I want to take your song from pretty good to amazing. I've worked with Slightly Stoopid, Gregory Page, and Sam Onzo. I want to make your mix as musical and punchy as possible. I want your mom to love it!
James Berry is a professional audio engineer, producer, mixer, and musician based in Los Angeles, California. After owning a studio in Chicago and working with a diverse set of artists, James moved out to the West Coast to further his audio education at San Diego-based Studio West (The Recording Arts Center), where he acquired an Occupational Associate in Recording Arts (with honors).
Fresh out of school, James began engineering at Sonic-Rocket Productions in Fallbrook, where he quickly moved up to Chief Audio Engineer. James became well-acquainted at several San Diego county studios: Studio West, Signature Sound, Rarefied Recording, & Arden Rock Records, where he worked with a diverse set of artists, helping to develop them and sound their very best.
In the summer of 2022, James moved to Los Angeles, where he now works out of NRG Recording, MIX, Union, and Zoom studios.
James has worked on a diverse set of recordings: a single collaboration with California reggae band Slightly Stoopid, hip-hop, alternative rock, singer-songwriters, and voiceover for audiobooks & hypnosis.
As a drummer and musician himself, James has a strong musical intuition, but his goal ultimately is to meet the artist where they are.
I'd love to hear about your project. Click the 'Contact' button above to get in touch.
Languages
- English
Endorse James Berry7 Reviews
James is an excellent producer that wants to ensure you're getting the best possible sound out of your music and knows exactly how to elevate your songs to their maximum potential. Watching him work in the studio is really fun in and of itself - you can tell this is his passion and it shows in the final product. Everything sounds perfectly balanced within the mix and I'm really thrilled with the results. James is also an all-around great person to talk to and hang out with - the entire process was a blast and I can't recommend him enough!
Working with James was one of the best decisions we could've made for our band. James pushed us to go further than we thought we could’ve gone. Through each step, this powerhouse consistently impressed us from producing, engineering, mixing, and mastering. During feedback, he pushed us to give notes until we were happy with the results. He worked extensively through the mixing and mastering process with great technical skill, amazing communication, and supportiveness. Equally as important, James is amazing human who is kind, fun, and easy to work with. Highly recommend.
James was great to work with! Great communication and really easy to talk to. It’s not always easy to talk about your work with other artists but James made it a safe and comfortable environment to explore creatively. It was a pleasure and I look forward to working with him again!
James is a magician! I sent over a track from our band, and he nailed it on v1. Other than our artistic choices of choosing to adjust a few things, everything was clear, punchy, and sounded like it would fit perfect on a playlist. You could hear all the details clearly, and he added a few artistic flairs too that we were really into. His response times were fast, and he didn’t waste any time with the product either.
James is the best. I record a lot. James is the reason I enjoy it so much. He’s so good at what he does. He’s efficient, talented, and every song I make is 10x better because of him. He makes me look good. He knows every trick in the book, ever plug in, has great equipment and he is obsessed with perfection which leaves me thrilled with the final result every single time.
James is absolutely fantastic to work with! I have worked with James on a variety of different projects and every time he brings lots of passion and enthusiasm to each project. He offers great input and feedback and overall just creates a very collaborative exchange. James is extremely detail oriented and timely with his turnarounds and generally with all communication. Cannot recommend hiring James to bring your project to the next level enough!
James is a consummate professional. I’ve worked with him on several releases and am always impressed with the level of care he takes to give your sound the quality it deserves. His ear for production has definitely elevated my works and he’s got a quick turnaround. Added bonus, he’s super chill to work with. If you have a project ready to go, give it James and he’ll handle it with finesse.
Interview with James Berry
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I'm working on a San Diego punk band and an acoustic version of a pop song!
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both. Analog recording chains and modern digital mixing tools.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I promise to work until you're happy.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: It scratches the left and right sides of my brain!
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Make sure all your ducks are in a row for pre-production and that you have a really solid demo before even thinking about making a final product. Spend a little bit of money and have it done right the first time.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: I am aggressive about giving the song what it needs. I try to remain objective and make sure I'm actually making the song better - not just making adjustments.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Pop punk, alternative, rock, pop, reggae, hip-hop, singer-songwriter
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: As a drummer and musician myself, I bring groove and technicality, while adding creative flair to the production to make it sound as engaging and professional as possible.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Work on arrangements, edit drums, instruments, then comp the vocals. I want the mix to sound like a "song" as fast as possible, so I do mix into a compressor and limiter.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have a treated room with an Argosy desk, PreSonus Eris E8 monitors, and Steven Slate Immersion One headphones. These allow me to test your mix or master in a variety of environments to ensure it sounds great everywhere before I even send it to you. I have used Pro Tools for 15+ years.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Mixing, mastering, production. I wanna make sure the arrangement and pre-production is ready before I ever start mixing!
I was the Mixing Engineer, Mastering Engineer, Producer, Backup Vocals in this production
- play_arrowfriend by Sam Onzo
- Mixing EngineerAverage price - $400 per song
- Mastering EngineerAverage price - $70 per song
- ProducerAverage price - $400 per song
- EditingAverage price - $40 per track
- Pop-Rock ArrangerAverage price - $70 per song
- PercussionAverage price - $70 per song
- PianoAverage price - $70 per song
- blink-182
- All Time Low
- Lorde
- Apollo 8
- UAD Satellite
- Steven Slate VSX Immersion Ones
- Topping DX5II
- PreSonus Eris E8 monitors
