Greg Wurth (Steve Vai, Generation Axe, L.A. Guns)
Greg Wurth is a Grammy-nominated, Gold and Platinum award-winning producer and engineer, equipment manufacturer (Greg Wurth Audio), audio educator (Inside The Studio With Greg Wurth), and the decade long personal engineer for virtuoso guitarist Steve Vai. Working predominantly out of Harmony Hut studio in Encino, CA, Wurth’s diverse credits include Generation Axe, L.A. Guns, Derek Small, Tony MacAlpine, 2Cellos, and Mary J Blige.
Tell us about your studio setup.
I currently use either a custom Tree Audio console or my Greg Wurth Audio Oracle Summing mixer, Ocean Way Mains, NS10's, iLoud MTM, Audeze LCD-X, too many outboard units to name but most notably the Vertigo Sound VSC-3, Wes Audio NG Bus Comp, and Inward Connections Vac-Rac Limiters. I use Fab-Filter, UAD, Sound Radix, and Plugin Alliance plugins on every project.
Having worked on so many songs over the past few years, how do you stay fresh and excited about mixing music these days?
I try to work on projects that continue to push innovation as well as creativity. It keeps me on my toes and allows me to push the limits from my end.
How do you typically approach the mixing of a song?
I listen to the song and get an understanding of what the artist's vision for the song is. From there, I make a roadmap for what it will take to fully realize that vision.
The first step is to sift through every track and do whatever clean up and editing is needed as well as checking the phase and correcting that wherever needed. Once that step is complete, I start pushing up faders and getting a balance (levels/pan positions) without any processing.
From there I make choices on where to start adding compression, EQ and, FX.
Once I feel a mix is starting to take shape, I print mixes to take into another environment such as the car or a different room. I continue this process by making adjustments based on my notes.
When I A/B mix versions, I use ADPTR Metric AB from Plugin Alliance which allows me to load songs and easily compare for reference.