Hello, welcome to joeboldizar.com. I’m an audio engineer based out of Philadelphia, PA. I produce, record, and mix records, mostly using analog tape, out of the recording studio that I co-own, Retro City Studios. For more information on how the analog process works, check out my Q&A: Full Analog
~My Process~
I certainly appreciate all the benefits of modern digital recording and processing. In fact, I often use Pro Tools at least somewhere in the process, even on albums recorded analog. However, I have always had a strong affinity towards traditional analog tape recording. It all starts with artists performing a song; real instruments, actual singing, then builds from there. The magic of analog tape recording isn’t just the sonic qualities, but the fact that it forces you to play your best and listen with your ears instead of just staring at a screen. We live in a time where digital editing, drum samples, guitar modelers, and pitch correction are industry standards. Many of the songs made today rely on these tools. Don’t get me wrong, plenty of people are able to make great records this way, but unfortunately these tools are quite often too heavily relied upon. Every single player has a unique sonic expression, using too much digital editing and sampling can sometimes choke that expression and cause it to sound lifeless and robotic. Sometimes it’s the small human imperfections can make for truly honest and powerful art. To me, nothing sounds quite like a a band playing together, through great equipment, feeding off the energy, and listening with their ears instead of their eyes. This is how great records have always been made.
For a selected discography of artists I’ve worked with both in the studio and live please visit the “my work” page.