Shadowing Practice: Grammy Nominated Producer/Mixer Jay Ruston talks about Samson Resolv SE Studio Monitors - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hi, I'm Jay Rustin.

I'm a producer mixer.

This is my studio in Sherman Oaks, California.

I'm here to talk to you about the Samson Resolve SE monitors.

Some of the bands I've worked with are Anthrax, Steel Panther, Stone Sour, Meat Loaf, American Idol.

I did a bunch of mixing on a couple seasons for that show.

Morrissey, Courtney Love, Diana Ross and I used to mix on Yamaha in its tents for many years

and in my quest to find the ultimate speaker I came across the Samsons recently

and the most important thing for me is mid -range

and especially at low volumes because they mix very quietly

and the Samson SE is just the mid -range is absolutely perfect

and the bottom end isn't hyped but it's totally punchy

and its upper mid -range which can be harsh on power monitors is very smooth

and adjustable in 2db increments

which for my room was perfect to knock it back a couple

or bring it up depending on the project that I'm mixing but I love having that option.

They're also great to crank up when you really want to feel the bottom end, they don't get harsh, and to get the bottom end right,

I generally need to listen fairly loud, but for all the vocal rides and getting the top end right,

I mix very quietly, so they are perfect at all those volumes and just sound exactly the same across the board.

When I start mixing a record, the first thing I do is bring up the first track and just kind of listen to everything flat.

Bring up the drums, the bass, guitars, sometimes I'll even start with vocals just to get the vibe on the melody.

And I try not to do any EQ or compression for a while, just balance the mix with the sounds that are on tape and see if I can make it work like that.

And then I'll start bringing in some EQ and compression on individual tracks and on the stereo mix as well.

And if I'm mixing in Pro Tools, everything goes across my Trident analog console and and then into the SE monitors,

and it's just a perfect combination for me, sort of half in the box, half out of the box.

And once I get the mix, kind of the basic idea of the mix, I can get pretty rocking within an hour or so,

and then I start automating and changing EQs and pans and things like that depending on each section of the song.

Sometimes the chorus might need a punchier snare or a different snare sound altogether depending on what's happening instrumentation -wise.

I recently finished a record by a band called The Winery Dogs, which is Richie Kotzen, Billy Sheehan, and Mike Portnoy.

It's an amazing album.

The songs, the vibe of it, it's just all different genres.

It's rocks, it's blues, there's some shredding.

I think it's kind of something for everyone.

And Richie's voice is just incredible.

And I really love the way the sound of

that record came out

and one of the most important things for me was getting the mid -range

and his guitar tone correct and I think the Resolve SE's really helped me with

that and my mastering engineer Paul Logos commented on the same thing.

He thought the mid -range was really nailed on that record.

A couple other projects

that I have coming up this summer is the third Steel Panther record should be finished in the next couple months.

I'm also working with Pearl Lede.

We're doing a kind of a California country record with Jim Wilson and that's kind of it right now.

My website is JayRustin .com, and at Twitter, I'm at JayRustin.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Grammy Nominated Producer/Mixer Jay Ruston talks about Samson Resolv SE Studio Monitors”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: mix, record, mid, range, mixing. This video has 45 sentences and 636 words to shadow. The speech runs for 3:37. The speaker talks at a natural 176 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 77% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
monitor noun	/ˈmɑ.nɪ.tɚ/	Someone who watches over something; a person in charge of something or someone.
depend verb	/dɪˈpɛnd/	To be contingent or conditioned; to have something as a necessary condition
guitar noun	/ɡɪˈtɑɹ/	A stringed musical instrument, of European origin, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick).
vocal adjective	/ˈvoʊ̯.kəl/	Of, pertaining to, or resembling the human voice or speech.
quietly adverb	/ˈkwaɪ.ɪt.li/	Producing little or no noise.
harsh adjective	/ˈhɑɹʃ/	Unpleasantly rough to the touch or other senses.
vibe noun	/vaɪb/	An atmosphere or aura felt to belong to a person, place or thing.
compression noun	/kəmˈpɹɛʃ.ən/	An increase in density; the act of compressing, or the state of being compressed; compaction.
tone noun	/ˈtəʊn/	A specific pitch.
producer noun	/pɹəˈdjuːsə/	An individual or organization that creates goods and services.
tape noun	/teɪ̯p/	Flexible material in a roll with a sticky surface on one or both sides; adhesive tape.
smooth adjective	/smuːð/	Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.
pan noun	/pæn/	A wide, flat receptacle used around the house, especially for cooking.
knock verb	/nɑk/	To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood.
bass noun	/beɪs/	A low spectrum of sound tones.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
bring up verb		To mention.
come across verb		To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition.
come out verb	/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/	To be discovered; to be revealed.
come up verb		To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	isn't hyped · was really nailed · should be finished
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	range which can · Dogs, which is

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 14 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I'll, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: smooth /smuːð/, altogether /ɔl.tuˈɡɛð.ɚ/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: harsh /ˈhɑɹʃ/, compression /kəmˈpɹɛʃ.ən/, genre /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/, shred /ʃɹɛd/
Long words — get the stress right: altogether /ɔl.tuˈɡɛð.ɚ/, adjustable /əˈd͡ʒʌstəbəl/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like monitor, depend, guitar.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Grammy Nominated Producer/Mixer Jay Ruston talks about Samson Resolv SE Studio Monitors - Learn English Speaking with Video

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