Secret Sonics Ben Wallick

Noam Levinberg is a mastering engineer and the owner of the brand-new plugin company, Safari Pedals! He's based out of Tel Aviv, Israel. In our conversation Noam and I go deep on the following:

Lessons from building the audio department at a sync company
You don’t have to smash the dynamics for sync music
Headroom and dynamics
Things are getting quieter
How he built his new plugin company, Safari Pedals
What’s under the hood of his plugins
Why he says no to mixing and only masters music now
Hybrid mastering approaches
When to say yes to everything (and when not to)
Listening to more music helps
Moving studios
Enjoying the journey from point A to point B
Don’t be afraid to reach out to peopleAnd so much more!

You can learn more about Noam at https://www.noamlevinberg.com/

You can follow Noam on Social Media
IG - https://www.instagram.com/noamlevinberg/

***Thanks to our sponsors!***

Carl Bahner's resources for studio professionals - https://www.carlbahner.com/resources


Progressions with Travis Ference - https://www.progressionspodcast.com/listen

***Join the Secret Sonics Discord community here(!) - discord.gg/UP97b72W6t


***BRAND NEW!*** SECRET SONICS PATREON - patreon.com/benwallickmusic

References:


Safari Pedals (Promo Code secretsonics20 at checkout) - https://safaripedals.com/collections/all
Noam's first episode - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2020/11/1/secret-sonics-070-noam-levinberg
Artlist - https://artlist.io/
Crookwood mastering console - https://crookwood.com/audio-mastering/m1-mastering-console/

Sontec EQ - https://gearspace.com/board/high-end/1223319-sontec-432c-eq-holy-grail-mixing.html

Consider rating and reviewing our show on Apple Podcasts and sharing this or any of your favorite episodes with a friend or two.


Thank you to Zvi Rodan, Mendy Portnoy, and Yakir Hyman for contributing to the podcast theme music!

Thanks to Gavi Kutliroff for editing this episode!

You can find out more about Secret Sonics and subscribe on your favorite podcast app by visiting www.secretsonics.co

Have a great week, stay safe, and dig in!


-Ben

Mix_Notes are a chance for Ben to talk about the topics on his mind and share what's been happening in his studio - beyond the scope of the usual interviews that take place on Secret Sonics.
Here are some links based on what I referenced:
Neural DSP's Wong amp - https://neuraldsp.com/plugins/archetype-cory-wong?g_acctid=332-563-6797&g_adgroupid=&g_adid=&g_adtype=none&g_campaign=%23GAds+-+Performance+Max+-+ROTW+-+Purchase+-+2023-04&g_campaignid=20006776209&g_keyword=&g_keywordid=&g_network=x&gclid=CjwKCAjwgqejBhBAEiwAuWHioM1mFL4CFRZVVObUAkTMX98PVZ_7UEOgCxXfFH0SLCGnl8_zLexR-hoCzG4QAvD_BwE

Youtube version - https://youtu.be/ABIB5iM0Sgs

Website - https://www.benwallick.com/
Ben's IG - https://www.instagram.com/benwallickmusic/
Secret Sonics IG - https://www.instagram.com/secretsonics/

Enjoy! To listen to this and all episodes of Secret Sonics please visit https://www.benwallick.com/podcast/

#musicproduction #podcast #recordingstudio #mixing #mixingengineer

Philip Weinrobe is a record producer, mixing engineer, and the owner of Sugar Mountain Recording in Brooklyn, NY, USA. He's worked with talented artists such as Adrianne Lenker (Big Thief), Theo Katzman (Vulfpeck), Alanis Morissette, and many others! In our conversation Philip and I go deep on the following:

Accidentally getting into recording by building studios for people including Shahzad Ismaily
How record making is a series of thousands of decisions and how he tries to simplify the process
Why he’s against playback of recorded takes
How he uses short bursts of audio to get a bigger picture of the sonic landscape
Avoiding headphones at all costs
Working within the constraints of the human brain
Recording for bleed
Off-axis mic coloration
Room Treatment
Never referencing other mixes on studio monitors
Never bouncing files pre-mix!
Keeping consistent but limited work hours
Saying yes to opportunities
And so much more!

