Alex Thomen

Remote Mixing, Music Producer

Alex Thomen on SoundBetter

Pro Tools Certified mixing engineer with a Master's Degree in Commercial Music Composition and Arranging.

I work with a variety of genres: rock, pop, country, jazz, hip-hop, and orchestral. I can provide professional-level mixing at a reasonable price-- because, let's face it, many aspiring songwriters don't have the money to pay thousands of dollars for a professional mix.

I can arrange and record additional instruments for your song by utilizing professional-level sample libraries. Using primarily East West sample libraries (Hollywood Orchestra, Stormdrum 3, EW Pianos, etc.), I arrange, produce, and record many original compositions for music libraries.

I can provide (sheet music and/ or recording) professionally arranged piano and keyboard parts, professionally arranged instrumental and vocal parts, and transcribe audio or MIDI tracks. If you need audio editing done, I can provide that too.

My primary DAWs are: Pro Tools, Logic Pro X, and Ableton Live 10

Send me an email through 'Contact' button above and I'll get back to you asap.

Interview with Alex Thomen

  1. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  2. A: At the moment, digital. But trying to expand my studio to incorporate additional analog gear.

  3. Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

  4. A: A 100% analog mix is going to sound better-- this is a misconception because a good mix depends entirely on the mixing engineer's skills with his/her equipment. Second misconception I hear a lot: A C9 chord does not equal a Cadd9 chord.

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

  6. A: 88-key weighted MIDI Controller, Universal Audio Apollo x8, LA-2A, an SSL EQ, and my hard drive with all my sample libraries on it (is that cheating?)

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

  8. A: Undergraduate Degree: Music Composition from Kansas State University Master's Degree: Commercial Music Composition and Arranging from Belmont University Worked at the University of Miami for 2 years as a Music Production Specialist. I currently teach Logic Pro X courses for Point Blank Music School and write educational content for Pro Media Training, the #1 largest official Pro Tools certification training company in the U.S.

  9. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  10. A: Mixing. Piano. Arranging.

  11. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  12. A: Logic Pro X, Pro Tools 12, Ableton Live 10 Suite, Sibelius 7, Kurzweil SP4-7, M-Audio Keystation 88, MicroKORG, Scarlett 2i4, VXL Condenser microphone, Spectrasonics Keyscape, East West Sample Libraires, Shure SM57/SM58, JBL LSR305 Studio Monitors, various Waves and iZotope plug-ins.

  13. Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

  14. A: Can you write a beautiful, yet simple, piano part? Yes. My snare doesn't sound very punchy, can you fix it? Yes.

  15. Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

  16. A: Send me a few tracks that you want to model in your own music-- I will tailor my mixes/productions to that sound

  17. Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

  18. A: Daft Punk-- very clean mixes across the entire frequency spectrum.

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

  20. A: A little bit of panning goes a long way

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

  22. A: Rock, Funk, Jazz, Orchestral

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

  24. A: 5-song rock EP-- Matter of Time (available on Spotify) Composed, arranged, recorded, edited, and mixed the entire project by myself.

  25. Q: What are you working on at the moment?

  26. A: Various freelance orchestral pieces for music licensing libraries

  27. Q: What do you bring to a song?

  28. A: Professionally crafted keyboard parts, professionally composed arrangements. A mix catered to a client's vision.

  29. Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

  30. A: Ben Folds, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, John Williams, Danny Elfman, Mark Mancina

  31. Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

  32. A: Mixing (in a variety of genres) Writing/Performing piano and keyboard tracks. Arranging Transcribing Composing.

  33. Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

  34. A: I promise to communicate with you to best bring forth your vision.

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

  36. A: Helping others with their creative projects.

  37. Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

  38. A: Provide some other music examples to give me the best idea of the sound you're looking for.

  39. Q: How would you describe your style?

  40. A: Pop/Rock meets Jazz/Funk

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

  42. A: Depends on the project. Writing/Recording piano parts: Listen to the rough demo (or read the sheet music) and improvise different pianistic ideas over the top to figure out what the song needs. Arranging: Sit at keyboard and figure out how musical elements will fit together to achieve the best arrangement.

  43. Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

  44. A: Not yet! I'm just getting started here.

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Gridlocked by Alex Thomen

I was the songwriter, producer, keyboardist, vocalist, and mixing engineer in this production

GenresSounds Like
  • Ben Folds
  • Jukebox The Ghost
  • Danny Elfman
Gear Highlights
  • Logic Pro X
  • Pro Tools 12
  • Ableton Live 10 Suite
  • microKORG
  • VXL condenser
  • Avantone CK7
  • Shure SM57
  • East West Composer Cloud
  • Spectrasonics Keyscape
  • Waves and iZotope plug-ins
More Photos
  • New Article on Pro Tools' Beat DetectiveApr 27, 2022

    My latest article for ProMedia Training has been posted to the company website!

    The article can be read here: https://www.protoolstraining.com/blog-help/pro-tools-blog/full-blog/27-faculty-articles/467-using-beat-detective-in-pro-tools.html