Winter on SoundBetter

Hi there, My name is Winter. Producing and recording music is my happy place and I’d love to help make your project sound awesome.

I’ve been a performing and recording musician since I was a wee lad. From the humble beginnings of a 4-track cassette player to running a commercial multi-room recording studio, I’ve been fascinated with capturing and massaging sounds. Since that time I’ve worked on all sorts, styles, and sizes of musical projects, and I have over 20 years of experience. I’m also a member of Warren Huart’s Produce Like A Pro Academy.

Pro player on electric and acoustic guitars and bass. Rock, Pop, Blues, Singer/Songwriter, Folk, Celtic, Americana

Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.

Credits

13 Reviews

Endorse Winter

by Peter P.
Verified
I hired Winter to help me complete and improve a recording I had started working on. Winter is very responsive and will provide feedback about what he thinks will improve your song. He's someone you can trust to deliver for you.
by Leslie Hudson
This was my first experience working with Winter and I hope it won't be my last! He gave me exactly the sounds I hoped for and met my tight deadlines - leaving the best kind of first impression. Professional and easy to communicate with - definitely recommended!
by Nymphya
I hired Winter to record some guitar tracks for a song on my upcoming album and I just have to say: HE COMPLETELY NAILED IT!! I have pretty picky co-producers, and both of them just sat and nodded as I played the tracks back for them. He basically batted 1000 with this team. Both his tone and his taste are top notch. There is no overplaying, (a pet peeve of mine) yet he is also aware of exactly where the crescendos have to hit and where to ratchet it up. I am so happy with his work, I am actively seeking out other places on this record where I can use him. Highly, highly recommended
by Noah A.
I have had the pleasure of working with Winter on several projects. As a session guitarist/bassist he is stellar. He created lead guitar fills and a bass line that helped bring my first single to life. We have also collaborated together on a song from the ground up. Winter is communicative, punctual, and - most importantly - he brings great ideas to the table. 5 stars, Winter. Looking forward to working together again.
by Corinne Marcus
Winter is an incredibly talented musician and producer. I worked with him many years ago and enjoyed his guitar playing, original arrangements and engineering skills. It's a real pleasure working with Winter and highly recommend him.
by Amelia Hogan
I worked with Winter through multiple projects including both musical, and spoken word projects and cannot more highly recommend a sound engineer/ collaborator. At least one track brought award winning and international positive attention to my music, and will definitely work with him again for future recording needs.
Thoughtful, great ear, attention to both overall comprehensive vision AND the minute details. He's efficient, knowledgeable, and attentive across multiple genre's of music.
by T Thorn Coyle
I've worked with Winter many times over the years on music, video, and podcast projects. Not only is he an excellent sound engineer, he is also a stellar studio musician and guitar god.
Winter is kind, patient, has a great ear, and is overall great to work with. I'd trust him again with both recording and as a backup musician.
by Eric Holter
I've worked with Winter several times over the last 10+ years and he is absolutely fantastic. Winter is very skilled, professional, and easy to work with. I couldn't recommend him enough!
by Laurie Lovekraft
I love working with Winter. His musical chops, professionalism, and integrity are things that really stand out from our years playing in bands together.
by William Brigley
I am the Media Manager of IPR. Winter is an amazing musician and songwriter. A testament to this is the fact that some of his work has been voted into our Top 20 Hottest Hits several times over the past few years by our listeners.
by Root Holden
Winter is an amazing musician across many styles and does really excellent professional work as a sound engineer, from album production to live show setup. He’s super knowledgeable and really great to work with.
by Magic Brook
Ears. Musicality. Engineering expertise. Winter understands many different genre requirements. He won't simply apply some formula to your mix. He will carefully suggest what he believes will address some lack, add something critical, or polish. but he works very collaboratively, too. He always listens to his artists. He provided engineering expertise for recording, then mixed my album, The Source, which rose to #14 on its chart. Fantastic. I won't work with anyone else.
by David Phillips
Winter gave me my first guitar lessons over 30 years ago. He was already an amazing guitarist then. Thank you Winter for setting me on a path of music and inspiring me with your passion. I am grateful. 🙏🏻

Interview with Winter

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I produced, recorded, and mixed an album by an East Coast artist that I know from our touring circuit. She flew out here with her bass player, and recorded at my studio for two weeks, during which I hired a drummer (some other players as well) and also played guitar. During pre-production she sent me her song ideas, and I made arrangement and parts suggestions that helped make the songs stronger. It was a total immersion situation, and we all inspired each other to make something truly special.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I have multiple sync licensing songs in the pipeline right now in various stage of completion. Over the last few weeks I've also submitted a couple of mixes in online competitions.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What's your vision for this project, and what's your target demographic? What mixes do you wish your song could sound like.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: If there is electricity, acoustic guitar, bass, Zoom H6, laptop, headphones. If there's no electricity, my acoustic guitar, djembe, shakers, tambourine, and notebook.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started playing guitar when I was 12 years old. My 20-year career as an audio engineer has encompassed all aspects of music production such as recording, mixing, and mastering; production and post-production sound for film; as well as teaching for the Pyramind Media and Music Production School, San Francisco State, the California Recording Institute, and the Blue Bear School of Music. I ran a commercial, multi-room recording facility for over 10 years.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: High-passing your various tracks goes a long way toward creating a clear, uncluttered mix with a solid low end.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Rock/Pop, Americana, Singer/Songwriter
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Tasty guitar parts and engaging song arrangements.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I listen to the material a few times to assess its flow and emotional impact while I learn the arrangement. Am I engaged for the whole song, or is it losing me somewhere? Does is surprise me somehow? Can I feel a lift in the choruses? What can I add to make it stronger?
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: I don't think that's an either/or question. In the end, it's all just tools and colors on your palette. I have both in my studio; analog on the front end (mics, mic pres, mixer), and digital in the box (the interface and the DAW. I use Studio One, ProTools, and Logic Pro X).
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: The hub of my home studio is two Apollo interfaces, the SSL Six console, and a Manley VoxBox. The Apollo's unison plugins mean I have Neve pres and other goodies on tap as well. My main mics are Brauner VM1 Klaus Heyne Edition, Neumann KM184s, Neumann M147, Shure SM7b, Sontronics Corona
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Even though I've been a recording professional for over 15 years, Warren Huart's videos on YouTube inspired me to join his online Produce Like A Pro Academy. I guess I'm finding most of my inspiration on YouTube right now: Rick Beato is a wealth of knowledge and his passion for music is infectious; Tim Pierce and Pete Thorn rock my guitar world.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Most recently I played guitar and bass on a song meant for sync licensing, produced an album track for a young songwriter where I fleshed out the arrangements with additional parts, and did a hybrid mix for another sync licensing song I wrote with my wife. Before that I spent several weeks recording and mixing dulcimer tracks to accompany an instructional book.