Grammy award-winning engineer/producer/mixer Pete Moshay is picky about using only the best gear. Having worked almost 20 years for Hall & Oates - in addition to mixing projects for the likes of Barbra Streisand, Average White Band and Ian Hunter – he knows what goes into making hit records. So it should come as no surprise that he relies heavily on Sonnox Oxford plug-ins to help sculpt his sound.

A long time fan of Sonnox Oxford Dynamics and EQ plug-ins, Moshay also puts the Inflator to good use. “It’s great for providing extra density for tracks,” he says. “I’ll ease the Limiter across the bus mix, very gently, and open it up with a bit of the Enhance feature. It’s an incredibly musical tool and the perfect touch at the end of a chain. I’m particularly fond of the EQ,” he adds. “You can get a super tight Q and notch things out, but always remain totally musical.”

Recently, he’s been recording and mixing a monthly webcast with Daryl Hall called “Live From Daryl’s House’. “What we’re doing is a show where Daryl and different guests perform at his house in this big room he calls the Great Room,” Moshay noted. “It’s all wood, made from Hemlock and hard pine, and it sounds amazing. He does Hall & Oates songs, other artists material, or whatever comes up – it’s very casual and off the cuff.”

Moshay captures each performance using a mobile hard disk recorder, using a combination of stage and studio mics. He then transfers it into Pro Tools for final mixing and editing. Available free online at www.livefromdarylshouse.com or at HallAndOates.com, he has to have a new show ready to roll by the 15th of every month.

“The one we just finished was recorded over in England. We went to Daryl’s house in London and recorded with KT Tunstall, and Nick Lowe” says Moshay. “On these shows, I’ve begun using the new Oxford SuprEsser for de-essing, It’s incredible how you can really focus in with it. I can get the vocals way out in the mix without poking somebody in the eye with sibilance.”

Moshay also likes the SuprEsser’s flexibility. “There’s just so much more versatility as compared to standard de esser, especially with the amount of control you have over it,” he continued. “In the advance mode, you can change the attack and release time, and the amount of compression -so that if you don’t want to hit things too hard, or have a soft release, you can. You can also use it as a shaping tool, which is in some ways like the Transient Modulator.”

One of the things Moshay likes best about the SuprEsser is the visual feedback – which allows the user to immediately hone in on the areas they want to effect. “You can watch the FFT display and get instant feedback, so if you want to get right to that offending 6kHz peak, you can grab it and nail it”, he noted. “I’ve been de-essing things my whole career, and basically working ‘by ear.’ The ability to actually see what’s going on instantly helps me get result faster. That’s important, because no matter how good you are - if you see a problem as well as hear it, you can fix it.”

Moshay also developed a quick appreciation for the automation features on the SuprEsser. “For example, if you want to take a vocal and go line by line, you can just automatically shift a frequency over and find a certain peak. You can just look at what’s going on and automate it to fit accordingly. And, most important, that instant visual feedback doesn’t effect the SuprEsser’s ability to retain the musical quality. This is something new. It’s a tool we haven’t had yet.”

After having just finished the mixes from London, Moshay was preparing to take Live From Daryl’s House to the South by Southwest festival. “We’re going down to do a show with Liam Finn and Chuck Profitt,” he noted. “We’re also doing one with a new artist on Blue Note from Philly called Mutlu. Daryl wants to do these shows with newer artists, just to try and mix it up and break the mold of a standard show. Without a doubt, the Oxfords have been a big part of the sound.”

Screenshot from Daryl Hall Session - click for larger version

Interview and editorial provided by Rich Tozzoli