After graduation I moved to California with nothing but a dream that sounded ridiculous to everyone but me. My employer offered me an unused office, and in 2005 The OC Recording Company opened its doors — minimal gear, few contacts, and an engineer who was still learning on the job. My first client was a rapper from Boston who had just moved to Orange County. Together we produced records featuring AZ and Royce da 5’9″, he landed a deal, and word started to spread. Within two years I was booked weeks out, reinvesting every dollar back into the studio.

Every studio you have ever admired started as an empty room with one person who refused to quit.

The People in the Room

A recording session is a collaboration between four core roles, and understanding how they interact will define your career more than any piece of gear.

The Artist needs an environment that brings out their best performance. I have seen a vocalist with no formal training walk into the booth and deliver a take so raw that every person in the control room stopped talking. I have also seen classically trained singers freeze up because the headphone mix was wrong. Your job as an engineer is to create the conditions for greatness — the right monitoring level, zero latency, a comfortable room temperature, and honest feedback when a take is not working.

One tip that took me years to learn: if a singer is pitchy, do not reach for Auto-Tune first. Adjust the headphone volume. If they sing flat, reduce the volume and cut bass frequencies in their mix. If they sing sharp, increase the volume and add more low end. The headphone mix is one of the most powerful performance tools you have, and most engineers ignore it.

The Producer hears the finished record before it exists. The first time a producer told me to scrap an entire day’s work and start the beat over from scratch, I thought he was out of his mind. By the end of the session, the new version was ten times better. A great producer evaluates six things in every take: songwriting, emotion, energy, enunciation, rhythm, and pitch. If you are both the engineer and the producer — which is increasingly common — you need to wear both hats without letting one dominate the other.

The Engineer is the technical backbone. I once watched an experienced engineer fix a mix that three other people had given up on. He did not add a single plugin. He adjusted the gain staging, fixed a phase issue on the bass, and high-passed three tracks that were cluttering the low end. Fifteen minutes. That is the difference between knowing the tools and understanding what they do.

The Songwriter is often the quietest person in the industry and frequently the wealthiest. Some of the biggest names in music are writers you have never heard of. Their words and melodies drive every radio station, streaming playlist, and sync placement. If you contribute to a song’s composition, get a split sheet signed before the session ends. Not after. Not when it blows up. Before anyone leaves the studio. I cannot stress this enough.

How Money Actually Works

This is the part they do not teach in most audio programs. There are two copyrights in every song: the composition (PA) and the sound recording (SR). They generate different revenue streams, they are owned by different people, and confusing them will cost you money.

The composition generates mechanical royalties (paid when the song is reproduced), performance royalties (paid when it is broadcast or performed live), synchronization royalties (paid when it is used in film, TV, or ads), and digital royalties from streaming platforms. These are typically split between the songwriter and the publisher.

The sound recording generates sales revenue and is usually owned by whoever financed the recording — often a label, but increasingly the artist themselves. Producer royalties typically range from 1–5% of the retail or wholesale price.

The engineer is usually paid per project or per hour as work for hire and does not receive royalties. This is safer but less lucrative. Hopefully, one day the engineer royalty will be as common as the artist and producer royalty.

The single most important financial decision you will make in your career is whether to retain your publishing. A major publishing company can offer a tempting advance, but signing over your PA copyright means giving up a perpetual revenue stream for a one-time payment. Think very carefully before doing this.

The Traits That Matter

The traits that separate successful audio professionals from everyone else are not technical — they are personal. Show up early. Finish on time. Keep your word. Protect your client’s confidentiality. Be upfront about costs. Never release work you are not proud of. And above all, maintain your integrity — your reputation is the most valuable thing you own in this business.

Talent gets you in the door. Character keeps you in the room.

This post is adapted from Chapter 1 of In the Studio: Audio Engineering & Music Production Techniques — a 468-page textbook covering the complete recording, mixing, mastering, and business workflow. Coming soon from The Forum Press.

The post It Started in a Closet: What Nobody Tells You About Building a Studio Career appeared first on The OC Recording Company Blog.

After 20+ years behind the console, I’ve learned one thing about mixing: most of the early decisions are the same every time. Load the stems. Gain stage. Set the panning. Slap an EQ and compressor on every track. Dial in the low cut. Check the phase. It’s the same routine whether you’re mixing a trap beat or a country ballad — and it eats hours before you even get to the creative part.

So I built the thing I always wished existed.

StemDesk is a complete AI-powered mixing, mastering, and music generation studio. Drop your stems in, get a mixed, mastered, release-ready bounce back — no DAW required, no extra plugins required. Or export directly to Pro Tools and Reaper with everything pre-loaded. It ships with its own built-in plugin suite, runs entirely on your local machine, and doesn’t upload a single byte of your audio to the cloud. Ever.

