Dalton Essary

Mix Engineer & Producer

starstarstarstar
8 Reviews (1 Verified)
Dalton Essary on SoundBetter

Skilled and Experienced Mixing/Mastering Engineer, Producer, and Artist with over 5 years of studio recording and live performance experience. I have collaborated on my own projects with musicians from Bethel Music, Elevation Worship, and countless other worship artists. I have also worked with tons of singer-songwriters and indie bands as well.

Hello! My name is Dalton Essary and I am a 24 year old Mix Engineer & Producer. I attended Dallas Baptist University from 2017 - 2022 where I was a Studio Recording major and a part of the DBU Chapel Worship Team as a drummer, keys player, and vocalist. Over the last 5-6 years I have spent time in various studios and churches working with Worship bands, indie artists, and singer songwriters to help them bring their ideas and music to life. My primary services include: Mixing and Mastering, Producing (keys, guitars, vocals, audio editing). Mixing and recording is my passion! Although Contemporary Worship music is my specialty genre, I also love working with all types of artists across ALL genres. I take a lot of pride in my mixing/mastering process and enjoy collaborating with artists to help them get the finished sound they desire.

I also release my own music under two separate artist names (Essary, Dalton Essary). Essary is the name I release all of my instrumental music under and Dalton Essary is the name i release all of my Worship Covers under. Both are on all digital streaming services so you can search them up to hear my work. On all of the music I've released i did the mixing, mastering, producing, and tracking. I am grateful for every opportunity that I've had in my journey so far as a mixing/mastering engineer, producer and Artist. I hope you choose to work with me!

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

Credits

Discogs verified credits for Dalton Essary

    Languages

    • English

    8 Reviews

    Endorse Dalton Essary
    1. Review by Adam G.
      starstarstarstarstar
      check_circleVerified

      Dalton did good work on my audio file I needed fixed

    2. Review by Jude Moses
      starstar_borderstar_borderstar_borderstar_border
      by Jude Moses

      Dalton hired me for a song and never paid me in full. He still owes me $170. He has lied and has led me and others on a wild goose chase. Do NOT work with him. Very immature and unprofessional.

    3. Review by Stephen Williams
      starstarstarstarstar
      by Stephen Williams

      Dalton hired me for a song and never paid me in full. He still owes me $170. He has lied and has led me and others on a wild goose chase. Do NOT work with him. Very immature and unprofessional.

    4. Review by Dick
      starstar_borderstar_borderstar_borderstar_border
      by Dick

      would give 0 stars if I could. do not do business with this person.

    5. Review by Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc.
      starstarstarstarstar
      by Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc.

      Dalton edited the audio on a recording for corporate ran programs. The recording was recorded with an older microphone that picked up a lot of unwanted sounds and was on the quiet side. He cleaned up the audio and made it sound really great. Also have listened to a few of his recordings. Highly recommended for any and all audio needs!

    6. Review by Meg.
      starstarstarstarstar
      by Meg.

      Dalton!! Thank you for your amazing work on my album. Your skills as a drummer and audio mixing engineer were truly impressive, and I couldn't be happier with the result. The drums sounded incredible, and the mixing was perfect. Your talent and dedication really shone through, and I look forward to working with you again in the future. :)

    7. Review by Music Scape
      starstarstarstarstar
      by Music Scape

      Great communication and excellent attention to details. Thank you for helping me finish my worship EP. :)

    8. Review by Sound Composite
      starstarstarstarstar
      by Sound Composite

      Dalton helped me record and track live drums for my indie album and he was amazing! He was very passionate about the process and very detailed in his communication of his ideas. He also helped in the mixing process which was a life saver for me. You wont regret working with him!!

    Interview with Dalton Essary

    1. Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

    2. A: A few years back when I was studying at DBU, I helped mix and produce a singer-songwriters indie pop EP. I also was the session drummer for the entirety of the EP. It was a full week of creative ideas, non-stop, I will never forget it.

    3. Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

    4. A: N/A

    5. Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

    6. A: Q: What DAW do you use? A: Avid Pro Tools Ultimate

    7. Q: Analog or digital and why?

    8. A: BOTH :) They each have their pros and cons.

    9. Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

    10. A: I have been mixing and producing for more than 5 years and I have worked with more than 75 artists/bands.

    11. Q: How would you describe your style?

    12. A: Authentic and flexible

    13. Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

    14. A: I would love to work with Elevation Worship and/or Brandon Lake someday. I love how authentic and genuine their sounds are and it would be an honor to create with them.

    15. Q: Can you share one music production tip?

    16. A: Having a solid workflow is crucial to maximizing productivity and for making sure you are capturing every idea as they come.

