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Episodes
Wednesday Jun 08, 2022
Wednesday Jun 08, 2022
Mary Mazurek is a GRAMMY-nominated recording engineer. Her nomination was awarded at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in the category of Best Engineered Album, Classical. She is also a broadcaster and radio producer. Her work is regularly featured on WFMT Radio, WFMT.com, and through the European Broadcast Union. Her credits include Alec Baldwin, The Chicago Chorale, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Charles Earland, Michael Feinstein, International Music Foundation, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Kronos Quartet, LA Guitar Quartet, Howard Levy, Lyric Opera of Chicago, The New York Philharmonic, Yo-Yo Ma, Johnnie Hammond Smith, Dr. Lonny Smith, and many others. Her recordings appear on the Bellissima, Cannonball, Çedille, Delmark, Lyon & Healy, MSR, Naxos, Random House, Sheridan, and Sounds True labels.
She began teaching in the Audio Arts and Acoustics Department of Columbia College in 1995 as an adjunct professor, and now also teaches at DePaul University. She received her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts Columbia College in 2011 and her PhD in Philosophy, Aesthetics, and Art Theory from IDSVA in 2022 while maintaining an active recording career. Additionally, she is a sought-after educator and speaker who enjoys contributing in the classroom and on panels and committees within her industry and beyond. Dr. Mazurek serves as a role model and advocates for women in the recording industry, which presently is less than 5% female. She has served as a governor, and Classical Task Force Chairperson for the Chicago Chapter of the Recording Academy. She is currently the DEI Chairperson for the Audio Engineering Society. She loves sharing her sonic insights across disciplines.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
- Finding your niche vs. it finding you
- Recording classical music
- Mixing through mic placement
- Stereo micing techniques
- Checking for phase issues with stereo micing
- Using reverb to create depth vs. capturing the sound of the room
- Mixing live-to-air performances
- How to record a band with only two microphones
- Creating a “meter-stick” mix through gainstaging
- using parallel compression
To learn more about Mary Mazurek, visit: https://www.marymazurek.com/
To learn more tips on how to improve your mixes, visit https://masteryourmix.com/
Download your FREE copy of the Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: https://masteryourmix.com/blueprint/
Get your copy of the #1 Amazon bestselling book, The Mixing Mindset – The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/
Join the FREE MasterYourMix Facebook community: https://links.masteryourmix.com/community
To make sure that you don’t miss an episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Android.
Have your questions answered on the show. Send them to questions@masteryourmix.com
Thanks for listening! Please leave a rating and review on iTunes!
Wednesday Jun 01, 2022
Wednesday Jun 01, 2022
Jack Hartley is an Australian producer and audio engineer who works from Interim Recording Studios in the heart of the Adelaide CBD.
With over 15 years of experience as a musician/songwriter, Jack’s toured extensively throughout Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and Japan. On the audio front, Jack’s a chameleon of the many sub-genres of heavy music, having worked with a number of acts – including Truth Corroded, Hidden Intent, Relapse, Werewolves, Shatter Brain, and many more.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
- Getting started with finding clients
- How to make your audio skills feel second-nature to you
- Branding your studio - Should you use your name or make up a business name?
- The power of having mentors
- The difference between running your studio as a business vs a hobby
- EQing low-tunes guitars
- Mixing screaming vocals: How to use compression to control your dynamics
- How to track vocals without burning out a singer
- Jack’s technique for tracking kick drums so that you end up with cleaner sounding room tracks and better sounding kicks
- Using automation on drums
- Dealing with egos in the studio
To learn more about Jack Hartley, visit: https://www.jackhartleyaudio.com/
To learn more tips on how to improve your mixes, visit https://masteryourmix.com/
Download your FREE copy of the Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: https://masteryourmix.com/blueprint/
Get your copy of the #1 Amazon bestselling book, The Mixing Mindset – The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/
Join the FREE MasterYourMix Facebook community: https://links.masteryourmix.com/community
To make sure that you don’t miss an episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Android.
Have your questions answered on the show. Send them to questions@masteryourmix.com
Thanks for listening! Please leave a rating and review on iTunes!
