￥In this episode, Sebastian Krys demonstrates and talks shop about audio engineering and music production, including topics from songwriting and pre-production to mixing techniques, and general advice for succeeding in the industry.

 

Tune in to this episode to hear some expert advice from multi-Grammy winning engineer, Sebastian Krys. You’ll learn how he got his start in the industry, and how what he learned in the beginning affects his work as an engineer today. Sebastian Krys also covers many philosophical concepts that engineers and producers need to understand today. This includes tips and tricks that he uses during the creative process, and the importance of understanding your role within a production. Sebastian also walks us through a demo and mix by artist Vega, discussing the process throughout. You’ll not only learn mix tips and techniques, but you’ll also learn tons of valuable information about pre-production and the production process. Sebastian also offers valuable insight on how to make money in such a saturated industry, plus so much more!

 

Also in this episode:

 

• How he got started, and how what he learns affects his work as an engineer today
• the true value behind internships and academic programs
• the importance of getting feedback from others throughout the creative process
• the importance of knowing your role within a production
• great productions vs great material
• what he looks for in a demo, and the advantages and disadvantages of having a raw demo vs a more produced demo
• importance of trust with clients and how that influences the process
• a walk through of a demo by artist Vega
• pre production advice, and the importance of taking the time to do thorough pre production
• talks about how often he’s there for tracking, and some tools he uses for remote recording
• advice on how to make money in such a saturated industry
• an explanation of his philosophy about thinking about a song both stylistically and from a frequency standpoint
• percussion advice to make frequencies work together
• some drum micing advice
• handling bleed
• treating complex instruments as a single sound source
• what he likes about bass, and what he looks for in a bass part
• “trust your instinct in the moment, and trust that your instinct is good”
• how he does mixing like a performance, and trusting his instinct
• his vocal chain go to
• advice on using tubes vs solid state gear
• mixing advice
• signal processing while tracking
• variables to consider while tracking
• advice for listening to mixes, and initial steps to take
• capturing a song’s feeling or emotion vs capturing specific sounds
• tracking with effects and committing to ideas
• studio tour and his studio decisions
• a discussion of plugins
• the importance of structure in the studio
• Sebastian’s approach with vocals, and other instruments
• discussion of mixing in the box and tape simulation
• how he achieves depth
• importance of visualizing how you want things to sound
• the importance of studying the way sound travels, and then emulating that in your mix
• tips on applying movie tricks to mixing
• challenges with preserving masters with digital
• a discussion of processing vs higher resolution, and automation and clip gain
• importance of breaking the rules when they become detrimental to the project
• what’s on his mixbus
• why he tries not to let people take rough mixes with them

 

1) Pre-Production: How and Why Should an Engineer Go About it

 

In this clip, Sebastian Krys discusses his pre production process with artists. He explains what information he asks for during pre-production, and the importance of taking the time for this step in the process.

 

2) Making Money in the Industry

 

In this clip, Sebastian Krys gives us some valuable advice on how to make money and succeed in the audio industry.

 

3) Vocal Treatment

 

In this clip, Sebastian Krys goes over his treatment of the vocals in a song by artist Vega. He explains what effects he used on the vocals and why, and goes into some more detail on other instruments in the mix.