I have experience, producing, engineering, and mixing many genres of music. Some artists that I have worked with include:

   > AFRO (Jazz/Rock Fusion) Out Of The Cocoon LP (Dec 2012) "Papermate", "Flat Rock" (Co-Engineered)
   > Never Let Go (Rock/Alternative) "The Ones Who Put Me Down" (August 2012) Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > Tha Livin Truth (Rap/Hip-Hop) Endangered Species Mixtape (July 2012) Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > Q Da Gamer (Hip Hop) "Janet Jackson", "Murder Kounty" (June 2012) Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > All We Stand For (Hardcore) "We'll Figure It Out Later", "Catacombs", "We Will Not Be Silent" (March 2012) Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > Go Home Freshmen (Pop-Punk)
      - So Far So Bad (October 2011) Taylor Swift Cover (Dec 2010) Look Who's Talking EP (Oct 2010)
      - Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > Summer Sessions (Soft Rock/Acoustic) Small Town Memories (September 2011)
   > Ocean Architecture (Progressive Metal) Animus (July 2011) Engineer-Guitar/Drums/Bass
   > Me Vs Gravity (Pop Rock) "Walls Acoustic" (March 2010) Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > My Best Friends Birthday (Punk) Acoustic EP (December 2010)
   > Hope Held High (Indie Rock) "What We're Designed To Do" (2012) Mixing/Mastering
   > Twisted Roots (Funk/Rock) "Stars" Engineered
   > Benjamin Meyers (Electronic/Songwriter) "Lullaby For a Crime" Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > Andy Cizek (Solo Acoustic) "Stars Align" (September 2010) Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > DJ Carnage (Hip Hop) "Cookin' Chicken" (August 2010) Engineered
   > Adlib (Rap) 301 Mixtape (March, 1st 2012) Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > Rob Sieben (Folk/Blues)
   > The Rising (Rock)
   > Jack Rentcshler (Solo Acoustic) (2009 Demo) Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > John Lawton Trio (Rock) 6 Song EP (Sep. 2011) Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > White Ash (Rock) "Kiss Me In The Dark" (Sep. 2010) Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > Bastos (Rap) "Scarface Fantasy" Engineered
   > Jay Duck (Rap)
   > Mike Kehr (Solo Acoustic Covers)
   > PoleCat (Pop Rock) Fresh To Def (2009 Demo) Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > Split The Seas (Alternative/Hardcore) (2009 Demo) Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > The Hardest Decision (Pop-Punk) "Beware Of The Suit Nazis" (March 2010) Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > Heart Of A Hero (Post-Hardcore) Phantoms EP (August 2010) Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > Late Scenes (Indie Rock) (2010 Demo) Produced, Engineered, Mixed, Mastered
   > Corey Brown (Solo Acoustic)
   > Joshua Diggs (R&B/Pop)
   > Off The Deck (Bar Band)
   > Denzel Bristow (Rap)
   > Shihee Bowie (Hip Hop)
   > Nick and Chris Foto-Lawton (Freestyle Rap)

I strive to exceed an artist's expectations on production and quality based on their budget. I also strive to improve my skills as a Producer and Engineer with every project that I do.

Are you or your band currently Self-Recording?

We all know that quality recording gear has become a commodity for the average person. The days of the multi-million dollar studio are pretty much over. There are lots of people putting out amazing work using very little more than a fast laptop, some recording software, and a mic or two. However, it is not the gear that makes a good production, it is more about the experience and skills of the person engineering, mixing, or mastering. These skills take a long time to develop just like learning to play an instrument. Many artists these days are trying fill the jobs of many, A kind of one man army. They are playing the roles of: songwriter, performing artist, producer, and tracking/mixing/mastering engineers. This is a noble effort, but many people dedicate their entire working lives to just ONE of these jobs. Trying to merely meet, let alone exceed the quality of productions with a dedicated Engineer is impossible for the "one man army" artist going at recording in their home studio.

By choosing to hire a dedicated Engineer/Producer for your project, you are leaving the dirty work behind producing, recording, mixing, and mastering to them so you don't have to worry about it. You are paying for a highly developed skill, and trained, unbiased ears with your music. I can help you make creative decisions as a producer and try my best to capture the heart and soul behind your music as an engineer.

