FAQ

Where can I hear some of your engineering work? 
Click the “My Work” tab at the top of this page, or click here. Additionally, the homepage of this website has a music player at the bottom with a handful of examples. 

How much will it cost to make my record with you?
No two projects are the same. My only flat rate item is mixing: all mixes are $250 per song, with three rounds of revisions. For hourly recording rates, please see the Bridge Sound & Stage website's fact sheet. I am a staff house engineer at The Bridge Sound & Stage, so refer to the house engineer rate to get a sense. Editing all depends on the needs of the project. Sometimes editing can happen in between takes during recording sessions. Sometimes editing needs to be done after all parts and takes have been captured, particularly projects that require a lot of comping, time-aligning, and/or vocal tuning. Fill out a contact form with your project details and we can chat and figure that out together. We'll talk things through and I can give you an estimate on how long I think it will take (to determine cost) to actually record, edit, and mix your music

How long will it take to make my record?
That depends on a lot of things. How many songs are you recording? How well rehearsed are you and your bandmates? Are they simple singer-songwriter arrangements or is this a 15 song album with lots and lots of overdubs? I am always happy to work as fast or as slow as you need. To ensure the quickest turnaround times, see the next question.

How can I best prepare to record my music in the studio?
Practice your songs! Practice playing to a metronome! Finish writing your songs! You and your band mates should know your tunes in and out, backwards and forwards. The single biggest time waster in the studio is learning your songs as you record them. Some people prefer to create and record this way, and that’s great, but it will not be quick. If you can knock out takes and play your parts well, your record will get made quicker and sound much better. Make sure your instruments are in the best shape they can be. Setup your guitars and change strings ahead of time, make sure amps work, take care of your voice, change your drum heads, etc.

What musical genre(s) do you work with?
Most of ‘em! I have experience with rock, alternative, metal, punk, jazz, hardcore, pop, hip-hop, Americana, singer-songwriter, folk, and even some classical/orchestral. I will never turn a project down because of the genre. If it’s a project in a genre that I am a bit weaker on, I may refer you to an engineer/producer who is well versed in that genre. If you fall anywhere in the genres that I've listed above, you're in good hands with me. 

Do you have instruments I can use?
Yep, The Bridge Sound & Stage probably has what you need! Check out their gear list.

How do I book studio time with you?
Fill out a contact form on this website, and add as many details about your project as possible. I will then reach out so that we can have our pre-production meeting, and go from there in terms of booking the actual studio dates. I very rarely book blind session with no project details ahead of time. I want to maximize your time in the studio, so the more logistics, detail-work, and planning we can achieve ahead of time, the better!

Can I sit in on a mix session?
I work much faster when I can mix alone. Therefore, all mix sessions are typically unattended. If you do want to attend a mix session with me, we'll need to book studio time at The Bridge Sound & Stage. We can do this, but this will likely result in your mix costing you a bit more than the flat rate. 

Can you master my record?
I am capable of mastering in the same way that I am capable of painting the outside of my house. I can do a passable, workable job of it, but professional painters will do it better. I highly recommend hiring someone else (a dedicated mastering engineer) to master your music after we’ve finished mixing it. The biggest benefit to having a different engineer master your music is that this gets a second set of unbiased ears on the project. I have plenty of recommendations for mastering engineers when the time comes! Our chief engineers at The Bridge Sound & Stage are superb mastering engineers. In fact, if you've found yourself on my website looking for just mastering services, I reccommend you just head stright to The Bridge's website to see about their mastering servces. Wouldn't it be convenient if there was a link to the studio's staff page right here? 

I recorded my tracks at another studio/at home/on the moon, can you mix them for me?
You bet!

I have someone lined up to mix my music, but I do need help recording it. Are we able to record with you and hand the project off to mix elsewhere?
You bet! We can get all your music recorded and edited and buttoned up nicely for your mix engineer.

Can you come to our show and mix front-of-house for us?
No live sound services to be found here.

Can you come to our show and record it/can you record on location?
I don't have much of a mobile recording rig at the moment, so location recording is nigh impossible for me. The lovely folks at The Bridge Sound & Stage can probably help with location recording. If you want to record and release a live set, let's book a studio session, set the whole band up, and record it live. Why is this better? You'll have a higher fidelity recording, you can do multiple takes if needed, you can punch parts in/edit if you want (shhh we won't tell anyone), and you don't have to worry about impressing a live audience while doing it.

