Tucker Martine (R.E.M., My Morning Jacket, Spoon)
Tucker Martine is a Grammy-nominated producer, engineer, and musician. Over his 25 year career, he has worked with artists such as R.E.M., First Aid Kit, My Morning Jacket, Neko Case, Bill Frisell, Calexico, Grandaddy, Mavis Staples, The Avett Brothers, Spoon, KD Lang, Mudhoney, She & Him, Modest Mouse, Sufjan Stevens, and M Ward. He is now based in Northeast Portland where his studio, Flora Recording and Playback, is also located.
Tell us about your current studio setup.
I have an API Legacy console with Pro Tools, BURL converters, an ATR 102 Analog 2” track deck, ATC SCM45, and Proac Studio 100 monitors. My mix process is typically a hybrid where I’ll split Pro Tools channels out onto the console and use a combination of analog hardware and digital processing. A more thorough equipment list can be found here.
How do you stay excited about making music every day?
Staying excited about music is essential to being good at and enjoying my work. I’m always engaging with people about what they are excited about, always checking out new, or new to me, music, always reading about people that work in different ways than me. Staying curious is what keeps life interesting.
How do you approach the mixing of a song?
I listen to the rough mixes and any references the artist may have. Then I route things through the console and choose which outboard hardware I think will be well suited to the project.
I have more than twenty different hardware reverb units, for example, each with its own flavor. Everything from old-school springs and plates to the most pristine digital units.
I usually get an idea of which flavors I’ll most want for a project after listening through to the roughs and references. Typically by the time a song makes it to mix, the big editing has been done. But I’m open to whatever needs to be done to make it as strong a piece of work as possible.
What advice do you have for aspiring mixers looking to get better at what they do?
Do it every day. Check your work against your favorite records but also don’t be afraid to have your own sound.