F. Reid Shippen is “New Jersey-born, Nashville-based, highly motivated, completely caffeinated Grammy award-winning producer/engineer/mixer.”
We met with him at his private mixing studio, Robot Lemon, in Nashville where we talked about what inspires him to make amazing records!
F. Reid Shippen
Growing up, Reid was a huge fan of music and a musician himself, playing in a number of bands. When he got to college he realized he wanted to pursue a career in the music industry, and attended Middle Tennessee State University where he earned degrees in both Business and Recording Arts & Sciences.
Reid interned at Quad and Skylab Studios in Nashville while working on his degree, honing his chops and quickly transitioning from assisting to engineering. In 1999, Reid began to concentrate on mixing.
Over the course of an amazing career, Reid has mixed multiple platinum and gold records, including seven GRAMMY Award-winners.
Reid has mixed, engineered, and produced high-profile artists across multiple genres, including Death Cab for Cutie, A Fine Frenzy, Cage the Elephant, India.Arie, Jonas Brothers, Marc Broussard, Eric Church and Robert Randolph.
He has also worked with Clay Aiken, Jonny Lang, Flyleaf, Switchfoot, Backstreet Boys, Third Day, MercyMe, Newsboys, and many others.
Reid currently lives in Nashville where he works out of Robot Lemon: a private SSL hybrid mixing studio.
What Inspires F. Reid Shippen
Alison Krauss – Forget About It
Engineered and mixed by Gary Paczosa, Alison Krauss’s 1999 album Forget About It is what Reid would call “perfect.” Paczosa’s work on the record is almost inconceivably good, as are the phenomenal performances by Krauss and the rest of the musicians on the album.
Reid says this album is a must-listen if you want to learn how to record and mix acoustic music.
Lyle Lovett – Joshua Judges Ruth
Produced by George Massenburg, this record is one Reid references to learn how to capture such riveting, intimate performances. Lovett’s delivery and phrasing is unmatched, and Reid jokes about not being able to tell whether Lovett is actually that sincere or really pulling one over on everybody.
Soundgarden – Superunknown
On the rock end of the spectrum, Soundgarden’s genre-defining Superunknown is another record that “makes [Reid] want to quit.” Mutual friend Michael Beinhorn produced it, and to this day Reid still doesn’t know how he was able to pull off what he did to make that record what it is: a masterpiece.
Please enjoy the conversation below to learn more about what inspires F. Reid Shippen!
