Gerhard “Juice” Joost

Engineer / Mixer / Producer

GERHARD JOOST II: A Grammy Award Winning producer, and master recording engineer

Engineering ‘maverick’ pledges new sound from Austin studio

After achieving nearly every milestone attached to the art of sound recording, legendary recording engineer and producer Gerhard “Juice” Joost II is again on the cusp of music greatness.

Now the Chief Recording Engineer at Studio Hill in Austin, Texas, Gerhard has teamed up with Hai Nguyen and Grammy winning soprano Sangeeta Kaur to produce a new sound for the post-pandemic age.

“I think we're at the edge of pioneering something that's new and fresh,” said Joost. “And we're not trying to intentionally copy anything. What we're trying to do is a new expression,” he said.

Joost is a master studio craftsman whose innovation and meticulous recording precision can today be heard in sound recordings around the world. His work is represented in commercials, movies, television, and popular music throughout the global commercial and entertainment ecosystem.

In a four-decade career, Joost’s recording talent has elevated him to the pinnacle of the American recording industry and beyond.

Even so, Joost is again pushing the edges of sound into a new evolution. Now living in Austin near his Studio Hill facility, he has refined a state-of-the art studio to prepare music lovers for a new sound.

“It’s a new theme that encapsulates many different genres of music and includes the appreciation of all the different genres,” said Joost, “whether its new age, classical, operatic or contemporary pop, we’re trying to blend it all.”

“I was first inspired by my father,” said Joost. “He loved electronics, just loved it. He had the first FM radio. We had a reel-to-reel tape machine and a microphone, and it had a meter on it. I would plug in that mic and talk through it.”

“As a kid, I was fascinated with electronics,” he said. “Loving how the meter moved fascinated me,” said Joost. “It still does.”

After listening to the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and others with his older sisters, Joost became a musician. He studied music. Won awards. Played the drums at 14-years-old in a garage band on the college circuit, a music run that lasted until age 25.

At that point, however, “I just said to myself, there is no way I'm going to make a living doing this,” and quit. Though no longer a performer, the production side of the music business still intrigued Joost.

He found an ad in a local newspaper seeking recruits to become recording engineers. “It was a snowy day, so I bundled up and bumbled down to the studio to see what this was all about,” said Joost.

“When they opened the door to the control room, I had my epiphany moment,” said Joost. “Right then and there, I knew then this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

Joost soon enrolled in the RIAA, (Recording Industry Association of America) Engineering Academy in Cleveland, OH. “I wanted to know everything about signal flow and waveforms acoustics, microphones, preamps and anything to do with audio,” he said.

Joost was so thrilled about being enrolled that he quickly drew the attention of the teacher. “The instructor noticed my dedication,” he said, “and then he took me under his wing.”

Six weeks later, Joost said his instructor “handed me the keys to the control room and said, ‘you're going to teach the class.’ I was very proud of that,” said Joost, and although “I was scared beyond words, I took it seriously.”

Once graduated, his first job at a music production company brought innovation and success. Joost led an effort at the company that brought home eight CLIO Awards in a single year, more than any other production company in the country.

He listened to bands like Cream and rock pioneers like Hendrix. “I wondered how they did that, you know, how they created those unique sounds,” Joost said.

Joost enjoys the distinction of being among the recording industry’s last generation of analog engineers and among the first to incorporate digital technologies into sound recording.

His early commercial audio work was transformative for dozens of top brands like Coca-Cola, Chevy, Lexus, Disney, Coors, Goodyear, Budweiser, Nike, American Airlines and more.

With success, his career exploded, and Joost migrated to Los Angeles to create hits for A-list artists like Stevie Wonder, Usher, Silk, H-Town, Jodeci, Al Green, Gladys Knight, Dru Hill, Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Michael Jackson, Danny Elfman and many more (see complete list of credits).

“I am so fortunate to have been raised on an analog console and an analog tape machine, with either eight tracks or 24 tracks or 16 tracks,” said Joost. “Mixing down to two-track stereo taught me how to edit tape,” he said.

Soon, however, he was combining the emergent digital technology with analog, and his editing and mixing technique was soon featured in Mix Magazine. Joost was considered among the top analog editors in the industry.

Today, he said, “at least 80% of all software manufacturers are emulating analog equipment of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. And we're still trying to get that analog sound through digital recording.”

“I'm very open minded about the creativity that goes on in the music industry. I think for me, I'm very fortunate to have experienced what analog is and what recording to analog tape was. But at the same time, you must embrace digital recording tools as a new production value,” claims the decorated recording engineer.

Digital technologies for pitch and time correction, for instance, can add value but retro equipment, in fact, is in high demand. “The emulation of all the vintage gear is still the most sought-after software being used in today’s studios,” said Joost.

By learning to utilize the best of digital and analog technologies, Joost creates sounds in a studio that few can replicate.

He has engineered a memorable body of work that includes number one hits, soundtracks for major movies, trailers, mixed sound for television shows, TV and radio networks such as BBC, NBC as well as the production of live entertainment.

Now, he is working with Kaur and other musicians to create recordings designed to propel music into the 21st century.

Having had hands-on experience in the development of 14 studios in the USA, Joost understands the power of sound and ultimately understands every foundational piece of electronic equipment required to harness it.

As an engineer at Groove Addicts, a music production facility, Joost played a major role as the company won a world-class award by Mix Magazine. Joost played an integral role in it, both structurally and electronically.  

Always the audio innovator, Joost was often referred to as an engineering “Maverick,” having achieved consistently achieved the electronic mastery that moved the industry forward.

“Here at Studio Hill, myself, Sangeeta and Hai are committed to provide a platform of high-end technology to utilize revolutionary industry practices to create a new blend of sound for discerning listeners,” said Joost.

“Our goal,” he said simply, “is to produce inspiring music for the ages.”

WORK HISTORY

Perfect Pitch Inc. / Cleveland   (6 years) 1979–1985
Assistant Engineer: 1997–1980
1st Engineer: 1980–1985
In-house music production for TV, radio and film
Responsible for the construction of the 24 track Studer/Neotek Studio

Killer Music Inc. / LA  (4 years) 1986–1989
1st Engineer: Tracking and mixing in Studio A
In-house music production for TV, radio and film

Music Animals Inc. / LA (3 years)
Chief Engineer
Music and post production recording and mixing
Responsible for the construction of 5 studios ( 1 - 48 track / 4 – 24 track rooms)
Freelance record production

Freelance Album Production  1992–1994

New Horizon Studios / Washington D.C.   1993–1994
Chief Engineer
Consultant for equipment purchasing of 48 track Studio/Record production 

Freelance Album Production 1994–1997

Groove Addicts / Grooveworx / LA 1997–Current
Music and post production recording and mixing for TV, radio and films
Chief Engineer, studio manager, production coordination, contractor. Producer.

STUDIO HILL - Austin, Texas 2021–Current

PARTIAL LIST OF ARTISTS AND CLIENTS WORKED WITH

PARTIAL LIST OF JINGLES, RADIO AND TV CAMPAIGNS RECORDED AND MIXED

PARTIAL LIST OF STUDIOS WORKED AT