How do I get my files to you?
I’ll provide you a Dropbox link to upload them to once we decide to work together.

Do you ever offer any kind of discounts?
Yep! I have a referral discount - if an existing client refers another new client, both clients get 50% off of one mix. Additionally, the Bridge Sound & Stage offers discounted 10 hour block rates. See their studio fact sheet. This is great for the long days needed for tracking basics. 

I recorded my music in Logic/Reaper/Cubase, can I just send you those session files?
No, I currently work exclusively in Pro Tools. You can certainly send me a Pro Tools session, but for all other formats please bounce your multi-tracks as WAV files, at whatever sample rate and bit depth you recorded at. If you need help figuring out how to properly consolidate and export multi-track files, let me know and I’ll help! There are plenty of videos online.

I feel ready to record my music, but I’ve never been to a real studio, and really have no idea how to begin.
No worries! I try and hop on a video meeting or phone call before the start of any project to have a quick pre production meeting. This is where we go over logistics and I answer questions. This is typically followed by me attending a band practice to hear you play, or followed by me listening to your rough demos. The goal is for there to be no surprises once we are in the studio and hitting the ground running.

I don’t know how to get my music on Apple Music or Spotify, what do I do?
It’s not as hard as you think! I can certainly explain how this is done for the independent artist of today.
 
Do I have to play with a click track? Do we have to record our parts all separately from one another?
You don’t have to do anything! We can work however you’re comfortable. There are some technical limitations to note: Do you want your vocals tuned perfectly with pitch correction software when editing? If so, we can’t record in a way that lets other instruments bleed into the vocal microphone. Do you want to sound like (insert band name)? If they played to a click and cut things to a grid, we’re going to have to as well.
 
I saw a documentary where this band recorded their music outdoors in a blizzard while juggling slices of pizza, and I love their album! Can we record that way too?
In my experience, you would probably love that band's music regardless of how they captured it. I am always happy to chase fun ideas in the studio, but if your goal is a good song, don't get hung up on the specific microphone or specific weird technique that your favorite artist used. In most cases, the quality of the music is what makes those recordings stand out to you. 
 
Can I hire you to teach me audio engineering? 
This seems to come up a lot recently; a lot of folks want to sit in on a mix session and learn to mix while we mix their music. I have tried it in the past and have learned that I am a bad teacher. I can't possibly teach you something that has taken me a decade to learn (and which I am still learning) during one or two sessions. If you want to learn audio engineering and production, there are some great, free resources online. 
 
Audio “buzzwords” to know:
 
Tracking/cutting - Fancy words for "recording". 
 
Basics - Recording “the basics” means we are recording the rhythm section/foundation of your song. For a standard rock tune this will probably be the drumkit, bass guitar, rhythm guitars, and sometimes keys. Basics will invole pretty much any instrument providing a part that is the rhythmic/harmonic backbone of the song. 
 
Overdubs - Recording additional tracks adjacent to the basic tracks. Overdubs are usually lead guitars, additional keys, horns, vocals. It's also not uncommon to overdub bass guitar, drums, and other instruments that might be typically handled during a “basics” session. There are no real rules. 
 
Editing - Enhancements made to your music that isn't yet mixing, but isn't recording. Comping, time-algining, and vocal tuning/pitch correction are all examples of editing
 
Comping - Choosing parts/sections from various takes of the same part, and putting the best pieces together to make one master “composite” take. 
 
Mixing - Taking the multitrack of your song and mixing it down to the stereo format that will be mastered and then distributed. A song might start out as 25 discrete tracks of audio, after they are mixed, it will be a single stereo file, or “track”. We can mix to mono as well, though this is not often done. Mixing, or “mixdown” is equal parts technical and artistic. 
 
Mastering - Mastering is the final step that ensures your music is ready for mass distribution. A mastering engineer will ensure the mix sounds the best that it can across most listening platforms, and that it meets the proper specifications for each platform it is being delivered to. Many aspects of mastering are more technical in nature: ensuring files are delivered at the proper bit depth, ensuring the proper loudness for streaming platforms vs CDs, etc. A mastering engineer will also work to make different mixes on the same album sound more cohesive together. This might include some subtle equalization, compression, or harmonic saturation. Mastering is also the final chance to QC your stuff.