How many engineers can you fit on a podcast? Pete, John and Brandon talked about the good and bad of a shared studio, Atmos mixing and mastering, how to make great bass, vinyl records, and why their worst day is better than most jobs' best days!

My guests today are Pete Lyman, John Baldwin & Brandon Towles mixing, mastering, and cutting vinyl at Infrasonic Sound East here in Nashville.

Pete Lyman who has been a guest on episode RSR165 is a GRAMMY-nominated mastering engineer, and owner of Infrasonic Mastering, an audio and vinyl mastering studio with locations in Los Angeles, CA and Nashville, TN. Pete’s digital and vinyl mastering career spans thousands of titles with clients like Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile, Sturgill Simpson, John Prine, Weezer, Panic! At the Disco and more.  

John Baldwin is a GRAMMY-nominated mastering engineer based in Nashville, TN. In 2010 John launched John Baldwin Mastering out of a studio he built in his house, eventually moving to Historic RCA Studio A. John joined the Infrasonic Mastering roster in 2021, bringing a wide spectrum of genres and skills, including restoring and remastering from vinyl and tape. His discography includes artists such as Nancy Sinatra, Deer Tick, Emmylou Harris, The Jesus Lizard, Sly Stone, The Stone Roses, Margo Price, Delta Spirit, and many others INCLUDING Twiggs II a record I produced at The Toy Box Studio.

Brandon Towles is a Mixing Engineer and Assistant/Engineer/All Around Good Guy to multi-Grammy winner F. Reid Shippen. Originally from Georgetown, KY, after traveling the country for a few years, Brandon landed in Nashville to work with Reid and Infrasonic Immersive. He has Co-Mixed and Assisted on projects for artists including Dierks Bentley, Keke Palmer, Parker McCollum, The Aces, Kenny Chesney, and many more. Outside of music, Brandon loves playing basketball, the Detroit Lions, and very, very short walks on the beach.

Thank you to Raelynn Janicke for setting this interview up!

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Website Links:

RSR165 – PETE LYMAN – MASTERING FOR CHRIS STAPLETON, JASON ISBELL, AND WEEZER AT INFRASONIC SOUND
https://www.infrasonicsound.com/
Instagram: @infrasonicsound @johnbaldwinmastering @plyman @btowles3
Twitter: @infrasonicsound

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Liz Hulitskaya

Is that my voice over the Walmart pa? Katrina talked about writing songs for advertising, hearing her own vocals in unexpected places, songwriting production camps, recording great piano, and how to write about heartbreak when you're happily married.

My guest today is Katrina Stone a songwriter and music producer recently moved from Los Angles to a countryside studio near Nashville creating soulful pop music which has landed her performance residencies at the Universal CityWalk stage and Margaritaville. 

She has gained international attention through scoring brand endorsements, performing on national stages like the Van's Warped Tour, and earning critical praise for her songwriting heard in advertisements, trailers, movies, and TV shows around the world.

I met Katrina on my flight to LA for NAMM 2023 and we connected over many things including songwriting, producing, family life and the freedom to live and make music outside of a sometimes suffocating urban environment.

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Website Links:

http://www.katrinastonemusic.com/
Instagram: @katrinamaestone
Twitter: @katrinastone

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Liz Hulitskaya

How not to be invisible... Orlando talked about his successful mixing career despite growing up illegally in the US, calculating your flat mix rate, getting the best mix notes from an artist, networking tips, and how to mic timbales, congas, & bongos!

My guest today is Orlando Torres a mixer/engineer based in the Los Angeles area who has worked with legendary musicians, including Abraham Laboriel, Joey DeFrancesco, Alex Acuña, Justo Almario, percussionist Ron Powell, Lee Rocker (Stray Cats) and Little Willie G. But he is equally proud of his work with up-and-coming local bands and artists.

Orlando has worked on television productions that include an Emmy nominated song for The Young And The Restless and ADR cutting for Law & Order. In 2019 he worked with Kobe Bryant at his Granity Studios as a recording engineer for Kobe’s ESPN Detail and as an audio editor for The Punies podcast. 

He is also an active live sound engineer with experience in all genres including orchestral classical music and house of worship and works as a “Playback” engineer running backing tracks for Trace Adkins, Sheila E, Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes), Mary Mary, Alex Fernandez, The President’s Own Marine Chamber Orchestra and the Fox Network to name a few.

