Episode 35
Show Notes
Live with Matt Rad - Episode 35
Jan 12, 2021
w/ Jon Castelli - Week 32
Show notes by: Bradley Will
Jon likes Ozone 9 dynamics because it’s transparent.
Jon took the DW Fearn VT-7 off of his master buss and put a plugin clipper on there.
Jon thinks the amount of tubes in the VT-5 is enough, so that he can take one layer off.
Potentially, two sets of tube gear and transformers was boxing him in too much to that sound.
Matt and Jon both like the JST Clipper plugin.
Jon thinks it’s a little heavy-handed on drums, but he’ll use it on individual tracks or instruments groups.
For Jon it’s important to not listen to new or expensive gear with expectation. It’s okay if something isn’t the right fit for what he’s going for.
Jon is striving for his mixes to be musical, yet competitive.
Q: Where do you find your weaknesses? How are you still learning and refining your work?
Jon:
Is working on putting his aesthetic aside in order to best serve clients when they ask for something he’s not enthusiastic about.
As an engineer, Jon should know how to do every technique possible in order to best accommodate the artist’s vision.
Jon now wants to meet people where they’re at. Jon should be aware of the new sounds that are out there. See them, hear them, hear their intentions, bring it to Jon’s world, and find an in-between.
Jon is going to spend more time this year going into people’s own worlds.
Matt:
Always trying to explore and discover new things. He’s focusing on bass playing for two months, and then lyric writing for another period, and then he comes back around to his mixing skills. He’s most excited by doing new things.
It’s always important for newcomers to be in an exploratory mode in order to discover what they like.
Q: How do you translate the sounds in your head to a computer?
Matt:
1. You’ll never be able to exactly do it, or do it all of the time.
2. That’s alright.
3. Enjoy the process of not getting it right, because that’s how you’ll learn.
Kitchen Tour:
Jon takes a minute to walk around and tour his kitchen.
Q: What records do you think showcase your skills as a mixer and producer?
Jon:
Khalid - Free Spirit
This was him maximizing his RnB love.
He got the record to sound exactly how he wants it.
Him and Denis Kosiak had a great relationship with every producer on the record, which is rare.
Invisible Things mix
Believed mix
Cool spatial effects
Summer Walker’s album - Over It
Lo-fi and crunchy, but hits hard and is smooth
The Kid Laroi mixes that just came out.
Savage
Matt:
For Matt’s favorite records, he’s attached to the story
In the Name of Love - Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha
Keith Urban - Horses
Eric Valentine came in to finish the production and mixed it.
Eric did an episode breaking it down on his channel.
Dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion
Matt produced, engineered, mixed it
Every drum sound was a completely different setup.
One Direction - Best Song Ever
Matt didn’t know what was expected from the executive producers, so he just did what he thought sounded like the right thing.
Some of Matt’s favorite songs have never been released.
It’s not uncommon for songs to get stuck in limbo and never heard by anyone.
Q: Any gear/plugins/trends that you don’t like seeing?
Matt:
Gets disappointed when his favorite record-makers make things that are badly aggressive and bright and kill what he knows to be their genius.
Jon:
The business trend of “Buy this and it will solve all your problems.”
It’s paradoxical because Jon touts PMC monitors this way.
They have an ethic of “hit us up for a demo listen. A free listen, because we are confident you will appreciate it.”
Currently reading Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett
Debunking the lizard-brain model of neuroscience that dominates.
Finding the right gear is about putting in the time to listen to everything objectively and deciding which options do it for you.
If you’re going to spend a few thousand dollars on gear, it becomes easier to borrow and test the gear for free from the manufacturer before you commit. The higher the price the easier it is.
Braising Vocals:
On Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher record her vocals are super braised
The reverb comes and goes. “That’s the Ethan Gruska magic." It accentuates the vocal performance.
Halloween and Chinese Satellite are good examples.
Jon thinks everyone should listen to it as an engineer.
There’s something really special about the forward/backwards motion of the vocal.
That’s something to study and should be homework for everyone.
Mike Mogis mixed it.
Q: Do you do much riding of things in a mix?
Jon used to. Not much any more, but definitely with effects on certain words or phrases.
He would do throws on a certain phrase.
He mostly does clip-gaining into saturation.
Matt:
Was clip-gaining. He started clip-gaining single words down to make it more dynamic.