This isn’t another plugin. This isn’t another website you upload to and pray. This is a session-level AI that sees your entire mix, understands it, and makes it better — then lets you generate brand new music on top of it.

It Listens Before It Touches Anything

StemDesk doesn’t just slap a preset chain on every track. It runs deep spectral analysis on every stem in your session — frequency content, dynamics, transients, loudness, spectral shape, all of it. Then it maps out exactly where your stems are competing with each other in the frequency spectrum. You can see it in the spectral conflict heatmap — a visual grid that shows you which tracks are fighting in which bands. Click any red cell and StemDesk shows you the problem and the surgical EQ fix it already computed.

And here’s the thing: it only processes what actually needs processing. If a stem owns its frequency space and doesn’t conflict with anything, StemDesk leaves it alone. No unnecessary EQ cuts. No compression on tracks that already have good dynamics. No saturation on clean acoustic parts. Less processing, more natural mixes. The way it should be.

87 Genre Profiles. Not 6. Not 10. Eighty-Seven.

Hip-hop doesn’t sound like country. StemDesk knows that. But it goes way deeper than “rock vs. pop.” There are 87 genre profiles across 12 families — Trap, Drill, Phonk, Boom Bap, Neo-Soul, K-Pop, Reggaeton, Afrobeats, Amapiano, Doom Metal, Classical, Film Score, Podcast, and everything in between. Each profile has calibrated gain targets and relational balance rules that reflect how a real mix engineer would approach that genre. The kick-to-bass relationship in a trap beat is completely different from a folk record, and StemDesk knows exactly how to handle both.

One-Click Auto-Mix. 60 Seconds. No DAW.

This is the one that changes everything.

Drop your stems into StemDesk. Click Auto-Mix. In under 60 seconds, you get a fully processed stereo WAV bounce — gain staging, panning, EQ, compression, saturation, volume rides, sidechain ducking, and mix bus processing, all applied in a single pass. Adjustable processing intensity lets you dial between subtle correction and aggressive processing. The default is 25% — just enough to clean everything up without crushing what you already had.

No Pro Tools. No Reaper. No DAW at all. StemDesk processes everything standalone using its own built-in DSP engine. You don’t even need third-party plugins installed. It ships complete.

One-Click Mastering for Every Platform

Once your mix is done, master it for any platform with one click. Spotify at -14 LUFS. Apple Music at -16. Club/DJ at -8. Broadcast at -23 (EBU R128). YouTube, Tidal, SoundCloud, CD, or set your own custom target. True peak limiting, automatic gain compensation, resampling, dithering — all handled. Before and after measurements so you can see exactly what changed.

No separate mastering app. No upload to a mastering website. It’s built right into the same session.

Ships With Its Own Plugin Suite

This is a big one. StemDesk comes with a complete AAX/VST plugin suite built in C++/JUCE — SD Monitor, SD Parametric EQ, SD Compressor, SD De-esser, SD Gate, and SD Saturator. These aren’t demo plugins or stripped-down versions. They’re the real processing engine that powers the entire system, and they work inside Pro Tools and Reaper as standard plugins.

No third-party plugins required. You don’t need to own FabFilter, iZotope, Waves, or anything else. StemDesk ships ready to go out of the box.

But if you do own FabFilter? StemDesk generates calibrated .ffp presets for your existing plugins — Pro-Q, Pro-C, Saturn, Pro-L, Pro-DS, Pro-MB, Pro-G — per-stem, with user-selectable plugin versions. So whether you’re running stock StemDesk plugins or your own FabFilter suite, you’re covered.

It Talks to Your DAW

StemDesk works standalone, but when you want DAW integration, it goes deep.

Pro Tools: Real-time fader and pan control via HUI protocol over virtual MIDI with 14-bit precision. Or build a brand new Pro Tools session from your stems via PTSL with automatic sample rate conversion.

Reaper: Export a complete .rpp project file with all plugins and presets pre-loaded on every track. Open it in Reaper and your entire mix is there — every EQ curve, every compressor setting, every gain ride, ready to tweak.

Three DAW workflows plus standalone. Four ways to deliver from one app.

AI Music Generation — Local, Free, Unlimited

Here’s where it gets crazy.

StemDesk auto-detects the key and BPM of your session. Need a vocal hook? A bass line for the bridge? A piano part to fill out the chorus? Tell it what you want, pick a style, and StemDesk generates it locally on your GPU — matched to your key, locked to your tempo. Write your own lyrics, paste in a concept and let the AI write them for you, or go instrumental-only.

Every generation gets automatically split into 4 separate stems via Demucs — drums, bass, vocals, instruments — and dropped into your session ready to mix. No dragging files around. No bouncing to another app.

