Shibusa Sound on SoundBetter

Experienced producer, engineer, educator, and musician based out of the northwest corner of the United States in Bellingham, WA. 10 years of experience and over 70 album credits in genres ranging from doom metal to jazz fusion, from ambient contemporary classical to pop punk, from EDM to indie rock.

My name is Erik Takuichi Wallace and I am a freelance audio engineer and musician based out of the PNW region of the US. I've been working with audio production in many different positions for the past 10 years and in that time have had the privilege to work with many excellent regional artists.

I offer remote mixing, mastering, and editing as well as recording engineering, instrument performance, album production, mobile recording, and live sound. My primary DAW system is Pro Tools, but I am fluent many others. I can play drums, bass, and guitar to studio proficient levels. I specialize in all sub-genres of rock and pop, from shoegaze and black metal to power pop and electronica, but always love to work on projects outside of that like R&B, hip hop, soul, folk, and country. If you can provide references for what you want your songs to sound like, chances are I can help you make that happen. I have experience recording in both the analog and digital realms and feel just as comfortable with a mouse and keyboard or a vintage tape machine. Honesty, empathy, and a solid technical foundation are the pillars on which I’ve built my career and this has allowed me to bring out the best in my clients during each session.

I'd love to hear about your project. Click the 'Contact' button above to get in touch.

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Interview with Shibusa Sound

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Steve Albini, Ed Rose, Sylvia Massey, Phill Brown, Tommy Dowd, Kurt Ballau, J. Robbins, Eric Valentine, Tucker Martine.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: 1. A laptop w/ all my plugins and Pro Tools - The amount of flexibility than digital recording allows for is pretty insane and allows you to accomplish a multitude of tasks. 2. Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 - tiny, portable, and very flexible little audio interface. 3. Electro-Voice RE20 - my favorite dynamic mic, extremely versatile. 4. Fender Precision Bass 5. ATH-M50 headphones
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: All different sub-genres of rock, but I've also started to work with more electronic style of music.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: A full-length record with a band called Forest Ray that we are recording 100% analog, a record with a local power pop band called Lipstitch, another record with a local band called Candysound, and several smaller projects.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both! I love both formats for different reasons. As a very scientific minded person I understand that the difference these days is almost entirely in the process. Having worked with tape machines many times I can safely say that there are some VERY good tape emulation plugins out there so it is possible to get close to an analog sound in the digital realm if you know what you are doing. Just like with analog vs digital photography, analog recording forces you to be much more careful and deliberate about what you are doing while working in the digital realm gives you all sorts of control and flexibility.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started playing music when I was about 10 years old and got into the production side of things in my teens. I studied Audio Engineering, American Cultural Studies, and Ethnomusicology in college and started my own freelance business after graduating. Ever since then I've been plugging away working on records with all sorts of local and regional musicians.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Honest and efficient. Most of the projects that I work on are being done on a fairly limited budget so there's not a lot of room for messing about, over the years I've gotten relatively fast at all sorts of studio tasks and one of the best ways to be efficient in the studio is to utilize open and honest communication.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Learn how to understand gain staging and signal flow! Once you get those concepts down you've built a very solid foundation to work with.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Honesty and empathy. As a producer I always try to be as honest as possible with the folks I am working with and as an engineer I am always trying to best capture the real sound of the band without putting too much of my own stamp on their sound.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: My studio is a small but well acoustically treated space in my home.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: The most common type of work I do for clients is producing and engineering records, as well as mixing and mastering.

Shadows by Forest Ray

I was the Producer, Recording Engineer, and Mixer in this production

Mixing EngineerAverage price - $150 per song
ProducerContact for pricing
Recording StudioContact for pricing
Mastering EngineerAverage price - $50 per song
EditingAverage price - $30 per track
Time alignment - QuantizingAverage price - $40 per track
Live drum trackContact for pricing

All mixing and mastering projects are entitled to 2 revisions for free. Typical turn-around time is between 1-7 days depending on my schedule. Rush service is available for an extra fee.