Who are you currently touring with?
I am currently on the road with Brisbane band, The Brave.
What are some other acts you’ve worked with?
My permanent act is Melbourne band The Beautiful Monument, but I’ve worked with my fair share of local and international touring acts, recently with the likes of Being As An Ocean, Slaves, Polaris and Knocked Loose.
What was your path to a career in audio engineering?
I’ve been mixing bands around the country for around two and a half years now. I started off in my hometown rolling leads for the local production company at NYE events, before moving to Melbourne to study audio at RMIT.
What is your favourite console and why?
Digico’s SD series have always been personal favourites of mine. Once you figure out the workflow, they are very fast and easy to use, plus they sound incredible!
Favourite microphone or any other piece of kit?
Shure Beta91A is probably my most used piece of gear. I mix heavy/rock bands the majority of the time, so it’s a pretty crucial part of my kit!
Most memorable gig or career highlight?
Probably mixing FOH and five sends of IEM for The Beautiful Monument at Unify Festival this year. Mixing on such a big (and beautiful sounding) PA to such a massive crowd was an experience!
What are three mixing techniques you regularly employ?
Compression, parallel compression, and group/bus control.
What are three pieces of gear or features that have been game changers for you?
Waves integration for smaller consoles has been huge. Running a full complement of top end plug-ins on basic consoles changed the way I mix. Being able to scan new channels on Sennheiser G3 IEM units quickly has also been a massive time saver when we walk into a venue or festival. Tablet connectivity also plays a massive role in most of my work, being able to get out of the corner of the room and mix in the crowd is huge!
How have your working methods changed since you began live sound mixing?
It’s hard to compare mixing on an eight-channel analogue console in the back of a pub to the SD10 at The Corner Hotel. The use of groups and busses made a massive difference, especially trying to achieve the polished and ‘larger than life’ drum sound heavy bands are searching for.
Any tips/words of wisdom for someone starting out?
Get out there and take as many gigs as you can get and meet as many people as possible. You’ll always learn more on the job than at a school, and the people you meet in the real world can be crucial to what you do later on. It’s all about who you know!
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