Christopher Ahn on SoundBetter

LA based Mix & Master Engineer, and Producer. Artists I've worked with: Timbaland, Kacey Musgraves, Jeremih, Ty Dolla $ign, Tinashe, Eric Bellinger, and more!

I was born in Hawaii where I received my degree in Audio Engineering, and moved to Los Angeles to grow my career further. I have over 10 years of experience in the industry working in Pop, Singer-Songwriter, R&B, and Hip Hop music. I'm blessed to have credits on songs with artists like Jeremih, Emotional Oranges, Kiana Ledé, Tinashe, and many more!

My style gravitates towards strong songwriting and vocal-focused producing and mixing, with a beat that slaps in your car speakers. I run sessions out of my home studio in Los Angeles.

What I offer:

￭ Mixing & Mastering
Projects of all sizes, from singles to albums

￭ Production (Pop, Singer-Songwriter, R&B, & Hip Hop)
Music production that highlights your own unique sound as an artist!

￭ Vocal Production
Mixing, tuning (melodyne & autotune), timing, and effects

I love collaborating with new artists and growing more with each new song. I'd love to hear more about your project on SoundBetter and answer any questions you have about my process :)

Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.

Credits

Discogs verified credits for Christopher Ahn

Peøria
Laprete
Emotional Oranges
Laprete
James Newton (2)
Nathan Barr
Chvrches
Disasterpeace
Disasterpeace
Peøria
Laprete
John Debney, Joel McNeely, Andrew Cottee
Joseph Trapanese
Daniel Wohl
Michael Abels
Cliff Martinez
Michael Bublé
Guns N' Roses
Ludwig Göransson

Languages

English

5 Reviews

Endorse Christopher Ahn

by Dave
Chris has been a constant pleasure to work with. Collaboration is effortless and flexible, and the results are always top tier. With a multitude of experience in multiple genres wearing multiple hats, he has the ability to leave an impressionable stamp of excellence on every project he's a part of. 14/10.
by Sasha Shem
Chris is an absolute professional…I’ve worked with him for years. He is knowledgable, efficient and reliable, not to mention He’s a phenomenal mix engineer and producer. Couldn’t recommend him more 👍
by Kye Harris
I’ve been working with Christopher for years and he’s really helped me develop my sound and get the mix right every time. Couldn’t recommend him more to anyone that’s looking for a mix engineer and producer! He’s easy to work with. He’s fast and efficient as well. He listens to your vision and is able to go above and beyond what you asked for!
by CLUB YOKAI
One of the best producers out of LA. From songwriting to mixing and mastering, Chris has saved me a ton of hours as an artist. His experience and credits speak for themselves but I can vouch firsthand that he's the real deal. Chris helped me bring my EP to life by adding his mixing/mastering expertise, production tips, and songwriting help to lift all the songs to a whole new level.
by Kalliyan Davis
Christopher is the man with the sauce. Creatively, he always has a vision for what sound you’re aiming for. It feels like he treats your song as if it were his own and he’ll make sure you’re happy with where it’s going.

Sonically, Christopher’s mixes pop and they sound great in many different contexts, whether it’s playing from your iPhone or booming in the car. His mixing especially highlights the vocals, which helps the emotions come through. The drums also slap.

Highly recommend Chris if you want to work with a professional who will listen to your needs and deliver a great project!

Interview with Christopher Ahn

Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I strip the song down to the main vocal, music, and drum elements. I edit and mix those until they feel solid, and then add back all the other layers to make the song shine!
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I work out of my home studio in Los Angeles. I have Focal Shape 65s and Yamaha HS8s to check my mixes and masters, and 2x UAD Twin Quads. I have way more plugins than I need, but still not enough. I have a Gibson Les Paul Standard '50s, Gibson SG, and two Martin Acoustics. My vocal chain consists of a CM67se Tube Mic into a Grace m101 Pre.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: 2023 is a year where I'll be focusing on even more producing, mixing, mastering, and writing songs for my artist project, Your Crush.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: The best digital analog emulation is like 90% - 95% the way there, but the flexibility of working in digital provides so many options at your fingertips so quickly. It's a matter of finding the right plugins. UAD and Plugin Alliance have some of the best digital analog emulation plugins.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: What do you write your songs about? Always real experiences. I want my fans and audience to relate to what I'm talking about, so I want to be honest and real with them each step of the process.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Production isn't a bandaid for a song. Keep writing and arranging until you have something you truly love, then the production, mixing, and mastering will just fall into place :)
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I've been producing & engineering since 2012. I moved to Los Angeles in 2017 and have been in hundreds of sessions with different artists, producers, and songwriters. I want to continue to grow my network of people I work with on SoundBetter :)
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Melody and song-driven for sure. The production, mixing, and mastering should highlight the emotion of the vocals.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: The 1975, because Matty Healy constantly reinvents his sound with each new album. His lyricism is so powerful and production is so emotional and fun.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Definitely making the vocals sound amazing!
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I typically produce, mix, and master songs for clients. I often do a mix of everything on a project. I love seeing things from a bigger picture perspective and doing whatever is necessary to bring out the right emotion in the song and make it pop!
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: Your Crush is my band. We creative directed all the visuals, and wrote and produced everything together for our Strawberry Sheets EP. We got an international distribution deal, charted in Korea, and got some sync placements as well. I'm excited to release even more songs in 2023!
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I'll get creative with any need and tool in the toolbox to get your song sounding the best it can!
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: There is no one-size-fits-all. Every song is a new challenge and that's the fun part. Sometimes an LA-2A sounds great on one track, but you need an 1176 for another track. The goal is the emotion, not the technical process.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What inspires and drives you in your own music? Production, vocals, lyrics? Who are your favorite artists? I'd love to be aligned with your creative vision and goals.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Vertigo VSM-3 sounds unbelievable on your mix busses!
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: I had a session as a producer with Josh Florez at Chalice Studios. He's such a down to earth and hard working guy, couldn't recommend him more!
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I love being be able to feel emotion out of songs that didn't exist until we made them together :)
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Pop and R&B / Hip Hop.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I try to make every mix sound clear, clean and professional, but most of all, I want to capture the emotion of the song and the vocals.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: The 1975, Holly Humberstone, Phoebe Bridgers, Keshi, Role Model, Bazzi, and Aminé. I've been super inspired by the production on Porter Robinson's Nurture album lately.