Jules Washington on SoundBetter

I'm a Professional Audio Engineer & Music Producer currently residing Portland,OR.I've worked with artist such as IAMSU, Waka Flocka, Marvel Studios, Nickelodeon, as well as many local artist in Hawai'i such as Kimie Miner, The Green, Imua Garza, Anuhea, J Boog, where I was the Studio Manager of Blue Planet Sound for 10 years.

I provide services of Recording/Mixing/Mastering and also Music Production having experience of recording everything from Rap/Hip-Hop, to Jazz, to Contemporary Hawaiian, as well as mixing and producing various Genres as well.

My approach to music is a blend of old and new and I do a hybrid of Analog gear as well as digital plug-ins in my process.

I have a pretty simplistic approach to creating with the artist where I love creating songs with a nice balance of instruments not overtaking and outshining the vocals and vice-versa. My style is usually considered as clean and crisp with a nice warm punchiness to it.

My specialty is in Hip-Hop/R&B/Reggae, but I enjoy working on all genres of music as can be heard in my demo reel..

Send me a note through the contact button above.

Credits

12 Reviews - 2 Repeat Clients

Endorse Jules Washington

by Dominic R.
Verified
Working with Jules is truly a wonderful experience. He's an excellent mixing and mastering engineer, but moreover, exceptionally responsive to suggestion. When approached with feedback, Jules translates desires tastefully and delivers impeccably.
by Dominic R.
Verified
Jules is a great mixing and mastering engineer. The experience exceeded my already high expectations. My initial inquiry was answered promptly, immediately intent on establishing a deadline. Jules delivered a phenomenal mix and master a week earlier than expected. The desired changes were made accurately, with such understanding. I am very, very happy with the result, and intend to continue working with Jules in the near future.
by Jane
Verified
Jules is really calm and respectful. He isn’t all about the money but more about making your music sound good and he’ll make sure he gets the exact song you need. Jules is easy to work with!!

I’ll like to publicly say “thank you”. Bless you! Keep being nice!
by Chardonnay Pao
Jules is the man! I'm a vocalist and have worked with him on a couple of projects. I admire Jules' ability to work with various genres of art. He can go from Hip Hop to Native Hawaiian real quick. From my experience I have learned that Jules is efficient with his work, passionate about what he does, and professional... also he's a hekk of a good time in the studio. I would recommend his services.
by Aja Gample
Jules is one of the most knowledgeable, easy to work with, brilliant sound engineers that Iʻve been lucky enough to have had the privilege of working with. Heʻs an extremely humble guy, and his approach towards creative difference and offering solutions is something that as an artist, Iʻve appreciated and admired. Jules is very creative and open minded which makes communication, that much easier.
by Krista Lei
Ive worked with Jules for some time now. And i can honestly say that his services and his quality of work has always been amazing. It is very easy to create music with Jules. Hes a very calm and humble guy and remains that way even during stressful situations, like during my diva moments lol. Whenever I need help with background vocals/harmonies hes always willing to guide me. id recommend him!
by Nicholas Kaleikini
Jules is the ideal engineer for any session. Not only is he flexible and considerate, but he brings inspiring energy and insightful knowledge that makes every session productive. Having worked with him a few times, he has come to understand my playing on a sonic level and therefore gauges each session to maximize the best quality sound. He is the go to!
by tazra vegas
Shout out to my friend Scott Wilks owner and engineer Jules of Blue Planet Sound Studio Hawaii! If you are looking for a high end professional quality recording studio then Blue Planet is it! Acoustic treated rooms and sound absorbing walls, a plethora of hardware mic pres, eqs, compressors, plug ins, and a wide range mic locker room to choose from. Barefoot speakers and SSL Matrix board!
by Bree T.
Jules is Awesome! His vibe in the studio in unmatched. To me, its all about the vibe in the studio and Jules creates an atmosphere that lets me be myself. He always makes every session so calm and comfortable. His leadership, thoughtful intstruction and ear for music has helped me become a greater musician and sound better.
by Tai G.
I did two projects with Jules at Blue Planet. I can always count on an amazing, crisp sound with Jules. He's a pro at micing instruments and is so easy to work with! If you're looking for a mellow, productive and efficient engineer, he's your man.
by Kerry
I’ve worked with Jules on several of my projects. He posses a unique sound and was able to provide balance and diversity to my sound. Along with his producing capabilities he’s also great at mixing, and not “over doing” it. All in all my experience working with Jules and Blueplanet Sound has been a great one, and I’d recommend him and utilize his services over and over again.
by JayKeyz
One of Hawaii's top engineers & producers! Always a pleasure working with my man Jules!

-JayKeyz

Interview with Jules Washington

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: All of them. I truly learn something about myself as an Engineer/Producer with each project that I can take to my career moving forward.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Too many projects to name. Our studio works on projects day in and day out but I love taking on new projects all the time and hate sleep so luckily I keep pretty quick turnaround times to keep customers returning for more projects.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: David Pichard and Chris McClain.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both. I use a hybrid setup and love both worlds. They both have there pros and cons to me.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: To give the best quality I'm currently capable of and to continue to grow into a position of giving even better quality work.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: That it doesn't feel like a job and is truly what I love doing 24/7.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That it's easy.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What services of mine can help you to get this where it needs to be?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: I'm very customer service based. My job is to give a product my clients can be proud of, all while doing it with my "flair" to it. So when hiring me, the better a picture you can paint for me of the emotion and vibe you're going for, the better I can understand what to bring out to make your vision a reality.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: my laptop of course, my apollo twin interface, a U87 since I could only take one mic, a Distressor, and a good set of headphones that I could learn and use to monitor.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started out DJing at 14 then moved into the studio realm of things and an Engineering job at 22 and have been doing it since then.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: minimalistic. I like things to feel as natural as possible for most songs depending on what the genre calls for. I like to portray the emotion of the song the way it was meant to be captured.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Alicia Keys or Adele. Just the way that they evoke emotion as well as power and subtleties through there voice would be a challenge to capture and would be an amazing experience and achievement.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: simplicity is the genius behind hits (most of the time).
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Being here in Hawaii I truly work on all different kinds of genres and everyday is something different. I might do Jazz one day then Hip-Hop the next, then Reggae that night.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Because I pretty much do every aspect of this day in and day out (recording,mixing,mastering,editing,and production) I can't really say I have a strong point. I tend to do my best to keep my chops up to the best of my ability in all of those areas.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I guess my only answer to this would be a finishing point. I kind of bring the outside, un-biased ear that helps get the song across the finish line. I at least like to think so.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I don't really have one. I treat each song differently based on what the song is telling me it needs and where it wants to go. I'm definitely not a "technical" Engineer and am more of a "musical" Engineer. I at times do things that make no sense from a technical aspect, but it works well musically and sounds good to me. That approach has worked well for me so far so I Tend to stick to it.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: The studio I work out of mostly is Blue Planet Sound. It's a great facility with a great sounding room centered around an Avid HDX setup (but also using Logic Pro X or Studio One at time). Great monitoring there as well with Barefoot MM12's and also a set of Avantone Mixcubes. Lots of outboard gear (SSL pre's,eq's and compressors, API pre's, 1176's, Distressors,610's some of the usuals). As another pre-production and mixing room I use frequently I'm using some Avantone Abbey's to monitor and just my Universal Audio Apollo Twin interface which gets the job done as well.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: As far as Engineers it's Jimmy Douglass and Andrew Scheps. Production-wise it's mostly Pharell, Bryan Michael Cox, Timbaland, Ayo The Producer.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Recording/Mixing/Mastering/Production/Beat Making