Ive struggled with working on headphones for years, they always felt so unnatural to me and nothing I ever did on them would translate. I’ve been in a lot of situations where i’ve had to track on headphones because the band was in the same room as me or we ran out of space at whatever studio I was working in. Sometimes id just have the vocalist come in the control room with me and sing live with the band for them to have as a reference track. Every time I would try to mix solely on headphones id struggle with translation and would just go back to the speakers. Id still check on headphones to make sure my mixes sounded good on them but that was about it. I’ve tried a ton of different kinds of headphones and even got used to a few pairs of them and grew to like them, but none of them can even come close to the Audeze line of headphones. I got turned onto them at an AES show a few years ago but since I hated working on headphones I could never justify investing any more than a few hundred dollars into them. When I moved out here to Portland I decided id give headphones another chance, I was bouncing around to a few different studios and I decided I should finally have a pair of headphones that I totally trusted since id be unfamiliar with every new room I was working in. I reached out to a few friends that I knew were using Audeze headphones and got some advice. I decided to go with the LCD-X headphones after doing a ton of research and not quite knowing what to expect.

When they got here in the mail I was in the middle of tracking an album so I decided to bring them to the studio with me to try them out. The evening before I listened to a few records I knew very well on them to see what they sounded like. I was pretty stunned, I was bouncing back and forth between them and my beloved Neumann KH120 speakers and I was surprised at how similar they sounded. These were the first headphones that sounded like speakers to me. There was no hyped midrange, top, or bottom end like I was used to with most headphones. I actually found that they had a ton of low end but it was extremely accurate low end. The LCD-X headphones are open back but not like any open-back headphones I’ve ever heard, most of them sound thin to me and I could hear a ton of background noise. It’s almost like there’s some noise cancelation going on during playback but when I stop the music they feel open, natural, and comfortable. I tried to work on some mixes with them early on and was always surprised when id listen back on my speakers and love what I had done. I do have to admit them being open back doesn’t always work to my advantage. I cant use them at the airport or in a crowded space because you can actually hear the music quite clearly from the outside even at a low level, and I can hear just enough of the background noise to make it distracting. They are also massive and heavy so these aren’t exactly the kind of things you wanna take on a walk or run. They sound best with a great headphone amp. Ive been using the amp in my Kush main gain, I’ve also used the SPL monitor with them quite a bit. These things have completely changed the way I mix, I can get mixes started on these while I’m traveling and make decisions that I trust. Now that I know them pretty well I’ve also done a ton of mixes entirely on them. These headphones cost a fraction of what a good set of speakers with a sub cost, and they fall right in the middle of the Audeze price point. I can’t recommend them highly enough!

Before getting into the studio with an artist or a band I try to be as prepared as possible. This usually starts with a phone call or a video call to go over all the details of our sessions together. I tend to record a lot of artists that travel here to Portland from out of town to record, I also regularly travel to Boston, New York, and Los Angeles to work. Because of the travel I usually have to work in pretty strict timeframes when it comes to studio time. This is one of the many reasons pre-production is so important to me.

Having a good grasp on the arrangements and ideas for the songs we’re going to be working on ensures that I’ll be able to have everything ready to go to make the process of recording as smooth and easy as possible. With so many artists having access to their own home studios I can have them make demos that are great representations of the songs. At the bare minimum, I can have them make a simple phone recording that works just as well.

I recently recorded a song here in Portland at Jackpot! with an artist I had never met or worked with before, he flew in just for the session, and we had a limited amount of days together in the studio. We started talking and sending emails a few weeks prior to his arrival. He sent me a great demo of the song we were going to be working on, as well as a few references tracks to inspire ideas. We talked on the phone a few times and eventually met up for a drink the day before our session to get to know each other a bit before hitting the studio. By the time the first day rolled around, I had the pro tools session prepped with the bpm, tracks, and markers made for the arrangement. I set up the studio with mics on everything I knew we would be recording so that we could bounce around to different instruments and parts quickly. I had a whole template made for myself to make sure would be able to work as fast and efficiently as possible. We had a great weekend and were able to work fast to make sure we captured all of the ideas and parts we talked about during our pre-production meetings. On the last day of recording, we finished with some extra time, we were both super happy with how the song turned out! We used this extra time we had to make a killer rough mix on the console which will definitely be a great starting point for the final mix.

