Secret Sonics

Sorry for dropping the ball there, wanted to keep you in the loop.

John Velasquez is a music producer, mixer, and songwriter based out of LA, CA, USA! In our conversation John and I go deep on the following:
The importance of humility
How he has built a community of creatives that he collaborates with
Mindfulness
Being real
Patience
Working with a team
Getting artists to deliver great vocal performances
The cry test
Limitations are good
The mix = the arrangement
His new studio
Be yourself
And so much more!
You can learn more about John at https://linearmanagement.com/index.php/john-velasquez/
You can follow John on Social Media
IG - https://www.instagram.com/thisisntjohnv/
***Thanks to our sponsors!***
Carl Bahner's resources for studio professionals - https://www.carlbahner.com/resources
Progressions with Travis Ference - https://www.progressionspodcast.com/listen
***Join the Secret Sonics Discord community here(!) - discord.gg/UP97b72W6t
***BRAND NEW!*** SECRET SONICS PATREON - patreon.com/benwallickmusic
Sauce Segment: https://youtu.be/QukinUmMBsk?si=Fuo1DlGS93L6t5Ll
References:
Zella Day - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zella_Day
Local Natives - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_Natives
Vacations - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacations_(band)
You Sexy Thing - https://youtu.be/MhRXOOc_p-0?si=s3bbL3JyYzNoozvB
Shawn Everett - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawn_Everett
Dave McNair - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2023/6/11/secret-sonics-185-dave-mcnair-an-audiophiles-approach-to-mastering
Consider rating and reviewing our show on Apple Podcasts and sharing this or any of your favorite episodes with a friend or two.
Thank you to Zvi Rodan, Mendy Portnoy, and Yakir Hyman for contributing to the podcast theme music!
Thanks to Gavi Kutliroff for editing this episode!
You can find out more about Secret Sonics and subscribe on your favorite podcast app by visiting www.secretsonics.co
Have a great week, stay safe, and dig in!
-Ben

Enoch Yang is a systems and operational management specialist (in addition to being a music producer and artist), based out of Charlotte, NC, USA! In today's episode, Enoch offers a hands-on roadmap for implementing effective systems within your audio business. This approach can help you streamline your business and focus more energy on your core work. In our conversation, Enoch and I go deep on the following topics:
When to start implementing systems and what to focus on
Future-proofing your business
How to leverage your website and social media
AI and the future of tech
Real-world case studies of system implementation
The benefits of automation
And so much more!
You can learn more about Enoch at http://www.enochyang.com/secretsonics
You can follow Enoch on Social Media
IG - https://www.instagram.com/_enochyang/
***Thanks to our sponsors!***
Carl Bahner's resources for studio professionals - https://www.carlbahner.com/resources
Progressions with Travis Ference - https://www.progressionspodcast.com/listen
***BRAND NEW!*** SECRET SONICS PATREON - patreon.com/benwallickmusic
References
Enoch's previous episode - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2021/10/31/secret-sonics-119-enoch-yang-forging-an-authentic-path-in-music
Consider rating and reviewing our show on Apple Podcasts and sharing this or any of your favorite episodes with a friend or two.
Thank you to Zvi Rodan, Mendy Portnoy, and Yakir Hyman for contributing to the podcast theme music!
You can find out more about Secret Sonics and subscribe on your favorite podcast app by visiting www.secretsonics.co
Have a great week, stay safe, and dig in!
-Ben

