First, let me define what I consider a “magic bullet.” It’s something that makes things better. It’s a piece of gear that sparks an “Aha!” moment — something that immediately, when you plug it in, makes everything you do better. For Mark Parfitt, Justin Bieber’s engineer, that’s the Hazelrigg VLC tube preamp/EQ and VNE single-channel tube compressor.
Meet Mark Parfitt
If you don’t recognize engineer Mark Parfitt’s name, then you’ll definitely recognize the names of the artists he’s worked with:
- Justin Bieber
- Snoop Dogg
- SZA
- Meghan Trainor
- Normani
- Kehlani
During a recent visit to Sweetwater, I sat down with Mark in Sweetwater’s Studio B and inquired about his story. What intrigued me most was how someone so young has achieved so much success working with big-name artists — truly an inspiration to any aspiring engineer, producer, or musician.
Starting as a self-described “guitar-playing teenager,” Mark was in high-school bands but soon realized that recording was more in line with his passion. He enrolled at International Academy of Design and Technology in Tampa, FL, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree. After that, he interned, engineered, and earned his stripes at Big3 Studios, eventually becoming the main recording engineer. Within a few years, he moved to Los Angeles and oversaw the studio build at Black Star Music in a studio designed for Poo Bear and his collaborating producers. He managed that facility and ran most of the recording sessions for Poo Bear and Harv. Mark earned his first Platinum record with Poo Bear for recording Kehlani on Justin Bieber’s album Changes. After a few years, he decided to step into the role of freelance engineer and got called to fill in for Justin Bieber’s vocal engineer and producer Josh Gudwin. Mark’s been recording Justin Bieber regularly ever since.
So, Mark’s meteoric rise definitely proves that he’s made some great choices along the way. That’s why I reached out to him to find out about the gear he relies on to make things sound their best. Discovering the tools that pros use is invaluable for aspiring engineers.
Fuston: Mark, is there any one piece of gear that is your magic bullet?
The Everything Chain
“It’s definitely the Everything Chain by Hazelrigg Industries. Together, the VLC and VNE are what I always carry around with me for day to day. It’s what has defined my signature sound for the past two years. It has something special that I haven’t found in other preamps and compressors, or other tube gear in general. I usually bring them both to my sessions. It’s called the Everything Chain because it will do everything.”
What Do You Like About the Hazelrigg Gear?
“I like how lush and open it sounds while also bringing a lot of versatility. I can use them on vocals, on any type of drums, bass, guitar — there literally hasn’t been anything I’ve ever tried them on and it hasn’t worked. It always works whether I’m recording or mixing.”
“I love how simple and effective the approach is, too. It’s not bogged down by loads of options and decisions. I can almost operate it with my eyes closed. Navigating without having to fumble around with settings is one of my favorite things about it.”
Has It Changed the Way You Work?
“Definitely. It takes a lot of the load off of in-the-box processing. It makes my recording sessions much easier. And I use them to mix, as well. I use them like mojo boxes that I can run on inserts in Pro Tools. That way, I can assign whatever instrument or vocals tracks I have in the box and run into them to get more oomph and more character. It very much defines what my tracks sound like. It just makes everything easier.”
Sweetwater Has Your Magic Bullet
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who have found their magic-bullet gear and use it all the time and those who are still looking for their magic bullet. That’s where Sweetwater can help. We currently have over 80,000 products in our inventory, and one or more of them can help you achieve any sonic dream or solve any technical problem you may have. Not sure where to start? We have hundreds of skilled Sweetwater Sales Engineers who are gearheads that love helping musicians and engineers, like themselves, reach their goals. Give us a call at (800) 222-4700 and let us help you find the gear of your dreams so you, too, can step up to the next level.