenes
- Neon Hitch
- Ros
- Ros
- Ros
- Ros
- Molitor
- Lee Musiker
- Mike Renzi
- Leon Fleisher
- Axel Tosca Laugart
- Pwr Cpl
- Pwr Cpl
- Nathaniel Bellows
- Air Apparent
- Sam Ray
- Sofia Karlberg
- Air Apparent
- Stevie Ann
- Amanda Blank
- Ryan Camp
- Daiza
- LEADR
- Getiey
- Getiey
- Carlosh (3)
- Carlosh (3)
- Dorian Electra
- Gual, Oliviya Nicole
- Carlosh (3)
- Carlosh (3)
- Chandeen
- Gual, Kenneith Perrin
- The Vapor Caves
- NOSAM, LostinVegas
- NOSAM, LostinVegas
- NOSAM
- NOSAM
- NOSAM
- NOSAM
- Lizz Wright
- Pernice Brothers
- Elli Gray*
- Amanda Blank
- Sqwonk
- Mark Ronson & The Business Intl
- Mike Posner (2)
- Wiz Khalifa
- Britney Spears
- Curtis Macdonald (2)
- Mike Posner (2)
- Brasstronaut
- Vacationer
- Gavin DeGraw
- Ryan Camp
- Matt Blake
- Sia
- Marie-Laure Boudreau
- Kiko Villamizar
- Phosphenes (2)
- Chandeen
- Manila Killa
- Dorian Electra
- Carlosh (3)
- Carlosh (3)
- Carlosh (3)
- Carlosh (3)
- Carlosh (3)
- Dorian Electra
- Gual, Oliviya Nicole
- Carlosh (3)
- Carlosh (3), Man Without Country
- Carlosh (3)
- Pleaxure
- Chandeen
- Gual, Kenneith Perrin
- The Vapor Caves
- Little Boots
- NOSAM, LostinVegas
- NOSAM, LostinVegas
- NOSAM
- NOSAM
- NOSAM
- NOSAM
- Phantoms (8)
- teh end
- Similar Kind
- Britney Spears
1610 Reviews - 314 Repeat Clients
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I'm very thankful for Rob's work and would recommend him to anyone looking for solid quality by a true professional.
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Thoroughly enjoy working with Rob! Very prompt and communicates beautifully.
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He really improved my sound.
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5 stars as always!
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Best in the biz!!!
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Thanks a lot Rob for your work and support, which is invaluable to me!
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Love the guy!
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As always fantastic mix/master. Looking forward to working again soon! Thank you
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Good experience working with Rob, prompt and professional, clear pricing structure, end result sounds great :)
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+1
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Thanks once again Rob for your great work, which I am very grateful for!
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5-stars, as always.
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I'm usually really picky with my mixes, but Rob nailed it in the first try. Professional and easy to work with. I highly recommend working with him!
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It's hard to put into words how wonderful it has been working with Rob. It can be overwhelming sifting through the great engineers on this site but Rob stood out and I'm so glad I chose him. He brought my track to life with width and clarity, he was subtle but pointed in his decisions and knew when to feature certain instruments throughout the song. That's the difference between "a" mix and "the" mix. And Rob delivered! He was also very kind, patient and easy to work with.
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Rob is great to work with and he will answer your questions if have you have any along the way. If you are hesitant to reach out, do it!
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Great guy!
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The best ! Love to work with Rob !
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Easy to work with. Sounds good as always!
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Rob is great to work with. He knows his stuff and is great about coming up with solutions and working within the confines of an artistic mission statement. Good stuff!
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Consistently amazing & quick work for a master!
Interview with Rob Murray
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: As far as close industry friends, two-time Grammy award winning classical engineer Brian Losch. That's who I call when I need a friend to critique or offer advice, and he's the one who told me about SoundBetter. I love producer/guitarist Tyler Cain's work, as well as composer/producer Nate Kohrs. Lots of great folks on here!
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Digital. Recall-ability and control. I like the romance and art of having analog gear and controls in front of me, but end of the day I get better results in the digital domain, and have a faster/more creative workflow because of it.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: On the mastering side people tend to think a bad mix can be fixed in mastering... It can't. On the mixing side, there tend to be people who think that mixing will change the song. In an ideal world, mixing is enhancing/bringing out the heart of the song, but not changing production.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Make sure your songs/production are good. No amount of mixing can make a bad song a good one.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I have a masters in sound recording where I cut my teeth largely doing classical and jazz, and many internships including an analog studio, classical festivals, and a mic company to name a few. I assisted at world class studios like Galaxy in Belgium and worked restoration and remastering for the metropolitan opera and US Air Force. I really got my top-tier engineering start as house engineer at Downtown Music Studios, and then went independent after 5 years there.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: All-Fi. I can do hi-fi but I'm not opposed to heavy compression, distortion or other lo-fi elements when appropriate. I tend to gravitate towards big/warm/full mixes though much more than thin/bright/crunchy.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I like to find the good in anything I'm working on, and have had the pleasure of working with lots of great artists. What I love about my job is the diversity.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Here's 3: 1 - "over"-brightening followed by a high frequency limiter can really help add air to a track without making it harsh. 2 - Avoid using phase based stereo processors, while there's a time and place for everything, you'll get a wider/cleaner stereo image through discrete panning. 3 - Fight the urge to make everything brighter, give everything it's own space (both spectrally and stereoscopic) and make the supporting elements do just that.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Honestly a bit of everything. My clients tend to largely come for my pop, electronic and indie credits, but I love mixing more acoustic music, especially country and roots rock and I have a history getting my start in classical and jazz.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I like to think I bring the song to the song. I try to find the core of the music and make sure it's presented in the best light. Often it's the vocal, sometimes it's the beat, but I think my strongest asset is my ability to do what the song needs. Whether it's a bright polished pop mix, a lo-fi indie mix, or a clean acoustic song. If the song is there, production is god, then we can get a great mix every time. I of course am not a magician if the production has issues, or the song is lacking, I may be able to improve the mix, but it won't create something that's not there.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Mixing: After I receive files and funding, my assistant will prep the session and get it on my calendar, or let the client know if there's something missing or that needs to be fixed. I get a first pass to clients typically about a week later, and then if they have notes I recall and address as needed. Turnaround depends on my calendar, and the scope of project but is usually around 2 weeks start to finish. Mastering: I generally listen to the song outside of the DAW, making sure it sounds like a decent mix, and that there's no major technical issues. Once I've confirmed everything is good to go, I schedule it in and hit it usually within a few days for a single, or a week or two for an album.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have a dedicated mix/master suite custom designed and built from the foundation up with select hardware from companies like PMC, Antelope, Avid, API and GKL and extensive software and plugins, all centered around PMC IB1S-AIII monitors.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: All of them!
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I'm primarily a mixing and mastering engineer. I have clients spanning classical to hip hop, country to jazz but most of my "big name" credits are in pop or dance.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: The Music!
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: I'd like to think my ears, and attention to detail.

I was the Mixing and Mastering Engineer in this production
- "Anxiety" by Felicia Lu
- "Warning Signs" by Leonardo Davi
- "Back To Me" by Tyler Cain
- "Summer's Gone" by Maria Lynn
- Mixing EngineerAverage price - $350 per song
- Mastering EngineerAverage price - $80 per song
Mixing:
Limit of 3 revisions
Editing and tuning not included
Mastering:
Limit of one revision
Alt mixes $20
Recalls are $20 each, or $30 for mix+master
- PMC IB1S-AIII
- Antelope Pure2
- 4200cu. ft acoustically ideal room
$400 single mix with mastering