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Episodes
Wednesday May 24, 2023
Wednesday May 24, 2023
A broadly acclaimed engineer and producer, Ulrike Schwarz is a trailblazing audio innovator with more than two decades of experience across the film, television, radio, and recording industries. Born and raised in Germany, Schwarz discovered she had perfect pitch at an early age, and as a teenager, she became one of only three students to be accepted into the exclusive Tonmeister program at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin. After earning her degree, Schwarz worked with German public radio and spent more than ten years serving as the senior sound engineer for large orchestral and jazz productions at the famed Bayerischer Rundfunk in Munich, where she broke the mold as a woman in a male-dominated field and garnered numerous honors for her recordings and broadcasts, including multiple Echo Klassik, Diamant D’Opera, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenindustrie, and Diapason d’Or awards.
In 2015, Schwarz moved to New York full time to team up with her now-husband and production partner Jim Anderson, with whom she’s created a groundbreaking body of work in the field of immersive audio.
As creative technically as she is artistically, Schwarz designed and built her own custom portable recording setup from scratch, and in just the last few years alone, she’s garnered multiple Grammy nominations for her work with artists as diverse as American jazz stalwart Patricia Barber, contemporary Norwegian composer Gisle Kverndokk, and soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom.
In 2022, Schwarz was named Vice President of the Verband Deutscher Tonmeister (The Association of German Sound Professionals) and received a prestigious grant from the Women’s Fund of the New York Foundation of the Arts for her work on Jane Ira Bloom’s Grammy nominated album (2023) Picturing The Invisible – Focus 1.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Getting into the world of orchestral recording
Why it’s a good idea to join audio associations such as the AES
Mic positions for orchestral recordings
Taking an ambience-first approach to recording
Preparing a game-plan for your sessions
Being selective of the microphones you use to avoid “coloration”
How the German vs American orchestral seating can impact the balance of your mixes
Recording strings to work in a rock music context
Working with reverbs to avoid muddy mixes
Why you shouldn’t have to use EQ or compression in a mix
How sample rates impact the clarity of your recordings
How something as small as a power cable can drastically alter the quality of your recordings
Mixing for stereo vs immersive audio
To learn more about Ulrike Schwarz, visit: http://andersonaudiony.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 17, 2023
Wednesday May 17, 2023
Jakob Herrmann works within a lot of different music styles, and has earned a wide reputation for his skills in drum recording and album producing as well as his great ear for song arrangements and pre-production. Jakob has worked as producer, engineer, and drum tech on a large number of albums, and has provided material for plugins and software companies such as Superior Drummer/EZdrummer (Toontrack), Softube, Centipeak, Addictive Drums (XLN), etc.
Jakob Herrmann runs his day-to-day operations from the top floor of Stora Teatern, a mid-17th century building just off one of Gothenburg’s busiest streets. In there, you’ll either find him recording, mixing or producing a new record, maintaining his arsenal of gear or touching up his collection of drums.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Why sounds are different in the room vs. in the recording
Tuning for the mics, not the room
Understanding what artists really mean when they describe the sounds they want
How to mic a china cymbal properly
Mic overhead techniques to achieve width
How to reduce sustain, but preserve overtones
Why ring is actually a good thing
Why “Back In Black” is the best song to soundcheck with
Recording drums after other instruments
The importance of pre-production
To use drum samples or not?
Using programmed drums to blend with natural drums
To learn more about Jakob Herrmann, visit: http://topfloorstudios.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 10, 2023
Wednesday May 10, 2023
Danny Reisch a producer, engineer, writer, multi-instrumentalist and studio owner. Originally from Texas, Danny built an incredibly successful recording studio called Good Danny's, where he established himself as a world class producer, mixer and engineer. Since then Danny has moved to LA to pursue more opportunities, including film score mixing. Recently, Danny just finished producing, engineering and mixing the new Local Natives LP, as well as albums for Bayonne and Barns Courtney. Danny also produces and engineers the music for the game “Halo.” In the film scene, Danny has just wrapped score mixing for Disney’s "Peter Pan and Wendy,” A24’s “Smooth World,” as well as AMC's hit show "Interview with the Vampire.”