Instruments Available For Use: FREE OF CHARGE

Drums/Percussion:

> Mapleworks Custom Drums: 10", 12", 15" Toms (6 Ply), 22"x18" Kick (8 Ply), all Keller Maple shells.
> Orange County 13"x7" Maple Snare (Die Cast Hoops)
> Mapex Black Panther 14"x8" Big Cat Snare
> Pearl Joey Jordison 13"x6.5" Signature Steel Snare
> Pearl Sensitone 14"x5.5" Steel Snare
> Audition 14"x5.5" 6 Lug Snare
> Lots of auxiliary percussion, Tambourine, shakers etc.

Cymbals:

Zildjian
> 14" New Beat Hi-Hat
> 21" Sweet Ride
> 16" and 18" Fast Crashes
> 15" Thin Crash
> 18" ZBT China
> 10" ZXT Splash
> 10" ZHT China-Splash
> 6" Zil-Bell
> Wuhan 12" China
> Sabian B8 Pro 20" Ride
> Sabian Alu-Bell
> Paiste Alpha/Dimensions series 14" Hat
> Paiste 8" Splash
> 22" Vintage Neil Peart Zildjian ride and 14" crash
> 10" Fast Splash
> Sabian 16" AAX crash, 15" AAX Xtreme China,
Pedals:

> Tama Iron Cobra Power-Glide double pedal
> Pearl Eliminator double pedal
> Pearl P-900 single chain pedal

Guitars/String Instruments:

> Gibson Les Paul Studio (1990)
> Fender Standard Telecaster
> Epiphone Casino (Vintage 1960s)
> Aria Full hollowbody electric L5 clone (Vintage 1960s)
> Ibanez RG Prestige Series Solid Body Electric w/ stereo piezo output
> ESP LTD M-155 with Steve Morse Dimarzio Pickup
> Epiphone Les Paul Special II (with Duncan JB Bridge Pickup)
> Stratocaster loaded with Seymour Duncan Pickups
> Fender Special Edition Precision Bass (P-Bass)
> Ibanez SDGR Bass w/ Active Humbuckers
> Martin DCX-1E Dreadnought acoustic with Fishman Blender pickup
> Ovation CS257 Celebrity Acoustic
> Fender Dreadnought Acoustic
> Ibanez Classical/Nylon String acoustic-electric
> Washburn Ukulele

Amps/Cabs/Pedals:

> Peavey 6505+ 120 watt Tube Head
> Marshall JCM-900 SL-X 2100 Tube Head
> Modded Epiphone Valve Junior 5 Watt Tube Head
> Avatar Vintage style 2x12 cab (Loaded with Celestion Vintage 30, and Celestion G12H30)
> Marshall AVT4x12 Cab (Celestion Loaded)
> MXR 10 Band EQ (Vintage Blue)
> Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
> Ibanez Compressor Pedal

I am also able to borrow on request: Mesa Dual Rectifier Head, Mesa Rectifier 4x12 cab, Peavey 5150 Head, Avatar 412 Cab (Celestion Greenbacks/G12T-75s) Line 6 Vetta II Head+Cab

Keyboards/MIDI Controllers:
> M-Audio Axiom 49
> M-Audio Keystation 88es
> Casio General MIDI Keyboard

Brass/Woodwinds:
> 2x Bach Trumpets
> Selmer Alto Saxaphone
> Bass Trombone

Interfaces:

> M-Audio ProjectMix I/O (8ch Control Surface)
> Presonus Digimax D8 (16 Simultaneous Channels Digital)
> Zoom H4n (for location recordings)

Computers:

> Custom Built and Overclocked Intel i7 "Hackintosh" Beast
> Macbook Pro 15" Core i5 8GB RAM
> Custom built Windows Desktop (Dual Core 2007)

Software:

DAWs:
> AVID ProTools 10 with CPTK

> Reaper

Guitar Amps:
> Line 6 POD Farm 2
> Ik Multimedia Amplitube 3 (ENGL, Orange, and Jet City)