You can learn more about Philip at https://www.philipweinrobe.com/

You can follow Philip on Social Media
IG - https://www.instagram.com/ithinkimphil/

***Thanks to our sponsors!***

Safari Pedals (Promo Code secretsonics20 at checkout) - https://safaripedals.com/collections/all

Carl Bahner's resources for studio professionals - https://www.carlbahner.com/resources


Progressions with Travis Ference - https://www.progressionspodcast.com/listen

***Join the Secret Sonics Discord community here(!) - discord.gg/UP97b72W6t


***BRAND NEW!*** SECRET SONICS PATREON - patreon.com/benwallickmusic

References:



Theo Katzman - https://open.spotify.com/album/4LsFjd6Se6lEsughB7sXhF?si=whtT3wViTceTxPH0AqhXsQ
Shahzad Ismaily - https://pirecordings.com/artists/shahzad-ismaily/
Figure 8 Recording - https://www.figure8recording.com/
Adrianne Lenker - https://open.spotify.com/album/2Qt8Z1LB3Fsrf6nhBNsvUJ?si=YKYo5ZQ6Q3yWrj8S_PHRaQ
Sugar Mountain - https://sugarmountainrecording.com/
Susan Rogers - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Rogers
Jan Jelinek - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Jelinek
Thinking Fast & Slow - https://amzn.to/3MopPIp
Mixing with Your Mind - https://amzn.to/3Mn7gV0

Consider...

Mix_Notes are a chance for Ben to talk about the topics on his mind and share what's been happening in his studio - beyond the scope of the usual interviews that take place on Secret Sonics.

Here's a link to the video version - https://youtu.be/EOhQzrS2BaA

Here are some links based on what I referenced:
Black Box HG2 - https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/black_box_analog_design_hg-2.html
Decapitator - https://www.soundtoys.com/product/decapitator/
Virtual Tape Machines - https://slatedigital.com/virtual-tape-machines/
BB Tubes - https://www.waves.com/plugins/bb-tubes
Gorilla Drive (coupon code: secretsonics20 at checkout) - https://safaripedals.com/products/gorilla-drive-vst-plugin

Website - https://www.benwallick.com/
Ben's IG - https://www.instagram.com/benwallickmusic/
Secret Sonics IG - https://www.instagram.com/secretsonics/

Enjoy!

To listen to this and all episodes of Secret Sonics please visit https://www.benwallick.com/podcast/

Scott Hull is a 40-year veteran Grammy award-winning mastering engineer and the owner of Masterdisk based in Peekskill, NY, USA. In our conversation Scott and I go deep on the following:

Landing a Masterdisk internship and working with Bob Ludwig
Leading an interdisciplinary life
Striving for excellence
The role of the engineer
His approach to mastering
Avoiding overprocessing and doing more with less
Becoming familiar with your monitoring
Human hearing and perception are malleable
Mastering is a perspective
Analog vs. Digital mastering
Mastering and cutting for vinyl
Amazing Steely Dan and John Mayer stories
Rolling with the chaos
Decision-making and having a successful mindset
And so much more!

You can learn more about Scott at https://www.masterdisk.com/scott-hull

You can follow Scott on Social Media
IG - https://www.instagram.com/masterdisk_nyc/

***Thanks to our sponsors!***

Safari Pedals (Promo Code secretsonics20 at checkout) - https://safaripedals.com/collections/all

Carl Bahner's resources for studio professionals - https://www.carlbahner.com/resources


Progressions with Travis Ference - https://www.progressionspodcast.com/listen

***Join the Secret Sonics Discord community here(!) - discord.gg/UP97b72W6t


***BRAND NEW!*** SECRET SONICS PATREON - patreon.com/benwallickmusic

References:



Bob Ludwig - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ludwig
Masterdisk - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masterdisk
Bobby Owsinski - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2022/7/5/secret-sonics-151-bobby-owsinski-birds-eye-view-of-the-audio-industry
Sam Moses - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2022/1/30/secret-sonics-130-sam-moses-finishing-records
Two Against Nature - https://open.spotify.com/album/2MJc2N3eFVT0ZabBN4zc32?si=oTCQgW0nQtGNwdqdxI3J2g
Room for Squares - https://open.spotify.com/album/3yHOaiXecTJVUdn7mApZ48?si=_CJKTf92RGyXDvM2oJE2wg

Consider rating and reviewing our show on Apple Podcasts and sharing this or any of your favorite episodes with a friend or two.


Thank you to Zvi Rodan, Mendy Portnoy, and Yakir Hyman for contributing to the podcast theme music!

Thanks to Gavi Kutliroff for editing this episode!

You can find out more about Secret Sonics and subscribe...

Mix_Notes are a chance for Ben to talk about the topics on his mind and share what's been happening in his studio - beyond the scope of the usual interviews that take place on Secret Sonics.

Here are some links based on what I referenced:

Epiphone Viola Bass - https://www.epiphone.com/en-US/Electric-Bass/EPIPSM729/Vintage-Sunburst
Khruangbin - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khruangbin
Mitch Friedman - https://www.instagram.com/mitchthebassplayer/
Ampeg SVT - https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/ampeg_svtvr_classic.html
Fernando Lodeiro - https://www.benwallick.com/podcast-episodes/2022/1/1/secret-sonics-126-fernando-lodeiro-nurturing-relationships-in-the-studio

Website - https://www.benwallick.com/
Ben's IG - https://www.instagram.com/benwallickmusic
Secret Sonics IG - https://www.instagram.com/secretsonics/

Enjoy!