Hard working producer, highly skilled songwriter and guitarist and basic mastering
Trained at Stow college on esteemed sound production course and completing honours work at Perth college up north. Work out of Carlton studios and have a fully functional studio at home so able to work around the clock to ensure clients are satisfied.
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Interview with Gareth James
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: My EP released last month - it took longer than anything else I've done but it sounded better than anything I've done as well. I did everything from tracking the first drums to the final mix before it was sent off for mastering.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: An album of my own material as well as a few other things
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Analogue, cos it sounds better man.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: To work as hard as I can to make sure they get the results they're looking for
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: There's something different every day and more often than not folk are passionate about what they're doing
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Can we record all these songs in this time? Usually aye.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That we possess a magic button that fixes everything. As far as I know, we don't have one! Tho I know a few tricks that can help
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What they expect to produce from the session
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: To look for someone who will produce to the level they say they will
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: A Martin acoustic guitar, a tambourine and a tape recorder. What else do you really need?
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: Musician - I went to college purely to use the studios and found I enjoyed recording other folk too
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: El naturale
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Jack White as he does the most fascinating work with (largely) analogue gear only
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Go with your gut
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Rock, blues
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Ensuring artist is comfortable during recording process
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Feel and enthusiasm, can find most important elements and bring them to the forefront while keeping them rooted to the ground
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Depending on the artist we usually cut drums and bass first (click track is optional!), add guitar, keys, any additional synth and other instruments, vocals and finally backing vocals. Have also tracked full bands live which is an option if bands wish to record that way
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: Reaper, Langley Big Desk (Carlton Studios) Pro Tools, Mbox Pro at home
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Dave Pensado, Steve Albini, Andrija Tokic
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Recording and mixing
- Recording StudioAverage price - $350 per day
- Mixing EngineerAverage price - $75 per song
- Vocal compingAverage price - $40 per track
- ProducerAverage price - $75 per song
- Post MixingAverage price - $50 per minute
- Electric GuitarAverage price - $100 per song