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Wednesday May 25, 2022
Steve Chadie, a 25+ year veteran of the recording industry, began his career as an intern at Willie Nelson's Pedernales recording studio in 1995, quickly working his way up to Assistant Engineer for Larry Greenhill.
He stayed on at Pedernales until the doors closed commercially in 2012. He still records Willie Nelson at the facility, however, including vocals and guitar on “Last Man Standing”, “My Way” (for which he received a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album), “God’s Problem Child”, “Willie Nelson and The Boys”, and “Summertime -Willie Nelson sings Gershwin”.
Most recently, Steve co-produced “The Willie Nelson Family”, a collection of songs done with his band in March 2019 and with his immediate family at the beginning of the pandemic in April 2020.
Other credits with Willie include tracking engineer on "Heroes”, "Let's Face The Music And Dance”, “Django And Jimmie” (Willie's collaboration with Merle Haggard in 2015) and mixing on "December Day", a collection of work he recorded with Willie and his sister Bobbie in between touring on impromptu sessions that date as far back as 2004.
Steve has been awarded a double platinum record for Los Lonely Boys "Heaven" and was nominated for a Grammy for the song "Heaven", as well. He has recorded and/or mixed five Los Lonely Boys records since their debut release.
Other accolades include a triple platinum record for work done on Sublime's "Sublime" and a platinum record for work on Hillary Duff's self titled recording "Hillary Duff". In addition, he has been awarded a gold record for work done on Kenny Wayne Shepherd's "Live On" CD.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
- Working with Willie Nelson
- Being reliable
- How to get artists to keep hiring you
- Why you should always be “rolling” when in the studio
- Riding vocals as you record them
- Recording brushes on a drum kit
- How to record acoustic guitars
- Mono vs stereo recording techniques on guitars: When and where to use them
- Steve’s technique for creating wide-sounding acoustic guitars
- Experimenting in the studio without slowing down a session
To learn more about Steve Chadie, visit: https://stevechadie.com/
To learn more tips on how to improve your mixes, visit https://masteryourmix.com/
Download your FREE copy of the Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: https://masteryourmix.com/blueprint/
Get your copy of the #1 Amazon bestselling book, The Mixing Mindset – The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/
Join the FREE MasterYourMix Facebook community: https://links.masteryourmix.com/community
To make sure that you don’t miss an episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Android.
Have your questions answered on the show. Send them to questions@masteryourmix.com
Thanks for listening! Please leave a rating and review on iTunes!
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Jim Diaz started his music journey at the age of 6 learning the guitar and then eventually developed more interest and proficiency in playing the drums competing in music competitions sponsored by the California Music Educators Association winning Medals for Individual Snare Drum Performance at the age of 10.
In his teens, eventually realizing that Rock Star was not exactly a viable career path. He turned his attention back to school studying Motion Picture Production at the Academy of Art in San Francisco.
Less than a year later Jim began his Video Game career working for LucasArts Entertainment, the studio that made Jedi Knight, in the Quality Assurance department as a QA Tester and began to move upward through the ranks until eventually getting an opportunity to work in the Sound Department, first as a Sound Library Intern. Jim again rose to eventually being named Audio Lead for LEGO Star Wars: The Original Trilogy as well as recording and performing music for the Thrillville roller coaster park game and culminated as Sound Designer and Facial Motion Capture Dialogue Recording Engineer for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Soon Jim was being recruited by other studios and eventually left LucasArts to work for Activision on what was to be Drum Hero. From Activision Jim went to Sega Studios in San Francisco as Senior Sound Designer where he worked on Golden Axe: Beast Rider and Marvel’s Iron Man 2. Sega Studios was shuttered after the release of Iron Man 2 in 2010 which gave Jim the opportunity to begin working as a Freelance Contractor when he launched Session Masters Studios which eventually morphed into Jim Diaz Audio. Jim began to work in Post Production Audio as well as maintaining game work. Jim’s clients have included such companies as Zynga, TrionWorlds, Acme Posts/Bruce Hamady Productions, The Walt Disney Company and Sony PlayStation. Jim has also held positions as Senior Sound Designer at Electronic Arts and NCSoft Iron Tiger Studio.
