dBeauty Salon Mastering

making good music sound beautiful

Music is the thing that has always taken me places.

About me

As a child, I discovered the world through my father’s record player. Later I learned how to play the piano and eventually became a drummer. Collaborating in different projects I enjoyed working with different people and styles as I navigated the Spanish, Irish, German and British music scene.

My concern is always with the music itself, the different ways in which the artistic elements from which it is made up work together to move people. Success for me is the result of carefully tuning into each unique project and finding out what it needs. I don’t believe in standard solutions. I believe in the human factor, that everyone has a story to tell and I am always curious to hear them. In reality, therefore, it is about anything but me. I am here to let everything else stand out.

So why write more about me. I would love to hear about you, your project and where you want to go with it. Let me show you what I can do to help you get there.

The Studio

Philosophy

I put all my care and dedication in what I do, and the result is always unique and bespoke. A plugin compressor works exactly like an analog one. And, exactly like an analog one, a lot of people don’t know how to use it. So they abuse what is known as “presets” and end up making every recording sound the same. And, well, I never use “presets”.

I guess my career as a sound engineer started when I was around six years old and made the craziest experiments with a portable cassette recorder. But what’s more important is that at the age of nine I started playing piano and a couple of years later I started a twenty-three-year long journey playing drums. Now I’m learning how to play guitar.

Before a mastering engineer I am a musician. Engineers have forgotten that, in esence, we work with music. An artform, a portrait of feelings, a will to communicate. I don’t want your recording to sound louder or more impressive, I want people to enjoy it, to feel it. It’s all about excitement. I want to give every song and every performer that extra percentage of liveliness. I always approach music from an emotional point of view and I want your music to move the listener.

I am a craftsman that uses only plugins. My tools don't define my work.

I wanted this room to be a happy and inspiring place.

Equipment

Natural light, fresh air and space underneath the floor for the low frequencies to move freely make this room absolutely delightful to work in. The little reflections found are tamed by several acoustic panels built to specification and with a colourful finish.

With the premise of keeping it simple, pragmatic and flexible, I decided to work entirely In The Box, so it’s all plugins. I use only what I’ve come to think are the best, mainly from the Dutch company FabFilter. They sound crystal clear and offer a workflow unthinkable in the analog realm. Another reason to choose to work entirely In The Box is that it allows me to make my rates more affordable and keeps my workflow quick.

I also work with hardware controllers for these plugins, which are custom made by OhMyBytes to my specifications. I am privileged to be friends with the developer and have helped create them from prototype to what you can see now in the pictures. They are assembled by hand, incredibly sturdy and fantastically reliable.

A great vintage pre-amplifier, handmade by the Scottish brand Linn more than forty years ago, and a couple of incredibly precise custom modified Polk Audio speakers complete my very spartan setup.

Check out my work

These are some of the records I have worked on (in alphabetical order). Click on them to give them a listen!

Get a quote

In my experience, charging a fixed rate doesn’t make any sense. Every project is different, every artist has different needs and expectations.

That is why I ask you to fill in this form and tell me about your project, so that I can tailor a proposal that matches your requirements perfectly.

Sorry, we are not accepting any new jobs at the moment. It’s very unlikely that it will ever happen again, but you never know!

Your details won’t be stored anywhere, you won’t be spammed, and I won’t add you to any mailing list.