Eric Valentine: Giving Instruments Clarity in a Mix

Feb 19, 2025

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Eric Valentine’s journey into music started with a $50 drum set from a garage sale and drum lessons at age nine. By 12, he was experimenting with home recordings, and by high school, he had a 4-track recorder and was recording local musicians. At 17, he and a friend launched a 16-track studio in a garage, advertising $10 per hour for recording sessions—marking the start of his professional career.

His big break came when his band, T-Ride, signed with Hollywood Records under the condition that he produce and engineer their album. Instead of renting an expensive studio, he upgraded their own space, investing in high-end gear. Though the band didn’t achieve major success, it led Eric to focus on producing local artists. Over the next few years, he worked with rapper Paris, recorded Joe Satriani, and ultimately helped launch the careers of Smash Mouth and Third Eye Blind. He co-produced Third Eye Blind’s debut album and took a DIY approach with Smash Mouth, finishing their album before they even had a deal—leading to their signing with Interscope just days after mastering.

With multiple hit records under his belt, Eric relocated from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, closing his legendary “H.O.S.” Studios to establish Barefoot Recording. There, he produced major albums for Queens of the Stone Age, Good Charlotte, Taking Back Sunday, Maroon 5, Slash, and Gwen Stefani, accumulating nearly 65 million album sales worldwide. In 2010, he expanded into recording equipment design, launching Undertone Audio to create high-end studio gear, including a Class A console with a revolutionary EQ.

Most recently, Eric moved his studio setup to Vermont, where he spent four years building a state-of-the-art 10,000-square-foot recording facility. Now settled in, he’s focusing on his latest passion: The Audionaut Institute, an educational platform where audio enthusiasts can explore the art of recording and production.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

Learning on your own vs. having a mentor
Working with Queens Of The Stone Age, Good Charlotte, and Third Eye Blind
Establishing the vision of a project
How he gets big, natural-sounding drums
Using minimal micing techniques
How to tune drums to the key of a song
The beauty of imperfection
Arranging your tracks so they practically EQ themselves
Making extreme mix moves
Creating movement, energy, and width in a mix
Tips for getting the low-end right
His delay trick for controlling low-end headroom

To learn more about Eric visit: https://www.audionautinstitute.com/mrwev

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