Justin Howley on SoundBetter

My soul purpose as a producer and musician is to help turn the ideas in your head into creatively brilliant, impactful and sonically beautiful songs. I believe in getting the feel, sonics and vibe right for every part in every song always! If that means some extra revisions until we get it right, then thats what we’ll do.

I'm a recording artist with over 25 years experience playing, touring and recording. My primary instrument is guitar (acoustic & electric), but can navigate and play most instruments when producing and creating a song. As a teen of the 90’s, I have a unique background and love for indie, folk, pop & hip hop. I know my way around sampling and an MPC just as much as I love playing my vintage Martin acoustic. I am a fan of interesting and unique recording productions just as much as I love a super clean pop mix.

I have a home studio (Ohm Music in Dallas, TX) in a 20x20 room, acoustically treated with GIK Bass Traps, clouds, diffusers and wall panels. I use a mix of outboard analog gear and tape going into an Apollo 16 interface, then into Logic. Contact me for my instrument and gear list.

Collaborate with someone who shares the same artistic vision as you. As a musician, I understand the process of conceptualizing a song and bringing it to life. I believe communication is what makes a collaborative partnership work and will ensure we are as connected as possible throughout the entire production process, whether it's text, email or video chats.

Additional Services:

- Analog summing (stem mixing)
- Individual analog track processing (run through pre-amps, tube eq's etc.)
- Analog tape processing (tape transfer)

Contact me for pricing, questions and list of gear.

Click the 'Contact' above to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you.

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Interview with Justin Howley

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Thom Yorke and Nigel Goridch are definitely inspirations for their music, style and sonic excellence. I love the approach used of still being a great live band and capturing the best possible take of a song. Not everyone has that option, but that's why the internet is amazing for opportunities it creates such as soundbetter :)
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both. Workflow, speed and efficiency of digital and vibe, color and uniqueness of analog is key to making a great sounding song.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: 5 songs (all instruments except drums, producing, recording and mixing) for Desert Youths second EP.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I don't work on music full-time actually. I am a digital creative and have been working for Adobe for 10 years and a musician for almost 30 years. I started out playing guitar, DJ'ing and touring in bands, then recording friends bands. I've had the most fortunate journey in music, working with the great and talented folks at Avast Studios Seattle, and Platinum Sound NYC where I was fortunate to record and mix on Andy Wallace’s SSL console, the same one used to mix Nirvana’s Nevermind record and The Notorious B.I.G's Ready to Die (I was in awe).
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Being an Aquarius, I definitely have an affinity for originality and innovation. I also like to go with the flow of things. I don't push in any one direction musically, I like to flow where the artist is flowing but highlight and lift out things an artist may not notice to make a song as best it can be.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: A commonly overlooked part of a song is the tempo. Just changing the tempo a few BPM's faster or slower can have a huge impact on the song and the way your vocals sit on top of the track.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Usually I work with Alt-Indie Rock & Indie Pop artists, but have worked with hip hop and metal artists in the past.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Being able to listen to a song and know what types of sounds fit within your genre or structure to get the most out of the production. Knowing when less is more or when less needs more is a skill that is attained over time.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Creativity. I don't want to be the overly technically proficient player, I want to be the element that lives within your song and brings it to another creative level. I like to do things differently, re-amping, running guitars or synths though samplers and replaying them in new ways. I like to be unconventional to get inspiring and interesting ways that compliments your music.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Ideally you'll have somewhat of a recorded demo or idea, I'll use that and build out an arrangement and start ideation process of instrumentation. I'll recommend what instruments would be best for the song, get your approval and start recording those instruments. I'll send you a daily check-in notice via email or text with updates getting your feedback through the entire process until the production is ready to mix. Once we start the mix process, I will then take about 3-4 days to send you a mix for overall review, pending your approval, I will then fine-tune and get the mix as close to complete to send to you for another listen, you either make more revisions or sign off on the final mix.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have a 20'x20' room acoustically treated in my home. I have a mix of Ludwig and Gretsch drums, a collection of vintage Gibson & Fender guitars, acoustics, basses and amps