The speed that we were able to work at and the fact that we were on the same page throughout the entirety of the sessions would not have been possible had we not been prepared through pre-production. We didn’t have to spend extra time deciding what guitar amp to use, which keyboard sounds we were looking for, or what kind of vibe we were going for. All of that had been decided beforehand. All of that being said the doors were very much still open to spontaneity and we were had plenty of time and space to explore new ideas. We weren’t sure If we were going to be recording bass but I still had everything patched and ready to go to record bass just in case it came up. I walked into the live room at one point to get ready for the next guitar part we were set to record and I came back into the control room to find the artist had come up with a bass part on his guitar and wanted to get it down quickly before he forgot it. Since I was all ready to go we were able to dial up a sound fast and get it down immediately.

I feel very lucky to have learned early on from a great mentor that pre-production is crucial to a great recording. It also shows the artist that you’re working with that you care deeply about the songs you’ll be working on together. Putting in the extra time and effort goes a long way. I feel that pre-production is such an important part of the process and makes for a much better product that me and the artist will be super proud of in the end. Released music is (hopefully) forever so I feel it’s incredibly important to always put my absolute best into everything I work on.

This is my first summer here in Portland and It’s also one of the busiest I’ve ever had. I’m having a blast exploring this part of the country and I’m really enjoying my first summer outside of New England. I’ve had the opportunity to work on some amazing music since I’ve been out here.

In early June the great Brooklyn-based band, Pons came out here to make an album with me. The record is awesome, It’s a concept record where every song flows into the next which was definitely a challenge in itself to wrap my head around. We spent four days at the legendary Jackpot! recording studio here in Portland. We did basics and also started to dig into overdubs there. Jackpot! Is by far one of the easiest studios I’ve ever worked at, owner Larry Crane has a wealth of experience making records and he’s outfitted his studio with absolutely everything you’d ever need and more to make an awesome record there. After we wrapped up at Jackpot! We went over to another awesome studio here in Portland called The Hallowed Halls. We spent the next couple of days making our way through the rest of the guitars, vocals, and keyboards. Hallowed Halls was super fun to work at and the super cool relaxed vibe of the studio definitely translated to the sound of the record.

I took a few days off after wrapping up tracking the Pons record before I went back to Jackpot! to start an EP with Boys Cruise. Conveniently Pons and Boys Cruise share two members and since they were already out here they decided to spend an extra week recording. The Boys Cruise EP is awesome. We made a full-length late last year but this EP is a totally different vibe. We really wanted this EP to feel live, like everyone was playing in the same room (which they were). After we wrapped up at Jackpot! we once again went over to The Hallowed Halls to wrap up the rest of the overdubs. As of today, I’m chipping away at mixing both of these awesome projects.

While I was in the middle of recording the Pons record I was asked to be a house engineer at Jackpot! To say it was an honor would be an understatement. I’ve been an avid reader of Tape Op magazine since I was a teenager, and have always found massive Inspiration from reading it. To be able to work at the studio that Larry created is an amazing and inspiring experience.

After I wrapped up with Pons and Boys Cruise I took a trip back to Boston to make a record at my “alma mater” 37ft Productions with Boston-based band Rootiger. my studio partner Sean has made some amazing changes to 37ft, some of which include new floors in the live room, and a raised ceiling. It felt awesome to be back recording there after freelancing at so many other amazing studios out here in Portland.

After I got back to Portland I finished up revisions on a couple of long-term mixing projects I had been working on during my early days here. Some of those artists include Patrick Greeley, James Burke, Muggs Fogarty, and Maria Earabino aka Laura, Laura! All of these projects are set to be released in the coming months and I think it’s some of my best mixing work to date.

In early July my new friend James Davis made the trip out here to get started on his new album. I mixed an awesome EP for James in the spring, and I was super excited when he asked me to make a full length with him. We went over to Halfling Studio here in Portland to do the basics. I was introduced to the folks at Halfling through my amazing friend Jeff Lipton of Peerless Mastering in Boston. A few months after getting here I had an awesome session at Halfling helping Portland legends Sleater Kinney record their performances for the Colbert Show and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. I was super excited to be back working at Halfling after a few months away. I employed the awesome drummer Paul Pulvirenti to play on the basics for James. I met Paul at Jackpot! A few months prior when I was working on a single for Portland-based band Silvertongue. Paul was so awesome and easy to work with that I wanted him to be a part of the project with James, It also didn’t hurt that Paul played with the late Eliott Smith and James finds a lot of inspiration from Eliotts music. After doing basics we once again went over to The Hallowed Halls for overdubs. James ended up staying out here for an extra few days after we finished up recording to play a show with my pals in Silvertongue. One day we had some downtime so we went over to an arboretum near my house to record a song outside. This is where the Arboretum Sessions were born.

That’s it so far! I’m sure I missed a bunch but It’s been super busy and I haven’t had much time to sit down and collect my thoughts. I’ve been hunkered down most of the month mixing and I figured now would be a good time to get this all down. I’m super excited to see what the next six months here in Portland will hold!