When you get the call from legendary producer Daniel Lanois to fly to New York City and work on U2’s new record, you must be doing something right. LA based engineer/mixer Florian Ammon is not only doing it right, he’s doing it with the right people. With wide-ranging credits that span from Mariah Carey and Eminem to Lifehouse, Herbie Hancock, Rammstein and Van Halen, he’s risen up the chain by doing things his way. On top of the technology curve years ago with a new recorder called Pro Tools, he has since carved a niche for himself with tight, punchy mixes that keep the clients coming back for more. We caught up with him recently to see how the past has helped propel him into the future.

So how did you get your career underway?

I bought my own Pro Tools rig at a time when the studios out here in LA were still all on tape. If they needed non-linear editing they would call guys like me to come in. So I became one of the mobile 'Pro Tools guys'.

So what was your first ‘break’?

A friend that was managing a studio called me to do a Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters session. That was really cool - they were such amazing musicians. Then I went on to do some Van Halen from that. It was Van Halen III, and we did it mostly at 5150, which was Eddie’s studio. I put in quite a bit of “Hip Hop time” with different producers, working with acts like Ice-cube and Mariah Carey, and even Eminem, before his first record came out. I’ve also worked on the last four Rammstein albums.

You worked with U2 on their No Line On The Horizon release. Tell us how that happened.

This developed through working with Jude Cole - he has a studio with Kiefer Sutherland and a production company in LA. They signed an artist named Rocco Deluca and Danny Lanois came in to produce. I did Rocco’s second record with him, and when that was finished last year, Dan called me up to see if I wanted to come to New York and help him with U2. That was a great time and a very interesting experience. An engineer’s dream! The way U2 works is very intuitive. They mix and track and rewrite and rearrange all at the same time. You could be mixing a track and Bono might come in and say, ‘hey let me sing that bridge again on the song you had up yesterday’. It’s very fast paced and very “in the moment”.  We always print stems of everything, and I believe that when they do the “final final” version for the record, there are different parts of different mixes coming from various mixes. An unconventional workflow maybe, but the way it feels is really the only important thing for them. And the results speak for themselves.

So did you use Oxford Plug-ins on that mix?

Yes, I used the EQ. You can really dig in there with the Oxford EQ and slice things out, without it being too obvious. With some other EQ’s, you’re always getting some of what you are looking for, but you’re also getting something else you don’t want. I really like it for the precise aspect of it, and how great it sounds on vocals.

Did you use any of the various curve Types?

Yes, I really like the GML, because I love and know the original units. I tend to go for that Type, as it’s so clean and musical. Since there’s only limited sonic room on your record, you often need to clear space. When you track an instrument, you make the recording of it sound as good as possible, but as the mix and song evolve, there may not be enough space for that full, rich sound anymore. That’s where the Oxford filters come in to play. I always start with the filter. I’ve found that a good way to find a spot for something is to high or low-pass at the bottom or top. Then I use the other EQ bands to model the sound from there. The combination helps me make the tracks sit in the mix just right. The Oxford EQ’s are really useful for that.

How did you first learn about  Sonnox?

They used to have a Sony Oxford console at Enterprise Studios in LA. I always thought that it sounded great. But also, Jacob Hellner, the producer for Rammstein, uses the Oxford TDM plug-ins a lot. He got me really into them, especially the EQs.

How about the Transient Modulator?

Yes, I also love that. It’s so useful – I tend to use it on kick, snare, acoustic guitars; anything that needs to punch. It’s great when you compress something really heavily, you can still get it to have attack with the Transient Modulator. I tend to place it after the compressor and it works nicely.

As for the EQ, what makes you reach for the Oxford over others?

EQ is so critical. I feel there are a lot of good compressors out there, including the Oxford Dynamics, but not a lot of really good digital EQ.  Using Oxford EQ, you can do a lot - without making it “sound” like you’re doing a lot. With the Sonnox, you can be so precise. It’s not raising a lot of ugly artifact ‘flags’ while you’re doing it.

 

Interview and editorial provided by Rich Tozzoli