McKay Garner – Bay Area producer & Dolby Atmos mixing engineer

McKay Garner is a Bay Area-based mixing engineer, music producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist specializing in stereo and Dolby Atmos immersive audio. With over three decades of experience across a wide range of musical styles, from hip hop and rock to experimental electronic and Indie folk, McKay brings both technical depth and authentic musical intuition to every project. McKay has worked as an engineer or mixing engineer on records for artists including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Michael Bublé, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, Zakir Hussain, Flogging Molly, J Dilla, Styles of Beyond, Jesse Loren Strickman, and more. He was fortunate to spend three years as a consultant for Dolby Laboratories on their Expert Listening Team, where he helped develop Dolby Atmos technology for music. That deep, hands-on involvement in shaping the format gives him a level of expertise in mixing and arranging for immersive audio that makes his work special. His production and mix approach centers on emotional impact by crafting arrangements and mixes that feel like a world the listener wants to live in. Whether working in stereo or immersive audio, McKay takes time to really understand each artist’s vision and treats every project with the same care and attention to detail. He operates two dedicated studios for stereo and 9.1.4 immersive projects, fully equipping him for Dolby Atmos music projects of any scale. As a producer, McKay has worked across pop, rock, soul, folk, and electronic music. He studied music at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and spent fifteen years in Los Angeles, where he owned and operated a popular recording studio before relocating to the Bay Area in 2009. McKay has served two elected-volunteer terms on the Board of Governors and as co-chair of the San Francisco Chapter Producers and Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy (the Grammys). He is an active and integral part of the Bay Area music community, offering career guidance to musicians and audio professionals alongside his daily studio work. McKay is available for mixing, production, Dolby Atmos mixing, composition, and remote sessions.

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