Justin Howley on SoundBetter

My strength is creating a vibe and sonic quality that supports an artist’s identity. I’m less about fitting into a genre box and more about building a sound that feels true to the song and the person behind it.

I'm a recording artist with over 30 years experience playing, touring and recording. I'm a passionate fan of music and the recording process and love unique indie productions just as much as I love a super clean major label pop mix.

I have a large selection of instruments and gear for use such as Martin, Gibson, Fender Guitars and Amps, Ludwig and Gretsch drums. We also have a great selection of industry standard mics, analog tube and processing gear (Neve, API, Universal Audio, Neumann, Royer) for the highest level of quality, character and vibe for your project.

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

Credits

Endorse Justin Howley2 Reviews

by Walker Duke
I highly recommend Justin. From recording to mixing to mastering, he was a pleasure to work with and a consummate professional. And he really shows his stuff. Justin brought our musical vision to life and had great insights and understanding of the sound we were looking for.
by Matt Valle
Justin is an absolute pro. From recording to mixing to mastering, he combines deeply honed skills and instincts about sound with top notch equipment. Justin is also really efficient and a top shelf guy. If you want to be wowed by how good your music can sound while enjoying the process throughout, Ohm Recording is the way to go. Couldn't recommend more highly!

Interview with Justin Howley

Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Being able to listen to a song and knowing what types of sounds fit within your genre to get the most out of the production. And knowing when less is more.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Radiohead and Nigel Goridch are big inspirations for their music, style and sonic excellence.
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 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: I definitely have an affinity for originality and innovation. I don't push in any one direction musically, I like to flow where the artist is flowing but highlight things an artist may not notice to make a song as best it can be.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Get the sound right at the source. You'll end up wasting a lot of time capturing something that's "ok" and trying to eq and make it fit later.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: I work most styles of artists from Alt Rock, Indie Pop, Singer Songwriter/Americana Electronic, Hip Hop.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Creativity and years of listening experience. 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 24'x20' room acoustically treated in a detached building on my property. I have a mix of Ludwig and Gretsch drums, a collection of vintage Gibson & Fender guitars, acoustics, basses and amps. I have a large selection of industry standard mics and outboard gear (see my website link for full list of gear).