Drums/Sampling:
> Wavemachine Labs Drumagog 5 Pro
> Steven Slate Drums EX 3.5
> Toontrack EZ Drummer
> FXpansion BFD Lite

Tuning/Editing
> Antares AutoTune 7 and 6 Evo
> Celemony Melodyne Editor 2

Analog Emulation
> Slate Digital VCC (Virtual Console Collection)
> Waves Kramer MPX Master Tape
> Massey Tapehead

Mastering
> Slate Digital FGX (Mastering Processor)
> IK Multimedia T-Racks 4 CS Grand
> Massey L2007 Mastering Limiter

Effects
> SoundToys Native Effects and Devil-Loc Deluxe
> LiquidSonics Reverberate
> iZotope Alloy 2
> McDSP Project Studio Bundle
> Massey CT4 and CT5 Compressors
> Waves Musicians 2 Bundle
> Waves Native Power Pack
> Waves Renaissance Bass

Virtual Instruments
> FXpansion DCAM Synth Squad
> IK Multimedia Miroslav Philharmonik
> Native Instruments Komplete 8 Players
> IK Multimedia SampleTank FREE
> AVID Creative Collection

Keyboards/MIDI Controllers:

> M-Audio Keystation 88es
> M-Audio Axiom 49
> Casio General MIDI Keyboard

Monitoring:

> ADAM Audio A7
> Sennheiser HD650 Headphones
> KRK Rokit 8
> Harmon Kardon 2.1 Computer Speakers
> AR Audiophile speakers
> Sony MDR-7506 headphones x2
> Vic Firth Extreme Isolation headphones x1
> Sony MDR-V-150 headphones x3
> Sony Noise Cancelling headphones

Acoustic Treatment:

> GIK Acoustics (Bass Trapping,Broadband Absorption, Diffusion)
> Auralex Acoustics (High Frequency absorption, Monitor Decoupling)
> Primacoustic Crashguard > Owens Corning (Soundproofing/Isolation)

Microphones:

   Condensers/Capacitor:

   > Neumann U87
   > AKG C414 XL II (x2)
   > Rode NT-1A (x2)
   > Rode NT-4 (Stereo Mic)
   > CAD M179 (x3)
   > Superlux S241 (x2)
   > Audio Technica PZM/Boundary (x2)
   > 12 Gauge Microphones RED12 (x1)
   > Behringer ECM-8000

   Dynamic:

   > Shure SM7B
   > Shure SM57 (x3)
   > Shure SM58
   > Shure Beta 52
   > Sennheiser e602
   > Revox M3500
   > Sennheiser e609
   > Prodipe TT1
   > AKG D 8000 S
   > Realistik High ball 2 Omni (x3)
   > Home Made Subkick
   > Misc Cheap Dynamics

   Ribbon:

   > Apex 205 (x2) Modded
   > Nady RSM-4 (x2) Modded
   > CAD Trion 7000 Modded

Preamps:

> Seventh Circle Audio A12 (API 512 clone) x1
> Seventh Circle Audio T15 x2
> Vintage SoundCraft Series 1S x16 (Sowter Transformers and 4 Band EQ on every channel)
> Presonus Digimax D8 XMAX Class A

DI:

ftp > Whirlwind IMP 2 Passive DI
> Rapco Passive DI
> Radial ProRMP Passive Reamping Box

Awesome Stuff That You Don't Have:

> Guitar Amp Mic Placement Robot

Whether or not you plan to work with me, these guidelines should help you be ready to give your best in any recording situation. I have worked with many bands/artists, and every situation is different. In many of these situations, the band is not ready to do serious recording when they show up. Things end up taking too long for a number of reasons. The MOST COMMON case seems to be when the band shows up with songs that are not rehearsed enough (if at all), or not finished being written! Use this blog as a guide to help you get ready to record with me, or any other recording studio! If too many of these guidelines are not met when working with me I reserve the right to adjust pricing accordingly. So pay attention to them, you may learn a thing or two!

When Is a song considered to be "Finished"?

> When every part is written, for every instrument. This seems simple, but I have had people come in with only chords and a melody. The lyrics were not even written yet!
When the form or structure of the song has been decided so the song flows how you want it to. Does that guitar solo really need to be 24 bars? Maybe it would work better with just an 8 bar solo to add a new flavor to the song instead of boring listeners with the same licks over and over.

