Production

I have always viewed production and mixing as inseparable from creative aspects of the music.

This largely stems from my own experience having produced all of my own work, conditioning myself into believing that writing, performing, editing, and mixing are all equal steps. Each step must carefully consider its impact on all the others--as a rule, not as an afterthought.

But it also comes from my experience as a listener. I am acutely aware of the gap between an musician's mind and a listener's distracted ear. For my entire musical career, I have searched for ways to bridge that gap without compromising the core musical message.

Below are featured projects highlighting my production work.

Sahara

In 2017, I teamed up with a still-mystery singer, "TT", to create a cover of the Nightwish song "Sahara."

This serves as perhaps the best (or purest) example of my production work in a technical sense, because the challenge was strictly in capturing the right sound. Other examples may be harder to distinguish the technical side from "musical" or "creative" aspects of production.

I created all drum and orchestra sounds using software.

From Now On

My cover of "From Now On" by Basia demonstrates more of my "style" because unlike the Nightwish cover, here I had to actively decide how to rearrange instruments, sounds, beats, melodies, etc. to suit the end goal of a "metal cover." In particular, found it challenging due to the original's jazz underpinnings. So this serves as a good example of how I work with "melodies" that are not yet ready-to-record, fully mapped out riffs or songs.

Iron Krill

Learn More

I have produced all music by my band Iron Krill. To avoid redundancy I will leave the details and music of that project here. But for comparison, here is a quick sample.

Upside Down Kingdom

In 2011, "real" band (yes really real, Grammy-nominated and everything I promise!) As I Lay Dying selected my remix of their song "Upside Down Kingdom" to be included as an iTunes bonus track on their compilation album "Decas."

As a mere contest winner, I do not own the finished work. O pen in iTunes to listen or buy.

Open in iTunes

Though I am not generally associated with remixing (or any "electronic" music), this is a good example of working outside my comfort zone to create something bold as the project called for. It is also a rare example of someone else mastering a song after I performed the mixing.

Below is my original mix, prior to the master by Metal Blade Records. Watch lyric video on YouTube.

My submission to As I Lay Dying's remix contest that somehow won. A mastered (that is, louder) version of this appears as an iTunes bonus track on their new release "Decas." I mostly make metal/hardcore music rather than remixing, so let me know of anything I could do better next time! Or check out my actual band. http://facebook.com/ironkrill

Gear

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Home studio / Iron Krill:

Guitars:
- Schecter C-1 Custom “The blue one”
- Ibanez RG3EXFM1 “The gray one”
- Ibanez RGRT621DPB “The purple one”
- Schecter C-8 Deluxe “The one with too many strings”
- Ovation acoustic, mid-depth, with cutaway, multi-soundhole “The other blue one”
- Ibanez RG6003FM, modified with 19-EDO fretboard (38 frets total) “The weird one”
- Halo Guitars Custom Shop: customized 6-string with 19-EDO fretboard (35 frets total), EMG 81/85 pickups, 27” scale length, stainless steel frets, hipshot fixed bridge, custom electronics layout, etc... “The WTF one” / “The expensive one”

Basses:
- Schecter Stiletto Studio-4 “The purple bass” / “the nice one”
- Ibanez SR405EQM “The green one”
- Ibanez SR250, modified with 19-EDO fretboard (38 frets total) “The fallen angel” / “The ruined one”

Amps:
- Line 6 Spider V 240HC 240W Head w/ Spider V 412 320W 4x12 Cab
- Peavy MAX 112

Microphones:
- Shure KSM27
- Shure SM7B
- MXL 770
- Shure SM57
- Shure SM58
- Behringer XM8500

Audio interface:
- Focusrite Scarlett 18i8

Other hardware:
- Line 6 POD XT guitar effects processor
- Behringer Xenyx 1202FX mixer
- Behringer Xenyx 1002 mixer
- MXR M-80 Bass Direct Box with Distortion
- Cloud Microphones Cloudlifter CL-1
- BOSS Harmonist
- BOSS Chromatic Tuner

Keyboards:
- Yamaha PSRE313* [getting rid of]

VST Instruments:
- Toontrack Superior Drummer 2.0 w/ Metal Foundry SDX
- IK Multimedia Miroslav Philharmonik
- IK Multimedia Syntronik
- XLN Audio Addictive Keys
- Native Instruments Kontakt Factory Library

Software/Plugins:
- Magix ACID Pro 8.0
- Steinberg Cubase Pro 9.5
- Reaper
- IK Multimedia T-RackS 5
- Joey Sturgis Tones Toneforge: Menace, Ben Bruce, Guilty Pleasure, Jason Richardson, Misha Mansoor
- Joey Sturgis Tones Bassforge Hellraiser
- Joey Sturgis Tones Dynamics Bundle: Gain Reduction Deluxe, Finality, JST Clip, Transify
- Joey Sturgis Tones FX Bundle: Pixelator, SideWidener, Soar, SubDestroyer
- Joey Sturgis Tones JST Bus Glue, Bus Glue Joel Wanasek
- Joey Sturgis Tones v30 Impulse Response Pack
- Antares Auto-Tune Pro
- Antares AVOX 4

Monitors:
- Yamaha HS50M monitor speakers
- Sennheiser HD 280 Pro monitor headphones

Accessories:
- Line 6 Relay G50 wireless system
- Tortex Flex .73 mm picks
- D’Addario NYXL .11-.56 / Ernie Ball Power Slinky 7 strings
- Planet Waves Custom Series cables

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Live rig:

- Shure GLX-D16 wireless system -> GLX-D6 receiver/tuner
- Digitech DROP
- BOSS Noise Suppressor
- BOSS Super Overdrive
- BOSS Tera Echo
- BOSS Reverb
- Peavey 6505+ Head
- Mesa 2x12 Cab

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Getting rid of:

- Schecter Damien Platinum 7 (to sell for actual $$)
- M-Audio Axiom 25 USB MIDI keyboard controller (fate TBD)
- BOSS Digital Delay (fate TBD)
- Yamaha PSRE313 keyboard

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Gear Memorial:

- Schecter Hellraiser C-1
- Line 6 Spider Valve 212 (sold for joke $ to random Amazon delivery guy)
- Ibanez RG7421PB
- Ibanez GSR100EX