Session Guitarist / Mastering

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Guitar (and piano) playing, as I play these instruments obsessive since I am a child. Characterwise, I am open for most kind of music and mostly emphatic enough to get what the clients wants. I am only happy, when the customer is happy.

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

A: I do mostly online sessions for people who need guitar tracks. Almost any kind of style from classical guitar to Metal, with Jazz, Flamenco, Worldmusic and Pop in between. I came through Rock to the Electric Guitar, played Classical Guitar for many years and studied Jazzguitar at the Music Academy Basel, so my horizon is quite wide I would say :) Appart from that I do also online mixing. I am an autodidact in this and can't offer 20 years of professional experience like with guitar playing, but I do it with passion and daily for 5 years+, so also there I can offer good results, especially for people on a budget.

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

A: There were many and even from the not-so-good ones I learned something and took some experience with me.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Recording a Solo for a Prog-Rock project. Great song and a lot of fun !

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog AND Digital. Because both worlds have some advantages and disadvantages, so why not to combine the best from both ?!

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

A: I take everybody serious

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Creativity, new influences, making people happy and doing what I can do the best.

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

A: "Can you play this kind of style ?" Luckily my answer is mostly "Yes"

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

A: What, to make music is a profession ? LOL (at least these were the reaction 20 years ago here...)

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Do you have any visions about the song...

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

A: Listen to some music, to know if you are stylistically in the same ballpark...the rest is chemistry

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

A: Piano 31 years, Guitar 23 years, professionally 20+ years and hiiiiiiiighly intense and passionated

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: worldpoprockjazzlatinethnogypsyfunk with always my personal note inside...

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: STAY TRUE TO YOURSELF AND BE CREATIVE !!!

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

A: see above...

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: What it needs :) I try to play what is the best for the song, to embed my playing in the flow of the track, to play with the style, the energy and the message but still being creative and unique.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: After getting contacted, I like to hear an mp3 of the clients track and some inputs/visions if he has a specific idea. Otherwise I offer something on my own. After being live & studio guitar player for so many years, I have some feeling for aesthetics and what could match the music style, the energy of the song a.s.o. the best. Sometimes I hit it 1st Track. If not, I talk with the client to get better what he imagines and do a revision. Some things about music are difficult to describe with words, so reverence tracks are helping in such cases.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I go through an Audient iD22 Audio interface in the computer. Great converters and great preamps were priority, to get the signals as well as possible in the box. I also didn't save with cables, as they can make a big difference. I use Sommer Galileo Cables, not to have any quality loss with the signals before converting. For acoustic guitars I use mostly Oktava Mk 012 (I have a matched pair) or the Audio Technica 4050 Mics. My most played E-Guitar is a Godin LGX. I have my room acoustically treated, which is more important than many other things, it took me long to realize that. I also have a vintage Sennheiser MD421, acoustic guitars (Espala, Takamine and others).

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

A: Many...there are so many talents on this planet. Joe Satriani, Baden Powell, Mark Knopfler, Gary Moore, Pat Metheny, Vicente Amigo, Paco de Lucia, Mike Stern and many more. As wide my stylistical preference is, as wide are my inspirations or more vice versa.