A Conversation with LA Engineer Bill Mims

Bill Mims has spent his career moving effortlessly between worlds. A Los Angeles-based engineer, mixer and producer with roots at the iconic Sunset Sound. His credits include Prince, Lana del Rey, Morrissey, Justin Timberlake, Joe Cocker, Death Cab for Cutie, Metallica, Ben Harper, Jimmy Cliff and a list that goes on.

A Floridian who started on piano at age four and moved to LA in 2002, Bill approaches every session with the ears of a musician. He’s as comfortable geeking out over tape machines and vintage mixing consoles as he is working entirely inside Pro Tools, with a home studio stocked with outboard gear, classic compressors, and EQs. We sat down to talk about jumping between genres, committing to sounds early, the irreplaceable feel of real faders, and what it was like working with Prince.

Approaching wildly different projects

One of Bill’s clearest strengths is his ability to step into a completely new musical universe and immediately understand what it needs. How does he reset when the last project was rock and the next is orchestral pop or experimental indie?

“For me, it’s about respect for each client and each project in each session, because they all have their own different wants and needs,” he says. His own taste is wide open—from Glenn Gould’s solo piano recordings to Tool and everything in between—so musical curiosity comes naturally. The real skill is listening deeply: absorbing the artist’s vision and translating it into a sonic world that feels true to who they are right now.

Whether he’s tracking explosive guitars with Tom Morello or laying down strings for Justin Timberlake or producing an instrumental project like Captains of Entropy, the mindset is the same: facilitate the art. Bill is a strong believer in committing early—dialing in sounds that are already close to finished while tracking. “If the sound is great in the headphones, it triggers better performances.” That sense of the bigger picture in the room changes everything.

The one piece of hardware he can’t live without

Ask Bill what single piece of physical gear he’d take to a desert-island mix (everything else in the box) and his answer is instant: faders.

Coming up in traditional commercial studios, hands-on control became second nature. His Avid S1 faders for Pro Tools turn balancing into something intuitive and fast. “Getting a balance is so much easier and quicker having faders than with a mouse.” It’s not just about speed. It’s about instinct—trusting his ears, staying detail-oriented, and making decisions that feel right in the moment.

The sessions that left their mark

Of all the high-profile rooms he assisted in, working with Prince on Lotusflower (and related sessions at Sunset Sound Studio 3) stands out as legendary.

“He did guitars for all 14 songs in one night and vocals for all 14 in another—from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. The man was a machine.” Prince returned to Sunset specifically to track to tape after initial work elsewhere. Bill remembers the focused energy, the self-contained genius (Prince handled so much himself), and the electricity in the air. It’s a chapter he says he’d love to revisit with more perspective today.

Another highlight: the two-month Hymn for My Soul sessions with Joe Cocker and an all-star band including Jim Keltner, James Gadson, and Benmont Tench. Pure collaborative magic captured live on tape.

Advice to his younger self

If Bill could speak to the wide-eyed kid fresh from Florida walking into Sunset Sound for the first time, what would he say?

“Work hard. Don’t give up. Give it your all. There will be good times and hard times, but persevere—there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s worth it.”

Simple, grounded words from someone who rode the tail end of the big-studio era into today’s project-driven world.

On Épica Audio’s Resonant Reverb

I had to ask about our Resonant Reverb plugin, which draws from workflows shared with his colleague Joe Chiccarelli—custom EQ, stereo imaging, and compression tailored for the reverb tail. Bill is now using it in his mixes and even building presets.

“I really love it. I’ve had my hands on it for a few weeks now, and it’s already in my template.” He values its versatility: tight, modern placements that sit naturally without getting too big or lush, alongside options for short/non-linear effects or classic ‘80s-gated and PCM-70-style sounds. “There are so many reverbs that are beautiful but too big for modern productions. This one lets you place it right in the stereo field.”

For Bill, it’s the perfect bridge—bringing classic plate and chamber character into today’s tighter mixes.

Final thoughts

Bill Mims represents the ideal modern engineer: versatile, musician-minded and focused. From marathon tape sessions with icons at Sunset Sound to precise home-studio productions and thoughtful plugin collaborations, his journey shows that the best records come from instinct, respect, and full commitment to the moment.

Huge thanks to Bill for the conversation, the studio stories and for putting Resonant Reverb through his ears. We are excited to share his presets.

Stay tuned for more interviews and stories straight from the studio.