Howie Beck: The Advantages of Working with Limitations

Howie Beck is a Toronto-based mixer and producer whose credits include Feist, Barenaked Ladies, Ron Sexsmith, Walk Off The Earth, and Charlotte Day Wilson, whose breakout single "Work" he mixed and co-produced. Before turning to mixing full-time, Beck built a cult following as a solo artist, writing, performing, and recording every instrument on albums like Hollow and How to Fall Down in Public himself. He's been nominated for three Juno Awards in three separate categories: Album, Recording Engineer, and Producer of the Year, a rare spread that reflects his range. He now runs Studio H, a Dolby-approved Atmos mix room in Toronto's Queen West.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

• How four-track and ADAT recording forced him to commit to musical decisions
• Why unlimited tracks can work against the editing process instead of helping it
• The Prince song with no bass on it, and what it says about restraint
• How Howie stays objective when working on his own music
• Why he goes to tape for certain projects and what it changes sonically
• His drums-first mixing workflow and the reasoning behind it
• How he approaches vocal depth and space to make vocals feel forward in a mix
• The tradeoffs of heavy vocal compression (breaths, sibilance, mouth pops)
• Why he pulls up an artist's rough mix before he opens the real session
• How demoitis shows up more today than it used to, and how he talks clients through it
• Training his ears and body to trust his monitoring environment at different volumes

To learn more about Howie Beck, visit: https://www.howiebeck.com/

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