I met Orlando at our NAMM 2023 meetup and learned that he has a unique story which includes immigrating from Mexico with his family and becoming a naturalized citizen as part of his life and career journey. Today we will talk about the importance of networking and the challenges we all face in connecting with artists and musicians and how to overcome them even when faced with overwhelming obstacles.

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Website Links:

https://Mymixingpropaganda.com/
Instagram: @orlandosoundman @madmansoundstudio

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Liz Hulitskaya

Can you say "do another take" in any language? Ady talked about breaking the language barrier recording bands in Morocco, Armenia, and Poland, traveling with a studio in a camper van across the desert, the pros and cons of remote recording spaces, getting your phase right, how to mix with headphones, and how not to electrocute the talent.

My guest today is Ady Parzentny, a musician since the age of 11 (year 2000)'s, switched to production in 2017, specializing in location recording, remote mixing, and producing (writing, composing) songs for artists worldwide. Ady Spent 2 years in Morocco during COVID, supporting local artists with 50+ Singles/Music Videos and 2 LPs and 6 live shows

Ady partnered with Warren Huart and Produce Like A Pro since 2020 and provided 20+ Music Production Tutorials on Promix Academy/PLAP Academy and YT channel Hit The Road Music with Documentaries about their travels. One of the records hit #10 on the charts in 2021 with Noam Vazana and her Album "Ke Haber". Today we are going to talk about producing world music for Film/TV and recording music with a mobile studio.

Thank you to Chaz for the introduction!

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Watch More On Youtube:

Website Links:

https://hittheroadmusicstudio.com/
Instagram: @hittheroadmusic
Facebook: @hitTheRoadMusicPl
YouTube: @HitTheRoadMusicStudio

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Liz Hulitskaya

Bass! How low can you go? Sam talked about studying with Bruce Swedien, the best way to record vocals in a home studio, the importance of phase, how to mix kick & bass for huge low end, when distortion is good, and the secrets to a killer vocal mix.

My guest today is Sam Sherbin, a mixing engineer based in Los Angeles, California. First cutting his teeth at various studios in New York City, he went on to develop his skills under the mentorship of the late Bruce Swedien at his home studio in Florida. Since then, Sam has scored cuts with international stars like CL, Stray Kids, Rachel Platten, Ebony Obsidian and more. He collaborates closely with the likes of multi-platinum producer and composer Nick Lee, expanding Sam’s footprint in both music and network television shows like NBC’s Grand Crew.

I ran into Sam at NAMM and am excited for us to dive into learning more about mixing and particularly mixing pop and bass music. Knowing how to get the low end just right is crucial whether you are mixing 808 kick drums and sub bass or just getting a rock band to sounds great. And Sam clearly knows how to get the low end to sounds awesome!

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Register for the FREE Awesome Mix Workshop with Bobby Owsinski:

https://go.bobbyowsinski.com/musicmix/#a_aid=LShaw

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Website Links:

Instagram: @samsherbinmusic
In The Zone Podcast

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Liz Hulitskaya

Sometimes it's better to conform! Jermaine talked about hybrid composing music for film, making the music fit ever-shrinking film edits, switching to Cubase, how to create an orchestra in your home studio, and the secret to realistic-sounding scores.

My guest today is Jermaine Stegall, a film composer and conductor. With over 50 projects to his credit, Jermaine most well-known for the score to “Coming 2 America”, the highly anticipated sequel to the Eddie Murphy classic, with Murphy, Arsenio Hall and James Earl-Jones all reprising their roles. Jermaine recently completed the score for "Praise This" for Universal Pictures. Other scoring and conducting assignments have included “Senior Year” (2022) for Paramount Pictures, and the upcoming film “Oracle” for Universal Pictures.

As a musical conductor, Stegall led a live string orchestra alongside Grammy-winning artist Tori Kelly at the televised 2019 ESPY Awards. A year prior, he conducted the orchestra to Camila Cabello’s performance of “Consequences” on ABC’s American Music Awards. In addition to scoring 2 seasons of "Our Star Wars Stories,” an original digital series from Lucasfilm and StarWars.com, in which host Jordan Hembrough uncovers heartfelt tales of fans and families who have found inspiration in the galaxy far, far away, Jermaine was also nominated for a MPSE Golden Reel Award for scoring the animated Netflix short film "Canvas" directed by Pixar's Frank Abney III.

