Shelly Yakus has had a phenomenal career. Not only is he a renowned producer and recording/mixing engineer, but he’s also heavily involved with modern recording tech as co-founder/chief engineer of AfterMaster Audio Labs. Shelly is considered by his peers to be an absolute audio expert and one of the best engineers/mixers/studio designers in the industry. Needless to say, he’s a living legend!
Shelly has recorded and mixed for many of the world’s most well known artists. John Lennon, Stevie Nicks, Alice Cooper, Van Morrison, Tom Petty, Dire Straits, Blue Oyster Cult (he was there for the literal “more cowbell” moment), Bob Seger, Amy Grant, Don Henley, U2, and Madonna are but a few of his many credits.
His expertise goes beyond just engineering, and carries in studio design, acoustics, and audio processing as well. Yakus was involved in co-designing, outfitting, and running the incredible A&M Records studios in Los Angeles. He also previously served as Vice President of the Record Plant in New York and Vice President of A&M to boot.
In addition to the massive commercial success that so many of Shelly’s recordings/mixes have enjoyed, he was also nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Bono from U2 in 1999! His career and achievements have been widely covered in industry-related publications, like Rolling Stone, Mix Magazine, Audio Engineer, and Spin. And in 2015, he received an honorary Doctorate of Music from Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania—a respected institution for over 150 years.
Shelly is currently chief engineer of AfterMaster Audio Labs and Pro Master.
AfterMaster
AfterMaster Audio Labs is an audio technology and product development company, complete with a professional recording facility in Hollywood.
The company specializes in enhancing sonic quality for mastering, re-mastering, and audio processing. According to AfterMaster, their proprietary software is “a groundbreaking and revolutionary audio technology developed for mastering, re-mastering, and processing of audio.
“It is unlike any other audio enhancement product or mastering process commercially available. AfterMaster delivers an unparalleled clarity, depth, imaging, and fullness to audio recordings while delivering a significant increase in volume without increased distortion, loss of dynamic range, or affecting high and low frequencies. It brings audio alive and creates imaging and depth to the flat sound field inherent in digital audio. Its versatility and smart processing characteristics make it effective across a broad range of applications stemming from professional recording studios to a standalone speaker unit.”
Shelly’s experience and audio expertise is put to great use as co-founder and chief engineer at AfterMaster! We were fortunate to have toured the incredible facility just over a year ago!