Tracking, mixing, mastering
Albums, singles, film, and television post. Pro Tools, REAPER, and Logic, with surround and immersive work when a project asks for it.
Nine Grammys · Engineer since 1971 · Programming since 1984
I spent fifty years making records sound right. Now I build tools so you can.
Fifty years of making records taught me exactly where software gets in the way. So I write my own — drum instruments you play instead of program, loopers that react in real time on stage, visuals that groove.
What I do
Three practices that continue today.
Making records tells me what software is missing. The software makes the next project faster and better. The show is where both get tested in public.
Instruments and utilities
C++ and JUCE for the plugins, Lua and JSFX inside REAPER. Built in the room where they get used, then shipped once they survive a real session.
Streams and broadcast audio
Multi-camera switching, low-latency monitoring, and the automation that lets one person run a clean show without a crew.
Now: I am supposed to be retired, but building things is in my DNA. These days that means OTTO, IDA, the Vector plugins (LOUIS), Sparks of Light, JTF News, and ACIM Daily Minute on the bench, and the show going out every week. (GRIM was a REAPER proof of concept that defined what OTTO is today — I haven’t touched it in about a year.)
In build
Tools that came out of real sessions.
Instrument · Active
OTTO
Four drummers you play instead of program. Organic tempo, human placement, arrangement that follows the song instead of the grid.
Instrument · Active
IDA
Idea Development Arranger. Looping treated as what it actually is — capturing a musical idea and repeating it until it becomes the arrangement.
REAPER · Inactive
GRIM
REAPER proof of concept that defined OTTO. No longer in active development.
Web & iOS · Active
JTF News
Just The Facts. News aggregation that strips the bias off news stories and presents the simple facts allowing you to decide how to feel about them.
macOS · Coming to the Mac App Store
Sparks of Light
Live MIDI and audio turned into particles and notes on screen, in time.
How I work
"Feel is always number one. The gear, the software, the automation — all of it is either serving that or getting in the way."
Five acoustic drum kits. Free, and they stay free.
Recorded, edited, and programmed by hand — the same library composers have leaned on since the GigaStudio days. SFZ format, so any free player will load them. Use them on your own releases, commercial included.