20 Questions With Suzy Shinn

Suzy Shinn has a palpable joy for music, and her enthusiasm for the craft can be heard on every project she touches as a sought-after producer, recording engineer, and songwriter. 

Suzy is a GRAMMY and ARIA-nominated producer who has worked with Panic! At the Disco, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, Ghost, SOPHIE, Illy & Anne Marie, and has also produced music for films like Bill & Ted Face the Music and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run. 

Recently, we sat down with Suzy to ask her 20 Questions about the art of production, her favorite gear, and what it’s like juggling so many roles in the studio.

1. What’s your earliest music-related memory? 

Writing songs in the car with my mom when she was a realtor showing houses. I don't know how old I was—probably a toddler. But I remember humming melodies and my mom being like, “Oh, you're writing a song! What’s that?” 

Then there's this one specific memory I have as a very young kid when I slammed my fingers in the car door, and I don't know why, but I thought of Michael Jackson's Thriller. Those are two very vivid, very different memories.

2. When did you get interested in audio engineering and record production? 

When I got on MySpace when I was like 12 or something. I was too young to be on the internet. I was going to local shows and seeing touring bands that were coming through “the wrong side of the tracks”—literally next to the railroads in my hometown of Wichita, Kansas, at a venue called The Eagles Lodge.

I wanted to make music too! And I was doing it without knowing what production or engineering was. My mom had gotten me an iBook with GarageBand on it. That's where I was recording my songs with whatever microphone I had—probably the built-in computer microphone—and using plug-ins when I didn't really know what a plug-in was.

It just grew from there. I went to college because I thought in order to be a rock star, you had to go to college. I thought that no matter what job you wanted in the world, you had to go to college. So I went to music college, and that kind of opened up a whole world for me.

3. What is your production philosophy? 

I don't think there's any single philosophy, per se. Overall, I try to capture the emotion as best I can, rather than perfection—like getting notes on the grid or perfectly in tune. I like the little mistakes that happen. I like it when I can close my eyes and hear a song and I'm not hearing the production. That's what I try to go for. 

4. Do you have a specific approach to pre-production, or do you just dive in? 

It differs. If I'm with a band, I'll generally have them go to a rehearsal room and play the songs as they would live. Just like Green Day or The Who or the Beatles. I’ll work with the band on their parts, arrangements, etc. I love doing that; it's really fun for me. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, sometimes, when you're in a writing session with a band or oftentimes a solo artist, pre-production kind of turns into production. You record as you go. The part that you're just putting down casually as you're writing ends up making the final mix, which is great. There’s no right way to make a record.

5. How do you make artists/bands feel at ease during their first session? 

Just be yourself. I try not to put on a show. My studio now is in my home, so I try to make it feel like we're not in this dark, ominous, professional recording studio. It's more of a living room vibe. I make sure there’s sunlight coming in, you know? 

I try not to pressure or force the artist into starting to work. I want to learn about them and talk; just treat these artists as humans. It can feel like there’s a peanut gallery, like they’re constantly having to put on a show or being watched. I try to take that glass wall down. 

6. Do you have a favorite part of the creative process? 

When I'm writing a song that I really love and I get lost in a flow state, and time disappears and the pieces all just fall together effortlessly… and then I listen to the demo the next day and I’m like, “I… did that?” That’s a great feeling when it happens.

7. What’s your desert island piece of gear? 

I'd want an acoustic guitar. I don't think a microphone or a compressor is going to do me much good being stranded on an island. Maybe a Gibson J45 if I couldn't have like, you know, a phone or a boat or something. I could at least make some fishing line. 

8. What’s the most surprising or odd piece of gear you’ve ever used on a record? 

We recently took a piece of hair from a violin bow and wrapped it around a pedal steel guitar string, then ran it through two pedal boards. We pulled the violin string down the guitar string while we recorded. And then we added a counterpart using a $20 guitar bow on an acoustic. It sounds insane.

9. When you’re not in the studio, what do you like to do in your free time? 

I love to travel. I love to see the world and be reminded of where we are on this giant floating rock. I love nature, food, Fortnite, and my dog. 

