Episode 16
Show Notes
Live With Matt Rad - Episode 16
Sept 01, 2020
w/ Jon Castelli - Week 15
Show notes by: Bradley Will
Q: Electric Guitars - Go-to effects?
Matt doesn’t love any of the guitar emulators.
Matt uses Guitar Rig and Amplitube but he doesn’t like them that much.
Helix is alright.
Jon:
You don’t need high-end on guitars. Jon will roll them off anyways.
Add chorus to all guitars
H3000 is magic on guitar and synths.
Matt’s “pick-one” synth is a Prophet 6.
Jon’s pick is a Juno 106.
Jon likes the Prophet 6 over the 12 because the 12 has too much high-end and doesn’t fit into a mix as well as the 6.
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Develop your taste and your voice so that people will hire you for that thing. This will exclude you from some jobs, but it will make you the stronger contender for other things.
“Trend is always late” - Kanye West
How to Think About Monitor Controllers:
Matt has an Avocet controller.
Jon has Grace Design 905.
Your monitor controller is about the D/A conversion
The main thing you are looking for is transparency, if you’re using it as your DAC.
You want the lowest distortion possible.
There’s a little distortion on Avocet,
Dangerous monitoring controllers are far worse and not worth the trouble. Invest in a better controller.
Jon wants nothing in his chain that is going to color the signal unless you intend for it to.
Jon is a big fan of Matthew Walker the sleep doctor. Jon has listened to all of his stuff.
Jon has ordered a real alarm clock for his room so that he doesn’t bring his phone into his room.
Turn off all of your devices 30 minutes before you sleep.
The diff between sleep and sedation.
Q: Is there a magic sauce or formula that makes a hit?
Short answer: No.
Matt thinks the vast majority of hits have some level of authenticity to them.
If the track isn’t super-real in some way then it will fail against something that is.
It should always come from something real in the writer’s life.
Q: I’m moving to a major city. Should I move to LA or London?
Probably yes, due to the density of creative work still happening in these cities.
Find your network of people
Q: Is it better or more marketable to be just a starter or a finisher, or both?
Jon likes speciality. If you can do one thing and get trusted to do one of those things super well then you will be better off for it.
Being good enough and lots of things isn’t as good as being great at one thing.
Matt: Try to do a bit of everything and find your creativity and then narrow it down.
Let your peer group dictate what you do the best.
At 17 years old do it all. Be an artist, producer, engineer, photographer, influencer, fashion icon.
Business: How Do You Set Your Mixing/Production Rates?
Have a full major label rate and have an indie rate.
Get a go-between like a manager or attorney to do negotiations and for you.
This also legitimizes you to artists and labels.
You’ll have to go through that uncomfortable transition of starting to charge people.
Jon got rid of the indie rate. He has a single rate now.
This pays his assistant, his studio costs for the day, and his management fees.
It’s negotiable based on a few considerations: Are you an independent artist? If so of what size?
If a client is negotiating a rate, Jon may require a higher percentage on the back-end
It depends on how busy Jon is if he is willing to cut a deal.
People will try to nickel and dime you, in order to test if you will cave on your rate.
If they need a rush job on a mix the rate goes up.
Jon:
Everyone should come up with their rate based on the amount of years they’ve invested in their craft and to get good and be able to turn something around on a deadline.
Big mixers get $5,000 for the big mixes.
$500 is low.
Early on you’re not going to be able to charge large rates until your great work is out in the world and people are coming to you.
People hearing your work out in the wild is what’s going to get them to come to you.
A simple way to think is about filling your calendar. If you want to do 5 days a week and you can’t fill that, offer to do practice work for free. Fill your calendar.
Momentum: When you do great work, on time, and in high quality you can parlay that into the next job.
Labels will keep hiring you if you do great work.
Working with people consistently. Compound relationships. You want to be working with people for years.
Money is a bad motivator. Developing human relationships is a great motivator.
Matt didn’t get his first big check until 28 years old. 17 years after he’d started.
A lot of the game is attrition. You need to keep doing it because you love it. All of the reasonable people will stop following that path before you and get “regular” jobs.
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Q: Should mixers get a point on the record?
Jon gets a point on every song.
Matt gets a point on every mix.
You do have to pay your dues. You need to earn that.
Whats deserving of a point is what you bring to the production. You affected the sound of the record.
Unless you think it’s the last great song you’re going to do, then just move on if you can’t negotiate the point you want.
You want to get your great work out in the world.
When you’re starting out. Do the great work then get your credit.
If you have a hit, the price goes up on your next record.
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Q: How do you say no?
Matt:
A polite “no” is an extremely powerful thing.
Jon:
If the rough mix is too hot you need to be able to have a conversation and communicate this to the client.
Your communication abilities are what get you the job and allow you to succeed.
Jon comes with the mindset that he’s not afraid to lose the gig and therefore isn’t afraid to say no.
Jon only says no to things that are so far out of his budget that he’s devaluing himself and others by saying no to it.
Jon thinks there are three tiers of mixers/points scale. Jon thinks he’s in the middle.
He also says no to songs that he doesn’t feel like he can enhance. If the track is too smashed then he’ll turn it down.
Jon will back out If the producer is being difficult to work with.
