Rock and punk mixing

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Nothing too fancy. I have my trusty MacBook Pro, a pair of Genelec monitors combined with a subwoofer under my desk, a pair of Sony MDR-7506 headphones, a relatively cheap bluetooth speaker and some acoustic treatment. Software-wise I have a wide selection of plugins but some of my favourites are the good old Waves SSL channel strip and bus compressor, the T-Racks Classic EQ, which works spectacularly well on the mix and guitar busses, and an oddball plugin called the Kilohearts Ensemble I got as part of a free (!) bundle. I can't define exactly what it does but it's a beautiful watery-sounding chorus/flanger type thing that my rhythm guitarist described as "a cheat code" when I showed it to him. If you don't already have it, I highly recommend you check it out as it's truly like no other modulation plugin I've heard.

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

A: My band Oceans on Mars' song "When It Rains". I was producer, head engineer and mixing engineer and gave it my all. There was a heck of a lot of overdubbing involved (at least 30 tracks of guitar) and it was a real challenge to mix, but when I listened back to final playback and saw everybody else smiling it was such a great feeling. It's those moments that make this job worth doing.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Whilst I plan on expanding my mixing setup and acquiring some analog outboard gear someday, for now I am very happy with my in-the-box setup. That said, when it comes to recording, I always take full advantage of the outboard gear and love the sound of a slightly overdriven mic preamp. I've also yet to hear a digital recreation that quite replicates the sound of a real Pultec EQ (though some of them get pretty damn close!)

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Getting to hear new music every day, and being able to use my creativity and skills to make it sound as good as possible. I often find myself getting hyped for the release date of a song I've worked on just so I can add it to my personal playlist.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: 1. What songs would you like me to use as references whilst I mix your song? 2. Do you have a rough mix? If so, please include it with your audio tracks. 3. Do you require pitch or timing correction? I don't do this unless it's agreed upon in advance (for a small fee). 4. Do the tracks require any editing? If there's a load of extraneous noise in the tracks (ie: mouth noises, amps buzzing, etc) I would appreciate knowing this in advance 5. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

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

A: My current studio setup amounts to about 5 pieces of gear so I guess those! As long as I had an internet connection and some electricity I'd be just fine. Either that or I'd take a speedboat and some spare petrol canisters so I could just get back to the mainland as fast as possible.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Old school. Whilst I have no aversion to using drum samples I try to really put in the work to get the best sound from the real recording. I also like to mix quickly; some people I know will spend hours zeroing in on every track with a Fabfilter EQ and removing all the "bad" frequencies, often without even hearing it in a full mix. My approach is the opposite: I'll only start EQing something once I've heard how it interacts with the rest of the song. Sure, sometimes some surgical EQ is required (overhead mics especially can be a nightmare for this) but usually nowhere near as much as you think.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Track drums and bass at the same time wherever possible; it helps the groove immensely when the rhythm section play together and can see each other. Also, as a rule of thumb, the faster and/or more densely arranged the song is, the higher you have to tune the snare! Having it tuned really low might sound huge by itself, but if you're planning to add a Pumpkins-esque massive wall of guitars over it, it's going to become a dull thud in the background.

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

A: Talk to me in advance and ask as many questions as you like. Whilst I have my own personal tastes I want to know what music inspires you, and what artists you are influenced by. It's no good me making the mix sound like Pearl Jam when you had Nothing But Thieves in mind! If you have any songs you would like me to use as a reference while I mix your track, please let me know as it's a massive help!

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

A: I started out making demos in my bedroom in GarageBand back in 2016. Once I realised that most of the amp-sims didn't sound very good and the EQ was very limited, (I was on the mobile version which has significantly less features than the desktop version), I started experimenting with using distortion and EQ pedals to shape the sound on the way in and quickly learned how to achieve a tone that will fit into a mix without much processing in post. After doing that for a few years I started my degree in Audio Engineering and Production where I learned how to record real amps and drums as well as mix them, and now I've graduated I spend most of my time mixing for both my friends and local bands as well as clients from all over the world!

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

A: Smashing Pumpkins. Jimmy Chamberlin is quite possibly my all-time favourite drummer and spending a few days in the studio tracking with him would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

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

A: I specialise in pop-punk and alternative rock, but I've worked on acoustic singer-songwriter type stuff, death metal, indie pop, hardcore punk, 60s-style soul, you name it! Whatever it is, I'll find a way to make it work.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I would say my "speciality" is recording and mixing drums (despite the fact I can't actually play them!) Recording guitars is a walk in the park compared to drums and I take great care dialling in the tuning and experimenting with mic placement. When it comes to mixing, I tend to use quite a bit of automation, such as riding the crash cymbals up on a big downbeat or bringing up the room mics on a fill. It really helps the whole song leap out of the speakers compared to just a static drum balance.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Compared to some of my contemporaries, I think my mixes sound more "old school" or "90s", if you like. I like my drums to be aggressive and punchy but not over-processed to the point it sounds like a drum machine. I also don't compress my mix bus as much as some other engineers I know as I think preserving the dynamics makes the whole mix feel far more vibrant and "alive".

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Before I start doing anything I import the audio tracks into my template which has my favourite reverb, delay and modulation plugins loaded up and ready to go. Next, I name the audio tracks to my liking, edit out any extraneous noise if necessary and colour-code the tracks (drums are red, bass is gold, rhythm guitars are lime green, etc) and put them all into routing folders which makes bus processing an absolute breeze. Next, I get a rough balance going just to see how everything fits together and identify not only problem areas that need sorting out, but also things that I like the way they are and that I should leave be. I tend to mix using the top-down method and start at the biggest, most impactful section of the song, then work my way back from there. You'd be surprised how little compression you need on individual tracks if the mix and drum bus compressors are dialled in well! Then, I sprinkle in my delays, starting with the shortest one and working up to the longest one if necessary, then modulation and finally reverb. I find that by layering delays I can get a similar effect to reverb but without "washing out" the mix, which keeps things present and punchy; I don't tend to use half as much reverb as other engineers I know. Once I'm satisfied with my balance I'll apply some automation, check the mix on my headphones and a bluetooth speaker to get an idea of what it will sound like to the average listener, and that's really all there is to it!

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

A: Tom and Chris Lord-Alge, Andy Wallace, Steve Albini, Butch Vig, Alan Moulder, Brendan O'Brien, the late great Jerry Finn, Ryan Hewitt, Eric Valentine, Rich Costey, Sylvia Massey, Joe Barresi... can you tell I quite like alternative rock and pop punk music?

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

A: Take their multitrack recording and mix it, basically!