Producer/Mix Engineer Eric Emery Adds Mic Tools

Los Angeles, CA (June 30, 2026)—The latest mainstays in the studio workflow of two-time Grammy-nominated producer and mix engineer Eric Emery are two tools from Slate Digital. 

Emery, whose credits include Blink-182, Yellowcard, Sevendust and Alice Cooper, comments, “We’re in an interesting time where so many more people have come up with home recording as their basis of understanding of what the studio can do. Often they haven’t had the opportunity to hear a truly great performance through a great mic, so part of my job is to give them something aspirational to chase and give a glimpse of what they can sound like when the gear is matched correctly to our creative vision.”

He adds, “The Slate ML-1A [modeling microphone] is a great catalyst for this because it gives them a chance to hear what they should be shooting for in terms of sound quality and performance capture.” Slate’s Virtual Microphone System library of software-modeled microphones provides him with a comprehensive set of sonic possibilities for every session.

Emery prefers to work quickly to capture important creative moments in the studio as they happen. The ML-1A gives him the ability to dial into the performer if they need to quickly audition different mic types quickly and get comfortable. “You want to bottle that inspiration when you can, so it’s useful to have the ability to quickly A/B things—something I normally don’t spend a lot of time doing—in the moment if you are working with a singer who needs to feel confident and is unsure what the right sound for them should be,” he says. 

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“We’ll often cycle through a few of the VMS models to find the right fit, or I’ll just use the ML-1A on its own. The stock profile provides a great starting point, and then we can explore whatever sounds we need to get going. The speed of mic selection VMS offers means we don’t lose the flow of the session by having to physically swap mics out. Additionally, the fact I can swap the type of mic after the session, when we’re mixing, is just mind blowing. The system allows me to work faster while giving me a new level of flexibility.”