Cello! My name is Nolan Neal! Currently based in Nashville. I'm an accomplished professional singer & performer for the past 15+ years. I'm also an accomplished producer, mix & mastering engineer, multi-instrumentalist & hit songwriter. I have a soulful, raspy voice and I can create beautiful top-line vocals as well as complex harmonies.
I have written and performed alongside the likes of Rob Cavallo, Steve Thompson, Desmond Child, Shinedown, Saliva, Parmalee, Tonic, and has also produced, mixed & mastered songs for many artists - including Saliva, HINDER, Trey Lewis, Alisan Porter, Adam Wakefield, Aaron Gibson, Josh Gallagher, Adam Cunningham and more.
I care a lot about the quality of the projects I work on and I am very flexible in terms of adapting to your vision to help attain the best possible outcome!
In 2016 I turned 4 chairs on THE VOICE and in 2020, I went all the way to the SEMI-FINALS on AGT (America’s Got Talent). My abilities have been evaluated by the best in the business! This relevant experience I bring to ALL my projects.
TESTIMONIALS
"Nolan's effortless, soulful raspiness in his voice – I’ve wanted that voice my whole life. There aren't many guys who can sing in that way.”
~ ADAM LEVINE
"You are made of the thing that inspires the next generation to reach inside and find their voice. You’re a classic all-timer."
~ ALICIA KEYS
"You are a REAL soul singer!"
~ FAITH HILL
"Nolan was somebody that I would want to see for 2 hours playing music"
~ TIM MCGRAW
Collaborating and creating new projects is my passion. I look forward to working with you on your project.
Contact me through the green button above and let's make a hit together.
Send me a note through the contact button above.
Credits
Languages
- English
14 Reviews
Endorse Nolan Neal
check_circleVerifiedNolan is a brilliant vocalist. He sang on a short demo of mine and it was perfect. There is grit and soul in his wonderful voice, and he brought my song to life. He seemed to know exactly what my song needed.
There is a vulnerability in his tone which gave my song just the right amount of emotion and passivity. Thanks Nolan. Hope I can get you on board to sing on my full song! Very pleased with your vocal on my song. It was perfect!
Big thanks to yer brother
check_circleVerifiedThere was no doubt in my mind that he was THE only vocalist I wanted to have sing on the song I wrote about my precious mother on her cancer journey. I knew how phenomenal he already was, but never I expected the magnitude of his magnificence... I want to write more, but SB won't let me :( I am so honored and immensely blessed... Nolan is simply The Best!!!
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Better than Advertised! You truly are magic. I appreciate your dedication and your willingness to listen. As a producer incredible! It was truly and enjoyable process and I look forward to future projects we do together.
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Besides the fact that Nolan is super talented in every aspect , he’s very down to earth, he’s a lot of fun to work with, made me feel at ease which was really important since I’m not a writer at all! He’s creative and just genuinely a nice guy! Immediately felt like we were old friends. I very highly recommend Nolan! Hope to work with him again in the future!!
By far, the best songwriter I know. He makes every song we work on sound like a timeless hit, it’s almost sickening how natural these ideas come out of him. He’s also an equally amazing guitarist, vocalist, and producer. If you’re thinking about hiring Nolan, do yourself a favor and just DO IT.
2014 found us looking for a new singer for our band. The A & R chic made several suggestions, among which was Nolan Neal.
Ya, never heard of him I said. Months latter we met in Nashville at gig he was playing. Wow, was I blown away. What an amazing voice. Within a few weeks we were making magic happen in the studio and in short order, became close friends. Never had I worked with anyone as talented and humble as Nolan. He is an amazing human being, great singer, musician, and song writer. It is my honor to endorse Nolan Neal!
I’ve been in the music business my whole adult life and I love Nolan Neal as an artist and songwriter! His writing is so unique and different from the status quo!
Nolan is one of the most talented singers/writers/producers I know!
Nolan is an amazingly talented musician and producer...any project that I have done with Nolan has turned out exponentially better than I ever expected!! I would totally recommend Nolan but only if you want an outstanding result 😎
Hands down the most talented dude I’ve ever met and had the privilege to work with. I know it gets said a lot but the term “beast” is the only one I can think of. If you want high quality material, he’s your go to guy.
Nolan is one of the most talented artists I know. His passion and sensibilities for everything from vocals to production to mixing are phenomenal. Highly recommend!
Nolan and I met as contestants on Season 11 of NBC's The Voice. Not only did I get to experience his one-of-a-kind charisma and earthly energy first-hand, his talent is a gift from the rock gods. He's easily become "musical kin" - and believe me, the honor is all mine. Besides his incredible vocal chops (like ugh!) his production skills are not of this planet. He is producing my next album and I cannot be more excited every time I walk into his studio. He plays everything he pretty much touches and adds musical seasoning that would take me too long to find. Whimsically tasteful. That sauce!
I've had the great pleasure of working with Nolan for several years. He is a top class vocalist, always prepared, always making the "ink" lots better, more commercial. Where I come from,"commercial" is not a dirty word, it's about having clients call you again and again. Whatever Nolan tackles, be it producing, arranging, singing, advising, you can be sure he gives it everything he has, heart and soul. He's a powerhouse!
Nolan has an amazing ear for song and production. He has the unteachable knack for the most essential elements of music.