The AI model is ACE-Step 1.5, MIT-licensed and fully free. No cloud processing. No API fees. No per-generation charges. Generate as much as you want, forever. The AI runs on your machine and your machine alone.

Talk to It Like a Human

You don’t need to hunt through menus or twist knobs. Just type what you hear.

“Kick needs more punch.”
“Vocals are buried.”
“Too much mud in the low end.”
“Make the snare brighter.”

StemDesk’s AI translates your plain-English feedback into specific gain, EQ, and compression adjustments across the relevant tracks. It understands audio context — it knows that “more punch” on a kick means something different than “more punch” on a vocal. Say what’s wrong, and it fixes it.

AI Intelligence Panel

There’s a full AI co-engineer built into the dashboard. Four modules:

• Critique — Objective analysis of your mix with specific fix suggestions
• Coach — Educational guidance that explains why every AI decision was made, so you learn as you go
• Diagnostics — Identifies phase issues, clipping, frequency pileups, and other technical problems
• Spectral Heatmap — Interactive frequency conflict grid showing exactly where stems compete

Smart prompt suggestions based on your actual stems. AI lyric generation from text concepts. Ask it questions in plain English and get real answers about your mix. This isn’t a chatbot bolted onto a DAW. It’s an AI that actually understands audio.

Volume Rides and Sidechain Ducking — Automated

Two things that every mix needs and no AI tool has ever automated properly.

Volume rides: StemDesk analyzes each stem in time-windowed chunks, calculates loudness per segment, and writes fader automation that keeps levels consistent before compression even touches the signal. Quiet verses get lifted, loud choruses get tamed. The same fader ride a mix engineer does manually — automated.

Sidechain ducking: Bass ducks when the kick hits. Pads duck for vocals. Guitars clear space for lead lines. StemDesk detects which stems need ducking based on spectral overlap and timing, computes the amount and release, and bakes it into the auto-mix or exports it as DAW automation. No manual routing.

Stem Separation and A/B Compare

Don’t have stems? No problem. Drop any finished 2-track mix into StemDesk and Demucs — Meta’s neural stem separation model — splits it into drums, bass, vocals, and instruments, all running locally on your GPU.

Then use the built-in A/B toggle to compare your raw stems against the processed mix at the same timestamp. Space bar plays, Tab toggles. Hear exactly what StemDesk changed, instantly.

Reference Track Matching

Drop a reference track and StemDesk compares your mix against it — frequency balance, loudness, dynamics, stereo width. Get a match score and specific EQ correction curves that push your mix toward the reference’s tonal signature. Built-in MP3 compensation so lossy references don’t skew the analysis.

Built by an Engineer, for Engineers

I didn’t build StemDesk from a textbook. I built it from thousands of real sessions — hip-hop, pop, R&B, rock, country, Latin, everything that’s come through OC Recording over the past two decades. Credits on Netflix, ESPN, MTV, and Disney. Records with Grammy-winning and platinum-selling artists. Three #1 hits mixed for Common Kings. A Billboard-charting Christian Rock track for Whosoever South.

Every gain staging target, every EQ curve, every genre profile in StemDesk comes from actual professional practice — not academic datasets or synthetic training data. This is what happens when a working engineer builds the tool he always wished existed.

But it’s not just for seasoned engineers. If you’re a home producer still learning, StemDesk gives you a professional starting point and shows you why it made every decision. It’s a tool and a teacher.

When Can You Get It?

StemDesk is in the final stretch of development. I’ll be sharing screenshots, demo videos, pricing details, and beta access soon.

If you want to be first in line, hit the waitlist:

→ Join the StemDesk Waitlist

→ View the Full Product Page

STEMDESK.AI · STEMDESK.NET · USPTO Serial No. 99670978

This has been a passion project — everything I’ve learned about mixing, mastering, and music production, distilled into the most complete AI audio studio I could imagine. It’s almost here.

— Asaf

Tags: ai mixing, ai mastering, ai music generation, audio engineering, auto mixing, music production, music tech, oc recording, Pro Tools, Reaper, stemdesk, FabFilter

The post Introducing StemDesk appeared first on The OC Recording Company Blog.

Asaf Fulks recorded and edited all the narration for Michael Fowlkes new Television series The History of Sport Fishing at The OC Recording Company!

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https://ocrecording.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/signal-2024-06-14-161446-1.jpg” title_text=”signal-2024-06-14-161446″ _builder_version=”4.25.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

The post The History of Sport Fishing with Michael Fowlkes appeared first on The OC Recording Company Blog.

https://www.flare.pub/w/naddr1qqr47u6ztpyrwaspz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfdupzq9jhn2kskqgn8pg96cr6ww4ny2kk5sn0w6tu8c8qqlsxykyk4wf0qvzqqqy9hvmq79lk

https://embed.wavlake.com/track/5e0150c2-f250-4987-a4fb-e974147d5bb3

The post New single ‘Bitcoin’ by Asaf Fulks, Fatell and Yakira Shimoni Fulks now playing! appeared first on The OC Recording Company Blog.

