Bryan Cook on (briefly) assisting Bob Clearmountain

Bryan Cook has mixed artists such as U2 and One Republic. But one career highlight remains assisting Bob Clearmountain for a few days at his Mix This! studio while his normal assistant was on vacation. We asked Bryan about the experience of working alongside one of the mixing world’s true greats.

“I met Bob’s full-time mixing assistant David Boucher when they mixed something on which I was the assistant recording engineer. They liked how neat and organized my 2-inch tape box labels and track sheets were! Ha.

David went to a wedding, and I filled in for just a few days. Not long at all.

The opportunity to assist Bob was something I’ll never forget. He was the epitome of musical crossed with humble and approachable. He never comes across as overly technical, tricky, gimmicky; his focus is always on the music.

His funny and friendly vibe is an absolute pleasure to be around.

You come to understand that no amount of using the same gear will give you the sound of an iconic mixer like Bob. He’s recently put out videos on Mix With The Masters and other online platforms where he discusses gear choices like the LA-3A on vocals and his console and his chambers.

He’s released plugins through Apogee, if you want to get some insight into his process, too. But none of that stuff will help you sound like him.

There are so many decisions to be made, and what order you execute those decisions in makes all the difference. Bob has taste and hearing that cannot be emulated.

He’s always been a role model for me in both his sense of musical balance and how he deals with people.”