Daniela Rivera is an Emmy-nominated and multiple-Grammy participating audio and mixing engineer based out of Atlanta, GA, USA! She's also the Governor of the Recording Academy's Atlanta Chapter. In our conversation Daniela and I go deep on the following:
Her Journey starting with a Korg Triton keyboard
Assisting for legendary mixer Phil Tan
Coming up the traditional studio route
The Atlanta music scene
Working the Soundbetter platform
Her approach to low-end
Getting great pop vocals
Stereo bus enhancement techniques
Restoring bad vocal recordings
Noise reduction
Just do it
Don’t be afraid to show off
Being elected as a Governor in the Recording Academy
And so much more!
You can learn more about Daniela at https://linktr.ee/drivmusic
You can follow Daniela on Social Media
IG - https://www.instagram.com/drivmusic/
***Thanks to our sponsors!***
Carl Bahner's resources for studio professionals - https://www.carlbahner.com/resources
Progressions with Travis Ference - https://www.progressionspodcast.com/listen
***Join the Secret Sonics Discord community here(!) - discord.gg/UP97b72W6t
***BRAND NEW!*** SECRET SONICS PATREON - patreon.com/benwallickmusic
Sauce Segment: https://youtu.be/UxyDP8ju4Fc
References:
Korg Triton - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korg_Triton
Mannie Fresh - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannie_Fresh
Stargate - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_(record_producers)
Phil Tan - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Tan
SoundBetter - https://soundbetter.com/
Dave McNair - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2023/6/11/secret-sonics-185-dave-mcnair-an-audiophiles-approach-to-mastering
Reggie McBride - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_McBride
Consider rating and reviewing our show on Apple Podcasts and sharing this or any of your favorite episodes with a friend or two.
Thank you to Zvi Rodan, Mendy Portnoy, and Yakir Hyman for contributing to the podcast theme music!
Thanks to Gavi Kutliroff for editing this episode!
You can find out more about Secret Sonics and subscribe on your favorite podcast app by visiting www.secretsonics.co
Have a great week, stay safe, and dig in!
-Ben

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 fake, pick your fake
The importance of quick decision making
Transparent communication with artists
Having separate spaces for recording and mixing
Tracking a band in a room with headphones on
How video affects a performance
Living a creative life
And so much more!

You can learn more about Stephen at https://www.whatstudio.info/

You can follow Stephen on Social Media
IG - https://www.instagram.com/itsstecole/

***Thanks to our sponsors!***

Carl Bahner's resources for studio professionals - https://www.carlbahner.com/resources


Progressions with Travis Ference - https://www.progressionspodcast.com/listen

***Join the Secret Sonics Discord community here(!) - discord.gg/UP97b72W6t


***BRAND NEW!*** SECRET SONICS PATREON - patreon.com/benwallickmusic

Sauce Segment: https://youtu.be/Qe5JgG9K0n0

References:
Joel Hamilton - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Hamilton
POSTMUSIC - https://www.youtube.com/@POSTMUSICLiverpool
a.P.A.t.T. band - https://www.youtube.com/@apatt
Fracture - https://glitchmachines.com/products/fracture/
Tim Ferris on Colin and Samir - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROymrQKsxSM


Consider rating and reviewing our show on Apple Podcasts and sharing this or any of your favorite episodes with a friend or two.


Thank you to Zvi Rodan, Mendy Portnoy, and Yakir Hyman for contributing to the podcast theme music!

Thanks to Gavi Kutliroff for editing this episode!

You can find out more about Secret Sonics and subscribe on your favorite podcast app by visiting www.secretsonics.co

Have a great week, stay safe, and dig in!


-Ben

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
Travis’s approach to stem processing
Raising your rates
ROIs on a mix
Is technology helping us?
Investing in your health
Sidequests don’t help your mix
Selling yourself authentically
And so much more!


You can learn more about Travis at https://travisference.com/

You can follow Travis on Social Media
IG - https://www.instagram.com/tference/

***Thanks to our sponsors!***

Carl Bahner's resources for studio professionals - https://www.carlbahner.com/resources


