Native to Guatemala and mixing today’s Grammy-winning artists such as Alicia Keys, Usher and Kanye West, mixing engineer Manny Marroquin (pictured) uses Solid State Logic consoles, specifically the XL 9000 K Series SuperAnalogue™ Console.
Marroquin was nominated in the Album of the Year Category for his contribution on Alicia Keys The Diary of Alicia Keys Kanye West’s The College Dropout and Usher Confessions.. The three projects have garnered 26 Grammy nominations. Coincidentally, all three projects were mixed at Larrabee Studios in Los Angeles, Marroquin’s home base; Marroquin also worked on an XL at The Hit Factory in New York and at Plus XXX (France) on Alicia Keys’ project.
Marroquin has worked in various Los Angeles studios over the years, with artists such as Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Carlos Santana, Dru Hill, Toni Braxton, Mariah Carey, Maroon5, 2PAC, Madonna, Babyface and the first Pink album.
“I moved around for several years and landed at Larrabee,” Marroquin relates. “Larrabee has a great reputation with engineers and I believe the best sounding rooms. I’ve worked in all of Larrabee’s rooms, and about four years ago I opted for Larrabee North’s Studio 2 with a private lounge and patio. After working with Alicia Keys on the XL 9000 K Series, I recommended the new K Series console for Larrabee’s Studio 2. Larrabee just installed a second 9080K Series in Studio 1.
I was a huge Teddy Reilly fan, since he invented that whole New Jack Swing sound,” says Marroquin. “I loved that sound even before I started working on SSL consoles and I found that he built his sound around the G Series compressor. I started using the compressor and it was love right from the beginning. The sound you would hear on your favorite albums was right in front of me. That was definitely when I fell in love with SSL.”
“Starting with the 9000 J, I was able to get a real low, tight bass with a high end that was just so clear,” Marroquin relates. “The J Series was just plain wider and deeper sounding and it gave me the shaping capabilities I needed to craft my mixes.”
In the end this is about creative people making emotional statements through music and bringing these statements to the world at large. It’s really all about people reaching people. For me, I feel very lucky to be where I am and I feel very fortunate that I understand how to use tools like the XL 9000 K Series to help with the creative process.”
For more information, please go to www.solid-state-logic.com.
