Steve Baughman:
Balance as a craft
with FX Collection 6
Steve Baughman is a producer, mixer and mastering engineer whose career traces the full arc of studio expertise, from tape-era rooms and late-night recording sessions to today’s in-the-box precision. With over 25 years behind the console, his credits move through hip-hop, pop, and contemporary R&B - from Dr. Dre and Eminem to 50 Cent, Talib Kweli and The Pussycat Dolls - with an approach that stays consistent: realize the artist’s vision, then balance every element so it translates.
We sat down with Steve to talk about learning the language of hip-hop from the inside, why he sees mixing as a discipline of sonic balance, and how FX Collection 6 supports his workflow - from small correctives to the kind of creative processing that turns a sound into a statement.
“I've been an Arturia FX Collection since the beginning. So, Arturia's FX Collection 6 has classic modeling from pieces of gear that I have used throughout my career to brand new tools that, you know, are coming from the imagination”
Built in a closet, shaped in studios
Steve’s relationship with audio started early. His father taught music, and his first studio in-road was a reel-to-reel recorder that sparked a fascination with the mechanics of sound. When a multi-track cassette setup arrived, he converted a closet into an isolation booth and started stacking overdubs, a homebrew precursor to what would later become a fully-fledged profession.
Steve’s college experience was a turning point. At California State University, Steve found a recording arts emphasis that reframed music as something you could build from behind the scenes, which he gravitated towards. While familiar with the performer's side of things (he’d played trumpet in orchestras and pit bands), what he wanted most was the other side of the glass: shaping the record rather than standing in front of the mic.
The milestone of just getting out of performance and getting into behind the scenes was a real big step.
Career-defining projects
In his early 20s, Steve found a home in the Los Angeles studio system at Larrabee Studios, a fast-moving world where sessions were dense, standards were high, and the work demanded focus. The focus leaned heavily into Hip-Hop, a culture he didn’t grow up inside, but ended up knowing inside out. Mentors like Dr. Dre, Heavy D and other titans in the scene helped shape his understanding of what made the music hit.
That education turned into trust at the highest level. Steve describes working on a Grammy winning record like The Eminem Show and the kind of sessions that built it: parallel rooms running at once, ideas evolving fast, and no margin for error. Over time, those projects sharpened a core principle that still defines his work now: stay adaptable, stay musical, and deliver the mix that serves the artists’ vision.
Especially since I've always had kind of a fondness for drums and I like making drums sound big, hip-hop was a perfect fit for me.
FX Collection 6
as the daily toolkit
That mindset is exactly where FX Collection 6 fits for Steve: tools that handle micro-adjustments and big creative swings without breaking focus. Some days it’s functional improvements, tightening transients, clarifying tone, shaping dynamics. And others are more creative - taking something plain and turning it into a sound with its own identity. As he puts it, what matters is having the full spectrum available in one place:
Not only does it have the surgical tools that you need to get exactly what you want out of your mixes, but it has the creative tools that add to the production and add to the creativity of what you're working on.
In session: punch, body, and definition
In Steve’s demo his workflow is immediate, decisions you can hear in seconds using a vocal indie-pop track as a reference point.
Mix DRUMS on a parallel bus
He runs Mix DRUMS on a parallel bus and blends it into the original kit. The goal is specific: more body in the low-mids, more attack on the snare, and a sense of glue. He explores other presets to show just what Mix DRUMS is capable of, from overall lift to radically new timbres.
Pitch Shifter 910 for harmonic color
For width and resonance, he turns to Pitch Shifter 910 - a familiar studio tool that was once a staple in hardware rigs. On guitars, he uses it to accent harmonics adding a lifted, sustained shimmer which appears the moment it comes in. It doesn't end there however, with Steve bringing attention to its advanced features that add functionalities that go far beyond the original.
A personal connection
For Steve, studio work has always been about the art of balancing the many dimensions of a mix and making choices that keep the record moving forward. He’s also never been afraid to adapt as tools change, because the goal doesn’t: making the artist’s vision translate. FX Collection 6 fits that mindset perfectly, offering a comprehensive suite of tools that bring control when the details matter most, and inspire creative momentum when a track or part needs to be pushed into new territory.
You need to be not afraid of new technology and what’s coming next and I pride myself on adjusting the way I do things to the new tools that are available to me.
