Matt Mercado is a busy guy. Not only does he front the hard rock band Supermercado and run his own studio, (Sonic Palace in Oak Park, Illinois) he also has an alt-country side project, Matt Mercado and the Amazing Devils. His solo record is recently finished and is a bit different from the almost metal feel of Supermercado. It features a wider variety of instruments-violins, accordion, mandolin.

"I liked the challenge of mixing it." says Mercado.

At his studio Mercado uses Cubase SX and a variety of microphones.

"Lately on lead I like the Blue mics; Blueberry and Dragonfly," says Mercado. " I have been using Blue mics about a year. I checked out a lot of mics and liked them on my voice in particular. I liked that they were made in America and the quality is good. I would say they are a little on the bright side--bright and shrill--but on my voice that works. I like the way they sound in the headphones too. They have improved my performance."

He also uses AKG EB C414, Audix mics on drums, and a D-12 on kick drums.

His studio has worked with acts ranging from country rock to black metal to rap.

"I want to focus on music," says Mercado. "I want to work on music with mic set up, mixing real instruments. I don't like drum machines. Live recorded drums are different. I have a really good studio kit, a Trick kit."

A Trick drum kit will set you back a good $3,000 for a five or six piece set. Since Mercado is not a drummer, the drums only get used in the studio. They sit around a lot. And this is another reason Mercado uses Trick.

"Being aluminum you can leave them in the back and they don't warp," he says. "I Like GW a lot too and some top of the line Tama and Pearl. You have to spend a decent amount of money to get a good sounding drum kit."

Mercado says that when he is recording "heavy stuff" like Supermercado, he tries to use the raw energy of the amp and the guitar, and avoid over- proccessing. He dials in the amp sound, tunes the drums, and lets it rip.

"With guitar I plug straight in--now the guitar and the tone is in your hands," says Mercado. "A lot of guitarists tend to over process."

He also says that a primary mistake people make is assuming that what works live will work in the studio, and that isn't usually the case.

Mercado started out as a drummer and has played many styles in his career. Recently he has returned to an earlier musical place in his life.

"I started out playing drums as a kid. They went with an acoustic guitar. With all the metal stuff, I put it (the acoustic) aside, then picked it out of the closet," says Mercado. "You have to work on vocal chops with acoustic. Can't put a lot of effects."

And despite "going acoustic," he says he is still sensitive to what the audience wants to hear.

"People live want to hear more rock, like quirky stuff, but not ballads," he says. "I've never had good luck with ballads live."

In Supermercado Mercado plays an SG, other Gibson electrics and Ibanez. The band is currently recording music for the Flat Out 3 video game. Recording for video games is a great opportunity for musicians.

In his acoustic act he uses either a Seagull or a Taylor cutaway Dreadnought.

"Taylors are really bright--not for singer songwriters, but work for ensemble. You want them to cut through," he says. " The Seagull compares nicely to Taylor, a darker sound."

He also has Fender acoustic bass which he has played solo and on a couple records. When it comes to mistakes people make recording, whether in metal or acoustic, Mercado says one deficiency sticks out.

"I would say people don't know how to use compression. Its either way too much or not enough," he says.

There are other recording faux pas that bug Mercado.

"I hear recordings where the cymbals are all over the place," he says "Vocals you've got to compress. With Rock they have to float on top like a ship on a body of water."

And then there is how the general public hears the music that musicians work so hard to produce.

"I think it is funny with all this advancement in technology, we are listening to music on shittier systems." he says. "We used to have boom boxes that sound a hell of a lot better than the things we listen to now--to advance so much and we are listening to mp3s that sound worse than the boombox in 1981. Who hs the big elephant ear speakers these days? I remember my dad banging on my door and telling me to 'come down and listen to what that sound like in the kitchen'. It sounded like a live band was in my bedroom."

Mercado isn't done for the year, even with the release of his solo recording and the work on a new Supermercado CD. He is thinking about putting together a Christmas record along the lines of his solo work.