With a diverse discography that includes everyone from The Lumineers to Lenny Kravitz, David Baron has carved out a career as a keyboardist, producer, and arranger who can do it all. While he originally held court in his acclaimed Edison Studios in midtown Manhattan, the New Jersey native now lives and works in a sprawling upstate New York facility dubbed Sun Mountain Studios, replete with vintage synths and breathtaking reservoir views. I first met David when we attended the same high school growing up in suburban New Jersey. Even back then, it was evident he was destined for musical greatness. Decades later, when I became editor of Keyboard Magazine, I kept seeing his name so often that I rang him up and reconnected, writing countless features on him and his penchant for analog synths and temperamental tape machines. Of late, Baron has become the go-to producer for the burgeoning folk rock movement, scoring massive success with artists such as the aforementioned Lumineers, Jade Bird, Darren Kiely, and Michael Marcagi. On a break from his whirlwind production schedule, I caught up with David at his studio.
If there’s an analog synth that you don’t have here in your studio, I’d like to know what it is!
I sold a Yamaha CS-80 many years ago because it was huge, heavy, and out of tune most of the time. I liked using it as a performance instrument, but the troublesome tuning got to me. I like the sound of the Knif Audio Knifonium, an all tube synthesizer. It’s about $17,000 for a mono synth.
Do you remember the first synth you bought?
The first synthesizer was a Yamaha CS-15. I worked with my dad on his remote recording truck and saved up.
You’re the only person I’ve ever met that can say, “I had a Yamaha CS-80 and two [Roland] Jupiter-8s,” or “Coldplay bought my keyboard!”
I had a CS-80, and I did own two Jupiter 8s, and Coldplay did buy a Korg PS-3100 from me. I wonder if they will ever use it. [laughter]
Your dad, Aaron Baron, was an acclaimed recording engineer himself.
My dad was a pioneer of remote recording. He was trained as an electrical engineer, worked as a maintenance guy at Fine Recording [Tape Op #90], and later at A&R [Recording] for Phil Ramone [#50]. Larry Dahlstrom, a colleague at A&R, and my dad put together a remote recording truck called Location Recorders.
He engineered The Allman Brothers Band's At Fillmore East?
Yes, to 16 tracks. Two of the tracks were Neumann U 87s on each balcony pointing at the stage. The drums were submixed on two Shure [M67] mixers.
Growing up around music and gear, you must have gotten the bug at an early age.
My sister was born profoundly hard of hearing and my mom had her hands full. Starting around age three, my dad took me everywhere. I went to studios and gigs. I've wanted to have my own recording studio since I was a toddler!
Did you eventually start working for your dad?
I did work for my dad – although it was after the heyday of the cool records he did. We did the Bob Hope Specials, and I did get to record Joe Cocker, Journey, Ray Charles, and Leonard Bernstein with him.
What kind of gear was he using back then?
The original Location Recorders had a custom 16-bus console based on [Langevin] AM16s and two 3M M56 16-track tape machines. The gear shifted through the years. He eventually ended up with a Harrison Console – an MR3, I believe.
I imagine much of it was rudimentary compared to the technology we have today, but as Steve Lillywhite told me years ago in Tape Op [#93], those limitations forced people to make choices that made better records.
Limitations remove the idea that anything is possible at any time. Folks are much more productive and creative when the pathways are limited.
When did your fascination with electronic music begin?
I remember hearing your name pop up when you wrote music for television.
My first career was writing and producing tons of music for television and broadcast. I did many identity packages for networks (ABC, Nickelodeon, TV Land, PBS Kids, Showtime, FX) and lots of advertisements. I wrote the JCPenney tag “It’s All Inside” and the theme song for The Anna Nicole Show. I wrote skit music for The Daily Show under Jon Stewart, as well as the theme to Fox Sports news.
You had Edison Studios, in which you partnered with Lenny Kravitz. It lived in the now sadly defunct Edison Hotel, in the theater district in Manhattan.
I met Lenny when I had a business with my dad called Baron and Baron. We were very successful in the broadcast world. Lenny came to see a piece of gear, wasn’t impressed, and one of the guys said, “You might like what the weird guy in the back is doing.” [laughter] Lenny came in, listened to something I was working on, and said, “We should do a space funk record.” We never made the space funk record – but he did hire me to bring a synthesizer in and cut some songs for Jennifer Lopez. We started working regularly together after that. Eventually we formed a studio partnership and had the Edison Studio in the Hotel Edison in NYC.
When I first got to NYC, I used to play jazz piano gigs in Sofia Ristorante downstairs. The gig only paid $60, but the mediocre pasta was free!
They had a lighting rig that made a hum into our main room! Luckily, our live room was huge.
What kinds of projects came through Edison?
Lenny made some records there. I did a ton of television and started transitioning into doing more record work.
