Master Your Mix Podcast

• Jeff Kolhede: Making Mixes That Are “Perfectly Imperfect”

  Jeff Kolhede is a producer, audio engineer, and artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Having participated in multiple Grammy-nominated records, he operates primarily out of 25th Street Recording, the SF Bay Area’s premier recording facility, where he helps emerging and established artists.Jeff’s composing work for film and advertisements has been featured for leading brands, including the trailer music for the Academy Award-winning film, Moonlight. This led him to co-found Gooroo Music, a bay area music house, where he directs a team of award-winning composers, mix engineers, and sound designers for film and advertisements. Recent work includes Billie Eilish, Youtube, Faherty, and Adobe campaigns.Alongside his producing and engineering work is Jeff Kolhede’s artist project. His self-recorded Dismantle LP was released on November 24, 2023. The SF Chronicle noted that “The gorgeous ‘Wonder Why’ calls to mind Nick Drake, with Kolhede’s vocals shining atop a layered string arrangement…there’s both retro-minded and contemporary folk moments within Kolhede’s notable first effort.” This same single wonder why was featured on the Spotify official Fresh Finds folk playlist. bandcamp included the full album on their new and notable feature. His influences range from rock, singer-songwriter, indie, soul, and jazz with genres being defied by melodies, introspective lyricism, and his primary instruments; the sax and voice.Jeff Kolhede remains committed to making a positive, creative, and inclusive impact by way of music and kindness.IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:Separating processes vs. doing them all at onceGainstaging as if you're mixingMaking mixes that are “perfectly imperfect”Allowing yourself to be objectiveMaking time for experimentation/skill developmentKeeping things organicChasing gearCapturing clean, dry, tight drum soundsUsing a “crotch mic”Techniques for muffling drumsAchieving in your face, smooth vocalsPicking mics for a desired soundUsing clip gain vs. compressionTo learn more about Jeff Kolhede, visit: https://www.jeffkolhede.com/Looking for 1-on-1 feedback and training to help you create pro-quality mixes?Check out my coaching program Amplitude and apply to join:https://masteryourmix.com/amplitude/ Want additional help with your music productions?For 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 my Amazon #1 bestselling books:The Recording Mindset: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Pro Recordings From Your Home Studio: https://therecordingmindset.com The Mixing Mindset: The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/ Check out our Sponsors:Download Waves Plugins here: https://waves.alzt.net/EK3G2K Subscribe to the show:Apple Podcasts:

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• Angel Marcloid: Rules Meant to be Followed & Broken

  Angel Marcloid is a fearless, genre-melting musician, producer, and mixing/mastering engineer based outside Chicago, IL. She creates under a broad constellation of aliases, with Fire-Toolz as her flagship solo project and No Joy as her most recent collaborative venture. Angel Hair Audio is her full-service audio production studio for artists whose work already leans leftfield or quietly wants to. She draws from a lifetime of listening, learning, and restless experimentation, carrying a huge musical vocabulary that reaches from her formative years immersed in AOR, prog, jazz fusion, and metal to the noise, industrial, grind, post-punk, krautrock, ambient, hardcore, and early-wave emo that shaped her adolescence.Angel’s approach blends traditional technique informed by legendary engineers with contemporary and boundary-pushing production practices. She finds the emotional pressure points of a piece, then uncovers or amplifies what makes it distinctive, and sculpts it to be a worthy vehicle for an impassioned voice that deserves to be heard and felt.IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:Connecting with your communityRespecting the vibe of a songTranslation issues with mixesCreating focus in a mixRules meant to be followed and brokenWhy simplicity isn’t always a good thingCreating width without stereo widenersFocusing on individual instruments vs as a wholeCreating a hierarchy within your mixesTo learn more about Angel Marcloid, visit: https://angelhairaudio.com/Looking for 1-on-1 feedback and training to help you create pro-quality mixes?Check out my coaching program Amplitude and apply to join:https://masteryourmix.com/amplitude/ Want additional help with your music productions?For 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 my Amazon #1 bestselling books:The Recording Mindset: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Pro Recordings From Your Home Studio: https://therecordingmindset.com The Mixing Mindset: The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/ Check out our Sponsors:Download Waves Plugins here: https://waves.alzt.net/EK3G2K Subscribe to the show:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/master-your-mix-podcast/id1240842781 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5V4xtrWSnpA5e9L67QcJej Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@MasterYourMix Have questions you’d like answered on the show?Send them to [email protected] leave a rating and...

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• Kurt Ballou: Executing Your Vision

