Steve Fisk (Nirvana, Screaming Trees, Boss Hog)

Producer, mixer, engineer, and composer Steve Fisk is a legend of the Pacific Northwest rock scene, having recorded several tracks for Nirvana’s Blew EP and going on to work with seminal underground acts such as Screaming Trees, The Afghan Whigs, and Boss Hog. Fisk also produced the BIG Car Seat Headrest record, Teens of Denial, in 2016 and worked with Soundgarden since their second release, Fopp, in 1988.

Tell us about your current studio setup.

After almost 15 years of summing (Roll Audio Folcrom), I am now mixing 100% in the box. I use Pro Tools with a UAD Apollo 16 with satellites. I mix on NS10m’s and Adam SVA’s. My favorite analog gear is the Joe Meek V1.05 compressor and the Summit TPA-200B tube preamp. My go-to plugins are the UAD 1176 Rev A, the UAD Neve 1081, and the Waves NLS.

How do you typically approach a mix?

While I go for pretty extreme sonics I start most mixes trying to work with the band or artists’ arrangement. Once I get the gist, I can see when something is too long or cluttered or when a chorus needs a better definition to do its work and will hash these details out with the artist. Sometimes I cut bridges in half. I like real endings versus board fades.