John Scrip began engineering audio as a hobbyist in the early 1980s with his own and other area bands. After interning and freelance engineering at several Chicago area studios, John was hired by J. Engel Media to create a private "invite only" project studio for the owner in Niles, Illinois. Quickly outgrowing the original space, along with the idea to open the studio commercially, he was charged with conceptualizing the design and implementation of the JEM Music Complex - a 3500 square foot audio recording studio sharing office space with (JEM's) the Rebel Radio Network. Having limited knowledge of acoustical engineering and studio construction, John studied the teachings of the legendary F. Alton Everest to design the spacious control room and two live rooms which quickly caught the attention of the local music scene while attracting projects featuring such nationally and internationally acclaimed artists as Manowar, Bill Dickens, Rod Morgenstein, members of Trouble, Jacco Muller, Eidolon (Shawn and Glen Drover), T.M. Stevens, Vernon Reid and others.
John was hired on as Chief Engineer, overseeing studio operations and eventually was asked by management to add basic mastering options to the studio's available services. As he typically took on the responsibility of booking and attending mastering sessions for JEM's recording and mixing clients, John went from a 'passing interest' to intense study of the craft, sitting in with and eventually working alongside some of the most proficient mastering engineers in the area. And what started out as an almost begrudgingly accepted change in studio responsibilities soon turned into obsession as he started collecting bits and pieces of specialized gear, eventually creating a humble suite of his own, free of the distractions and scheduling limitations of JEM's control room.
The parent company of JEM eventually sold the studio off to Jason Walsh. John stayed on as a staff engineer and eventually side-stepped to Senior Mastering Engineer as the studio's popularity grew. Jason decided to move the studio to a new facility in St. Charles, Illinois and re-open as Farview Recording. That move would ultimately prompt John to create MASSIVE Mastering, tapping off the talents and gear selection he developed over the previous several years. John consulted with Australian studio designer John Sayers, acoustic specialist Ethan Winer and legendary audio gear designer David Hill to construct and equip a purpose-built space utilizing some of the finest mastering hardware and software available today.
MASSIVE Mastering LLC now serves a diverse clientele from around the world in all genres. Quite literally, "from rookies to Royalty, from garage bands to Grammy contenders." MASSIVE Mastering has been featured in print (EQ Magazine, Pro Sound News, etc.) and John’s articles have been published in print and online, some scoring hundreds of thousands of views - and he remains a frequent and respected contributor to several professional and amateur recording, mixing and mastering forums.
He still gets “fader time” occasionally from tracking and mixing live events as Technical Supervisor at Schaumburg’s Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts.