Martin Cooke: Getting an Analog Sound in Digital

Martin Cooke has worked with bands such as Death Cab for Cutie (Grammy Nomination in 2015), Of Monsters And Men, At The Drive-In, Chvrches, HAIM, Kimbra, Sea Wolf, Chaos Chaos, Destroy Boys, Hayes & Y, and Cathedrals.

Martin hails from the great state of Texas and has been playing music since the age of 10. He spent two years at the University of Houston, studying music performance and music education, before attending Berklee College of Music. While at Berklee, he discovered the world of manipulating and recording sound, and never looked back. After graduating with a dual major in Music Production & Engineering and Music Synthesis, Martin moved to Los Angeles and began working at the world class Henson Recording Studios. 

From 2013 to 2018 he engineered for producer/mixer Rich Costey, and has been involved in mixes for artists like HAIM, Phantogram, Chvrches, Foster The People, and many more. He is now established as an independent recording and mixing engineer, and has had the opportunity to work with great independent artists to help them take their music to a new level.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

• Audio school: Is it worth it?
• Shadowing other engineers and adapting to new workflows
• Calibrating your system
• Making the switch from analog to digital
• Getting an analog sound in digital productions
• Understanding phase relationships and how they impact the sound
• The pros and cons to using programmed drums
• Mixing drums
• Leaning into room mics to create a more realistic sound
• Martin’s system for using parallel compression
• His go-to tools for saturation
• Using a “crotch” mic
• The Brendan O’Brien kick/snare mic technique
• Finding the sweet spot of a room to record in

To learn more about Martin Cooks, visit https://www.mcooke.net/

Notable gear mentioned:

SSL Plugins: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/DKq3Xj

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