> Don't leave out the drummer, he is important too. I have had drummers come into the studio that were not prepared to record (example: *pulls of headphones after 1st take* "I've never heard this song before?") Somehow everybody in the band had rehearsed the song, but the drummer was left out. If the drummer could not make it to rehearsal before you came into the studio, don't expect him to be able to pull magical grooves and fills out of his ass. It won't happen. Everybody will feel stressed out (especially the poor drummer) and you may feel the drums didn't turn out the way you had hoped. This brings me to the next point.

> Rehearse EVERY song you plan to record to the point of disgust. Rehearse like you are getting ready for the biggest show you have ever played. Your recorded music could easily get heard by more people than come to 50 of your shows. The better you know the parts, the better you will be able to focus on getting your music so it come across with precision, feeling, emotion, and you guessed it.. musicality! In a live performance once the piece is played, that's it. It will never be heard that way ever again. When someone listens to your recording, they can listen as many times as they want! Mistakes will start to show with repeated listens. Make sure that your recording is your best performance of your music that you ever have!

> This goes along the same lines as rehearsal, but it deserved it's own section. Every vocalist needs to know their parts. In many cases the lead vocalist knows his/her part but the backup vocalists don't have a clue. They either don't know the words, or have not worked out harmonies yet. Some vocalists have a feel for adding harmonies whether it be a major third third up or a perfect fifth down etc, but having these parts figured out before coming to the studio can save a lot of time when doing vocals and overdubs. Lastly, memorize your lyrics. Reading off of a lyrics sheet almost always ends with a less than stellar vocal. You can always hear in the tone of voice that the person is reading it off of a sheet. The vocalist is not as focused on the emotion/expression put into the vocal when they have to interpret the words off of a sheet as they are singing.

How to conduct yourselves in the studio:

1.	Come ready to work hard, get a decent amount of sleep before coming in. It can help everybody just feel more open, alert, and friendly while working.
2.	Please do not play in between takes. If I am trying to talk to another band member about something, your playing just gets in the way of us hearing each other and slows down the session. (Drummers are the worst offenders of this and happen to also have the loudest instrument! Please drummers, save practicing that fill for rehearsal time and not fill the room with un-necessary sound.)
3.	Anything that you need that will help you perform better, please let me know about it. I will do what I can to accommodate you. For example, if your headphones are not working properly, or are not loud enough.. don't wait until we have done 10 takes of the song to tell me that your headphone mix is messed up.
4.	STAY QUIET if another member is recording. There is no reason to be yelling and romping around while the drummer is tracking his parts. It also slows the process down if I have to tell people to keep it down. If I had a nickel for every time I could hear someone talking on the room mic track for the drums... do I even need to finish this sentence?
5.	Don't record parts that are going to have to be re-recorded later. This is most common with vocals when there is confusion with another vocalist that sings lead parts in the same song. Why record it when it will have to be re-done? The same goes for instruments. Don't play a lead guitar part sloppy just because the lead guitarist isn't there. He will probably insist on re-doing it later, taking up more time. (This goes hand-in-hand with having your songs written/figured out before coming into the studio.)
6.	If the entire band is at the session, bring food and drink because it will probably take a while to get through all of the work planned for the day. Having a few people go and pick up a pizza can help ease the session with a food break! But vocalists need to be careful about what they eat before singing.
7.	Some general rules for vocalists regarding food and drink:

-	Eating before singing is not a good idea, but singing on an empty stomach is also not great either. Eat something about 2 hours before tracking vocals. This gives your throat time to relax after eating and also allows you to have more control over your diaphragm.
-	Do not drink soda because it puts too much air in your stomach.
-	Do not drink milk or other dairy products that create mucus in the throat.
-	Do not drink citrus fruit drinks and Alcohol dry the throat.
-	Do not drink anything that is ice cold because it constrains the throat.
-	Warm or room temperature liquids like Tea, and Water are the best things to drink before and during singing. They soothe the throat. Honey is also common for helping "De-gunk" your throat before singing.

