The Production phase can vary greatly from artist-to-artist. Some like to play the majority of the instruments themselves, while others prefer not to contribute to the track outside of vocals.

One aspect that stays consistent is my attention to the vocal production process. My approach is that Vocals Are King and it all starts with the performance. I help guide and inspire great vocal performances the way a coach would get the best out of an athlete.

Outside of vocal production, my role can range from programming and tracking all of the elements on a song, to hiring the right musicians for the job. Then getting into the nitty-gritty of editing, comping, sound designing…etc. And I involve the artist in the process as much as they want to be. My chief aim is to get the final result the artist is looking for.

Finally, in the Mixing phase, it usually takes one or two rounds of mixing to get everything sitting just right. Once the artist is completely happy with the record, I send it off to mastering for that final touch.

This process is very similar to Full Production with the difference being that a good portion of the production has already been completed, and typically the artist needs someone to take it the rest of the way — put the finishing touches on it. I will talk with the artist to determine the scope of the project and what the goals are, and then work from there to create a final product they are proud of.

This can include things like vocal production, drum programming, transitions, structure & arrangement, elevating existing sounds or even adding exciting and interesting elements aka “ear candy”.

When an artist’s project (or producer’s) just needs a mix, it’s still important to have a conversation about the song, any references and any other goals. While mixing is a pretty straight forward process, I still expect the artist to have input along the way. Typically, when I’m brought on to mix a song it takes about one to three rounds of edits to get the mix just right.

I offer full mixes and stem mixes.

*Stem-Mixing - mixing audio material that has already been grouped by type (e.g., drums, bass, keys, guitars, lead vocal, background vocals…etc) and processing them separately prior to combining them into a final Master. Stems are also sometimes referred to as submixes, subgroups, or buses.

This is mostly meant for artists that are producing themselves or producers who feel like they need help in a specific area. Things like drum sounds, lead vocal mix, lyric editing, overall mix balance, song structure…etc. I go through their session (virtually) and we discuss areas that can be improved and how to make those improvements. The artist/producer then goes and makes the changes at their own pace.

This could also be looked at as booking a lesson. I pack a lot of value in these sessions, not just for the immediate solution, but also to give the artist/producer tools to use on future projects.

Typically, these are one hour sessions. Some book one or two sessions as needed, while others choose to have recurring weekly sessions.