I try to prioritize the strong relationships in my life, like with my partner, my family, and my close friends, because being in the recording studio, you can very easily lose all of that. You might not see your friends for months on end, but those relationships are really important in my life, so I try to care for them, like a garden. Life is a garden.

10. What’s your favorite album of all time, and why?

I love Pinkerton. As dorky as it is, I love Weezer. I have such a deep appreciation for that album—and for Rivers and that time in his life. It’s so good: the songwriting, the lyrics, the production, the mixing, the concept. It’s genius. 

11. If you could produce any artist or band, who would it be? 

Taylor Swift. 

12. Who or what inspires you? 

Everyone that I'm working with deeply inspires me. The people in my life inspire me. Movies inspire me. A fantastic TV show will inspire me. Stories inspire me. Life inspires & motivates me. 

13. Do you have any advice for aspiring engineers and producers? 

There's no right way to do something. Learn all that you can. The information is available now more than ever before. And a lot of it is free. Another huge thing would be to find a great mentor if you can, and then learn from them too. And if something’s not working, find another way to move forward. Especially in the studio. There’s a time for endless hours of troubleshooting, and there’s a time for creating. Don’t waste time troubleshooting when there’s a temporary workaround, and you could be creating.

14. Do you have any projects coming up, or something that you’ve recently worked on that you’re excited about right now? 

Two things I'm so excited about; I'm producing all of the original songs in Freakier Friday, which is the sequel to the Freaky Friday remake. Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis are back, and I'm having a wonderful time doing that. I got to act in it too! Nisha Ganatra is an incredible director. 

I've also been working on this Modest Mouse album, which is a total 180 from the movie world. It’s an inspiring process. Isaac Brock is a light and true artist. I’m in awe of him. I'm really excited for people to hopefully hear and see and experience both of those projects.  

15. How do you balance all of the different projects and workflows alongside your production work? 

I look to my management for which projects to take on and how to allot time for that. When I'm working on an album or a movie, I pause any other writing sessions or meetings so I can just focus. Then, I dive into the project and get lost. 

But during those times, I don’t manage my time super well. I think, “Oh, this will take 5 hours,” but it takes 15. I just go one day at a time, knowing that for the next three months, this is what my life looks like.

16. You also make your own music. How does that influence you as a producer? Do you play out often?

I play with other bands sometimes if they need a musician. I haven't played out in LA as an artist. I've done a few online shows where I played a video game and did an in-game performance on a VR headset, which was crazy. That was during COVID. 

I love writing a song that’s just for me, but I haven't done it in a while. I love the high that I get when I write something good for myself. I wrote this song called “Junk Food” which is the only song I've ever put out. 

17. What’s a piece of gear you wish you had, or are aspiring to have? Anything you’re dreaming of? 

Oh my god, so much! A Sony C37 is what I really want. I still want a CL 1B. I just got a Mellotron yesterday, which was on my list. A Prophet-10 is probably next on the list. I think that a vintage hardwired Vox AC30 is on my list. I could rattle off for days. But yeah, the one I think about most is the Sony C 37A. 

I went over to Rob Cavallo's and we tested about 10 different microphones on a guitar. That one was so good. I was like, “Dang, just a $10, 000 guitar microphone I need to buy now.” 

18. What piece of gear revolutionized or changed your workflow? 

I think my Wunder CM7 was the first really nice microphone I got. That opened up a world for me. But at the end of the day, when I got my new MacBook Pro, that changed my world more than anything. Getting stuff to work smoothly and creating a workflow is critical. I want to focus on creating, not troubleshooting. 

19. What’s a workflow you used to have, but have since moved away from? 

I used to export all of my vocals to a stand-alone instance of Melodyne. I think it was Melodyne 3.3.3 or something—which, in my opinion, was the greatest Melodyne algorithm of all time. I don't do that as much anymore. 

Honestly, I have an old laptop with the old Melodyne on it. When I really want to tune a vocal the way I like, I will put my files onto that old Melodyne laptop from like 2012 and do it there. 

20. What excites you about music right now? 

Knowing that my future favorite song is probably being written right now somewhere out in the world. Maybe in some kid’s basement, or a studio in LA, or in a castle in France. But the magic is still there, and it’s all around us.

All photos by Alice Baxley

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.