20 Questions With Sarah Register

Sarah Register is a GRAMMY-nominated mastering engineer whose credits span from Black Midi to Faye Webster, but that's only part of the story. A self-described music obsessive, Register cut her teeth in New York’s underground scene as half of the beloved avant-pop duo Talk Normal, and more recently, as a live guitarist and sonic co-conspirator with Kim Gordon.

We sat down with Sarah for our 20 Questions Series, diving into her love-hate relationship with New York, the unexpected meal she’d cross the globe to relive, and why mastering might be the most psychological—and misunderstood—step in the creative process. Read on for her thoughts on AI’s role in the studio, the gear she’ll never give up, and the one thing she wishes more artists understood about the art of mastering.

1. How did you first get interested in mastering?

I’ve been obsessed with music for as long as I can remember. I moved to New York at 18 to study music and engineering at NYU, and dove into every opportunity I could find: recording studios, working with remixers, interning at Sony doing tech support on enhanced CDs (it was the 90s), you name it.

I started mastering while I was still a student, using the NYU studios. Something about the mastering process clicked—the extreme zoom-in and zoom-out thinking it requires felt natural to me, both sonically and psychologically. I realized I had the ear, the tech know-how, and the mindset for that final stage—a part of the process that holds a lot of strain, pressure, and detail—and I could hold that space well for other artists.

2. What was it like breaking into that side of the industry?

Exciting and validating. Troubling and demoralizing. One of those ‘all things are true’ scenarios. I moved very fast, and the breadth of experiences I had gave me a lot to be proud of—and it also baked in some self-neglect patterns that I’m still working to unlearn. But I took things in quickly, and I saw the real value I could bring to artists at a vulnerable point in their process. And that stuck.

3. What were some of the first rigs you cut records on like?

I started on Sonic Solutions HD at NYU in 1999. From there, I "leveled up" on the classic Sonic system—more versatile and truly standard at the time. I once half-jokingly told a room at an early Tape Op conference that I was “the fastest editor in town” on Sonic. Memory says that Bob Katz wanted to have a showdown.

It was also the era of PCM-1630s, DA-88s, DATs, and tape machines were everywhere. I still love the tactile memory of those workflows, though there’s plenty I don’t miss about some of the failabilities of those mediums. That said, I miss tape even though I can’t prioritize it right now due to cost-effectiveness for both me and my clients. Having an intuitive relationship with tape machines was very important to me early in my career.

4. What’s your favorite part of living in New York?

Leaving it. I’m kidding, my love for NYC is deep and complex, but I’ve been Los Angeles-based for a couple years now, and while I still need to tie up some loose ends on the other coast—and my 26 years there will always make it "home" to me—it’s been a kindness to my nervous system to climb mountains most days instead of subway stairs.

5. If you could transport anywhere in the world right now to get a specific meal, where would you go?

Hands down, freely wandering the festival food court at Dark Mofo in Tasmania, picking up various plates at whim. I played two shows there in 2022 with Kim Gordon, and the entire experience was a dream. The food alone was incredibly fresh, diverse, bold, and beautiful. I'd go back to that edible moment in a heartbeat.

6. Do you have any pets?

Ah, sigh. I’ve been a proud parent to many beautiful creatures. The one who was most molded to my personality, Mini, recently passed. I’m currently still mom-at-a-distance to a glamour queen named Rita Lee. And I might finally be ready for my first dog! I’ve always had cats.

7. The projects you work on include such a wide array of genres. What’s it like to go from mastering a Black Midi record to a Faye Webster record?

It feels aligned. I love pop. I love weird. I love things that move me, and that has never been contained to a genre. More and more, those categories overlap, which suits me. The old binaries between “genre worlds” don’t hold anymore, and that fluidity is where I live and work best. Also, there’s no real likelihood that you’d line up any two albums of the “same genre” and they’d necessarily resemble each other, from an engineering standpoint or any other, not to mention at times even neighboring songs on a single album.

8. What tracks or records do you use as references while you’re working?

That’s for me to know, and you to find your own! I do routinely use things I’ve previously mastered, and things I haven’t—plus, I’m always adding more, in context to whatever release I’m working on. It’s important to have references. It’s more important to build your own sonic and listening vocabulary.