    17. Q: What are you working on at the moment?

    18. A: Currently I am working on releasing my 8th Worship Cover and I am also mixing and producing an EP for another worship artist.

    19. Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

    20. A: That I will provide them with top tier communication and will also give them a mix that they are more than pleased with. I will do whatever it takes to provide them with a mix that goes above and beyond what they expected.

    21. Q: What do you like most about your job?

    22. A: That I get to work with amazing people/artists. I love collaboration and helping artists achieve the sound they envision so this job never really seems like a job to me. I love mixing and love working with artists so the fact that i am blessed to get to do it for a living makes me very grateful and very joyful.

    23. Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

    24. A: The myth that "everything can be fixed in post". Mixing should not act as a band-aid or monkey wrench. Its sole purpose is to enhance and blend multiple audio signals into a superior result. But, as the saying goes: garbage in, garbage out. If your DAW is receiving bad recordings, poor performances, clipped or noisy signals, etc. then mixing will only get you so far.

    25. Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

    26. A: Three biggest questions I ask are: 1. What DAW was used to track/record 2. What processing, if any, was used when tracking each part/stem 3. 3-10 reference songs and artists that closely capture the sound you are going for 4. Whats your budget?

    27. Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

    28. A: Communicate with us!!! The more info you feed to us the better. We exist to help you take a raw unfinished sound to the finish line of a high quality mix. We are here to help!

    29. Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

    30. A: haha I love this question: (also im assuming a computer doesnt count as one) 1. UAD Apollo Twin Interface 2. Taylor GS Mini Acoustic 3. AKG C214 Mic 4. All the WAVES plug-ins lol 5. 1176 Compressor

    31. Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

    32. A: Contemporary Christian Music/Worship Music, Singer Songwriter, Indie and Pop/Rock music.

    33. Q: What's your strongest skill?

    34. A: My strongest skill is my willingness/courage to try new things when I am mixing and also my ability to cater to the needs of each and every track I am working on.

    35. Q: What do you bring to a song?

    36. A: I bring authenticity and care in attention to both the details of my mixing but also a lot of care for the artist and their vision for the song/project. Its my job to help them take their ideas and dreams for the song/project to its fullest potential and I do whatever it takes to get there.

    37. Q: What's your typical work process?

    38. A: I prefer to work on multiple songs at a time so i can always keep things fresh in my mind while I am mixing, but if i am working on just one track then I get pretty dialed in and take frequent breaks for my ears haha. All in all though I believe its my job to cater to the needs of each individual project and I do not use templates when mixing. Every song/project is unique in its sound and desired end product so i cater to those needs to the best of my ability.

    39. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

    40. A: At the moment I have a nice home studio setup going. I have a pair of Yamaha HS8's and I run everything through a Universal Audio Apollo Twin X QUAD interface. I also have a couple of Mic Preamps including the DBX 286s. I Use a lot of UAD plugins and prefer them because i can print analog sound with their technology. I also have a UAD Volt 476p interface that i use for tracking drums and room sounds. My two favorite pieces of gear in my collection are my Neve 1076 and my UAD 1176 :) My mic collection includes: Shure SM7B, AKG C214, Shure SM7, and the Beta 52. I have a good collection of MIDI Keyboards as well and a Taylor GS Mini-e Rosewood Acoustic that I use quiet a bit.

    41. Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

    42. A: Sean Moffitt is my favorite mix engineer and he has been a huge inspiration for me. He is a grammy award winning engineer and is one of the best worship music engineers at the moment. Hillsong UNITED and Elevation Worship have also inspired me a lot as a musician and producer.

    43. Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

    44. A: I primarily work with Christian Music/Worship Artists and Churches. So i am mainly mixing and producing contemporary christian/worship music. (Bethel, Elevation Worship, Hillsong, etc.).

    loading
    play_arrowpause
    skip_previous
    skip_next
    Good Grace by Dalton Essary

    I was the Mix Engineer, Producer, Vocalist, and Mastering Engineer in this production

    GenresSounds Like
    • Elevation Worship
    • Bethel Music
    • Hillsong UNITED
    Gear Highlights
    • Shure SM7B
    • Shure SM58
    • Taylor GS Mini-e Rosewood
    • UAD Apollo Twin X Quad Interface
    • DBX 286s Mic Preamp Processor
    • UAD Volt 476P
    • AKG C214
    • Beta 52
    • UAD Plug-in Ultimate Collection
    • UAD 1176 Hardware Compressor
    • NEVE 1076 Mic Preamp & EQ
    More Photos
    SoundBetter Deal

    All first time clients get 25% off!