Mixing Engineer | Atmos

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

A: I had the chance to assist Matt Squire for the recording of The Warning's version of Enter Sandman with Alessia Cara, which is part of Metallica's Blacklist album. It was very exciting. The other project I'm really proud of is the songs I worked with Brookside, from the beginning of this project I got involved deeper than I thought I would and it turned out to be an amazing experience.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm currently mixing several projects and starting to write some new stuff and producing some beats as well.

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

A: Yes, actually I got referred to SoundBetter by Cruz Martínez, a great producer I got the chance to work with in Victoria Records while recording some things for Alicia Villarreal. He's got an impressive career behind him.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Digital. I know that they will never sound quite the same. But as tools I kind of think digital is more reliable all the times, whatever "magic" you're looking for, it's up to your ears to make it happen, not the gear.

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

A: My promise to my clients is that I'll truly believe in their vision and make sure it gets fulfilled.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The thing I like the most would probably the satisfaction of getting to listen to the mix finished for the first time. It's like the first time that you get a listen to it as a whole while you can still focus on everything individually. I kind of compare it to solving a puzzle and you see how everything works and fits perfectly together

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

A: It is different most of the times but the main themes are; how many revisions I offer, how long does it take me to deliver and they also ask me if I can do mastering as well. So the answers are: I offer 5 revisions without cost, it usually takes me 1-2 days, and yes i can also provide the mastering service.

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

A: There's still a lot of people who tend to view Mix and Mastering as the same process. Although I do offer both services, I see them as really different processes.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: First off, I ask them things about the project as a big picture and specifically about (typically) the single we're working on. Some people like to share things about themselves as artists too and that is very useful information too.

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

A: Something that I've learned is that it is really important to know who you are working with. There's got to be mutual respect as professionals and as people. It leads to good communication and that is essential.

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

A: Assuming somehow there was electricity I would definitely take the: 1.- Sennheisser HD 6xx 2.- Motu M2 3.- iLok 4.- Laptop 5.- Faderport

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

A: I formally started working on 2016 on the first three months of Audio Engineering school. I didn't want to waste anytime and I wanted to start experimenting in real life what I was learning from reading. So I got a gig with a local band and we grew together professionally, then I started to get into different studios for different projects and learned new ways to deal with clients, projects and all tasks involved. But since I was about 5 years old I've been interested in music and messing with my parent's tape recorders; you could say the "toys" have evolved. :)

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: It's hard to describe my style since, like I've mentioned before I try not to bring my personality to the mix. I'd rather have each project stay true to what it is. However there's this constant that I try to go for every time and it's getting things to sound good as a whole and keeping dynamics interesting.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: This is a really difficult question because there's a lot of artists I'd like to work with. However since I started working I've always enjoyed Quincy Jones' productions.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: The tip I could share is, learn everything you can in every chance you got to learn. Then apply what you've learned without fearing experimentation. I've got this theory that a lot of things in life are connected in a way we don't always get at first glance.

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

A: Most of the music I've worked in is within the realms of Rock music.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I'd say my strongest skill, while trying to remain modest, would be having empathy with the artist and the project. It really is about getting into the same route and building on it.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I try not to bring things of my own into the mix. The process is ALWAYS about the song, so whatever I bring into it is brought in order to make it alive. Whatever it takes.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: First thing I do is have contact with the client, and see where we are standing with the project; understanding their vision and then setting a goal. Sometime rough mixes are included and they can be a great help to catch the ideas that are hanging around. I then proceed to editing that which requires it. I then start with balance and panning and that gets me quite near to the sound I'm looking for. Then use eq and try not to compress too much in order to "paint" each element into it's place. At this moment reverbs, delays and other stuff help me to add depth and from here on, automating is what will make the mix complete.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I mix almost everytime "In the box" so I've focused more on finding the best suited plugins for each project. However if one of my clients is looking for a more "analog" sound it can be arranged to have a mixing session finished with completely analog gear.

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

A: Quincy Jones is a good start; Jimmy Iovine, Rick Rubin, Alan Parsons, among others are some of my "classic" inspirations. For mixing; Andy Wallace, Moogie Canazio, Joe Barresi, Steven Wilson, among a lot other great mixing engineers.

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

A: I'm most typically sought after as a Mixing Engineer, followed by jobs as a music producer. It has certainly happened that after mixing something for my clients, sometime after that we'll be doing a whole production.