Jim continues to perform and record music in a variety of projects playing a variety of instruments, mostly drums and bass.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
- Becoming a video game tester
- Creating audio for video games
- How to break into the industry
- Building your sound design portfolio
- Learning how to position microphones when smashing cars and blowing up objects
- Why what you hear in movies and video games isn’t always the sound you think it is
- Spatial: The new immersive listening format that is going to change how we interact with our environments
- How Spatial works and how you can get started with it for free.
To learn more about Jim Diaz, visit: https://www.jimdiazaudio.com/
To learn more about Spatial, visit: https://www.spatialinc.com/
To learn more tips on how to improve your mixes, visit https://masteryourmix.com/
Download your FREE copy of the Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: https://masteryourmix.com/blueprint/
Get your copy of the #1 Amazon bestselling book, The Mixing Mindset – The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/
Join the FREE MasterYourMix Facebook community: https://links.masteryourmix.com/community
To make sure that you don’t miss an episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Android.
Have your questions answered on the show. Send them to questions@masteryourmix.com
Thanks for listening! Please leave a rating and review on iTunes!
Wednesday May 11, 2022
Wednesday May 11, 2022
McKay Garner is a producer, engineer, mixer, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who has worked on records for artists such as J Dilla, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mike Shinoda/Linkin Park, Michael Buble, Dead & Company/Mickey Hart. In addition to working with recording artists, he has made music that has been featured in films such as the Transformers movie, in video games, and for television shows such as Total Recall, America’s Next Top Model, Grey’s Anatomy, and many more.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
- How the arrangement of a song affects the clarity of a mix
- Layering tracks: How to strategically build your song layers for maximum impact
- Creating contrast in your mix in order to make your songs sound clearer, bigger, wider, and deeper
- Establishing the primary role of each instrument in your mix
- Producing albums that feel authentic
- Writing music for film, tv, and video games
- The different revenue streams to explore for composers
- How to find the right people to contact to get your music licensed
- How watching TV credits can make you money
To learn more about McKay Garner, visit: https://www.mckaygarner.com/
To learn more tips on how to improve your mixes, visit https://masteryourmix.com/
Download your FREE copy of the Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: https://masteryourmix.com/blueprint/
Get your copy of the #1 Amazon bestselling book, The Mixing Mindset – The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/
Join the FREE MasterYourMix Facebook community: https://links.masteryourmix.com/community
To make sure that you don’t miss an episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Android.
Have your questions answered on the show. Send them to questions@masteryourmix.com
Thanks for listening! Please leave a rating and review on iTunes!
Wednesday May 04, 2022
Wednesday May 04, 2022
David Streit is a Portland-based producer, mixer, recording, and live sound engineer who has worked with artists such as Ben Folds, Toby Keith, Henry Rollins, Johnny Cash, and more.
Being an avid concertgoer, he started working in clubs and venues in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Later moving to Nashville to become a recording engineer, David learned the ropes and further developed his recording skill assisting and learning from the engineers who came before him. Eventually, he became an engineer and producer himself and has been a freelance audio engineer for various concerts, festivals, recordings, and video shoots. He loves being part of the amazing vibrant music community in Portland.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Becoming an engineer without being a musicianWhy working in live sound will get you more clients for your studioMixing live albums vs in-studio recordingsWhy gates aren’t always a good idea to useWorking with bleed vs against itHow to capture ambience in your recordingsHow distance affects depthFinding the optimal positioning in a room for your instrumentsWhich instruments to record in mono vs stereoHow to choose the right reverbsWhy it is important to apply additional processing to your effectsWorking with early reflections
To learn more about David Streit, visit: https://www.davidstreit.com/
To learn more tips on how to improve your mixes, visit https://masteryourmix.com/
Download your FREE copy of the Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: https://masteryourmix.com/blueprint/
Get your copy of the #1 Amazon bestselling book, The Mixing Mindset – The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/
Join the FREE MasterYourMix Facebook community: https://links.masteryourmix.com/community
To make sure that you don’t miss an episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Android.