8.  If you mess up while recording, don't fret about it too much. Recording is stressful. Don't be hard on yourself. It is only going to make it more difficult for you to get a good take. Frustration can slow down the session a lot, and spread throughout the other members of the band.
9.  Bring the gear that you want to use on your recordings to the session. I have instruments that I can provide for you, but if the sound you want is with your drumset or your guitar amp bring that to the session. It will make the search for the right sound much more simple.

After Tracking...

1. At this point I move onto the mixing/mastering process. I can usually send you away with rough mixes of everything to listen to. The final product often sounds VERY different from the rough mix.

2. When I start to send mixes of the songs to you, don't listen to your individual part. Listen to how all of the parts fit together as a whole. Compare it to music you like and see how your recordings sound in comparison. Offer up advice that will help me take your music where you want it to be. Explain what you want as best you can and I will try to offer options that go along with your description.

3. Many people dismiss a mix as "bad" simply because it is not loud enough. The loudness of a mix is something that is addressed during mastering. You should also know that when I make a song as intrinsically loud as other music on the market, it sacrifices most of the dynamic range of the recording to create a louder, more "in your face" sound. This may seem better at first because the brain associates "louder" sound as "better" by nature, but the constantly loud sound is fatiguing to the ears and can make listening to your record difficult after long periods of time. The reason music is so compressed and loud these days is just a trend that the music industry has fallen into known as the "Loudness War". Everybody is trying to make their record louder than everyone else's. The overall loudness of a recording is important to make your recording competitive with others on the market.

4. The final product is the final product. If you tell me that the proposed final mix is good, that is how it is going to be. If you are dissatisfied, you cannot immediately point fingers at me. your attitude, your musical skill, your sound and your music is what is coming out of your speakers more or less the same way you played it in the studio. No amount of processing, and editing and pitch shifting that I do is going to make your music magically better than it was to start. Garbage going in, is garbage coming out. I have high standards and I put my best effort into every project I do, but I don't like to have to pick up other's slack. Quality musicianship comes first in any recording chain!


In comparison to major labels some quality loss is inevitable when working in a home studio. When you are paying over $100 per hour for studio time, you are paying for the million dollar rooms, equipment, and skill of engineers at the facility. The saying "you get what you pay for" is just as true in the studio as anywhere else. I am always buying better gear, and improving my skill to try to provide the best possible results I can for the artists that I work with. You can hear it in every project I work on. This is what I love to do. You get the benefits of me being as passionate as I am about it.

Hopefully this blog will help you be prepared to record your music.


Here are some other helpful links with tips that can help improve your experience recording your music.

Guitar Tuning Nightmares Explained Drum Tuning Bible
Tips for Musicians BEFORE arriving at the studio (Los Senderos Studio, TX)
Tips for the Recording Session (Los Senderos Studio, TX)
Session Tips - Boston Recording Studio

Digital Recording via Avid ProTools HD 10    

    -  Overdub Tracking: (Pre-Production, Drums, Guitars, Bass, Vocals, etc - all tracked separately)
    -  Live Tracking:   (Creating Click Tracks/Tempo Maps then tracking the entire band live all together)
        $25/Hour or $200/Day of tracking
    *Price includes access to all in-house instruments, amplifiers, and other musical gear that belongs to me.


Mixing and Mastering for any musical or audio related project

    $100/song   - Must be in ProTools Session format (.PTX, .PTF, .PTS), or in a DAW interchangeable format (.OMF/.AAF)     *Additional charges may be added for Editing, Pocketing, and Tuning if needed/desired.


Mastering for any musical or audio related project

    $20/song   - Must be delivered in at least 44.1khz 16 Bit WAV or similar lossless quality.


Reamping Guitars with Peavey 6505, or Marshall JCM 900

    $20/song   - Must be delivered in at least 44.1khz 16 Bit WAV or similar lossless quality.


Audio Transfer/Restoration from Analog to Digital

    $10/hour   - Vinyl, Cassette, or 1/4" Tape to Studio Quality Digital Formats


Scoring Sound, Music, and Effects for Film/Video

    $25/hour

Don't be afraid to contact me with questions! I'd love to hear about your project/goals and find out specifically what I can do for you.

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