Indianapolis-based David Kimmel worked his way up in the pro audio world through an eclectic mix of music-related gigs such as club sound man; pro audio manager at a Guitar Center; sound company employee who did “pyro, live sound front of house, monitors, lighting, everything”; and backline manager for a company that provided gear to touring bands. Nowadays, he’s an in-demand engineer for mixing and recording, both live and in his studio, Masthead Audio. Audiofanzine had the opportunity recently to talk to Kimmel about the challenges of live recording, the difference between mixing live- and studio-recorded material, his studio gear setup, his background, and more.