Heavy & Extreme Metal Mixing

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: My studio. Room measurements, new equipment, new plugins and other tools to help me give you the best result.

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

A: I don’t know him personally, but George Emmanuel is a very talented mixing and mastering engineer. If you’re looking for other engineers that add heaviness but a non sterile sound to your record, he would suit you well without a doubt.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both are nice. Digital is flexible and has so many great tools that if you know how to mix and master, it won’t be a problem getting a great result. But I believe digital with some analog pieces is a “best of both worlds” type of thing.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I like that I get to enhance the music and other people get enjoyment out of their art as the end result.

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

A: A lot of people see mixing and mastering as the end all be all. Don’t get me wrong, it is very detrimental to a song. But a good recording and song-writing come first. Then the mixing and mastering enhances it by a ton.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I ask what the vibe is and what their vision is. Also would be nice to see the cover image of their album/song. Helps me get a feel for how I should mix it.

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

A: Make sure the recording is good. Doesn’t have to be perfect but it can’t be bad. A really good mix becomes more possible when the recording is done well.

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

A: My speakers (o300), laptop (MacBook pro) and interface (Apollo)

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

A: I’ve been producing, mixing and mastering for close to 3 years now. Started out with electronic music, but I always had a liking for metal since it’s something I listen to like everyday.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: My style is punchy and heavy. I like the sound of harmonic distortion combined with power.

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

A: Mostly heavy music like metal or rock but I might take the occasional electronic gig if it fits the vibe. I like bass heavy music as well so that’s that.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I’d say my use of effects.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I believe I’ll help the song by giving it more definition and impact.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Into Pro tools, organize the tracks, put them in busses, gain stage, then set up mixbus processing ready to mix.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I am working fully in the box with plugins like brainworx, UAD, softube, waves, acoustica, etc. and monitoring through my Klein + Hummel O300 speakers.

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

A: From the works of bands like Rotting Christ, engineers like Jens Bogren, Mark Mynett, George Emmanuel. These are musicians and engineers whose work I respect a lot. Passion, energy, impact.

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

A: Mixing or mastering.