Thank you to Chris James for the introduction!

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Website Links:

https://www.jermainestegall.com
Instagram: @jermainestegall
Twitter: @jermainestegall
YouTube: @jermainestegall1

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Liz Hulitskaya

Cutting edge technology vs technically cutting edges... Nick and J talked about mixing and mastering vinyl records, Atmos vs Sony 260AR, how to listen to immersive audio, mixing for Halloween, old school vs modern low-end, and how to rescue a snare.

My guests today are Nick Townsend and J Clark joining us from Infrasonic West in Los Angeles. 

Nick Townsend’s musical prowess is rooted in the punk rock scene. He began drumming for punk bands at the age of 16, and has been playing professionally ever since. His trained ears, and passion for music production, is owed to recording bands in his grandmother’s garage. He attended the Audio Engineering School at Citrus College in Glendora, CA. He then landed his first audio job with Infrasonic Mastering in 2012 where he assisted Pete Lyman, while simultaneously learning the craft of vinyl mastering and lacquer cutting. Soon thereafter, he started his own Townsend Mastering until 2021 when he rejoined Infrasonic Los Angeles. Nick has mastered records for The Egyptian Lover, Militarie Gun, No Pressure, Fleshwater, Spanish Love Songs and many more, and specializes in vinyl mastering and lacquer cutting of over 2,000 vinyl records including artists such as Cheap Trick, Paramore, Weezer, Iron Maiden, Bad Religion, Garbage, Dr. Dre, 2pac, Grimes and more. His work can be identified by the hand scribed “NT” found on the lock groove of each vinyl.

J Clark is an engineer, mixer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles, CA. He spent the majority of the late 90’s and 2000’s playing and touring in the bands Pretty Girls Make Graves, Killsadie, Jaguar Love, and Sharks Keep Moving. After moving to Los Angeles in 2010, he began composing music for ads and movies before expanding into post production; Re-Recording mixing, Sound Design, and Dialogue editing for film and television. In late 2020 he began mixing and mastering music in Dolby Atmos and Sony 360RA. His spatial credits include artists such as Jennifer Lopez, MK, The Hold Steady, Nelly, Nicky Jam, Marc Anthony, and many others. J’s studio was designed and built in collaboration with PMC Loudspeakers, Dolby Laboratories, and Sony Home Entertainment and boasts an impressive 24 speakers! It’s built to handle the present and future of multichannel sound for music, picture and gaming offering an 11.1.6 ATMOS and a 13.1 Sony360 array for the most precise playback and detail of your immersive projects.

Thanks to Raelynn Janicke for setting this interview up!

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Website Links:

Instagram: @infrasonicsound
Twitter: @infrasonicsound
www.infrasonicsound.com

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Liz Hulitskaya

It's gotta slap to be right! Rae talked about mastering everything from pop to hard rock and punk to EDM and respecting the bass drop, how to master Atmos mixes, tips for managing a studio, when loudness matters, and the importance of level matching.

My guest today is Raelynn Janicke, a mastering engineer and the studio manager for Infrasonic Mastering, based in Nashville, TN. Before joining Infrasonic in 2019, Raelynn worked at Tommy’s Tracks, where she fulfilled a variety of roles alongside owner Tommy Wiggins including mastering and archival. Raelynn has mastered and assisted on projects for The Shins, Kayla Hall, Nefesh Mountain, Talia Stewart, Big 50, and Eli Howard.

Raelynn got her Bachelor's Degree in Applied Arts and Sciences, with Concentrations in Audio Engineering and Computer Science, from The Rochester Institute of Technology. Much like her career thus far, Raelynn’s path to her degree was self-made. She was initially drawn to the practicality of a job in computer programming, but switched majors halfway through her program after assisting on a college a cappella record. From there, she discovered the school’s modest audio program, created an individualized degree, and threw in minors in history and music technology, just to keep things interesting.

Raelynn brings this level of enthusiasm and exploration to every project she works on at Infrasonic Mastering, both as manager and engineer.