Was it full of the analog madness you have up here now?
Yes, all my synths plus all of Lenny and Henry [Hirsch, Tape Op #56]’s vintage gear. We had almost every microphone ever made and most vintage outboard. The console was a Helios that now belongs to Soundtoys.
Why did you shut Edison Studios down?
The building owner informed us that he was not going to renew the lease. He was a great guy and let us stay on for a year after that. I made the decision to move to the Catskills right after that. I didn’t want to sign another NYC lease. I was also getting burnt out – I wanted to work less and do better music. I was chasing money by necessity. I have learned that you should chase greatness, not money. Money will follow. That’s hard to do with NYC rents.
Was that a scary proposition, leaving the frenetic energy of NYC for life atop a mountain?
Unbelievably scary. I thought my career was over. But I was working way too much and not feeling like I was moving forward. A lot of things happened between building my studio at my house and the success that I am enjoying now. A turning point was doing keyboards and arranging on “All About That Bass” for Meghan Trainor. My great friend, Kevin Kadish, called me about adding some parts to a song demo. “Play whatever you feel works,” he said. So, I did. I saw the song explode, and realized it was a good business. I love making songs catchy!
Every time I glance at your Instagram account there’s another artist having massive success with music you produced up here.
I am enjoying the type of artists and music that we make at Sun Mountain. I love the 1960s and 1970s, but I also love technology. I am trying to make the kinds of records that I want to hear. A bit raw. The current folk/rock/pop movement is perfect for Sun Mountain. It’s very homey and not generic, with some of the weirdest gear and instruments. We are attracting artists that both fit and help define the Sun Mountain culture. They are having success in the real world, thankfully!
I saw Shania Twain was in Sun Mountain here.
Shania sent Simone Felice and me a few songs to arrange remotely, as an audition. We were producing The Wandering Hearts at the time. At nighttime, we’d make a track and send it to her. Eventually, she decided to come during deep COVID. We had so much fun. She is an amazing person, and we did a lot of hanging out!
Will she be back?
I have no idea if she’ll come back, but I have done some arranging for her since. She and her husband [Frédéric Thiébaud] are absolutely lovely people. She’s mega-creative.
How did you first get involved with The Lumineers?
I met The Lumineers shortly after they had that huge hit, “Ho Hey.” They came up to a very early version of Sun Mountain Studios to guest on a Simone Felice solo record [Strangers] that Simone and I were making.
Your production style seems tailor-made for what they do. It’s direct, emotive, and powerfully uncluttered.
I’ll take that compliment! I love them as people, and I understand why other folks love their music. Wes’ [Wesley Schultz] voice is very powerful. They do not write generic pop songs, and they were ahead of their time. Their touring success is unreal.
And you keep working with them and their side projects…
Yes, Jeremiah [Fraites] and I just produced his Piano Piano 2, which is largely instrumental neo-classical, but it has one song ["No Surprises"] with Gregory Alan Isakov. Wes [Schultz] and I have co-produced several artists, including David Kushner, Arum Rae, and we just finished a record I love for Daniel Rodriguez. We are planning to do more. I mostly produce on my own these days, but I do enjoy co-producing with both Jeremiah and Wesley.
You’ve also had some hits out of left field of late with Darren Kiely [Lost] and Michael Marcagi ["Scared to Start"].
Darren Kiely is an Irish singer-songwriter who lives in Nashville. He has an unbelievable voice and fantastic songs. He was the face of the Spotify playlist “Folk Pop” and is selling out nearly all his gigs. I am grateful that he came to Sun Mountain. He and Renée Hikari [assistant and in-house drummer] play fierce ping pong. Michael Marcagi is a surprise. I had worked with his band, The Heavy Hours, but nothing ever landed. The band got dropped from their label and they broke up. Michael was more or less broke, and I offered to spend a week with him making an EP. It was a “Hail Mary” for him before he went out to “get a job in the real world.” He put one of the songs up, “Scared to Start,” at 2 a.m. on TikTok with a Google search image, and it absolutely blew up. The funny thing is that I did everything on the record, including master it. It all was mixed down to my Nagra IV 1/4-inch tape machine. It's hard to believe that something mixed to 1/4-inch could be on the charts in 2024! I love the sound of the Nagra.
Let’s talk about your gear acquisition problem. Are you talking to a professional about it?
[laughter] I own a lot of gear, but do not buy as much as you’d think. I’ve been doing this for a long time, so I’ve had the good fortune to buy over time. I bought more gear in 2023 than I have in a long time, mostly as a response to constantly tracking. I bought two more Undertone Audio MPDI-4s, a Magic Death Eye Compressor, a Buzz Audio SOC-20 stereo optical limiter, and a new headphone cue system by Digital Audio Labs called the Livemix. No synths last year! But there’s always this year. I want some Pultecs or something similar. Renée wants me to get some Harrison audio gear because she’s obsessed with Bruce Swedien [Tape Op #91].
