I’m a Berklee College of Music graduate who has been making a name for himself in the Christian Hip Hop community. I’ve helped artists like Mitch Darrell go from 35.4k streams to 205.2k streams and have played an important role in the advancement of multiple artists’ careers.
My name’s Connor Ahlstrom, I’m a mixing engineer, mastering engineer, and producer from Minnesota currently living in Los Angeles. I graduated from Berklee College of Music with a dual degree in Music Production & Engineering and Electronic Production & Design in 2020 have since been freelancing for pop, rap/hip hop, R&B, and indie rock artists. I’ve helped artists like Mitch Darrell increase their streams by 580% in just 2 years and have helped artists like NobodyGHY get nominated for awards like The Gospel Hip Hop Awards. Throughout my time at Berklee, I gained recognition for my work from multiple Grammy award winning professors like Prince Charles Alexander and Jonathan Wyner for my mixing, mastering, and production.
I pride myself on my professionalism with every project I work on. I become as invested in a project as the artist I’m working with and make sure I do all that I can to not only give the artist the best quality possible, but also help in other ways to make sure their project succeeds. So reach out, connect with me, say hi, and let’s work together to achieve your goals.
Send me a note through the contact button above.
Credits
Interview with Connor Ahlstrom
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Analog when I can. Nowadays digital plugins are nearly indistinguishable from analog but working with analog forces you to really listen and think before you print something since it’s permanent once you print it.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I get to listen to new music everyday
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Avalon VT-737sp, Neumann U47, Manley VariMu, Tube-Tech CL 1B, SSL 4000e
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Practice critical listening every day. Take a song you really like and pull it apart, focusing on a new element with each listen. Pay attention to the way the instruments and vocals interact with each other and write down any cool sounds or effects that inspire you.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: The same love and care that the artist brings. I treat the song as if it were my own to ensure the best quality possible.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Listen to any reference mixes or artists my client gives me while I’m setting up my project file. I then mix in stages, working for ~30 minutes and then giving my ears a short break in order to avoid ear fatigue. Once I’m finished with a mix I make sure to let the artist know while I’m waiting for the audio to bounce down.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I use Dayton Audio speakers that I built myself for monitoring. They’re a DIY version of $1,500 Dynaudio Speakers and give me a great specialization and smooth playback of audio. I’ve also precisely measured my speaker placement to assure they are phase aligned in order to get the clearest sound possible.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I most commonly mix and master for artists.
I was the Mixing and Mastering Engineer in this production
- Mixing EngineerAverage price - $200 per song
- Mastering EngineerAverage price - $70 per song
I allow 3 free revisions (minor tweaks will not count as revisions) with extra revisions being an additional charge. Typical turn around time is 1-3 days for mixing and 1 day for mastering.
- Universal Audio Apollo
- Korg MS 20
- Korg ARP Odyssey
- Top of the Line Plugins for Mixing and Mastering
20% off your first song. Bulk deals for multiple songs (3-5 songs = 10%, 6-9 = 15%, 10+ = 20%)
