Mixing & Production

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Lots of stuff! Starting an album mix for an R&B client out of Atlanta, a Latino rock act from Chicago, producing an EP for a cool alternative artist from Austin, TX, mixing some cool rock stuff for some bands from the UK, Russia, and Colombia, ....and the list goes on!

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

A: Krysta Youngs if you're looking for female vocals. Daniel Salcido / Commandspace Audio if you are looking for a place to record in the Chicagoland area.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both and why not? All that matters is that the song kicks ass, so I've never really cared too much about the whole analog vs. digital thing.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: That I get to help people in some small way realize their own dreams or ambitions...and in doing so, I realize mine.

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

A: Whether or not to send things "dry" or "wet" I would say is the most common question. To which I always say: send it so that I can spend the least amount of time trying to just get things to where you already had them, and spend more time pushing the mix forward and making things better! Vocals are usually best sent "dry", but everything else I'd say send "wet" - the creative vibe that is there when producing / making the actual music shouldn't be underestimated, and should be left as intact as possible :)

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

A: I'd say as a mixer, there is a big misconception that all the magic happens when you go to mix. I would say that magic should be there from the moment you push record - the vibe and idea should be there all along, and my job as a mixer should be to preserve and clarify what is already happening there. Don't save anything for down the road or fixing it later, that rough mix should get people excited! And then when you mix it for real it can take a true step forward technically and sonically.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: What mixes/productions out there do you like / want to emulate aesthetically?

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

A: Hmmm.... if I'm being honest probably a generator, microwave, hunting knife, flashlight, and cell phone, so that way I could actually survive :) But if I'm taking this question at face value, I'd say: Pro Tools (lame I know) Chandler Curve Bender Distressor Neumann M149 Barefoot MicroMain27

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

A: I started out in an experimental rock/indie/hiphop/alt band in high school. I was playing drums, so it made sense for me to get a Pro Tools rig and some mic's since I had the most stuff to record. Then, bands at my high school found out I had some gear and asked if I'd be down to record them. Over time I found I was more into the art/science of recording than I was into the idea of trying to make it in a band and everything that goes with that. Then, at the last second I decided I wanted to go away to college and did the 4-year business school thing at ASU. Kind of put music on the backburner but always knew I wanted to get back to it. I went to CRAS after I graduated ASU, and then moved back to Chicago and secured an internship at Groovemaster Studios working for producer Johnny K. I moved up from unpaid intern to "main" intern and then started getting paid to do editing and basic assisting. After awhile I started handling full sessions and main engineering duties and ended up working there as an engineer for about 4-5 years full time. At that point I started getting more into my own production things and became more freelance based, working out of multiple studios. Currently I spend about 75% of my time mixing out of my home setup, and the rest engineering/producing around Chicago (and around the country).

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

A: Manchester Orchestra - their latest offering was just ABSOLUTELY killer. Also, Biffy Clyro just because they rock so much...and then maybe #TBT Silverchair (probably the most underappreciated rock act of the last couple decades).

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

A: It seems to go in waves, but I'd say I'm currently pretty well split between pop and rock stuff. Overall I probably track and engineer more heavy stuff and rock stuff, and mix and produce more pop/indie-type stuff.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I would say my sense of musicality - I play drums, guitar, bass, and keys and have a fairly advanced grasp of music theory as well as a very strong sense of relative pitch. I can VERY quickly familiarize myself with the chord progressions and melodies of the songs I am working on, and very often contribute creatively to what I am working on, even when it is just "mixing".

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I think I bring a very strong sense of musicality and utility - by that, I mean that I can take a client's stated goals with a particular project and help determine a good sense of how to get from point A to point B. For example, if they are trying to make a radio-friendly single in whatever genre they may operate in, I can offer a fresh perspective on how their song stacks up against industry leaders and what specifically they are doing differently or similarly.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: I work in stages. I always start by getting any file maintenance / organization out of the way first thing; basically, all the boring stuff. Then I'll come back and try and get the mix as far as I can in about 45 min to an hour and see where I'm at. I'll usually step away at that point and move to a different project to keep my ears as fresh as possible, creatively speaking. Then once I come back I try and "beat" my own mix and see how much further I can take things with a fresh perspective. Once the mix feels about 80% there and the overall vibe is starting to come together, I'll usually send a first draft to the client to get there general impressions and make sure I'm not drifting too far from their creative intention. Then I take their feedback along with what I'm hearing and refine from there. I always operate in an open-ended fashion and am willing to do as many revisions as it takes until everyone is happy. I find that I am usually happy after 2-4 passes - clients' input is invaluable to me when refining and pushing the mix as far as I can.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Pretty streamlined and mostly operating in-the-box. I work out of Pro Tools 12, monitoring through ADAM A7x's with a Sub8, and some Mackie CR3's to cover the "crappy" speaker vibes :) Pretty much rely on all the SoundToys, fabfilter, Valhalla, Slate, and some Waves plugs to get me through. I also run my mix buss out through some analog stuff - mainly Pultec-style tube EQ's just to get the transformer juice. I get in and out with Apogee converters. Also have tons of instruments, pedals, keys, etc... on the production and tracking side of things. I work out of the basement of my townhome so my commute is minimal :)

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

A: The list would be too long to fit in here, but some mixing engineers that inspire me would be Andy Wallace, Serban Ghenea, Manny Marroquin, Andrew Scheps, Neal Avron, CLA, Rich Costey, Noah Shebib, and on and on... Production-wise I'm a big fan of Jeff Bhasker, Joel Little, Benny Blanco, Greg Kurstin, Joe Barresi, David Bottrill, GGGarth Richardson, Max Martin / Shellback / Cirkut, Jack Antonoff, Alex Da Kid, Ryan Tedder, Rick Rubin, etc...

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

A: Overall I would say the most common type of work I do for clients on this site is mixing.