Have your questions answered on the show. Send them to questions@masteryourmix.com
Thanks for listening! Please leave a rating and review on iTunes!
Wednesday Apr 27, 2022
Wednesday Apr 27, 2022
Richard Furch is a Los Angeles-based mix engineer with credits on 6 Grammy winning albums out of 23 nominated albums.
Starting out in New York, he was part of some of the seminal albums of the 2000’s such as Outkast’s “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” and Usher’s “Confessions” and critical darlings such as Fountains Of Wayne’s “Stacy’s Mom”.
Moved to Los Angeles and he worked with all-time giants of the music industry such as Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. He was then tapped by the legendary Prince as mixer and engineer for his latest Gold-selling, chart-topping “Lotusflower/MPLSound” album.
With 25+ million records sold including 2 diamond selling projects, 1 billion+ YouTube views, and over 400 album credits to his name he continues to craft profoundly emotional mixes with exceptional sonics and ecstatic clients for the likes of Prince, Frank Ocean, Jay-Z, Tyrese, BJ The Chicago Kid, Tobi Lou, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg, The Game, Leela James, India Arie, TGT, Boyz II Men, The Weeknd, Ledisi, K Michelle, Chaka Khan, JJ Lin, GEM, Tanya Chua and many many more.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Making yourself indispensable as an engineerThe importance of “the hang”How to make a personal connection with your clients in a digital eraWhy mixing in analog can actually make your tracks sound worsePreparing your files for mixingTaking chances and experimenting with creative ideasPreserving an artist’s vision by using their rough mixesHow to mix low endAchieving clarity with your vocalsPicking the right vocal effects
To learn more about Richard Furch, visit http://richardfurch.com/
To learn more tips on how to improve your mixes, visit https://masteryourmix.com/
Download your FREE copy of the Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: https://masteryourmix.com/blueprint/
Get your copy of the #1 Amazon bestselling book, The Mixing Mindset – The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/
Join the FREE MasterYourMix Facebook community: https://links.masteryourmix.com/community
To make sure that you don’t miss an episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Android.
Have your questions answered on the show. Send them to questions@masteryourmix.com
Thanks for listening! Please leave a rating and review on iTunes!
Wednesday Apr 20, 2022
Wednesday Apr 20, 2022
Stephen DeAcutis has been working professionally as a mixer, producer, engineer, writer, and performer since the early 1980’s, having honed his skills and training under such studio heavyweights as Andy Wallace (Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana), Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith), and Max Norman (Ozzy Osbourne) amassing credits that include such acts as Vanilla Fudge, Gladys Knight, Travers and Appice, Corey Glover, and Cyndi Lauper, to name a few.
He has been contracted by Sony, Interscope, LaFace, Miramax, Columbia, MTV, The Speed Channel, ESPN, Discovery, and numerous others. From hard hitting rock and pop to death metal and country, you'll find few more experienced and musically intuitive than Stephen DeAcutis.
The achievements of mixing and production specialist Stephen DeAcutis have spanned decades, taken on several roles, and manifested into a diverse number of musical genres. But the common thread throughout these accomplishments has been the artist-friendly attention to detail and dedication of the man collaborators affectionately call “Stevie D.”
As the founder and operator of Sound Spa Productions, Stephen has applied his craft as a mixer, producer, engineer, composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist to help guide and realize the visions of some of the industry’s most elite artists and musicians.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Taking the time to get sounds right at the sourceWhy “fixing it in the mix” doesn’t workAchieving a “meter-stick” mixDrum replacementWhy putting limitations on yourself can actually make for better resultsCreating efficiencies with an analog setupHow recording at the same levels every single time can improve your speedReducing the number of decisions you need to make while mixingRecording guitars with DIsFinding the optimal mic positioning with guitar amps
To learn more about Stephen DeAcutis, visit http://www.soundspa.net/
To learn more tips on how to improve your mixes, visit https://masteryourmix.com/
Download your FREE copy of the Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: https://masteryourmix.com/blueprint/
Get your copy of the #1 Amazon bestselling book, The Mixing Mindset – The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/
Join the FREE MasterYourMix Facebook community: https://links.masteryourmix.com/community
To make sure that you don’t miss an episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Android.
