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Jon Lundin’s journey in music began in the fifth grade when he jammed for hours in a garage as part of a Ramones cover band while also trying to figure out how to make music himself. Fast forward to the present, and he’s going full steam ahead as a man of many talents.
He’s the frontman of California rock band Point North, founder of PASTEL Recording Company, and owner of a studio that he recently upgraded, all the while making a name for himself as one of the hottest writer/producers working in the Active Rock world.
Coming off a whirlwind tour with Point North across the UK and Australia, Jon sat down with us recently to talk about his many projects, favorite gear, and the impact his new Barefoot Sound MicroMain26 studio monitors have had not just on his workflow, but on his career as a whole.
Tell us a little about your studio.
I built my studio with my friend Christian Ustarroz, who has a company called Rose Tone and is building some of the most awesome studios all over the US. My studio was kind of a guinea pig project that we worked on together during the pandemic. During that time, there was no touring at all because of COVID, so Point North didn’t play a show for over 550 days, and that’s when we built this.
A company called Lovett Audio ran all of my audio connections; Rodney, the owner, is amazing! There are over 600 connections; three mic panels in the live room, one in the control room, and I even have one in the bathroom if I want to throw an amp or something in there, which is fun. All the cabling is trenched, so everything is either underground or in the walls.
The control room is a 20-foot by 20-foot room, and then I added another 20-foot by 15-foot live room for drums. There are LEDs everywhere, a QRD wall, I’ve also got a wall of guitars… there's a lot going on. It was a big learning curve and, honestly, is still kind of a work in progress. It’s never-ending, but it’s a dream come true to be able to walk in here every day and do what I love.
What are some favorite projects that you’ve worked on at the studio?
I have to shout out a band called Set It Off that I began working with a couple of years ago. The singer, Cody Carson, and I have been writing and producing together, and an album that we started over two years ago is finally done and mastered! When we first met, we did one session, and that first song went to Active Rock radio and then just climbed the charts! And they did it as an independent band, which was a really big deal for them. Some of my favorite songs that I've ever worked on are part of this album, and it’s really helped shape me as a producer because Cody has a really high bar, and so do I, so we constantly level each other up. It's been a really special project.
I do a lot of writing with the band Falling In Reverse. My first gold record was a song called ZOMBIFIED, which was our first co-write together. That set the bar, and we thought, “This is a good team!” We’re constantly trying out new songs and new ideas—we must have 50 song ideas floating around—so that's always a fun one.
I also have an album I'm helping out on for the band Sleeping With Sirens. I did a couple of co-writes with them, and I'm doing a bunch of production, and it’s really fun. Me and the singer, Kellin Quinn, go way back; I actually worked on the album How It Feels to Be Lost about six years ago, and that's how I met him. I showed him some Point North demos during those sessions, so he took us on our first tour. That put us on the map a little bit, and now he's coming into my studio, working on their music, so it’s a nice full circle moment. And lastly, of course, are the Point North albums.
What drew you to the Barefoot Sound MicroMain26 studio monitors?
I noticed that everyone in my circle had these things, so I thought, “They must be good!” I had also worked on the Barefoot Sound MicroMain27s before and was a big fan of those.
I was having some issues with the monitors I had been working with earlier, so I reached out to my Vintage King rep, Patrick Carpenter. Initially, I had asked about the 27s, but for what I was doing, which is a lot of Active Rock, and anything in the aggressive kind of space, he recommended the 26s, which have the extra midrange driver.
He got it all figured out for me, we got a great deal, and they were shipped out immediately. He even bought back my old monitors for credit towards these ones, which made it really helpful. The second I put them down in the studio, I was like, “I'm never going back to anything ever again. These are the ones!”
Let’s dive deeper into the midrange driver and why that is so important for what you do.
The midrange is super important for the genre that I'm in, and a lot of things live in the midrange. Because there's so much instrumentation, there is a lot of separation that needs to happen in order to make these mixes transparent and have a sense of depth and space.
In this era of modern production, everything is layered and stacked with things like synths and other instruments to reinforce and drive home melodies and riffs, and also to make everything as loud and aggressive as possible. Also, if you're working with a lot of heavy guitar tones and you can't hear the guitars, that’s really problematic because then you overcompensate to hear them, and you’re left with these super crunchy midrange sounds clogging up your whole mix. When you're not able to hear what's going on, it gets really hard to make separations and discern what's happening.
The story I always tell about these Barefoots is about when I was working on a mix for the Point North song “WORLD vs PEACE.” It was a rough mix, but pretty much as good as I could get it before I sent it out to another mixer. So I had the session open, my old monitors were gone, I turned on the MicroMain26s, just listened, and in the first two seconds I was like, “Oh, these three or four things are wrong!” I fixed it—it took me no more than 15 seconds—reprinted it, sent the mix around, and all of my friends were like, “This is the best mix you've ever done!”
