Tell us a little about yourself and your experience.

I've been recording bands professionally for about 4 years now. Compass Audio is the name of my Recording and Mixing services based in Akron, OH. I've had the privilege of working at many studios in the area including Bad Racket, Vibe Studios, and more, but recently I've found a home at The Audio Kitchen in Akron and plan to stay there for quite some time. 

What drove you to choose your career path?

When I was 13 I started my first band, and we needed some way to record ourselves. Since I was so young and I didn't realize how accessible recording studios were, I bought a little recording device that could have one microphone hooked up to it. After recording some demos with that band I realized how much I loved the idea of taking live music and "documenting" it, in a way. I decided to get a couple books on the subject and for whatever reason it absolutely fascinated me. I spent every free moment I had reading and learning as much as a could. Eventually I bought some more adequate recording gear, started recording my friends' bands for free, and it all grew and expanded from that point on.  

How did you go about getting your job? What kind of education and experience did you need?

Currently I am a partner at The Audio Kitchen in Akron, which is all thanks to Neil Zaza and Gabriel Swartz for giving me a chance. I had been recording at a home studio for years prior where I built up my reputation and brand, and they needed a new, steady engineer to work there. Gabe knew me through my home studio endeavors and invited me to join the team. I'm self-taught, so working with other producers and engineers throughout the years has opened a lot of new doors in regards to learning. Otherwise, I'd say I've gotten a majority of my knowledge through personal research and experimentation. 

What do you actually spend the majority of your time doing?

I'd say generally I'm at a 50/50 split between producing and mixing. Half of the time I'm at the studio with bands trying to get good takes, along with getting solid drum and guitar tones. A lot of work goes into producing and expanding upon their music to get the best quality recording we can. The other 50% of the time I am at my home studio mixing the music, adding some post-production, and doing other sorts of editing. 

What misconceptions do people often have about your job?

I suppose a lot of people don't understand how much time and work it takes to get a professional and modern sounding product. I feel like a lot of people who have spent little to no time in a recording environment have a "movie-based" perception where bands can simply walk into the studio, record a song, leave with their recording, and go home for dinner or something. Before the recording even starts, we need to choose the best drums, best guitars, and figure out what microphones will work best.

Sometimes even pre-production is done to ensure the final recorded material is the best it can be, all for the sake of making sure that you start and end with the best quality available. After that, the recording process can sometimes take even 2 weeks or more to properly complete, considering the undivided attention spent on each section for each instrument. When that's completed, the mixing process involves long hours of work and tweaking. 

What are your average work hours?

It varies depending on my current workload, but on average I'd say I work about 60 hours per week recording and mixing. 

What personal tips and shortcuts have made your job easier?

Lately I've had the help of a couple assistants to speed up the process of editing, mostly from my friend Scooter Fort. Editing is the most time consuming part of the process for me. Having his assistance really helps me focus on the mix itself so I don't get burnt out on a project. Lately I've implemented a lot of new tools and software that have been making my workflow much faster and easier. 

What do you do differently from your coworkers or peers in the same profession?

As I mentioned before, I know of a lot of engineers who simply record music "as is" and call it a day. This approach is perfectly fine, but my style is a little more hands-on. I like to look at the material I'm presented with and figure out anything I can add to make things sound better. Since I know what it's like to be in the band's shoes, I know I would want a producer to do the same. Whether it's expanding on the music itself, finding a better guitar tone, or doing hours of editing, the end result will sound better than it did coming in, which is what I believe separates me from a lot of other engineers these days. 

Do you have any advice for people who need to enlist your services?

First and foremost, give me a call and we can talk about your project. I suppose my best advice would be to make sure you're ready. There are so many variables between every band that can drastically change the approach, days needed to record, and budget. Recording is such an exciting experience for a band that sometimes they forget that they need to have that song very well rehearsed before it's considered ready to record. Practice as much as possible, and practice to a metronome. 

What's the worst part of the job and how do you deal with it?

I'd say most producers and engineers will agree that editing can be the most draining part of the recording process. I honestly enjoy doing it, but it's very time consuming and tedious at times. By editing I'm referring to aligning every single drum hit to a time grid, pitch-correcting vocals on 10+ vocal tracks, etc. Doing this for many songs at a time can take days, and it really drains a lot of creative energy that I'd like to use on the mix itself. Luckily, I've had the help of Scooter to do some of these tasks when I start to notice I'm swamped or burnt out. 

What's the most enjoyable part of the job?

There are many enjoyable aspects to this career, but my personal favorite would have to be the mixing stage. While I try to put as much effort into recording the best takes on top quality gear, even if everything is perfectly timed, there's no way to record something so perfectly that it requires no mixing. Shaping all of the instruments is what makes this part of the process so incredibly rewarding, specifically when you get to hear everything come together from separate instruments to a song as a whole. I've always found that my creativity thrives in this area of engineering. 

What kind of money can one expect to make at your job?

I can say that I live comfortably enough to keep a roof over my head and buy stupid stuff on Amazon occasionally, which realistically is enough for me. The satisfaction of creating music every day for a living is far more rewarding than a bigger paycheck. I know a lot of producers who make very, very good money, but they're at the top 1% of the industry I'd say. It's hard to say because it's all freelance, so everyone really sets their own rates and value, but most people I know in this field have other part-time jobs as well to supplement their income. 

How do you move up in your field?

Honestly, that's something I'm still learning myself. I've moved up from where I started to where I am simply by reputation and word-of-mouth. It's a business based on service, so that's mostly how it's going to be. Recording is an expensive purchase for bands, and they really have to trust your work because it's essentially their baby that's in your hands. The better you get over time, the more bands will trust you. Other than that, I'd say it's just like everything else in the music industry: connections and good timing. 

What advice would you give to those aspiring to join your profession? 

If you're just starting out, record your friend's band for free. Not to release, but for practice. I see way too many people out there who are so excited to get a business going and make a Facebook page or something, that they forget that's going to be people's first impression of their work. I made that mistake myself early on. The recording business is complicated because even if you go to school for it, you'll still need experience recording bands for most studios to want to bring you in, or for most bands to trust your services.

I'd say learn as much as you can, get as much experience as possible, and even try interning at studios to gather more knowledge. I believe recording is an art form, therefore it would be wrong of me to say "don't record anything until you're good", because that's not true. Just try to learn and practice as much as you can before you stress about getting clients and sustaining a business. Producers and engineers are a community that love sharing knowledge with each other, so we'd all love to answer any questions to help someone get better.