Whosoever South new music video ‘My Everything’ is now playing! Music and video production by Asaf Fulks at #ocrecording. We shot this one down in San Clemente. Enjoy!

The post Whosoever South – My Everything appeared first on The OC Recording Company Blog.

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” —Walter Elliot

Passed the California Bar Exam…I’m officially a lawyer! Wow. Baruch Hashem  What a pleasure to share this moment with you all! Thanks so much for your love and encouragement the past 5 years. Time flies for real. It’s a blessing when your efforts materialize. It was a true test of perseverance…many small steps day in and out. I plan to practice entertainment law—contracts, agency, copyrights, intellectual property, but I’m open to different possibilities. We’ll see what the future holds—excited! BIG shout out to Taft Law School, my bar prep teacher Fleming’s ‘Fundamentals of Law’, Chabad of West Orange County, and the all professionals who inspire me—Carol Adams, Sue Basko, Judge Jim Gray and Judge Andy Guilford. Lastly, to my study buddy and so much more Momma Kira Shimoni Fulks…

Happy Mother’s Day Momma Kira Shimoni Fulks It’s been 40 years and this Mother’s Day we’re entering into the promised land Thank you for always having your baby’s back and supporting me in achieving my dreams You got the biggest heart out and inspire me to be the best me Study buddy, model, artist, chef…there ain’t many hats you don’t wear One things fasho, you’re soldier for real We did it I love you Momma Let’s goooooo Just got back from Georgia shooting music videos with my fam Whosoever South We shot 10 videos in 7 days and a short documentary…7tb of footage   Always a pleasure grinding and getting creative with my people down south   It’s extra special when you’re creating visuals for music you produce, in a place with such character and people you love What an adventure Stay tuned…

The post Asaf Fulks Passed the California Bar…now a lawyer! appeared first on The OC Recording Company Blog.

“The Hills are alive with the sound of music” This week we wrapped up recording Audrina Patridge’s new audio book ‘Choices’ published by Simon & Schuster! Preorder at: bit.ly/3Cpa6ldr Audrina Patridge is one of the original stars of the MTV series The Hills, a reality show and pop culture phenomenon that lasted from 2006 to 2010. In 2019, Audrina and the show returned to MTV with the highly anticipated reboot The Hills: New Beginnings. In the intervening decade, she launched the luxury swimwear label Prey Swim, traveled the world as the host of NBC’s travel and lifestyle show 1st Look, and appeared on Dancing with the Stars.

We also recorded Lynne Cox for her audio book ‘Tales of Al’ for Penguin Random House. Lynne is best known for being the first person to swim between the United States and the Soviet Union, in the Bering Strait, a feat which has been recognized for easing the Cold War tensions between US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1971, she and her teammates were the first group of teenagers to complete the crossing of the Catalina Island Channel in California. She has twice held the record for the fastest crossing of the English Channel from England to France (1972 in a time of 9 hours 57 minutes and 1973 in a time of 9 hours 36 minutes). In 1975, Cox became the first woman to swim the 10 °C (50 °F), 16 km (10 mi) Cook Strait in New Zealand. In 1976, she was the first person to swim the Straits of Magellan in Chile, and the first to swim around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Had a great visit with our GA fam Whosoever South! Busted out the BIG Dawg mics. The AEA R44 beat out Neumann u67 for the new single and music video My Everything. Be on the lookout for the release soon. Also hooked up the Telefunken U47 which sounded great on another record. If the u47 were a car it would definitely be a 4 wheel drive truck…perfect for the project! Their single Down In The Woods is closing in on 1 million Spotify spins! Produced and engineered by Asaf Fulks at OC Recording. We also got it in with the homie Mayne T.R.I.P on his new single ‘Our Lives’.

Our homegirl Kora’s new single ‘Pressure’ ft. Stunna Man is now playing at YouTube! Co-Produced, mixed and mastered by Asaf Fulks at OC Recording!

The post With Audrina Patridge, Lynne Cox and Whosoever South at OC Recording! appeared first on The OC Recording Company Blog.

The post 5 Lil’ Thangs That Make a BIG Difference in the Recording Studio appeared first on The OC Recording Company Blog.

The post Studio Sessions with Kora, Fatell and Asaf Fulks appeared first on The OC Recording Company Blog.

Asaf Fulks recorded all the ADR for the Black Ranger Chance Perez in Season 2 of Power Rangers Dino Fury at #ocrecording! What a fun project. Tune in and check it out at Netflix

The post Power Rangers ADR plus Simon and Schuster Audio Book at OC Recording! appeared first on The OC Recording Company Blog.