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Leaning into your decisions
Listening to old demos
Making the process of engineering feel invisible in a production
Working with templates
Creating efficiencies with an analog system
Making the studio a creative environment
Setting expectations about the sonics of an album and the process of creating it
Managing emotions
His #1 question for helping a band define their sound
The disadvantages of attended sessions
To learn more about Danny Reisch, visit: https://www.gooddannys.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 03, 2023
Wednesday May 03, 2023
As a professional mixing/recording engineer of over 30 years of experience, music is his life and passion. With numerous Grammy, Billboard Latino and Dove awards and nominations, and record sales in excess of 50 million units, Bob has been the one choice of many artists, project after project. His projects include work with Duran Duran, Collective Soul, Extreme, Black: Guayaba, La Secta All-Star, Dokken, and Bacilos, and in the Latin Christian market, Marcos Vidal, Rene Gonzalez, Julissa, Samuel Hernandez and Roberto Orellana.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Why working in live sound is a great way to get clients
Working with Extreme and Collective Soul
The importance of networking
Understanding your own strengths and weaknesses
Having skills that apply to multiple genres
Finding inspiration to guide your mix decisions
Being open to constructive criticism
Getting great guitar tones
Bob’s go-to mic choices for recording guitars
Getting great guitar tones
Budget mics that sound great
How to avoid “red-light syndrome”
Why home studios can actually produce better results
Why it isn’t always a good idea to use outboard gear
The reason you only need to record guitars with one mic
Understanding phase
Organizing your sessions
How to calibrate your ears to make sure you can analyze your mixes accurately
To learn more about Bob St. John, visit: https://bobstjohn.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 26, 2023
Wednesday Apr 26, 2023
Susan Rogers holds a doctoral degree in behavioural neuroscience from McGill University (2010). Prior to her science career, Susan was a multi-platinum earning record producer, engineer, and mixer. She is best known for her work with Prince during his peak creative period (1983–1987). Her discography also includes records with David Byrne, Barenaked Ladies, Geggy Tah, Nil Lara, Robben Ford, Tricky, Michael Penn, Jeff Black, and many others. In 2021 she became the first female recipient of the Music Producer’s Guild Award for Outstanding Contributions to U.K. Music. She teaches psychoacoustics and production analysis for Berklee College of Music. Her book on music listening, This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You, published by W. W. Norton & Co., is available everywhere.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Becoming an audio technician
Working with Prince
Working with constraints to aid with creativity
Should you make demos or just jump right into the final recording?
Taking time to develop your creativity
The role of editing in the enjoyment of music
Identifying what your “sound” is
Getting artists to define what they want their music to achieve
Safety in music
How music is like food
Work/life balance: how to define your balance
The 7 dimensions of music that shape your musical tastes
What makes songs catchy
To learn more about Susan Rogers, visit: https://www.thisiswhatitsoundslike.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 19, 2023
Wednesday Apr 19, 2023
Equally comfortable mixing in an arena or a recording studio, Shawn Dealey has spent the last 20 years developing his craft as an in-demand recording engineer, mixer, and producer. Recently he has been developing and pursuing new techniques for Dolby Atmos recording and mixing. Working with artists such as Counting Crows, Goo Goo Dolls, Animals As Leaders, Jared James Nichols, Propagandhi, Bootsy Collins, We Came as Romans, Bones Owens, and countless others, Shawn’s passionate approach to the art of recording, along with his hunger for new techniques, keeps him at the top of his game. Based out of Fort Wayne, Indiana, he is currently the Chief Engineer at Sweetwater Studios.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Starting a studio in a small town
Being a jack of all trades
Making templates
Having objectivity as you work
Establishing the vision for a project to help you make informed decisions
Identifying the “sound” of a genre and how to achieve it
Recording “outside of the box” instruments
Treating live sound like it’s the studio
To learn more about Shawn Dealey, visit: https://www.shawndealey.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 12, 2023
Wednesday Apr 12, 2023
Matt Greiner is the drummer and a founding member of 2x Grammy Nominated band, August Burns Red. He is a founding member, starting the band in 2003 and performing in 45 countries, 6 continents, and playing over 1800 shows.
He has worked as an ambassador for Zildjian Cymbals, teaching and performing in South-East Asia and South America as well as throughout North America.
Matt enjoys spending time at home with his wife Annie, working on his farm in Manheim with his dad and 2 brothers, and likes being outside and active.
Matt loves teaching drum lessons and creating educational content for his drumming website, mattgreinerlessons.com
Matt would say that drums are the most challenging thing he's ever done. It’s because of that simple fact that he enjoys playing and teaching and is grateful to be celebrating 20 years of August Burns Red this year.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Writing parts that serve the song
Literal vs nonliteral drumming
Writing technical metal music
Editing: Should you edit everything or keep the human feel?
