Session Guitarist / Mixing

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: My band, Forever Vendetta, released an album called New Day Rising. This was a total labour of love and I was involved in every aspect. We wrote and recorded it in my own studio. I acted as producer, engineer and guitarist and then I also mixed and mastered the record. I am so proud of it as I poured so much into it!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm mixing some album tracks for a band local to me and writing an album of songs with a singer from the UK X Factor. Alongside this, promoting the debut album from my own band Forever Vendetta that I also mixed and mastered.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: I'm new here, so not yet!

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Analog. I love the tactical feel and interaction between real instruments and analogue gear. My digital guitar gear sounds great, but nothing matches a guitar into a real amp with a microphone in front of it. There's a natural interaction between all these things.

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: That I will always provide you with a part that serves your song and it will capture the essence of what your song is about.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: I love getting creative with so many different people across so many different genres. I'm also a total guitar gear geek so I love trying new combinations of guitars, amps and pedals in the studio.

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: Whats the turnaround? How many revisions? Can you do it for a better price? My answer to all of these is that we will discuss every aspect of this in your quote. We will sketch all this out at the quite stage and I will give the best price taking into account all the factors such as turnaround time, number of parts, revisions and more.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: That I just sit around playing guitar all day and that it's not a "proper job". Just because I love it, it doesn't mean I don't work hard.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I like to get to know the client. I think the best music is made between friends. I like to find out what they want from the guitar part, what feel they are going for and what emotions they are trying to get across with the music. If we can't be in the same room making music, we can at least capture that feeling.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: Put your trust in your musicians and don't be afraid to tell us exactly what you expect. We want your record to be the way you expect it to be. Let us know what you're thinking.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: My 1983 Strat, my Kool Amplification Blue Sky (Dumble clone), my Klon Clone, a reverb pedal and a small recording rig!

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: I've been playing guitar for nearly 20 years now and I've always wanted to make my living from music. I spent many years juggling music and a normal job before I was able to make the jump. My career path when I was 18 was simply to be a guitar player and play with as many people as I could. I love being creative and working with other creative minds. I love that the internet allows me to collaborate on projects with people I've never even met. My career path still remains the same. Working hard, doing my best and always being creative.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Soulful, concise and song serving.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: I'd love to get into the studio with John Mayer because hes such an inspirational songwriter but I'd also love to sit down with Buddy Guy and jam some blues. I think that would be inspirational on another level to sit down with a living legend.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Expensive equipment doesn't make expensive sounding records. Even cheap gear can sound amazing in the studio. It's all about the person and how they play it.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: Anything and everything, except Jazz!

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: My natural feel, my ability to create guitar parts that weave with the song, my tone and my speedy workflow.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I bring my natural style and real human feel to a song. I'm a big lover of feel in all aspects. I think a guitar part must serve the song but you really have to feel the song. There is no one stop shop to record all guitar parts, I always try to channel the feeling the artist is expressing in their song writing to ensure the parts I provide match that vibe. I also spend time making sure my tone is natural, un processed and perfect for the track on hand.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: For Guitar Recording/Writing - I will listen to the track the client sends and along with any references they may submit and spend some time getting familiar with the song structure. Then using the references, I will do a few test runs to get a feel for it. I try to keep the process as natural as possible as I feel this comes across on the final take. For Mixing/Mastering - I listen to the reference tracks and the material the client sends me before getting a rough balance in my DAW then I tweak the song to the desired result. I master to whatever standard the client needs and provide the file ready for use.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: I run a custom built PC with enough processing for even the biggest mixes. I use Waves, Steven Slate and iZotope plugins for mixing and mastering. I have a large collection of vintage and modern guitars, amps and pedals as well as all the latest modelling technology such as Line 6 Helix and Amplitube. I have a large microphone collection including recent additions by Aston.

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: John Mayer, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, BB King, Buddy Guy

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: Guitar recording (electric and acoustic), songwriting, writing a part for a song that is almost complete, mixing and mastering.