9. Describe your overall approach to mastering. How do you like to work?

It’s pretty straightforward, I like to get a sense of the material, and how the active players feel about things as they currently are—ideally that’s the artist, sometimes the producer/engineers, occasionally the label. Then I dig in to see where I can create more value via interpretation of what’s already on the table sonically, and/or starting from my own suggestions for a v1.

Either approach is cool, and if there’s more to talk about from there, it’s always an open conversation. It’s very important to me that musicians feel seen in this process and that their voices are heard. Word is that sometimes "the mystery" of it all can be accentuated, versus them feeling like they have an ally in this final step before the sounds are completely wrapped. I’d prefer to fall into the latter camp.

10. Do you prefer your own studio space or others?

I can travel, and have as needed over the last 10 years since I stopped renting from other studios. My gear goes where I go. My ears are my most consistent and best-trained resource. I’ve been set up in one place in LA for years, but I’m open to shifting as opportunities and interests strike me.

11. What converters are you using?

Dangerous Music, for over a decade.

13. A book, film, record, or piece of art that changed your life?

Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith cracked something open in me at 18. So did Silver Apples of the Moon by Morton Subotnick, and the work of Pierre Henry, and how he felt about musique concrète. Also, polyphonic choral music. Plus, I mentioned I’m a huge pop music fan—it’s all somewhat the same when you strip away our definitions. But that time I’m referencing above—around 17 or 18, leaving Oklahoma for New York—was one of radically being allowed to be more and more myself.

That said, things, art, people, and experiences still change my life all the time, every day.

14. What do you like to do in your free time?

That's a hot topic. I’ve been trying to figure out what "rest" is lately. I see the structures in the music industry and others that taught the lie of “always be doing something.” So it’s a work in progress about free time, but for me, creating and performing are essential. Physicality is also necessary, ideally playful.

15. Coffee, tea, or something else?

I’m basically allergic to coffee and rarely can handle any upper. I dabble with matcha, but I'm still compromising.

16. Non-gear must-haves for a session?

Exercise. Sleep. High-vibration peers. A beautiful sense of partnership with your own life, with the artist, with the material, with the moment.

17. What has changed the most about the recording industry or your process since you started?

So much has changed, but I’ll focus on three things.

First, the shift from analog to digital—the predominance of where we were then vs where we are now—it’s night and day.

Second, access. When I started, recording wasn’t something most people could just do. Now, every computer comes with tools that could translate into a body of work. That’s a bit reductive, but the point stands: access has exploded.

And third, maybe most important to me, is my attitude toward the industry. As a kid, I had it on a pedestal. I was reverent, sometimes blindly so. But after a lot of eye-opening experiences, both good and bad, that illusion fell away. I still exist within it, I still care—but I’m no longer subject to its whims. That shift has probably changed me the most.

18. What do you think mastering will look like in 20 years?

Assuming ill-intended politicians and bad actors on the world stage haven’t burned everything to the ground, it would be shocking if mastering doesn’t rely heavily on AI at that point. Why wouldn’t it? But humans will still be our own unique contributors to art, and to the arts of engineering—how we show up and remain integral is the evolving question.

19. A record you point to as your definitive work?

No such thing. That’s not how I see engineering. My job is to help artists realize their definitive work, whether that’s a massive transformation or a barely perceptible shift. That’s the bit of both mystery and artistry in mastering.

If you’re asking about my own work? Maybe the weirdo guitar solo on Talk Normal’s “Shot This Time.” Or the convulsive blasts on Kim Gordon’s “Grass Jeans.” Or, most personally to me at this moment, the solo material I’ve been releasing in 2025.

20. Who’s an artist you’ve always dreamed of working with?

I’m a huge fan of an artist named Self Esteem. But sometimes, the artists you love the most aren’t the ones you want to work with. I’d rather be in the room with her as a peer. But don’t get me wrong, I’d also master the album.

Learn more about Sarah Register on her website, and check out her new music on YouTube.

If you’re interested in purchasing any of the gear mentioned in this blog, we're here to help! Contact a Vintage King Audio Consultant via email or by phone at 866.644.0160.