Secret Sonics

Stephen Cole is a music producer, mixing engineer, musician, and the owner of What Studio based in Liverpool, England, UK! In our conversation Stephen and I go deep on the following: Being a self-taught product of the bedroom recording boom Building up a palette of sounds and recognizing the context of a sound Building a studio in a church Getting great drum sounds and relying on the room It’s all...

Travis Ference is a Grammy-nominated mixing engineer and the host of Progressions, a podcast about finding success in the music industry. Travis is based out of LA, CA, USA! In our conversation Travis and I go deep on the following: Fatherhood and time management Soundflow, scripts, and other shortcuts Is AI coming for mixing engineers? Content creation and the surplus of noise on the internet Tra...

Dave McNair is a multiple Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer based out of Winston-Salem, NC, USA! In our conversation Dave and I go deep on the following: His journey in audio and mastering Why mastering engineers work so quickly How bass and vocals are paramount in a mix Mastering with mixing in mind and vice versa Correcting a good mix made with bad monitoring Dave’s journey in Hi-Fi The re...

Noam Levinberg is a mastering engineer and the owner of the brand-new plugin company, Safari Pedals! He's based out of Tel Aviv, Israel. In our conversation Noam and I go deep on the following: Lessons from building the audio department at a sync company You don’t have to smash the dynamics for sync music Headroom and dynamics Things are getting quieter How he built his new plugin company, Safari...

Mix_Notes are a chance for Ben to talk about the topics on his mind and share what's been happening in his studio - beyond the scope of the usual interviews that take place on Secret Sonics. Here are some links based on what I referenced: Neural DSP's Wong amp - https://neuraldsp.com/plugins/archetype-cory-wong?g_acctid=332-563-6797&g_adgroupid=&g_adid=&g_adtype=none&g_campaign=%23...

Philip Weinrobe is a record producer, mixing engineer, and the owner of Sugar Mountain Recording in Brooklyn, NY, USA. He's worked with talented artists such as Adrianne Lenker (Big Thief), Theo Katzman (Vulfpeck), Alanis Morissette, and many others! In our conversation Philip and I go deep on the following: Accidentally getting into recording by building studios for people including Shahzad Ismai...

Mix_Notes are a chance for Ben to talk about the topics on his mind and share what's been happening in his studio - beyond the scope of the usual interviews that take place on Secret Sonics. Here's a link to the video version - https://youtu.be/EOhQzrS2BaA Here are some links based on what I referenced: Black Box HG2 - https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/black_box_analog_design_hg-2.html D...

Scott Hull is a 40-year veteran Grammy award-winning mastering engineer and the owner of Masterdisk based in Peekskill, NY, USA. In our conversation Scott and I go deep on the following: Landing a Masterdisk internship and working with Bob Ludwig Leading an interdisciplinary life Striving for excellence The role of the engineer His approach to mastering Avoiding overprocessing and doing more with...

Mix_Notes are a chance for Ben to talk about the topics on his mind and share what's been happening in his studio - beyond the scope of the usual interviews that take place on Secret Sonics. Here are some links based on what I referenced: Epiphone Viola Bass - https://www.epiphone.com/en-US/Electric-Bass/EPIPSM729/Vintage-Sunburst Khruangbin - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khruangbin Mitch Friedma...

Joe Gilder is a music producer, mixing engineer, musician, and songwriter based out of Nashville, TN, USA! He's also the owner of Home Studio Corner and is now the content creator for The Recording Revolution. In our conversation Joe and I go deep on the following: Getting started at Sweetwater as a sales rep Creating value for clients Working efficiently How he streamlines making great video cont...

Mix_Notes are a chance for Ben to talk about the topics on his mind and share what's been happening in his studio - beyond the scope of the usual interviews that take place on Secret Sonics. Here are some links based on what I referenced: Youtube video - https://youtu.be/Ll9b8R2n0tw Townhouse Compressor - https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/bx_townhouse_buss_compressor.html VU Compressor -...

Luis "Lu" Moreno is a mixing and mastering engineer, the co-founder of In The Mix Studios, and the founder of MidSide Sound, based in LA, CA, USA! In our conversation Lu and I go deep on the following: Work/life balance Becoming an audio engineer Creating community and being a "Go-Giver" How Lu and Dee Kei met Low end theory It’s the ear, not the gear Revisions How he masters his own mixes Monitor...

Mix_Notes are a chance for Ben to talk about the topics on his mind and share what's been happening in his studio - beyond the scope of the usual interviews that take place on Secret Sonics. Here are some links based on what I referenced: Rick Rubin's book - https://amzn.to/3z4HKfY Arnob Bal - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2021/12/5/secret-sonics-124-arnob-bal-the-creative-practice M...