How to prepare for the studio
Programming drums: how to program them to sound realistic
Getting great drum tones in the studio
A simple tool Matt uses to make tuning drums easy
To learn more about Matt Greiner, visit: https://mattgreinerlessons.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 05, 2023
Wednesday Apr 05, 2023
Björgvin Benediktsson is an Icelandic-American author, audio engineer, entrepreneur, and educator. He helps music, audio, and creative professionals level up their music and audio skills, transform those skills into income, grow their online business with digital products, and systemize their marketing so that they can make a bigger impact with their careers.
He’s a coach and mentor to multiple businesses and serves as a venture advisor at the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Arizona. His advice has been featured in MusicTech magazine, Startup Tucson, The Huffington Post, CD Baby's DIY Musician's Blog, Audiotuts, and at the SAE Institute. His latest book, “You Get What You Give”, teaches people the mindset that takes the sleaze out of marketing and selling, the success strategies for overcoming imposter syndrome, and the entrepreneurial principles needed to launch a profitable business.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Building an audience
Telling a story with your music
Defining success in your career
Setting realistic goals
Desire vs. having a clear strategy
Battling imposter syndrome
Maintaining work-life balance
Setting client expectations
Creating efficiencies in your process
Having an ROI mindset
To learn more about Björgvin Benediktsson, visit: https://www.audio-issues.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 Mar 29, 2023
Wednesday Mar 29, 2023
Sherry Klein is an Emmy-nominated re-recording mixer and a pioneer of women in audio in both music and television. Sherry became a recording engineer at Larrabee Studios in the late 1970s – one of a handful of female engineers in Los Angeles at the time and possibly one of the only female re-recording mixers in town when she moved into post in the early 1980s.
Sherry’s television credits include New Amsterdam, Queen of the South, Burn Notice, Sons of Anarchy, Falling Water, The Shield, and Arrested Development. She mixes dialogue and music with her partner Scott Weber, who handles sound effects and Foley.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Thinking outside the box to get the sounds you’re after
How to connect with the top people at studios
Having a thirst for knowledge and continuously pushing yourself to learn new technologies
Having systems in place to work fast
Mixing as a team
Being accommodating to changes
Cleaning up poorly recorded audio
Simulating ambient spaces by using reverb and additional processing
To learn more about Sherry Klein, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherry-klein-792580
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 Mar 22, 2023
Wednesday Mar 22, 2023
Elaine Rasnake is a mastering engineer and the founder of Daughterboard Audio, a queer-owned and operated studio located in Philadelphia, PA. As a teenager, Elaine discovered that music was a way to connect with the world, the people in her life, and the artists she admired. This lifelong relationship with music led her to found Daughterboard Audio in 2019. Through her work as a mastering engineer, Elaine collaborates with artists to enhance their work in the final stages of any audio art form.
Elaine holds a B.A. in Music with a concentration in Audio/Video Recording and Vocal Performance from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and is notable for being the first woman to graduate from its audio production program.
After earning her degree – and releasing several records under her own name – she recognized mastering as an opportunity to connect creatively with artists across her community. Currently, Elaine focuses on providing mastering and post-production services, educating the music community about the importance and art of mastering, and creating a space to help lift the voices of women and LGBTQIA+ members across the music community.
Over the years, she has become an invaluable mentor and resource to the greater mastering engineer community and has been recognized by the AES Mastering Academy committee as well as Mastering Engineers Worldwide for her contributions and perspectives on working within headphones. She recently was a program chair and speaker at the 2021 AES Mastering Academy - Demystified and was a speaker at the 2022 AES Mastering Academy 2. She is also a moderator of the Mastering Engineers Worldwide Facebook group and the Front of House engineer at waR3house3 in Swarthmore, PA.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
Using Ozone for mastering
Why you should use an intake form with your clients
Understanding your client’s expectations
Using reference tracks in mastering
Using plugins for added character
Making sure your masters translate across different streaming platforms
Mastering on headphones
Do you need headphone modeling systems like Slate VSX?
What to do when your speakers don’t have a lot of low-end
Picking the right headphones
Determining which plugins are a worthwhile investment
To learn more about Elaine Rasnake, visit: https://daughterboardaudio.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!