Pro Studio Live Award Winning Production Techniques

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.