Have your questions answered on the show. Send them to questions@masteryourmix.com
Thanks for listening! Please leave a rating and review on iTunes!
Wednesday Apr 13, 2022
Wednesday Apr 13, 2022
Travis Ference is a mixer, producer, and recording engineer based out of Los Angeles, CA. With over a decade of experience in the record business he has managed to work on multiple #1 albums, several top 10's, numerous RIAA platinum and gold certified records, as well as hit TV shows and blockbuster films. His work can be heard on more than 15 million albums sold worldwide and nearly a billion streams.
Upon graduating from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, Travis moved to Hollywood and began working at Capitol Studios where he had the privilege of learning the art of recording from their world-class staff and clientele. He would later join that staff as an in-house engineer for over five years. After leaving his position at Capitol he worked as chief engineer for Alex da Kid's record label, KIDinaKORNER, managing their studios and handling day to day sessions and operations. Travis now works independently, producing and mixing for various artists, both in Los Angeles and remotely around the globe.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Picking microphones for their EQ curvesDrum tuning: why it’s so importantRecording drum kits without cymbalsFinding the “priority” of the mixHow to find frequencies that are masking each otherIdentifying the problems with your room and how it affects what you hear in your mixesBuilding templatesHow to properly gainstage your signalGetting big low end: how to get your kick and bass tracks to work well togetherUsing rough mixes as inspiration
To learn more about Travis Ference, visit: https://www.travisference.com/
To learn more tips on how to improve your mixes, visit https://masteryourmix.com/
Download your FREE copy of the Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: https://masteryourmix.com/blueprint/
Get your copy of the #1 Amazon bestselling book, The Mixing Mindset – The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/
Join the FREE MasterYourMix Facebook community: https://links.masteryourmix.com/community
To make sure that you don’t miss an episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Android.
Have your questions answered on the show. Send them to questions@masteryourmix.com
Thanks for listening! Please leave a rating and review on iTunes!
Wednesday Apr 06, 2022
Wednesday Apr 06, 2022
EveAnna Manley is the CEO and co-founder of Manley Laboratories - makers of high-end audio gear frequently found in studios all over the world.
Born in Las Vegas stumbled out of vacuum tube lineage as her father, Albert J. Dauray, owned the famous guitar amplifier company, Ampeg, in the late 1960's. EveAnna grew up in Atlanta listening to vacuum tubes and tales of the tube. She and her sister Stacey graduated from the prestigious Westminster Schools. EveAnna was very active in both the music and art programs in high school and then wound up as a music major at Columbia University with a mid-fi system driving her parents’ leftover AR-2ax speakers.
On January 30, 1989, a 20 year old EveAnna on sabbatical from her studies at Columbia University met the crew and was hired on to the production team. She quickly learned to solder and assemble vacuum tube amplifiers, and after training a new team of assemblers, EveAnna worked her way into the Quality Control department.
It was at this time that the first Manley professional products were developed, starting with the original 1u Reference 60dB Microphone Preamplifier and soon followed by the Manley Enhanced Pultec and Mid Frequency Equalizers. These products, along with the Manley Reference Cardioid and Reference Gold microphones, all made their debut at the 1990 Los Angeles AES Show.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Working your way up the ladder in the audio industryStanding out at your jobLearning electronicsTubes: What makes them special?What is even vs odd order harmonic distortion?Learning to listen for the differences between different pieces of equipmentAudiophile vs pro audio gearUnderstanding the different types of EQ and compressor designs
To learn more about EveAnna Manley and Manley Labs, visit: https://www.manley.com/
To learn more tips on how to improve your mixes, visit https://masteryourmix.com/
Download your FREE copy of the Ultimate Mixing Blueprint: https://masteryourmix.com/blueprint/
Get your copy of the #1 Amazon bestselling book, The Mixing Mindset – The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/
Join the FREE MasterYourMix Facebook community: https://links.masteryourmix.com/community
To make sure that you don’t miss an episode, make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on Android.
Have your questions answered on the show. Send them to questions@masteryourmix.com
Thanks for listening! Please leave a rating and review on iTunes!