My name is Sam Howell and I'm a studio engineer in Minneapolis, MN. My passion is helping artists (especially local ones) sound their best!
I'm relatively new to freelance work but have been recording and mixing for about 3 years now. I have recorded most instruments from guitar and vocals to trombone and accordion. I am always looking for my next project and if I haven't recorded it before, I do my research and show up prepared.
Currently I am working out of a studio nearby for any live recording needs. It's a great sounding home studio and I'm excited to see what more I can do there.
I do mixing and mastering on my own set up. Send me tracks recorded at a studio or in your garage and I'll bring out the shine in them!
(The sample track was a practice mix from a site online. I do not claim to have mixed the officially released version.)
Would love to hear from you. Click the contact button above to get in touch.
Interview with SH! Studios
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What they want to sound like (similar artists), what sort of build they have in mind (empty sound, super full, lots of background stuff), their time constraints/schedule, etc.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I've been involved in music my entire life. After I fleshed things out, I decided that my future had to be in the music industry somehow. I went to school for a couple of years and have since been working on my own (3+ years). Recording is an incredibly fun and interesting thing and i'm hoping to do much, much more.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Generally I work on forms of rock and metal but I love working on other genres too. It really forces me to expand my thought process and lead me to more interesting sounds.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: If click tracks are wanted, I work through scratch tracks using a DI basic guitar sound. If not, I record drums and scratch guitars at the same time. Then it's as the client likes. Guitars, then bass (or vice versa) and voice afterwards. I usually end with special instruments and extra percussion.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: Any and all live recording is recorded through a Soundcraft Ghost into a Mackie HDR. All DI recordings are done at my apartment in my main mixing room. Every recording ends up in Pro Tools 12.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: The instrumental and engineering work of Cameron McLellan is phenomenal. Taylor Larson and Brian Hood have also made some great mixes.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I generally do full projects with my clients. I work with them from start to finish, doing drums, guitars, vocals and special instruments like brass and strings. Most of my work so far has been some form of rock or punk, but I have mixed other genres too.
I was the mixing and mastering in this production
- Mixing EngineerAverage price - $100 per song
- Recording StudioContact for pricing
- Live drum trackAverage price - $70 per song
- Mastering EngineerAverage price - $50 per song
- EditingAverage price - $50 per track
- Live SoundAverage price - $200 per concert
I can usually mix a song each day or two (depending on other employment/number of tracks) and allow for up to 2 revisions. Studio pricing is higher because I have to pay a small fee to use the space.
- Apollo Interface
- Yamaha Fostex and JBL Monitors
- 27" iMac
