Viola player, violinist, fiddle player and string arranger / multitracker: classical / orchestral strings, Irish and country fiddle. I can work from your written parts or create my own, anything from a single line to a multi-part section.
Classically trained at a leading London conservatoire with a rich expressive viola sound, I also have years' professional experience as an Irish and country fiddle player. My experience includes countless orchestral concerts, writing (or co-writing with the artists) and multitracking string parts for rock and electronic tracks, and band gigs from festivals to pubs to weddings. I can bring these elements - sightreading and sheet music literacy, improvisation, working from chord charts, ensemble and solo playing - together in the balance your project requires. I can also arrange anything up to full string section arrangements - for studio sessions with an in-person ensemble, myself remote recording the violin and viola parts and cello recorded separately, or covering all the lines myself (using pitch-shifted viola for cello register if that's included).
For remote recording, please send audio files of your tracks / guides; I will send back dry mono WAV files of each part separately (including multitracks of the same line if applicable) synced to the start time of the tracks you send me, ready to import into your DAW for editing, mixing and mastering.
Would love to hear from you. Click the contact button above to get in touch.
2 Reviews
Endorse Martin Ash
I have been working, both gigging and recording and producing music, with Martin Ash since 2016. Martin is extremely talented at creating beautiful and melodic string arrangements as well as lead instrumentals. There are many brilliant examples of these on our Kindred Spirit Band, "Elemental" album. He is a consummate professional, preparing well, working to the best of his ability, mindful of his brief, helpful with constructive ideas and great to work with.
Martin is a very talented musician and I highly recommend working with him.
I've worked with him a few times already and he was always super kind, available and competent.
Ask him anything and get surprised.
Interview with Martin Ash
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I will always put in the work. I can't guarantee to do everything, but I can guarantee to do my level best and give you my time, effort and all my skills (including thinking seriously about the project!) every time.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That it's all a result of 'talent'. Pro-level string playing in any style demands countless hours of practice, well-directed study, a lot of boring work on specific ways of playing and a wide range of experience playing for real.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: An open mind! It's your song not mine, I try to fulfil your vision not 'do what I do'.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: I've worked with Abbie Davis (violin) live, she is an excellent player, consummate professional and very easy to work with. I also know the players of Severn Duo well and would recommend their skills and work ethic without hesitation.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: *What do you want the strings to do on this? *Is this the final track, other than putting strings on it? Or are there other parts to come too? *Do you have a chord chart? (I can work without, but it saves time to have it) *What's the timeframe? Not just a final deadline but when you need to hit key points along the way if they're known/fixed.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Give as much of an indication of your vision as you can upfront - describe the style of the string parts, or name recordings that have the sound you want. It will give you more time to think about detail later rather than asking for a totally different approach!
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started learning violin aged 8 and had classical lessons. In 2014, wanting to move away from a full-time desk career, I started looking for paid musical work. By that point, I'd taken up viola, become a fluent improviser in folky contexts and played with a couple of grassroots originals bands. Increasing the share of my income provided by music has involved advanced classical viola study (I'm currently a postgraduate conservatoire student), forming a wedding/event string quartet and honing my arranging skills in various contexts.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: If you want a lush string section sound, always double-track (at least) each part.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Start by listening to the track(s) as sent! Then listen again with whatever guidance I have for what the client wants me to do (sheet music / chord charts / notes on what the strings should be doing / reference recordings). After that, start playing along and writing down ideas. Before actually doing takes, I'm going to thoroughly learn and practise my material. Then listen back to anything I think I'm going to send to the client with a very critical ear, both isolated and rough mixed with the track. Only at that point send a version for revisions.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: Usually for strings a single large-diaphragm condenser mic (though I have a matched pair to record stereo). Other options include clip mike on the instrument or DI for fiddle or mandolin. Whichever of those through an Audient ID14 interface into Audacity as DAW.
I was the lead violin, background violin and viola, string arranger in this production
- ViolaAverage price - $70 per song
- FiddleAverage price - $75 per song
- ViolinAverage price - $70 per song
- String ArrangerAverage price - $70 per song
- String SectionAverage price - $70 per song
- MandolinAverage price - $50 per song
If you send sheet music of my parts, I would normally allow 2 revisions. If I write/improvise the parts, then 3. String section pricing depends on number of parts plus arranging.
- t-bone SC-500 condenser mic
- Audient ID14 interface
