David Tkaczuk on SoundBetter

Keyboardist, Producer, Session Player including work for Triumph, Rik Emmett, Danny Brooks, Patti Jannetta, The Hiram Key, Lou deAdder and many independent artists.

After graduating from the University of Toronto with a B.Mus Honors Degree in Performance Piano, I was a session/touring musician having worked with Triumph, Rik Emmett, Danny Brooks, Patti Jannetta, The Hiram Key, Lou deAdder, Vedo the Singer, Eva Avila, etc, and branched out into the wild and wonderful world of creating music, sound design and special effects for Toy Companies including Thinkway Toys, Buzz Bee Toys, Irwin Toys, Hasbro, Danawares, Play Along Toys, Gramify, producing music, voice recording/processing and sound effects for products such a Buzz Light Year, Cars, Dora The Explorer, DOMO, FIFA World cup of Soccer, etc. Along the way, I've been commissioned to recreate exacting covers of Pop, Rock, R&B, Hip Hop, etc hits for Stingray Digital Media Inc...now numbering in the hundreds of songs including artists such as Sam Smith, Iggy Azalea, Usher, Lizzo, Selena Gomez, Post Malone, Jennifer Lopez, Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga, Fetty Wap, DJ Lazer, David Guetta, Sia, PSY, Sigrid, BlackPink, The Weeknd, etc.

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Credits

5 Reviews

Endorse David Tkaczuk

by Emmillienne
Verified (Client)
Gave great instructions and was super easy to work with!
by Z.Woods
Verified (Client)
David is awesome! Very talented producer that gives very detailed direction. Looking forward to next time!
by Charlene
Verified (Client)
Another great project with David that I enjoyed very much working on!
by Charlene
Verified (Client)
David's direction was clear and organized and was a pleasure to work with him on his project.
by Chris Hutton
David is an excellent produce and very easy to work with! We’ve collaborated on several projects and the process is always straightforward and the results are killer. Definitely reccomend!

Interview with David Tkaczuk

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: All my work producing covers for Stingray Digital Media. I just love it.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: My own electronica compositions/productions.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Chris Hutton, Tyler Royale, Charlene, Z Woods, Emmillienne.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Digital. No question about it.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: To try my very best.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Everything. In the early days, I was more of a "purist" I guess and I never thought I'd become "techy", but, I even love that aspect of it now.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: That's awesome. Now can we do "this" ? or "that" ? Answer : "Yes" !
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: Yes, it takes a lot of experience and know-how, but, it takes a lot of time too. I don't know exactly what the ratio is, but, it's 20% inspiration and 80% perspiration.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: Important to know the end before you begin.That is, what is the goal in terms of style with reference music.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Once you know the producer you'd like to work with, have your expectations written down. Email is perfect.Everyone is on the same page.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: My laptop, RME, TLM103, HD650's., keyboard controller.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: 40 years. From practicing classical piano 6 hours a day in University practice rooms to session player to home studio producer.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: A mixture of Pink Floyd and modern electronic mayhem.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Pink Floyd. No, wait Plini. No, The Crystal Method...pff...you get the idea :-)
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Always, always have a reference track in your project. Bounce back to it once in a while to snap yourself back to reality.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Pop, R&B, EDM, Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, etc...In Toronto, there is a very large East Indian and West Indian community so I've done a ton of that and various Ethnic music as well.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Arranging. If you can arrange a project well your mix will just work. If your arrangement sucks, you mix will suck.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: 40 years of experience having been a session player in the biggest studios with 24 track Studers slaved together on gigantic desks. Having worked with the best up close...wow, that inspiration, work ethic and "sonic imprint" lasts a lifetime.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Totally depends on the project of course. I like to have clients direction in writing with reference tracks that they've provided to constantly refer to. Creatively, I want to insure that I'm always on track with the client.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I've totally transitioned from racks of outboard gear to all ITB and from a custom built tower computer to an extremely powerful laptop. I just love it. Cubase PRO, Neumann mics, RME Babyface PRO and way, way too many plugins and VST Insttruments.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Well, there are so many. I studied classical piano since the age of eight and am a keyboard player professionally. Just love The Crystal Method, Celldweller and what they can do with synths and productions, but, I am totally into the guitar these days. So, Plini, Steve Vai...loving many prog rock bands & artists....too many to list.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Full music productions.