Here are a couple great examples of the kind of work my production students are doing: “Doberman” Dan Gallapoo is a great guitarist living in Florida. He’s now most of the way finished with what’s going to be an incredible debut CD. Dan started with the Logic template I send my students, with a great assortment of first-class sounds and a couple lessons on how to get a great start to kick things off. He came up with good sketches, and we took it higher from there, and then higher still, including getting Dave Weckl to play on “Latin Track”, and Tom Brechtlein and Randy Brecker to play on “Funk Excerpt” (names still pending!). Once we have a great track and the form figured out, we’ll usually do a lesson or two on soloing over what we’ve come up with; Dan has a good head for harmony, so the changes on these tunes can be kind of fun, but challenging to blow on! And if a student could use some help with their compositions, I’m happy to pitch in, as well. These mixes are still in progress at this point, but you get the idea, and as we mix, Dan is watching every move I make, a great way to get your own understanding of production and mixing techniques together! Here’s a bit of Dan’s Latin burner, featuring Dave Weckl (who recorded video as well as audio, for an eventual YouTube promotion!):
And here’s an excerpt of Dan’s Funk track in progress, with Tommy Brechtlein on drums and Randy Brecker on trumpet:
Some of my students are working on tracks entirely “in the box”, with either me or them programming drums, bass, keyboard parts, etc., and some are inviting guest artists to play on their tracks or recording themselves on guitar, sax, vocals, etc. I have a student in Italy who’s working on orchestra tracks, and one in San Francisco who’s making a CD that features his bitingly ironic lyrics on a variety of topics, a’la Tom Waits, for example. In every case, we do a screen-share as we’re working on the tracks so everyone can see every “trick in the book”, clearly explained, and these people are getting good at this! Check the testimonials for some of their thoughts on the process!
Another great way to work with me on your production works beautifully for those who are already in progress on a CD, but would like to have a second set of ears (and maybe a second set of hands!) from an experienced producer, engineer and musician like me on their project. Working as a mentor for your CD, I’ll take a listen to the tunes, the playing, the production, and/or the mix, and offer an extensive list of concrete suggestions to make the track the best it can be. You would either send me a stereo mix of the track, and I’ll work from that, or if you can send it as a Logic project (I can guide you through sending it to me in this format), I can even do some hands-on work on it, sharing my screen via Skype as we go if you’d like. This has proven to be a very popular option for a lot of musicians working their way through their first record project who’d like to get their tracks to the next level.
And finally, if you’ve already got a CD ready for release, don’t underestimate the value of a great mastering job in helping your tracks sound great out in the world. I’ve mastered hundreds of tracks, and am trusted by very discerning musicians such as Dave Weckl, Chris Minh Doky, Tom Kennedy, Randy Brecker, and others to put the last touches on their babies. It is really important these days to have your project sounding full, brilliant and deep, but also to have the overall level optimized so when your tracks come on in “shuffle” mode, they’re as full, strong and powerful as everything else on the device. And there is a REAL ART to doing this without ruining the sound of your tracks; I believe my process is the best out there, leaving your tracks punchy, dynamic and clear, but also nice and loud so they sound strong in a playlist. And I master very affordably, at $85 a track.
Feel free to get in touch with me via the contact form at the bottom of the home page to discuss your particular situation!
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