Benjamin Soma on SoundBetter

As a classically trained musician and singer, vocals are my specialty and I tune, edit, comp and mix them to perfection using the ear training I honed on violin and engineering in studios in Hollywood. With decades of experience, I know how to make your music sound like it belongs with the top tracks on the radio today.

I am a lifelong musician, accomplished multi-instrumentalist, classically trained singer, composer, producer and audio engineer with over two decades of experience (not to mention a bit of a music theory head as well). I have performed and worked with a variety of artists and bands of many different genres over the years to create amazing music.

I have spent many years in Chicago, Hollywood and Portland, honing my skills and techniques, and investing in the right tools to mix music that fits in with today's market.

It's very important to me that my clients are satisfied and happy to work with me again, so I pride myself in being friendly, without ego, and willing to help you reach your full potential as an artist. I my goal is to bring your vision to life, and for the track to reflect that.

I have worked on projects both large and small, so send me a message and I would be more than happy to talk about how I can help you or your band, one on one, create amazing music ready to be published, in your budget.

Would love to hear from you. Click the contact button above to get in touch.

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Interview with Benjamin Soma

Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I get the most satisfaction out of working with my clients to turn their music into fantastic sounding tracks.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What artists do you think you sound like? What are your goals for this project? Are we creating a mix to send to prospective labels or so you can publish it online? I want to make sure we match the sound you're after, and fit your budget.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I am fluent with Pro Tools and Ableton Live, though I do most of my engineering and mixing in Pro Tools. I've spent many years developing a template I use for most of my clients to work very efficiently in the studio, and have some of the most popular, best sounding reverbs, compression, and EQ within reach. I have also setup my studio with proper sound absorption panels, and have calibrated my monitors to allow me to hear as accurately as possible. This makes it easy to create mixes that translate to other speaker systems.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Analog has a nuance that is special and nearly impossible to fully emulate - however today's music is all digital, and that is what the audience is accustomed to hearing. I try to bridge the gap using the right amount of analog emulation for color, while being sure to engineer using popular digital techniques and tools.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: My goal is for you to be happy with the final product, and your experience working with me. I promise to do everything in my power to engineer the mix heard in your head, and felt good about creating with me.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Sure a lot can be done in the edit/mix, but nothing is better than having recorded the parts already sounding like you want them to sound.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I was raised in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, where I started violin lessons at four years old at a local Suzuki music school. My sense of pitch definitely owed to ear training at an early age. By middle school, I began teaching myself guitar and I fell in love. I studied music theory and took voice lessons at the Jacobs School of Music. During this time, I continued to produce my own music as a solo guitarist and thus began to discover some of the early software DAW's and sample-synths available. After college, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my music. I interned at a studio in Hollywood and learned a lot from their head engineer. I began to build my own book of clients as an engineer and producer. Today I continue to work with artists, as well as on my own music, and as of recently I have been developing plugins to help producers with music theory.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: It would be an honor to work with popular artists like Taylor Swift or Lil Nas X, however it brings me great joy to work with smaller and independent artists to help them achieve their next big step in their career.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Listen objectively, and take the time to do it right the first time, while being efficient. Also build your studio properly with sufficient sound absorption, and calibrate your monitors if you can so you can trust your ears.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: A lot of the music I usually work on has been centered around vocals: pop, electronic, trap, etc...
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: My ear training which began when I started learning violin at 4 years old - It has been a huge asset to my career.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: As a guitarist and former music school student, one of my all-time favorite bands is Dream Theater. Each one of the members is at the absolute top of their field. It’s really exciting to listen to something so heavy, emotional, and thought provoking that also appeals to music theory nerds like myself. Also, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has been a major influence on my electronic music. Trent is a master sound-smith and pianist. The way he sings and screams make my skin crawl. There is emotion in his voice, and I strive to bring that passion to my music.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Most of my clients come to me to comp, edit and tune their vocals by hand, and then mix them with either instrumental stems or a mix-down.