Ian Olvera on SoundBetter

Midwest based mixer with a wide variety of mix/production credits from alt country, roots rock, jazz, and more.

I've been working full time in music for the last 10+ years spending plenty of time on the road as an artist, as an engineer (Lucinda Williams, The Nielsen Trust, Miles Nielsen & the Rusted Hearts, The Dandy Warhols), and (why we are here) in the studio as an engineer, mixer, multi instrumentalist, and producer.

I offer remote mixes from my home studio in Milwaukee, as well as basic overdubs on a project to project basis (guitars, keys, synths, bass.) Additional recording can be coordinated to happen in one of several tracking studios in Milwaukee. I can also offer remote editing, comp work, vocal tuning, and production consulting.

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

Credits

Discogs verified credits for Ian Olvera

Daydream Retrievers
Driveway Thriftdwellers
Trapper Schoepp
Tim Schweiger & The Middle Men*
Dead Horses
Various
Daydream Retrievers
Tommy Stinson's Cowboys In The Campfire
Ladybird (18)
Beach Patrol
Trapper Schoepp & The Shades
Holly And The Nice Lions
Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts*
Tim Schweiger & The Middle Men*
Dead Horses
Beach Patrol
Daydream Retrievers
Driveway Thriftdwellers
Graham Hunt (2)
Abby Jeanne
Trapper Schoepp
Graham Hunt (2)
Devin Drobka Trio
Devin Drobka Trio
Trapper Schoepp
Ladybird (18)

Languages

English

9 Reviews

Endorse Ian Olvera

by Justin Perkins
I’ve been working with Ian for 20 years now. I recorded an EP for his high school band in 2005, and then watched him develop ann engineering/production career of his own working with other bands.

I then started hiring Ian to help me prep mixes and eventually prep my mastering sessions when I transitioned into mastering and his ear and attention to detail are excellent.

These days, I master quite a few projects that Ian has either recorded and/or mixed and the mixes always come in sounding great and are super easy to work with.

Highly recommended.
by Pete McDermott
Ian helped track and mix our first full length record. In the past we'd had mostly DIY recording setups, which of course bring their own benefits and pitfalls. Working with Ian provided all of the ups of working in a comfortable setting but with the high quality you'd expect from paying top dollar. During tracking his suggestions were creative but never forced, and he provided an environment conducive to trying new ideas while also not being shy about going a different direction. His mixing was efficient and there was little need for any back and forth as far as edits. 10/10. Love the boy.
by Ryan Necci
I've been lucky enough to work with Ian on a number of mixing, engineering and live projects. I whole-heartedly endorse him. He's wonderfully talented in all of those areas and more. However, the highest praise I can give Ian is the fact that I enjoy being in a small, stuffy, windowless room with him for hours on end. This is not true of everyone I've worked with in a studio setting and folks who've been in the studio before know how important this quality is. A+ human being, A+ hang and creative as hell.
by Nick
Ian has worked as both a sound engineer and mixer on our band Osseo’s last two projects. We’ve already began a third project in which Ian will be engineering, mixing, and producing our second full length.

Ian takes the time to learn what the artist is looking to accomplish, while adding perspective to maximize what the final release. His process is easy to work with, and I doubt we’ll work with anyone else on our future releases.
by Will Bennett
Ian mixed two tracks for me last year. He was speedy, responsive, and the mixes sounded great! Highly recommended.
by Will Bennett
Ian mixed two tracks for me last year. He was speedy, responsive, and the mixes sounded great! Highly recommended.
by Haley E Rydell
I hired Ian to mix my solo record in 2022. He has an incredible ear and a creative approach as to how to best serve each song. He was patient, kind, and a blast to work with.
by Philippe Bronchtein
I hired Ian to mix my solo record in 2021. He did an outstanding job and makes drums hit so hard while staying musical. He’s got big ears and is a delightful person to work with. Cannot recommend Ian highly enough.
by Philippe Bronchtein
I hired Ian to mix my solo record in 2021. He did an outstanding job and makes drums hit so hard while staying musical. He’s got big ears and is a delightful person to work with. Cannot recommend Ian highly enough.

Interview with Ian Olvera

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: The 2021 LP "May Day" by Trapper Schoepp. We began work on this in Summer of 2020, a certainly Challenging Time ™️. It was a very thorough production - we really get in there to chord choices, melody, lyrics, and arrangement. I also played plenty of piano, keys, organ, and so on. Full disclosure: this is a project I did NOT mix, production and engineering only.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: (March 2025) I'm currently on the road mixing monitors. When I return later this month I am due in the studio to produce two full length records by two of my favorite midwest rootsy/americana bands. April has me back on the road for a bit, and I'll return home to mix a full length from a midwest emo/rock band. More of the same for the rest of 2025 - variety is the spice of life.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Philippe Bronchtein. He is a supremely talented guy I've worked with as an artist (both myself and him), a mixer, and have hired him to play on numerous records I've produced/mixed!
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Please OVERLY communicate! Being specific about what you want, are looking for, or hoping for is so helpful. And I will communicate in kind about what I can and cannot provide.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I got into writing songs around age 10 or 11, which led to forming bands by 15. I played and toured regularly with my own bands thru my mid 20s as I always also learning to engineer and mix in the studio and run live sound. I left my last non music full time job in 2016!
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Ron Sexsmith! I got into this work by initially writing songs with and for bands growing up. RS is an always inspiring writer who has kept a wide open ear to production choices and styles the entire time.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Ask, "Does this serve the song or help the story it is trying to tell?" If you said no, skip it.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Americana and roots rock, but have also worked on pop, jazz, country, and even classical.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: When mixing I like to find a way to let the mix help the songs story and its arc. That can mean many things for many different productions or styles, but I want to avoid a "straight line" mix.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: For mixes, I like to get a rough balance relatively quickly once things are settled into my template. I don't want to spend too much time and get stuck in overthinking or getting used to the way something sound simply because I've heard it x amount of times...so I will often jump between different songs or sometimes different projects completely many times throughout the day.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I've been mixing the last several years in Pro Tools with an array of UAD hardware, plugins from Fab Filter, Sound Toys, Goodhertz, and more. I'm also surrounded by a small army of keyboards (Nord, Mellotron, Korg, Juno) as well as some Fender, Gibson, Danelecto guitars and a vox amp. I’m in the process of dialing in a hybrid analog/digital set up with API summing but we’re just not quite there yet. Sad face.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Tchad Blake and Shawn Everett certainly as mixers, Blake Mills comes to mind in production.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I'm most often contacted for mixing, often times that evolves into overdubs as needed. Production is also common.