I didn't change that much, but it was a blend issue, and what it really came down to was that midrange driver that really makes the blending process a lot easier. It paints a full spectrum picture of what's going on. That initial mix picture is way easier to identify right off the bat, and then you can tweak from there. They're great! I'm glad I got the ones with the midrange driver, for sure.
What also lives in the midrange are vocals—a key element of any song.
You're absolutely right! I grew up on big pop music, Max Martin productions, and things like that, so that's the sound I love—dominating vocals is my favorite thing! It’s tough because it's like doing a bunch of little mixes within one song. I like to think of it as if you're mixing each section like it's its own mix.
In Active Rock, you have sections or moments where you need to blow the heads off people who love heavy music. They need to be fully immersed in the riff, but then, when the chorus hits, all of a sudden, everything in the midrange has to go away for a second so your vocals can come up and attack. So a big part of hearing that midrange is understanding what is supposed to shine and where, especially in a genre that is so eclectic and with so many things fighting for space.
What is the transient response of the monitors like?
This is one of the things I brought up to Patrick when I was looking around for new monitors. I was having a tough time getting a balance and placing things in the mix because I couldn't hear certain dynamics, I couldn’t hear compression well. I didn't know how snappy a snare had to be to get through to the front, and I thought maybe it wasn't a compression thing at all, maybe it was more of an EQ thing.
What's really, really helpful is being able to hear those compression parameters in your low end and low mids and being able to not only identify what's happening, but also contain and control it a little bit more. You can take full control of how much you want your low end to punch and breathe, how much attack certain sections are supposed to have, even down to a single kick drum. For example, if you have a really fast kick drum, you might want to compress it differently in a slower section.
So, hearing that stuff is game-changing, and there were many moments before I had the MicroMain26s where I just thought I didn't know how to mix! [Laughs] I was like, “I've been doing this for so long, I've had so many people tell me how to do it, why can't it just sound good?” I didn't understand! I was just fighting myself on version 15 or 20 of a mix, and I thought I was going crazy, which is why I reached out to Patrick.
Then I wondered: “Is it my room?” So we shot out of my room with mics, put diaphragmatic traps everywhere; I have fabric walls, and it sounded awesome in here, but I still couldn't get it done the way I thought it should sound. And then the Barefoots were dropped in here, and it was like, “Okay, cool. I'm not crazy. It was the monitors.” [Laughs]
It goes to show you how important monitoring is. I have a studio, microphones, outboard gear, and instruments, but at the end of the day, none of it matters if I can't hear what's happening. As far as listening to dynamics and compression goes, the detail is awesome.
What do you think of the low-end response of the monitors?
This is sacrilege for sure, but I never really had a subwoofer. [Laughs] I mean, I have one, but I have no way of connecting it. The way my studio is built is very niche, and in order to integrate a sub into it would be pretty expensive and a whole process because of the way things are laid out.
I plugged the Barefoots in, turned them on, listened to a couple of mixes that I like to reference, and thought, “Well, that's what low end is opposed to sound like.” So, listening to that stuff and, again, being able to hear the attack of the low end, the compression down there, and being able to sculpt it the way I want to sculpt it has been game-changing.
It made me go from “I don't mix this band's album” to “I'm mixing this band's album,” and that literally started when I got these monitors. It might just be a placebo effect, but I don't think so. I think these things are just telling me what's going on across the entire spectrum.
Also, having that low end and midrange clarity, I can A/B mixes with references and be able to pinpoint what it is that I need to change to get the mixes to a competitive place where they belong in an album with the top mixers in the industry, which is a very, very scary thing.
I mixed a good portion of the Set It Off album, and the other mixers on that are Tyler Smyth and Zakk Cervini, both of whom are incredible. I was like, “I hope my mix translates”, because those are the dudes whose mixes I'm referencing whenever I mix. I got the masters back the other day, and they held up, and I'm like, “It’s the Barefoots!”
Well, it’s your skill and talent, and now the Barefoots—the final piece of the puzzle, along with everything you've learned from working so hard over the years.
Thank you, that’s a good way to put it—the final piece of the puzzle.
Let’s talk a bit more about how the recordings and mixes translate to other systems.
1 to 1, pretty much. I have a Tesla Model Y whose sound system I love, and it was when I started using the MicroMain26s that I knew that a mix was going to sound the same going from my studio to my car.
It's more of an artistic thing versus a technical problem. In the studio, I know that my low end is fine, especially with the Barefoots and all the visual aids like EQs and peak graphs, and stuff like that. So it's more like: “Do I want this reverb tail here? Let's just go listen to it in the car.” It’s more about vibe than having to fix something.
