Regardless of the style of music being created in the studio, an engineer’s role is divided between testing the waters and problem-solving. No one understands this better than ace recording engineer Rafa Sardina.

One of the premier architects of the Latin sound for more than a decade, Sardina has lent his passion and committment to today’s standard-bearers—artists like Latin Grammy king Alejandro Sanz and international phenomenon Luis Miguel, who continue to break new ground.

Born in Spain, Sardina began his career doing live sound for local rock bands, but after a move to Los Angeles, landed an internship at Hollywood’s fabled Ocean Way, where he apprenticed under studio owner/veteran engineer Allen Sides. As he quickly rose through the ranks, Sardina gained valuable experience working with Dr. Dre, Dru Hill, Macy Gray and Rod Stewart. It was there that he also met Miguel, beginning a longtime collaboration that has yielded eight platinum albums to date.

A longtime aficionado of analog recording, Sardina made the reluctant transition to digital just two years ago. We recently chatted with the affable 11-time Grammy winner (his latest, for Sanz’s El Tren de los Momentos, was named 2007’s Best Latin Pop Album) at L.A.’s famed Record Plant, where he now spends most of his working days when not ensconced in his state-of-the art Pro Tools/SSL-equipped home studio, After Hours.

Is there a qualitative difference in the sound of the records you mix for Latin audiences versus the records you mix for American audiences?
Not anymore. There are some subtle differences within the styles of Latin music, but there’s really no difference sonically between the standard Latin rock or pop sound and the U.S. sound.

In the past, there has been a difference—there was that trademark Latin sound back in the ’80s and ’90s where you used lots of reverb and made everything super-large, with the vocals way up front with lots of effects. Some people still have nostalgia for the old sound, but these days there is no difference, at least with the projects I get involved in. The Latin market is following the taste of American music for the most part.

Does the Latin market listen to a lot of American music?
Yes, especially these days with globalization. When I was growing up in Spain, we listened to a lot of local music and music from Europe, especially England—we were hugely influenced by the British sound. There was this underground movement of buying and trading vinyl, listening to music other than what you would hear on radio. But these days, everybody listens to the same thing all over the world; you travel anywhere and you’ll hear pretty much the same top 40 hits.

For more, get the latest Issue of Performing Songwriter, ISSUE No. 109