  Kurt Ballou is an American musician, producer, and recording engineer best known as the guitarist and founding member of the influential hardcore band Converge. Based in Salem, Massachusetts, he is also the owner and chief engineer of GodCity Studio, a world-renowned recording facility that has become a cornerstone of modern heavy music production. With a background in both engineering and performance, Ballou bridges the gap between raw creative energy and meticulous technical precision, helping define the sound of countless bands across the hardcore, punk, and metal scenes. His production work is celebrated for its intensity, clarity, and attention to sonic texture — hallmarks that have shaped genre-defining records for artists such as Have Heart, High on Fire, Trap Them, and Nails.Beyond his engineering prowess, Ballou is recognized for his deep understanding of instrument tone and studio design. At GodCity, he merges analog warmth with modern fidelity, crafting recordings that feel both visceral and articulate. His dedication to DIY ethics and craft has made him a respected figure not only among musicians but also within the broader audio engineering community. Through his work, Ballou continues to inspire a generation of producers and home-studio creators to pursue authenticity, precision, and emotional truth in every mix.IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:Learning through revisiting old recordingsWhy you can’t trust all you read on forumsCheap vs. expensive gear: What really matters?Mic vs. placement vs. preamps: Which is most important?Mike and Kurt’s feelings on AtmosThe secret to Kurt’s great guitar tonesA simple trick for checking phase with multi-mic setups on guitar ampsSimplifying your approach to productionHow to treat a 2-guitar band vs a 1-guitar bandGetting guitars and bass to feel balancedSidechaining guitars to vocalsMixing his own records with ConvergeCharging per song or by hourRecording entire albums in one sessionTo learn more about Kurt Ballou, visit: https://kurtballou.com/https://godcitystudio.com/Looking for 1-on-1 feedback and training to help you create pro-quality mixes?Check out my coaching program Amplitude and apply to join:https://masteryourmix.com/amplitude/ Want additional help with your music productions?For 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 my Amazon #1 bestselling books:The Recording Mindset: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Pro Recordings From Your Home Studio: https://therecordingmindset.com The Mixing Mindset: The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/ Check out our Sponsors:Download Waves Plugins here: https://waves.alzt.net/EK3G2K Subscribe to the show:Apple Podcasts:

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• Mark Lewis: Where Does Great Guitar Tone Come From?

  Mark Lewis is a Nashville-based record producer, engineer, and mixer best known for shaping the sound of modern heavy metal and hard rock. He cut his teeth under producer Jason Suecof at Audiohammer Studios in Orlando. Over the years, he’s become a go-to name in the metal scene, working with genre-defining bands such as Trivium, The Black Dahlia Murder, DevilDriver, Whitechapel, and many others. His credits span production, mixing, engineering, and mastering, giving him a comprehensive understanding of the full recording process.What sets Lewis apart is his meticulous approach to guitar tone, re-amping, and sonic detail, always striving to match technical precision with the raw energy of the bands he works with. Now operating out of his own Nashville studio, he continues to push the boundaries of heavy music, blending clarity and aggression in mixes that capture both the intensity and the musicality of metal. His work has helped countless bands refine their sound and stand out in an increasingly competitive genre, cementing his reputation as one of the most respected producers in heavy music today.IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:Recognizing your strengthsWorking with Jason SuecofHow getting fired led to his career taking offWhy knowing the “rules” doesn’t mean you should always follow themThe secret to great guitar toneHow your speakers make a massive differenceDispelling the Jim Lill tone testsKeeping objectivity when chasing toneWhen to reampHow to get away from always sounding the sameSpending money to make moneyPutting in the work to see successA technique you may be doing that is killing the uniqueness of a bandTo learn more about Mark Lewis, visit: https://marklewis.audio/Looking for 1-on-1 feedback and training to help you create pro-quality mixes?Check out my coaching program Amplitude and apply to join:https://masteryourmix.com/amplitude/ Want additional help with your music productions?For 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 my Amazon #1 bestselling books:The Recording Mindset: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Pro Recordings From Your Home Studio: https://therecordingmindset.com The Mixing Mindset: The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/ Check out our Sponsors:Download Waves Plugins here: https://waves.alzt.net/EK3G2K Subscribe to the show:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/master-your-mix-podcast/id1240842781 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5V4xtrWSnpA5e9L67QcJej Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@MasterYourMix Have questions you’d like answered on the show?Send them to

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• Jack Emblem: The Importance of Contrast

  Jack Emblem is a GRAMMY-nominated mix engineer known for his versatility and ability to elevate every project he touches. Working seamlessly across all genres, Jack has established himself as a go-to mixer in today’s market.In 2024, Jack received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.His clients include Snoh Aaelgra, Lauren Spencer Smith, Charlotte Day Wilson, DEAN, Wild Rivers, Katie Tupper, Aaron Paris, Jesse Gold and many more.IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:Learning from different areas of the industryUnderstanding client expectations of your mixesSending clients file submission guidesMaking sure songs grow throughout a mixAutomating plugins to create impactWhy separation can be overratedAchieving clear, in-your-face vocalsUsing pre-delay to create depthUnderstanding the sound of different compressorsCreating contrast between elements of a micLeaving low-end aloneTo learn more about Jack Emblem, visit: https://www.jackemblem.com/Looking for 1-on-1 feedback and training to help you create pro-quality mixes?Check out my coaching program Amplitude and apply to join:https://masteryourmix.com/amplitude/ Want additional help with your music productions?For 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 my Amazon #1 bestselling books:The Recording Mindset: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Pro Recordings From Your Home Studio: https://therecordingmindset.com The Mixing Mindset: The Step-By-Step Formula For Creating Professional Rock Mixes From Your Home Studio: https://masteryourmix.com/mixingmindsetbook/ Check out our Sponsors:Download Waves Plugins here: https://waves.alzt.net/EK3G2K Subscribe to the show:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/master-your-mix-podcast/id1240842781 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5V4xtrWSnpA5e9L67QcJej Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@MasterYourMix Have questions you’d like answered on the show?Send them to [email protected] leave a rating and review:https://masteryourmix.com/review/ Thanks for listening!

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