Luke Fiadino is a music producer, mixing engineer, and composer based out of Philadelphia, PA, USA! In our conversation Luke and I go deep on the following: Getting work in metal Writing with artists Composing guitar parts Lessons from Alan Shacklock Programming Drums Producing vocals Templates and routing Avoiding the solo button How metal is moving online Writing regularly and putting in the rep...

Mix_Notes are a chance for Ben to talk about the topics on his mind and share what's been happening in his studio - beyond the scope of the usual interviews that take place on Secret Sonics. The episode of the Mixing Music podcast where I wax poetic on this with Dee Kei - https://youtu.be/2HoT-AS-43M Website - https://www.benwallick.com/ Ben's IG - https://www.instagram.com/benwallickmusic Secret...

Aaron Beaumont is a music producer, mixer, and composer based out of Brooklyn, NY, USA! In our conversation Aaron and I go deep on the following: His background as a composer Working with the Gregory Brothers How limitations actually foster creativity Managing quick turn-around times Humor and engineering Mangling songs together by splicing words and creative use of Melodyne NYC vs LA Reverb and s...

For the first time in a decade, I'm having a look at some of the songs from my 2013 record, "Kings and Things" to see what I did right and what I did wrong and how I might approach it differently with an extra decade of experience. Here's a link to the YouTube video I reference - https://youtu.be/Ka7eveMyw1I Mix_Notes are a chance for Ben to talk about the topics on his mind and share what's been...

Jennifer Ortiz is an audio engineer, mixer, and podcaster based out of LA, CA, USA! In our conversation Jennifer and I go deep on the following: Freelance engineering in LA Networking and building relationships Building Trust Podcasting Getting into Atmos Getting gritty sounds Using mid-side techniques in mixing Parallel vocal processing Getting into the "zone" Enjoying the journey And so much mor...

Ben upgraded his music/audio production computer system. Listen to find out what he did and how he went about doing it! Mix_Notes are a chance for Ben to talk about the topics on his mind and share what's been happening in his studio - beyond the scope of the usual interviews that take place on Secret Sonics. Website - https://www.benwallick.com/ Ben's IG - https://www.instagram.com/benwallickmusi...

Matt Boudreau is a stereo and Atmos mixing engineer based out of the Bay Area, CA, USA! He's also the host of the incredible Working Class Audio podcast. In our conversation Matt and I go deep on the following: His journey getting into Dolby Atmos Buying speakers, rebuilding and tuning the room The financials of Atmos and getting work Podcasting Having patience with your career Taking the business...

Ken Lewis is a top major label producer, mixer, songwriter, and musician based out of NY, NY, USA. Original show notes: https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2021/9/12/secret-sonics-112-ken-lewis-100-gold-records-and-beyond ***Thanks to our sponsors!*** Carl Bahner's resources for studio professionals - https://www.carlbahner.com/resources Progressions with Travis Ference - https://www.progr...

Cameron Lister is a mixing/audio engineer and music producer based out of LA, CA, USA! In our conversation Cameron and I go deep on the following: Musical influences The ups and downs of his career Selling yourself Believing in yourself Social Media Cameron’s philosophy on how you find your artistic voice Don’t be afraid of failure Synths Bottom-up mixing Not using templates Monitoring Productivit...

Carl Bahner is a mixing engineer based out of Lancaster, PA, USA! In today's episode, we discuss the dos and the don'ts of delegation. We go deep on the following topics: Bottlenecks Bahner's first pancake principle (LMAO) Don’t assume the delegatee's experience Start with a menial task Insecurity Fair wages Deadlines and availability The team ***Thanks to our sponsors!*** Carl Bahner's resources...

Here's a little Solo-cast I recorded where I go over 5 lessons I learned this year on Secret Sonics that I'm applying to my mixing in 2023. A bit of a departure from the usual interview format but I hope you dig it! ***Thanks to our sponsors!*** Carl Bahner's resources for studio professionals - https://www.carlbahner.com/resources Progressions with Travis Ference - https://www.progressionspodcast...

Bob Horn is a multi-platinum Grammy Award-winning audio and mixing engineer based out of LA, CA, USA, known for working with artists such as BTS, Usher, Timbaland, NeYo, Lupe Fiasco, and so many more! In our conversation Bob and I go deep on the following: His journey from Berklee, to Nashville, to LA Working with Neff-U Learning from his clients Working with BTS His approach to mixing Feel vs. Te...