She describes herself on her website as a “Mastering Engineer Who Loves Tacos and Is Taller Than Danny Devito.” Thanks to F Reid Shippen for connecting us.

Today we will talk about the tech meets art of mastering, running a busy multi room facility, Atmos immersive audio, and how AI in mastering could affect our future of music.

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Website Links:

Instagram: @raelynn_jae
www.infrasonicsound.com

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Liz Hulitskaya

Why would you put a Pultec on every track? David talked about mixing with fewer plugins to keep the best ones special, how to create a great mix template, the sound and feel of hybrid mixing, compression as tone, and mixing with the SSL UF8 and UC-1.

My guest today is David Vignola, a professional audio mixing engineer with over 20 years experience who has mixed and mastered music for hundreds of artists all over the world. He has been in studios all over the country, working in many analog/digital hybrid studios. He also studied under the mixing engineer Michael White whose credits Include The Rolling Stones, Whitney Houston, Kiss, and the Talking Heads, just to name a few.

Over the last decade David decided to start giving back by helping musicians and engineers learn the craft of audio engineering. He found that teaching was something he really enjoyed and that led him to create Home Recording Made Easy.com and now Mixing Made Easy.net. His main focus is on the beginner/intermediate recording musician and aspiring audio engineer to help students improve their recording/engineering skills. I have enjoyed watching David’s Youtube videos and I highly recommend that you check them out Rockstars.

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Website Links:

Instagram: @homerecordingmadeeasy
www.homerecordingmadeeasy.com
www.mixingmadeeasy.net
www.mixingmusicanalog.com
www.youtube.com/homerecordingmadeeasy
www.youtube.com/mixingmusicanalog

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Liz Hulitskaya

The standard guitar tuning is only a suggestion! Joe talked about Mellotron, Cubase and Pro Tools, creative guitar tunings, recording piano and drums, training your ear for eq, headphones vs speakers, home studios and the sound of drywall vs volume.

My guest today is Joe Pisapia a singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as a member of Guster and k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang. He co-produced and co-wrote Guster’s 2006 release, Ganging Up On the Sun, an album that cracked Billboard’s Top 25 and was one of the best selling internet albums of the year. He did the same on the band’s 2010 Easy Wonderful. He produced and penned the title track for Lang’s 2011 album, Sing It Loud, and acted as music director for the accompanying tour.

As a producer and mixer Joes credits include: Ben Folds Five’s, The Hush Kids, Zac Clark, Drew Holcolmb, Chuck Mead, Josh Rouse, Courtney Jaye, Matt Wertz, William Tyler, The Silver Seas and The Pierces and when the Grammy Award-winning band Fun needed orchestral recording for its Grammy performance, they called on Joe.

Originally from New Jersey Joe moved to Nashville with his band Joe Mark’s Brother in the 90s with whom he has made beautiful sounding records and Joe has continued to record as a solo artist producing from his own studio Middle Tree in East Nashville.

His 2002 release Daydreams was given four stars and called “stellar” by AllMusic.com. Ron Sexsmith called 2015’s Nightvision, “amazing” and the “best thing” he’s “heard in a long time.”

In 2016 Pisapia collaborated with singer/ songwriter Kate York for the duet E.P. “Kate York And Joe Pisapia.” and in 2018 Joe released two full length solo albums. “Connection” and “Cosmic Christmas”.

In 2019 Pisapia recorded his first instrumental album, “Imbolc.” For a 2020 release of the album, he made music “videos,” which consisted of him making some of his favorite comfort foods. Joe also produced much of, and mixed all of Pam Tillis’ “Looking For A Feeling.” Tillis cut Pisapia’s song “Better Friends,” which was originally released on his solo album, “Connection.” NPR’s Ann Powers singled out Tillis’ version of “Better Friends” calling it a “quintessential country song.” Also in 2019 Joe produced Jillette Johnson’s “It’s A Beautiful Day And I Love You,” and was part of the live ensemble whom recorded the album “Outside Child” by Allison Russell, produced by Dan Knobler which Joe described as “tantamount to a holy experience.”

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Website Links:

Instagram: @joepisapia
Facebook: JoePisapiaMusic

Additional podcast editing and production by:
Brayden Stremming
Vlad Vasilcenko
Liz Hulitskaya