FAQS

Here are some questions we are frequently asked, and our answers ...

How do I send you my basic tracks to work on?

This is very good question and often overlooked. I'll answer in point form ...

1 First of all, if you play guitar, MAKE SURE you are in proper tune. I've had songs sent to me that were in between the key of G and G# because the guitar was tuned to itself, and not a tuner, or a keyboard, etc. I am unable to put my instruments out of tune to match yours, so it is essential that you are in tune.

2 Next, I need your isolated tracks, not a mix of your instrument and voice. Unless you have very good timing, I suggest that you have a click track going in an earphone while playing your instrument track. Once complete, have the instrument track in your earphone while doing each vocal track, if there are more than one. It is essential that everything follows the same rythym and pitch, and if you know how many BPM (beats per minute) your click track is, please let me know.

3 Please, do NOT use reverb, EQ, auto-tune or any other effects on your tracks. I will add the right amounts of any necessary effects when mixing your song. Often, the room where you record your voice may have resonant frequencies and your reverb will amplify these and create a muddy sound in the mix. I can EQ out these resonant frequencies at my end, before adding reverb, so the boomy muddy sound doesn't happen.

4 When you are satisfied with your tracks, please send the individual files to me using a free file-transfer service. I recommend We Transfer (www.wetransfer.com) due to it's simplicity of use, large file capacity and that it's free. I will use the same method when it's time to send your mastered song back to you.

How much do you charge, and how do I pay you?

For a fully produced song, my rates are currently at $150 (USD) The normal price is $300 so this is a temporary introductory price that won't stay that low forever.

If I am adding one instrument, such as a cello or saxophone, the cost could be as low as $80. Again, the normal price is more, so take advantage of this low price while it lasts.

Lastly, payments are made in via PayPal in various denominations. If you are in Canada, I will quote you in CDN and you may choose to pay by e-transfer or PayPal.

In what countries have you done work?

I have clients from all around the world, and it just keeps growing all the time. Here is a partial list, in alphabetical order, of countries where I have provided assistance to other artists:
Australia Canada China Great Britain Ireland The Netherlands New Zealand Norway The Phillipines Russia Spain Sweden Tunisia USA

I often like to say I am 'Virtually Right Next Door' and with the Internet and digital recording, it is as easy to work remotely as it was when people would come to my location to have original music produced.

What if I don't like the finished result?

Communication is extremely important where remote work is concerned. I will send a preview clip of where a project is heading to get the artist to approve. This is when you tell me if the tempo or pitch are to your liking, or if there are instruments or sounds you'd like changed. Once all tracks are done and I send the final mix, making changes would increase the cost. That's why I will always send a clip for approval, sometimes more than once as the song progresses.

I would like to have all of your individual tracks in case I want to re-mix my song. Can this be done?

Absolutely! We like to use 'We Transfer' as a convenient way to send and receive large files. If asked, we will send the individual stems so you can re-assemble them at your end if you prefer. Currently, We Transfer does not charge any fees to send, store and receive files up to a certain amount of space - more than enough for moving music files.

Who provides the vocals on songs you produce?

When an artist provides a vocal track, we obviously use it. We may also provide backup singers or even a lead vocalist. But the vocal parts we provide have been re-assembled from original samples. Let me explain in more detail...

For starters, talented singers have been in recording sessions where their voice tones have been sampled. I do not mean performances or songs, but simply vowels and consonants sung at different pitches, breaths, and many other sounds created when singing. I recompile these snippets of human singing with software which allows me to create the melody and choose words and syllables to go on each note. I can make the singer glide to another pitch while holding a sustained note. I can manually make some words 'scoop' where a singer will start a bit lower and then hit the proper note. I have full control of vibrato, how much, when, and the speed. There are many other human elements I can create so that the performance sounds as natural as possible. Remember that the software only provides the syllables. It is up to me to create the melody, and choose diction, breaths, and all of the subtle aspects that result in the sound of a real human singing. This is not AI-generated voices, nor is it sampled singing performances. The voice databases I use are officially licensed, each one provided by a professional vocalist.

Why don't you help non-English speaking people?

For starters, English is the only language I understand. I have no way to communicate if you don't speak or type English. I did one project with someone who did not know English, and to put it mildly, it was very difficult to communicate and we stopped after successfully finishing one song, rather than continue.

My song, which you produced, is being played on a TV show. I'm so happy!

Slow down there! You probably don't have legal permission to do that. According to music performing rights organization, BMI: "If you hire someone to produce your recording, you can only use the recorded performances in TV shows or films if they have granted you permission to do so."

In other words, ASK FIRST! Why? Because unknown to many people is the fact that two copyrights exist for music tracks. Of course, the songwriter holds the copyright for composing the song, but whoever records it holds a different kind of copyright for the physical recording of it. For this, we generally only ask you to mention us in the credits, and to give us a mention anywhere you share the track online. However, if our recording is going to make you money, copyright law states that we should also have a share of it. Should that happen, we will be very reasonable in what we ask for, based on how the recording is going to be used.

How long do you take to add an instrument or create a produced song?

I tend to work quickly, because I get more inspiration at the start of a project. Therefore, depending on workload, I can sometimes have things completed in just a few days.