Progressions with Travis Ference - https://www.progressionspodcast.com/listen

***Join the Secret Sonics Discord community here(!) - discord.gg/UP97b72W6t


***BRAND NEW!*** SECRET SONICS PATREON - patreon.com/benwallickmusic

Sauce Segment: https://youtu.be/w3ycs8MCzmg

References:
Soundflow - https://soundflow.org/
Bounce Factory - https://www.bouncefactory.net/
Phil Weinrobe - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2023/5/14/secret-sonics-183-philip-weinrobe-music-productions-unorthodox-thinker
Colin and Samir - https://www.youtube.com/c/ColinandSamir
Goldclip - https://www.schwabedigital.com/
Ebony Smith - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2020/6/14/secret-sonics-050-ebonie-smith
Carl Bahner - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2021/10/10/secret-sonics-116-carl-bahner-serving-and-nurturing-artists


Consider rating and reviewing our show on Apple Podcasts and sharing this or any of your favorite episodes with a friend or two.


Thank you to Zvi Rodan, Mendy Portnoy, and Yakir Hyman for contributing to the podcast theme music!

Thanks to Gavi Kutliroff for editing this episode!

You can find out more about Secret Sonics and subscribe on your favorite podcast app by visiting www.secretsonics.co

Have a great week, stay safe, and dig in!


-Ben

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 relationship between Hi-Fi and pro audio
Moving the studio into his living room and his current set-up
When to go out of the box and when to stay put
Leaving lots of headroom out of the box
Staying healthy
Why you shouldn’t be afraid of failure
Work on music you like
Don’t give up
And so much more!

You can learn more about Dave at http://www.davemcnairmastering.com/styled-3/index.html

You can follow Dave on Social Media
IG - https://www.instagram.com/mcsnare/

***Thanks to our sponsors!***

Carl Bahner's resources for studio professionals - https://www.carlbahner.com/resources


Progressions with Travis Ference - https://www.progressionspodcast.com/listen

***Join the Secret Sonics Discord community here(!) - discord.gg/UP97b72W6t


***BRAND NEW!*** SECRET SONICS PATREON - patreon.com/benwallickmusic

References:
Episode on the Attack and Release Show - https://attackandreleaseshow.fireside.fm/135

Scott Hull - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2023/4/30/secret-sonics-182-scott-hull-mastering-stellar-records
Acora Acoustics - https://www.acoraacoustics.com/
Snarky Puppy - https://open.spotify.com/album/6a1HtLhd3zNccXRNUZ23ge?si=5El4fyDoQAGrnG9zkzjq4Q
Charlie Hunter - https://open.spotify.com/album/1PU5pGYM7iglfvhAPkdCou?si=DX_7Q1--Qf2dKwonMk8l_w
Bob Schneider - https://open.spotify.com/album/2FGW9TD4aWhdSIo0oQx6qu?si=vzKKHxWCQHO6yX-iTZ0Gkg

Consider rating and reviewing our show on Apple Podcasts and sharing this or any of your favorite episodes with a friend or two.


Thank you to Zvi Rodan, Mendy Portnoy, and Yakir Hyman for contributing to the podcast theme music!

Thanks to Gavi Kutliroff for editing this episode!

You can find out more about Secret Sonics and subscribe on your favorite podcast app by visiting www.secretsonics.co

Have a great week, stay safe, and dig in!


-Ben

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 Pedals
What’s under the hood of his plugins
Why he says no to mixing and only masters music now
Hybrid mastering approaches
When to say yes to everything (and when not to)
Listening to more music helps
Moving studios
Enjoying the journey from point A to point B
Don’t be afraid to reach out to peopleAnd so much more!

You can learn more about Noam at https://www.noamlevinberg.com/

You can follow Noam on Social Media
IG - https://www.instagram.com/noamlevinberg/

***Thanks to our sponsors!***

Carl Bahner's resources for studio professionals - https://www.carlbahner.com/resources


Progressions with Travis Ference - https://www.progressionspodcast.com/listen

***Join the Secret Sonics Discord community here(!) - discord.gg/UP97b72W6t


***BRAND NEW!*** SECRET SONICS PATREON - patreon.com/benwallickmusic

References:


Safari Pedals (Promo Code secretsonics20 at checkout) - https://safaripedals.com/collections/all
Noam's first episode - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2020/11/1/secret-sonics-070-noam-levinberg
Artlist - https://artlist.io/
Crookwood mastering console - https://crookwood.com/audio-mastering/m1-mastering-console/

Sontec EQ - https://gearspace.com/board/high-end/1223319-sontec-432c-eq-holy-grail-mixing.html

Consider rating and reviewing our show on Apple Podcasts and sharing this or any of your favorite episodes with a friend or two.


