Alan Kirkland on SoundBetter

Creative mixing and mastering engineer with 44 years in music with experience in all genres. Let me help you make your music stand out.

Alan Kirkland started piano at the age of 5, majored in music education in college and taught high school band for 15 years. As a pianist and a former conductor, the big picture and how all elements fit together has always been a concept he is very comfortable with. Alan has been an audio engineer for the past 12 years working in all genres for live mixing and studio mixing/mastering.

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Credits

Languages

English

2 Reviews

Endorse Alan Kirkland

by Adam Hutcheson
I used Alan Kirkland to mix and master my debut jazz album. I was beyond happy with how my record turned out. Alan will work very close with you to make sure you get the sound you want out of your recording, and will make sure you are 100% satisfied before your session is over. I also had the chance to record a track in his studio and his equipment is top notch. I am based in NYC but will still be entrusting him with my future recording projects. He is a world class engineer and I would highly recommend him to anyone!
by Rashon Murph
I have hired Alan to work on many projects for me. I go to him when I want a nice clean mix at great quality. I would highly recommend him if you need a project or song mixed and mastered by a pro!

Interview with Alan Kirkland

Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: A combination of both makes the best sounding music. The better the analog signal path going into the box, the better the end result is going to be.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: We are going to make this amazing together.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I love the creativity and taking a song over the finish line to be something special.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Have a vision for what you want your final product to sound like, but also have an open enough mind to let the engineer be creative for you.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I was a high school band director for 15 years, then transitioned to a classical style recording engineer. I've been doing audio editing, recording and mixing now for 13 years.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Listen without watching. Trust what you're hearing.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Recently, it's been a lot of Contemporary Christian and acoustic work.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Finding unique ways to get things to fit together and interact in a mix.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: As someone with a background in classical music and instrumental ensembles I believe tat I really listen and hear differently. Each instrument brings such a different nuance to the project. I really work to make sure that character gets preserved as the right place for that instrument is found.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: When I get a mix from a client, it's crucial that I listen to their rough and/or all their tracks and immediately establish a priority order for the mix. The most important aspects get dialed in first, then the rest of the mix process is to determine how all the other parts fit with that in the most musical, creative and faithful manner possible.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: The studio is centered around a hybrid set up including Pro Tools, S1 and Avid Dock Controllers and Midas analog summing on the 2 bus. Monitoring is mainly through Adam A7X monitors and Sennheiser headphones in a treated room. My plug in library includes a large number from Waves, UAD, Fab Filter, Izotope, UVI, SoundToys, Auto Tune and Melodyne.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Mixing projects in jazz, contemporary Christian, Instrumental genres, Americana, Rock and Pop