Before, I had to make five trips in a row, uploading the new mix to Dropbox each time, doing the whole thing again because the low end was just not hitting, or the snare drum was just gone in the car. Those kinds of issues are a thing of the past, and it's such a luxury because I'm able to have more fun with the mix. These are the tools that have helped me know what I have to do to get there.
There's also a level of loudness forgiveness that I get from the Barefoots. By that I mean, let's say I'm mastering a track in the box and limiting the crap out of it—what can I say, I'm a millennial, I love loud mixes! Sometimes, I’ll hear a little bit of distortion or a tiny bit of pumping and think, “Screw it! Let's just go for it! The LUFS metering is where I want it, so let’s just see what it sounds like.” When I take that and listen to it in the car or on my AirPods, it sounds awesome and there's not really that much pumping or distortion at all.
That's what I mean when I say there's some forgiveness: the Barefoots are telling me, “Hey, just so you know, you're doing this a little bit, but it's fine, it doesn't really matter.” That’s one of the most fun parts about this job—breaking those rules and being a little punk in that mindset.
And then, when the mix is crystal clear and I'm not getting any noise or distortion through the Barefoots, I know for a fact that it's clean everywhere.
How have the monitors impacted your workflow, other than making the process faster?
It’s been several months that I’ve had these, so I really know the monitors now, and I know that these are the best mixes I've ever done. It's fun to listen to music on good monitors, and I think that even if it's not physically going faster—which it is—it definitely feels like it is because time goes faster when you’re having fun. I'm making more artistic moves and way less of those car trips. [Laughs]
The big thing is not so much that I'm getting things done faster, but that I'm getting more work because of the monitors—that is the biggest payoff. Like I said, I was fully ready to admit that I'm a producer and writer, but this mixing thing wasn’t really for me. But my life changed, for real, because I was able to mix a lot of that stuff for Set It Off. Now I'm getting more mixing gigs, and the fact that I'm able to do the work faster, but at this quality is what makes the difference. It's been awesome!
What was it like working with Patrick Carpenter and Vintage King to select and purchase the monitors?
It was so awesome! I reached out to him, gave him my qualms with the monitors I was using, and was like, “Dude, I'm about to give up, I can't do this”. He made the purchase of the Barefoots super simple. The 26s are expensive, so it was a big purchase for me—it’s like buying a car, you know, but Patrick made it super easy and super not scary. I've always reinvested in myself and always put the money where I think is going to serve me and my career, and this is one of those moments.
There was a financing option, but I had just gotten home from one of the longest tours I had ever done, and I’d gotten a paycheck from that tour, thank God, and I think I gave it all to Patrick. [Laughs] I said, “I need to take this money and put it towards something that's going to level me up.”
My wife and I went to the Vintage King showroom here in L.A. and brought the monitors home. I was so excited! I just plugged them right in, and it couldn't have been easier.
What are some of your other favorite pieces of outboard gear in the studio?
This is a tough one! I guess my first favorite is sort of typical—it’s my 1176. Every time I send something for someone to mix, people always ask me what my vocal chain is, and it's not that crazy: it’s my Telefunken AR-51 mic, Great River preamp, and then the 1176 compressor.
I like to smash the vocal pretty aggressively, and I don't think I could get that kind of sound with a plug-in… or maybe I could, but there's a magic to the 1176. I dial in the attack time differently for each vocalist because I pride myself on getting a really good source signal for a vocal.
A close second favorite, or maybe even tied for first place, is my Alan Smart C2 compressor. It’s awesome and it’s really special to me! I bought it from producer Kyle Black, who is a longtime friend and mentor. I really look up to him, and he has made a lot of really, really good records that were printed through the C2.
It was really cool to buy a 2-bus compressor with a little bit of history from someone in the family; now it gets to live her,e and I get to work through it. It feels a little bit like passing the torch, so that’s a really, really sentimental piece to me.
Which microphones do you find yourself using most often?
I have to give a proper shout-out to Connor Rowen at Telefunken because he has been so awesome! He let me borrow the 251 for a long time, and I used it on Falling In Reverse, RIVALS, and a couple of Point North songs as well; it was so special that I got to use that. He’s taken care of Point North as far as our live microphones go as well.
I also have this pair of great pencil mics that I use on drums, and it’s funny, those are also Telefunkens!
And then there’s my number one right here: the Shure SM7B. Every single melody I've ever written has gone through this capsule, through the wires, and into my computer. This thing has captured the stream of consciousness or magic or whatever you want to call it, and whether it's been rerecorded or re-tracked later, the 7B has seen it. It’s on the road with me when I'm writing and demoing; it’s been to many states and many countries. It’s a little broken, and I have to get it fixed, but it's just a super special mic.
