Toronto, Canada (October 19, 2018)—”There’s not a mix that I’ve worked on in eight years that doesn’t have a Massive Passive on it, and I’m being 100-percent honest,” says producer and engineer Brian Moncarz, who works out of his own studio, Rattlebox North, in Toronto, Canada.
Moncarz gets his signature sonic authenticity from tried-and-true faithfuls including the Manley Massive Passive EQ. “Now, that’s the sound of my mix,” he says. “Other things come and go on the mix bus pretty regularly, but that one always stays.”
Moncarz, who was mentored early on by his good friends Bob Ezrin and David Bottrill, is centered in the world of rock, but sometimes leans toward roots, blues, punk, and aggressive rock. Past collaborations have included the likes of Our Lady Peace, Fantastic Negrito, Bleeker, Circa Survive, the Trews, the Tea Party and Secret Broadcast.
In his rock n’ roll world, he says, Moncarz uses the Massive Passive. “I will say that I hit it very hard; I’m pretty heavy-handed with it,” he says, “Usually, if you look at the gain structure, it’s up pretty high. Usually, each band is above 10.”
He doesn’t do much cutting with it, because he likes the sound it imparts. “Whatever will get me really nice harmonic distortion is usually what I go for.”
He adds, “It’s probably the most musical EQ that I’ve ever worked on. I almost primarily use it for mixing situations, because I do spend a lot of time with it, and I love just turning the knobs and listening to how the music plays back. It’s so musical; it almost feels like playing an instrument. From the bottom end to the top end, you can do so much, open up the mix; whether you’re boosting or cutting, it has such a desirable sound.”
Manley Laboratories • www.manley.com