You were the first person I knew who owned – and had to maintain – a collection of analog synths, long before the mad rush for them.
I made good money in my twenties and spent it almost all on synthesizers! It turned out to be a good investment.
You’re an analog synth freak, but you record in [Avid] Pro Tools? No giant, churning Ampex or Studer tape decks?
I do not generally make synth records; I make folksy rock records. The synthesizers come from a previous life, but I sneak them in all the time. I had a long conversation with Gregory Alan Isakov about synthesizers. The analog synths are so fun and useful. I make modern records, and I want them to sound and work in the modern age. Pro Tools (or any DAW) allows us to do amazing things. I like the sound of tape, but only when the machines are great and well maintained.
What about microphones? Your cabinet seems well stocked.
Microphones, instruments, and recording spaces are arguably the most important elements for making great records, after talent. I have a few recording spaces – one very dead, one very live with 16-foot ceilings, and a vocal booth. I change the way I mic instruments on every record. Renée loves to look at YouTube videos of classic records and try out new setups. We are constantly searching. I use a lot of tube microphones; mostly Neumann but also tube Schoeps.
What's a favorite vocal mic?
It depends on the singer. I love the Neumann M 269 on rock vocals. I have two [Neumann] M 49s that work well on softer singers and women's voices. I use a [Neumann] U 67 sometimes, but it’s typically not my first choice. On harder voices I love the Milab VIP-50. Almost every Jade Bird song was done on the Milab. Milab reached out to loan me their new VIP-60, so I hope to try it. I have a Wunder CM7 Suprema, but I use it more for instruments than vocals these days. I love the Josephson [Engineering] microphones on vocals; the 715 as well as the C700. Sometimes I’ll change up the vocal microphone from song to song.
What's a favorite piano mic on your vintage 9-foot Steinway Model D?
We change the mic’ing for every album. I’ve done two M 49s close, which I love, with a Sontronics Apollo 2 stereo ribbon mic for the room. Right now, I have two U 67s in the case – close left/right low and mid – with a Schoeps cardioid capsule CMC for the highs and a Josephson C700 for the room. I absolutely love the Josephson because I can dial in focus or room. I don’t always use all the mics in the mix. I’ve also done stereo [Neumann] U 87s in ORTF [Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française] at the case with stereo Schoeps outside. Too many setups to remember!
Outboard or in the box mixing? Does it even matter anymore?
I do a great deal of my processing in the analog domain and then print that back to Pro Tools. Almost all my vocal processing is analog, except for de-essing. A lot of plug-ins do sound fantastic. I am much more into newer concepts in plug-ins than models of old gear. The main exception to that is some reverberation units, like the [Lexicon] 480L or AMS RMX16, where I miss the presets and am happy to have the models. I use two Millennia NSEQs a lot for EQ. I want to get some passive EQ this year. The drums lately have been through a Mavis quadraphonic console and are EQ’d before they hit Pro Tools. They barely need any processing after that. The Mavis used to belong to Eddie Offord and was parked at Levon Helm’s studio for a long time in the 1970s. I use my EMT 240 plate for most of the vocal reverberation. I also use a Bricasti M7 a ton. I have a Roland Space Echo, and a Neon Egg oddity called the Planetarium that I use on many songs. I almost never use plug-ins for synthesizers, but the decision is more tactile than sonic. I like being able to turn knobs to get the exact result. I also like the fact that it’s not really fully recallable. It makes it more special. I also use a lot of pedal effects on synths when tracking.
Do you have a favorite pet?
I have two cats, Andromeda and Lala, and a dog named Sputnik. A lot of artists have Instagram posts with Sputnik. He’s very friendly. The cats, less so!
I've heard your son has the music bug now as well.
My son, Oskar, plays classical piano and violin. He’s been on several records already. He practices constantly and wants to go to conservatory. He goes to Bard College conservatory prep, and this past summer went to Interlochen Arts Camps. Oskar found his path and people. We spend nights debating classical music recordings.
What’s next on your plate?
I have a lot of records coming out in 2024. Sun Mountain is more booked up now than it has ever been. Most of my work is with solo artists that need an arranger/producer. I worked for years as an arranger, and that’s a large part of what I do. My hero is George Martin. I am not at all the Rick Rubin type, although I love many of his records. I like to have my hands on everything, from the technical to the musical. I am super excited that what we do – the way we do it – is working financially for the artists. It makes it sustainable for me. They keep coming back! I also find it exciting that someone can do something with us, and it can help give them a career. I am inspired. I am grateful for this period in my life. It is, by far, the most fruitful and exciting musical period for me. I love the artists. I have a wonderful assistant. I love working at Sun Mountain. We have a culture that I am proud of. 