If it’s not being used as a vocal mic, I'll pop this foam off and put the mic on my hi-hat, or throw it in my kick drum, which is super attack-y and fun. If anyone wants an unpopular kick drum in mic recommendation, just three inches from the beater head. It's so versatile and it’s invincible!
I have a bunch of friends that I write with, and we call it 7B football. [Laughs] I'll do an idea, throw it back at somebody, and then they'll put down their ideas and throw it to somebody else. This thing is magical, for sure!
There’s also something magical about holding a mic and performing versus doing it with no hands—taking breaths and letting the breaths be a part of the melody while performing it… So whenever we're scatting melodies, everyone's standing up, walking around, and it’s a full-body thing. It’s amazing!
How do you feel about plug-ins?
I love plug-ins! I want to give a really big shout-out to McDSP plug-ins. They have had my back for years now. I love the 4020 Retro EQ, I love their noise reduction plug-in, and even their compression is insane.
Besides that, I love Brainworx, UAD, Valhalla, and Waves. I also have to give a huge shout-out to GetGood Drums—those are the drums that I use for every songwriting session. Even their compressors are awesome!
I love STL Tones—that's my guitar tones for everything I do. I always send out DIs also, but I always dial it in. I love Jason Suecof's guitar tones, so a huge shout out to Jason, the guys at STL, and Neural DSP.
Like I said earlier, I love pop music, and we also talked about layering and synths, so shoutout to Serum, which is everywhere. I also love Arturia and Omnisphere.
I've been loving Arcade too; it's been fun because it's really inspiring for ideas, and that's always good. And then you have to give a shoutout to Splice, which is not a plug-in, I guess.
It's a tool, though…
Yeah, exactly! I also love FabFilter, and oh, a big one—Slate Digital. Couldn't do without Slate Digital!
What's a typical day in the studio like for you?
My studio is on the same property as my house, so I wake up, make my coffee, and walk directly in here. Usually, the morning is for cleaning up. I've been the same since I was little—if I don't have a clean workspace to start a project, I just can't do it. I have a lot of plants outside, and I like to tend the garden.
Then I come into the studio and begin working on edits, mix revisions, printing stems, things like that take up the first half of the day. Sessions usually start at 11 am, so if it's a songwriting session for pitch, we spend four or five hours doing that; if it's with a band or a co-write, we'll go much longer and really dive into it.
There's always something to work on, especially in the writing world, because we have the publishing side that I'm writing for, the Point North side, and then we have the production side, which is all the other bands.
If there's some free time, it's for listening—I guess like market research or whatever—just seeing what's out there. Honestly, listening to music is a bit of a rarity these days, but when I get the chance to, it's nice.
I've been doing this for a super long time, so I've been trying to make it a little bit more like a normal life schedule. I try to be out of here by 7 or 8 pm, most nights. Sometimes it doesn't happen, which is totally fine, but I'm also not 20 anymore, so all-nighters aren't really a thing. [Laughs]
I like having a good work ethic, so when I'm in here, I’m doing the wor,k and when I'm not in here, I can still text people and work that way, but I try to have a good life-to-work balance, which has been another adult part of the journey. It’s going well.
That's how you refuel so you can come back with more ideas and more energy.
Absolutely, that's the most important thing! I think part of growing up and growing into this industry is realizing that when you take care of yourself, you're able to do better work. It’s just as simple as that.
Are you working on any exciting projects right now that you're able to talk about?
There's a band called From Ashes to New that are dropping a few songs that we did together. There’s an awesome Active/arena rock band called Eva Under Fire; it’s a female-fronted band, and their vocalist is a powerhouse, so those are some songs that I'm really proud of. Joseph McQueen mixed that record, and it's just incredible.
Our tour manager, merch manager, and I were talking yesterday about how some years are very production-heavy and you’re like, “I'm never leaving this room,” and some years are a little bit more band-heavy, so I’ll tour more, but one hand always does feed the other. This has been a pretty band-heavy year, but we are wrapping up our third full-length album, and that's been really exciting because it's my own project, and I get to be as weird as I want, which is fun. A third full-length album is a pretty big deal for an artist, so getting it done and sounding special is a big deal for us.
I can't leave out a band called RIVALS. The singer Kalie Wolfe and I have been working on an album since last year, but I've known her for over ten years now. She is just an incredible, versatile vocalist and performer, and it was really a matter of just choosing which direction to go in because she can do everything. We grew up in the same scene and have the same ideologies and influences, so it was really cool to make something special with her—she’s trusting me with what I like and my tastes. I’m producing it, and it’s taking a little bit of time because we're trying to make something really different and special.
Later this year, I have a project for a really awesome Japanese band called SiM that has a lot of Active heavy rock and some ska influence. I'm actually flying to Japan in August to go start an album with them, so that’s exciting!
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