Billy graduated from the University of Nebraska and then attended Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts, graduating as the top of his class in 1992. Describing his start, Billy says \u201cI did go to Full Sail, but I learned the majority out in the real world and also by reading a lot and asking questions. There was no internet back then, so it took a little longer to get an answer!\u201d Billy moved to Nashville in 1994 and as far as getting his foot in the door of the Nashville music scene, Billy began his work at studios tracking bands and recording overdubs. He remembers \u201cI soon found out that the mixers were kinda like the quarterback on a football team and I always wanted to be a quarterback.\u201d The mixing bug had gotten to Billy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWhen pressed on what artists and engineers influence his approach to mixing and producing hit records, Billy mentions superstar mixers like Chris Lord Alge and Mike Shipley and then name-checks Kevin Churko and Joey Sturgis who specialize more in hard-rock and metal. Churko and Shipley spent a lot of their career engineering for legendary songwriter\/producer \u201cMutt\u201d Lange, so their productions ranged from hard rock to hair bands to country and pop\u2014Celine Dion to AC\/DC. With musical influences reaching so far beyond country, it\u2019s no wonder that Billy\u2019s mixes bring an attitude and edge that separates his mixes from the traditional Nashville sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Billy\u2019s template-based approach to mixing, as well as his speed probably owe their roots to Chris Lord-Alge, who mixes mostly analog and on an SSL. Lord-Alge treats his analog setup very much as a standardized mix template and both Lord-Alge and Decker are known to replace the snare and kick with their own signature sounds in every mix. Billy mentions that template-based mixing speeds up his setup time and allows more time to find the best balances and create dynamics in his mixes. He would rather develop a great feeling mix than spend 30 minutes EQing a kick drum. As far as keeping excited and having fun with each mix, Billy\u2019s response is \u201cI really just love mixing, so each day I just treat it as practice. As they say\u2014practice makes perfect!\u201d
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Q<\/strong>: What is your approach to building the arrangement during your mixes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy\u2019s response is refreshingly honest. \u201cI really don\u2019t think about it all that much. I have always been a throw-and-go guy. To me, it\u2019s just a feeling I have when it sounds good or bad. I guess I\u2019m lucky that other people think so, too.\u201d The top mixers tend to work quickly and the technical part has to be so ingrained that it\u2019s transparent to the creative part of mixing. It\u2019s part instinct and part building a vocabulary of treatments and processing that get you to where you want to go. Spend time learning what your plugins and effects do and then you don\u2019t have to learn how to use them while you\u2019re mixing. Mixing is really like playing an instrument\u2014don\u2019t watch your fingers, just play! Q:<\/strong> You\u2019ve built up a loyal following of artists who return to you over and over. What brings the artists back to you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy jokes, \u201cWell I have been told that I have the best smelling control room in the entire world. It\u2019s because I burn incense, LOL. In all honesty, though, it has to do with constantly reminding myself that I am in the customer service business. I never forget that\u2014I say what I\u2019m gonna do and then I do what I say. And then some! It\u2019s that easy.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Q:<\/strong> You have been working out of your own private mix room, The Cabin at Westwood Studios. Do you ever work outside your studio?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy: \u201cI don\u2019t mix anywhere but here. I know my room like the back of my hand so mixes will always be within about 5%. Clients come to the studio to close out their mixes all the time. I love the interaction and I believe it\u2019s also why people keep calling. They always walk away smiling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q: <\/strong>Getting into the actual mixing, how do you create such space in your mixes, especially in mixes with so many stringed instruments?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy\u2019s answer, of course, is that he does \u201cNothing special.\u201d He adds, \u201cI do know my frequencies very well and I know exactly where certain instruments live int he spectrum. I\u2019m actually speaking about that exact topic (\u201cBecome a Master of Frequencies\u201d) at the URM Summit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy mixes in Pro Tools with a limited set of his favorite plugins and says that outboard gear is \u201cNot my thing.\u201d Everything is done in-the-box. Joey Sturgis Tones has even developed a line of plugins modeled after Billy\u2019s effects chains for vocals, guitar, bass, drums and even his stereo bus \u201cglue.\u201d Billy has found a range of effects that streamlines his process, yet allows him to achieve the sounds he needs for each and every mix. Keep in mind, as Billy puts it \u201cI use a lot of compressors and limiters, but I tend to use a little bit of each one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His favorite plugins include Slate Trigger, Metric Halo Channel Strip, Waves SSL Channel, and the McDSP EQs, and Channel G. Vocals run through the Waves CLA76 (Bluey), Metric Halo Channel Strip and Waves RVox, while guitars are treated with the URS BLT EQ and Waves L2. Effects are kept simple and come from the SoundToys EchoBoy, Waves RVerb and Waves Doubler. His stereo mix delicately employs the Waves Kramer PIE compressor, the Stillwell Event Horizon clipper and the Waves L3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q: <\/strong>Do you send your mixes out to be mastered or do you master them yourself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy: \u201cIt\u2019s kinda fun to get another take on your mix, although if the budget does not allow for mastering, I can do something similar. As I mix into my own mastering chain, it\u2019s virtually mastered when the mix is done\u2026\u201d If Billy sends out a mix to be mastered, he will print an alternate mix and remove the L3 Maximizer from the master bus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Q: <\/strong>I see that you mix on Mackie HR824mk2 monitors. Do you ever work on headphones?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy: \u201cYes, I have always mixed on Mackie\u2019s with a subwoofer and I have mixed on headphones with good results.\u201d Billy has been using Sonarworks Reference 4 to calibrate his monitors and compliments Sonarworks by saying \u201cThe best thing about the Sonarworks system is that it told me more about my room than my ears ever could have.\u201d To add to his idea, even if you decide not to turn on the room correction plugin, simply running Sonarworks\u2019 calibration program and generating your profile curve will show you exactly where the frequency problems lie in your particular setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy\u2019s philosophy on mixing should be helpful to everyone. \u201cAt the end of the day, don\u2019t get caught up with all the so-called \u2018Rules of Audio\u2019. If it sounds right it is! Enjoy life and what you do. I beat cancer a few years back, so that gave me a different kind of perspective than most people\u2026\u201d If you\u2019ve heard Billy Ray Cyrus, Chris Young, Jason Aldean or Kenny Chesney, then you\u2019ve heard mixes by Billy Decker. Don\u2019t pidgeon-hole Billy to country music, though. He has worked with artists as diverse as Bret Michaels and Bubba Sparxxx. Billy Decker is a mixing machine, stationed in Nashville, Tennessee. Billy has created a sort…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":4195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_improvement_type_select":"improve_an_existing","_thumb_yes_seoaic":false,"_frame_yes_seoaic":false,"seoaic_generate_description":"","seoaic_improve_instructions_prompt":"","seoaic_rollback_content_improvement":"","seoaic_idea_thumbnail_generator":"","thumbnail_generated":false,"thumbnail_generate_prompt":"","seoaic_article_description":"","inline_featured_image":false,"seoaic_article_subtitles":[]},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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