Megan Gould Music

String chameleon

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11 Reviews (10 Verified)
Megan Gould Music on SoundBetter

One-woman string section- arranging, remote recording, collaborating. Easygoing but professional. I'm comfortable playing anything from folk and rock to Arabic (which I've studied and performed extensively). Can create lush orchestral to gypsy string arrangements, and many in between. Worked with Natalie Merchant, Lou Reed, David Byrne and others.

Send me a note through the contact button above.

Credits

AllMusic verified credits for Megan Gould
  • Natalie Merchant
  • Natalie Merchant
  • Natalie Merchant
  • Natalie Merchant
  • Mirabai Ceiba
  • Mirabai Ceiba
  • Mirabai Ceiba
  • Mirabai Ceiba
  • Mirabai Ceiba
  • Mirabai Ceiba
  • Mirabai Ceiba
  • Lia Ices
  • Lou Reed
  • Metallica
  • Fabian Almazan Trio
  • Basya Schechter
  • Basya Schechter
  • Charming Hostess
  • Charming Hostess
  • Jenny Scheinman
  • Jenny Scheinman
  • Ani DiFranco
  • Ani DiFranco
  • Johnny Foreigner
  • Beats Antique
  • Petros Klampanis
  • Natalie Merchant
  • Japonize Elephants
  • Kunal Gunjal
  • Nikhil Koparkar
  • Paolo Sorrentino
  • Fabian Almazan Trio
  • Sue Anne Gershenzon

11 Reviews - 2 Repeat Clients

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  1. Review by Craig
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    by Craig
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    Fantastic to work with - understood the brief - wonderful sounding material. Thanks again!

  2. Review by Red Bird Rising
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    Megan created symphonic tracks of 6 violins and 3 violas to a song that was challenging both rhythmically and harmonically. Her expression and restraint in creating a blend of all tracks is astounding. The recording quality is exceptional, especially for my needs. Dry, but not too dry, high quality preamp, mic, conversion all aided by her exquisite instruments. It is not lost on me how fortunate I am to have access to Megan's contribution to my music.

  3. Review by Steven Diedrich
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    I'll tell you what I told Megan; her string arrangement is beyond my ability to describe in words. The sensitivity to each part of the song, when to dig in, when to create warm ambience, when to double melodic moments, when to counter melody, when to let the viola or cello take transition lines, when to let the violins have edge and humanity, when to be boldly symphonic tripling each line. My song is in another realm of experience because of Megan.

  4. Review by Steven Diedrich
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    The pandemic had a few silver linings and Megan was one of them because she is so accomplished, I doubt she'd have looked to join Soundbetter. My good fortune to work with her on 3 tracks. Creative, Excellence, A Pleasure, and that confidence she gave me that I was having a top string player and arranger who's work had been on so many recordings I admire. You can hear her work on my sample song. Outstanding.

  5. Review by Chris K.
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    Megan arranged a performed a fantastic string section for my song. It was very tasteful and exactly what the song called for. I would be happy to work with her again!

  6. Review by Emry A.
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    Fantastic!
    Megan played the violin on our original composition and she did a fantastic job. We supplied her with some pretty rough tracks and she delivered something that I can only describe as beautiful.
    Incredibly easy to work with as well, and answered anything we had questions about.
    Will definitely work with again.

  7. Review by Charlie W.
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    Megan was super easy to work with and did a great job on a fiddle solo for a band I am producing

  8. Review by Steven Diedrich
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    Megan had performed two violin parts on this song, and after hearing the major contribution she had made, and the incredible artistic choices beyond my notation, I hired her to arrange the song for string quartet. It was so good, so right, that I muted out numerous other instruments I'd had to give her glorious and ingenious arrangement and performance the space it deserved. 6 out of 5 stars. I'll have this for a lifetime. Top professional. REAL DEAL.

  9. Review by Steven Diedrich
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    My 2nd time working with Megan. Check out her website for a full context of what an opportunity it is to have a musician and arranger available...and at her prices just now. Once she gets more reviews here, she will likely raise them, as she should. REAL DEAL, brilliant playing, wonderful professional. She will elevate your track instantly.

  10. Review by Steven Diedrich
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    Real deal. Total pleasure working with Megan. I had two violin lines that are featured in my song. To create individual voices, she recorded each track with a different violin and different mic. How many violinists can offer this? Few. And she played the hell out of my parts and made a significant contribution to the song. I had to have it right and top shelf recording quality. Solid. 100% and with passion and mastery from engineering to performance. Don't use Vst strings. There's no excuse.

  11. Review by Jamshied S.
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    I have worked with Megan for fifteen years, in a variety of musical contexts, as a player of written parts, as an improvisor, and as a section leader. She is the first person I turn to when I need anything "string". She is professional, creative, and deeply musical. And she is fast when you need something out the door quickly. I really can't recommend her enough.

Interview with Megan Gould Music

  1. Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

  2. A: I wrote an arrangement for string quartet for Natalie Merchant's song "My Skin", which I got to perform on tour and for a studio recording.

  3. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  4. A: I love analog recording, but for remote recording, digital is more practical and easier for editing.

  5. Q: What do you like most about your job?

  6. A: Everything. I love coming up with creative solutions in the studio, and I love composing and performing.

  7. Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

  8. A: A violin, definitely, something to do multi-track recording on, a good preamp, a good mic and beautiful-sounding headphones.

  9. Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

  10. A: I started by studying classical music at the age of four, and continued through college, where I started playing in bands outside of school, and learning world music. I have been playing professionally in touring bands and smaller orchestras for twenty years, and more recently playing on Broadway. I've been writing and recording string arrangements for about ten years.

  11. Q: How would you describe your style?

  12. A: I have a warm, clean, sensitive sound. I tend to not use much classical tone, including using vibrato sparingly.

  13. Q: Can you share one music production tip?

  14. A: To build a blended string section, it's important to record at least three multiples per line, otherwise the sound will be chorusy and weird. With my setup, having multiple violins, I can achieve an even more authentic-sounding section sound.

  15. Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

  16. A: I most often write and record for singer-songwriters, or else world music projects, that want to try something different by adding a string section to an otherwise traditional-sounding song.

  17. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  18. A: I think I'm particularly good at hearing and reflecting the "voice" of the songwriter, and adding a string part or section that's coherent with the whole.

  19. Q: What's your typical work process?

  20. A: I usually receive either a Logic session or a mix of the basic tracks, which I import into my system. Sometimes, if necessary, a tempo map as well. If the client wants a string arrangement, I'll send a rough version with my preliminary ideas for the client to review and discuss. Then, after any edits or changes in direction, after we've arrived at an arrangement that the client loves, I'll do the final recording, with or without tripled layers, and export as clean, dry .wav files for the client to add to their mix.

  21. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  22. A: I have a variety of violins, two nice mics, a good preamp, and I record to Logic. I also have a beautiful-sounding room in which to record. The combination makes for a blended but varied string section sound. It doesn't just sound like one player in multiple layers.

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Zeb Gould, Panther on the Mountain

I was the String arranger, violinist and violist in this production

Gear Highlights
  • Recording on Logic
  • Blue Mouse mic
  • AT 4033 mic
  • three distinct-sounding violins
  • viola
More Photos
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First track 25% discount.