Thank you to Zvi Rodan, Mendy Portnoy, and Yakir Hyman for contributing to the podcast theme music!

Thanks to Gavi Kutliroff for editing this episode!

You can find out more about Secret Sonics and subscribe on your favorite podcast app by visiting www.secretsonics.co

Have a great week, stay safe, and dig in!


-Ben

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=%23GAds+-+Performance+Max+-+ROTW+-+Purchase+-+2023-04&g_campaignid=20006776209&g_keyword=&g_keywordid=&g_network=x&gclid=CjwKCAjwgqejBhBAEiwAuWHioM1mFL4CFRZVVObUAkTMX98PVZ_7UEOgCxXfFH0SLCGnl8_zLexR-hoCzG4QAvD_BwE

Youtube version - https://youtu.be/ABIB5iM0Sgs

Website - https://www.benwallick.com/
Ben's IG - https://www.instagram.com/benwallickmusic/
Secret Sonics IG - https://www.instagram.com/secretsonics/

Enjoy! To listen to this and all episodes of Secret Sonics please visit https://www.benwallick.com/podcast/

#musicproduction #podcast #recordingstudio #mixing #mixingengineer

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 Ismaily
How record making is a series of thousands of decisions and how he tries to simplify the process
Why he’s against playback of recorded takes
How he uses short bursts of audio to get a bigger picture of the sonic landscape
Avoiding headphones at all costs
Working within the constraints of the human brain
Recording for bleed
Off-axis mic coloration
Room Treatment
Never referencing other mixes on studio monitors
Never bouncing files pre-mix!
Keeping consistent but limited work hours
Saying yes to opportunities
And so much more!

You can learn more about Philip at https://www.philipweinrobe.com/

You can follow Philip on Social Media
IG - https://www.instagram.com/ithinkimphil/

***Thanks to our sponsors!***

Safari Pedals (Promo Code secretsonics20 at checkout) - https://safaripedals.com/collections/all

Carl Bahner's resources for studio professionals - https://www.carlbahner.com/resources


Progressions with Travis Ference - https://www.progressionspodcast.com/listen

***Join the Secret Sonics Discord community here(!) - discord.gg/UP97b72W6t


***BRAND NEW!*** SECRET SONICS PATREON - patreon.com/benwallickmusic

References:



Theo Katzman - https://open.spotify.com/album/4LsFjd6Se6lEsughB7sXhF?si=whtT3wViTceTxPH0AqhXsQ
Shahzad Ismaily - https://pirecordings.com/artists/shahzad-ismaily/
Figure 8 Recording - https://www.figure8recording.com/
Adrianne Lenker - https://open.spotify.com/album/2Qt8Z1LB3Fsrf6nhBNsvUJ?si=YKYo5ZQ6Q3yWrj8S_PHRaQ
Sugar Mountain - https://sugarmountainrecording.com/
Susan Rogers - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Rogers
Jan Jelinek - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Jelinek
Thinking Fast & Slow - https://amzn.to/3MopPIp
Mixing with Your Mind - https://amzn.to/3Mn7gV0

Consider rating and reviewing our show on Apple Podcasts and sharing this or any of your favorite episodes with a friend or two.


Thank you to Zvi Rodan, Mendy Portnoy, and Yakir Hyman for contributing to the podcast theme music!

Thanks to Gavi Kutliroff for editing this episode!

You can find out more about Secret Sonics and subscribe on your favorite podcast app by visiting www.secretsonics.co

Have a great week, stay safe, and dig in!


-Ben