Alex Spencer

Studio and Live Sound Engineer

Alex Spencer on SoundBetter

As primarily a freelance and contract worker, the most important thing for me is making sure that each job is fulfilled in a way that warrants a call back for the next gig. Building long term relationships helps everyone involved. I'm always looking for future gigs both in and out of state.

Alex Spencer focuses on engineering, producing, assisting, and playing various instruments in a number of genres. Originally playing bass and guitar for pop and rock bands, he has since moved to the team at Studio Trilogy where he has begun to establish himself as an asset to the production process.

Alex has worked on projects for Kronos Quartet, Pentatonix, C-Bo, Marc E Bassy, So What, Amazon Audible, Rotfield Productions, Future Youth Records, and many others. He composes for his own projects, in addition to working for local music festivals and clubs in front of house and recording roles.

A native of Southern California, he relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2013, and graduated at the top of his class with a Bachelor’s in Sound Arts from Ex’pression College in Emeryville, CA.

He primarily works out of Fantasy Studios (Music), Different Fur Studios (Music), Decibelle Recording (Music/Post), and Outpost Studios (Post), as well as his home studio.

Contact me through the green button above and let's get to work.

Interview with Alex Spencer

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

  2. A: Rock and hip-hop

  3. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  4. A: Both. If you're looking for that old-skool feel on the drums, let's spank tape. But if you want that pristine vocal on top, let's go digital. Nowadays we can have our cake and eat it too.

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

  6. A: Time vs. Money vs. Quality

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

  8. A: Make sure you're not just hiring a "yes man"

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

  10. A: Neumann M269 Neve 1081 Distressor Martin 000 Acoustic Otari 1/2" 4-track tape deck

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

  12. A: Played in bands until I figured, "Shit, people get paid to work on all kinds of music, that's awesome!" Worked as a studio assistant at a top-notch facility and moved on do freelancing.

  13. Q: How would you describe your style?

  14. A: Clean but crunchy around the edges, like a pan of brownies

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

  16. A: Be open to things changing last minute

  17. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  18. A: Communication and deadlines

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

  20. A: Track it, edit it, mix it, dig it.

  21. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  22. A: The home rig is simple, vocal and guitar tracking setup with booths for each. Editing and mixing in the box with Waves, Soundtoys, Melodyne, ProTools 12, and Ableton Live.

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

  24. A: Tom Dowd, Elliot Scheiner, Joe Chicarelli

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

  26. A: Recording, editing, and mixing records.

Gear Highlights
  • ProTools 12
  • Ableton Live
  • Logic Pro X
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