Interview with Nolan Neal
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: My neumann TLM 103, my neve mic pre, my laptop, my apollo Twin quad, and my Taylor acoustic guitar
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started out singing on the street, then signed with Hollywood records, then Virgin records, then I signed many publishing deals then went on to do TV shows like the voice and AGT. Now I'm focused on touring and producing other artists.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Modern southern pop rock
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Alicia Keys, because she has always inspired me with her spirit and songwriting!
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: It's all about mic placement and mic selection and NOT EQ
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Rock, pop, country, hard rock, metal
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Singing like a legend!
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I sing the hell out of peoples songs and I put my soul into each line!
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I put my entire heart and soul into everything I do. I usually start out with an acoustic or piano vocal then I build the track from there.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: INSTRUMENTS Taylor Acoustic - Custom GO, Grand Pacific Gibson Les Paul Studio Electric Guitars - 2 total - 1 red & 1 blue Fender - Jaguar Bass Epiphone Hollow body Electric Accessories Boss Tuner D’addario guitar strings Earnie Ball Guitar Strings GUITAR PROCESSORS/FX/ Fractal - Axe FX ii COMRESSORS UREI 1176 Compressor MIC PRE-AMPS / BAE - 1073 Microphone preamp Great River ME-1NV Vintech Dual 72 Universal Audio - Apollo Twin X MKii, INTERFACE Universal Audio - Apollo Twin X MKii, Apollo OCTO Satellite - TONS of UAD Powered plugins, LUNA and all the extensions SPEAKERS Mackie HR8-24 Studio Monitors Ik Multimedia MTM iLoud Monitors Ik Multimedia iLoud micro monitors Neumann M149 tube mic Neumann TLM 103 Neumann KM184 Telefunken AK-47 Microphone Headphones - Beyer Dynamic DT-770 Bose Quiet Comfort - MKii COMPUTERS MAC PRO - Trashcan - 12 Cores & 128gb RAM MacBook Pro - 2016 16gb RAM Mackie HR8-24 Studio monitors DAW / RECORDING SOFTWARE Avid ProTools Ultimate Logic Adobe Premiere Pro Final Cut Pro X
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Dave Pensado, Rob Cavallo, Chris Lord Alge
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Male vocals, production, mixing, mastering, and toplining.
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I was somehow able to talk NBC's The Voice runner-up Adam Wakefield into cutting an old song of mine called "Blame It On Me". I knew the first time I heard Adam sing that his voice was more suited for that song than mine! After a good two months of pestering him, and his manager, and his band, lol.... he finally hired me to produce & mix "Blame It On Me". We tracked it at Benchamark Studios in Nashville with some of the best session players in town. Adam and I spent 3 nights tracking the vocals because I wanted to capture all 3 of his personalities on the record. We cut 83 vocal takes in total. 30 with Adam drunk on Angel's Envy whiskey, 30 with him stoned as Mount Rushmore, and 23 sober as he could be. It was the perfect mix! I used his laid back, raspy stoned vocals on the verses - his sober takes on the strong 1st & 2nd chorus - then I comp'd in his feel-good whiskey buzzed vocals on the last chorus with all the fun add libs and runs! We used my publisher's office, after hours, to track his vocals and mix. So we stole the pillows off all the couches (on both floors) and stacked them up against the walls with chairs, trash cans, and anything else we could find ot keep 'em from falling. I mixed B.O.M "in the box" on my 2015 MacBook pro, then we'd run to the parking lot and reference the low end in his fancy new truck he won from The Voice. :) Man, what a good time. "Blame It On Me" quickly broke 2 million streams on Spotify & gained traction on satellite and terrestrial radio. To this day it's still Adam's most successful release.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I'm currently tracking the last couple of songs to my 5th studio album "Lost For The Last Time" - which I'll be mixing and mastering as well. This record is my greatest effort - as I've been working on it for over 2 years. I know these lockdowns have been rough on us all, but they've also given me time to learn how to program (and record) strings, get familiar with the 10k sounds in Omnisphere, and improve on my mixes with new & innovative tools like Access Analog's "in the cloud" robot-remote-controlled analog gear... and iZotope's Ozone 9 & RX-8 I'm also producing, mixing & mastering a record for one of my fellow contestants from The Voice, Tarra Layne! She's like a mixture between Janice Joplin, and someone you've never heard before. She belts like a drunk stepdad! ;) The world is gonna love her new music, and I'm honored AF that she chose me to take care of her song-babies. I'm looking forward to taking care of your song babies too! Hit me up and let's chat about your next project!
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Yes! Adam Neilson! He's the best pop producer I've ever worked with! And he is my GO-TO vocal producer for my music! He's also got his shit together and always delivers on time. You'll never be sorry you chose Adam Neilson to make your music shine!
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Analog for all tracking and for the "star players" of the mix. Because binary code writers still ain't figured out the math behind the magic of REAL analog class-A mic preamps, EQ's and compressors! They're super close - but for me - it takes MUCH longer to get to my final "tone" destination when using digital simulators. I'd much rather throw up one of my Neumann tube mics, crank up the drive a little on my Neve, then hit the needle to my vintage 1176 a tad - and wallah! In less than a minute I've got my sound dialed in and can get to creating! BUT! .... If I didn't have all my badass gear, I wouldn't let that stop me from making music! As they say, it's the ears - not the gear. Hell, I've made killer recordings with a 50 dollar mic, a Hewlett Packard, and a ripped copy of Acid Music 2.0. ;) If a song is a hit - it's gonna be a hit - even if you record it on a potato.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I promise to put my ENTIRE heart and soul into every millisecond of their song....and I'll make as many revisions as it takes for them to be 110% happy with the final mix!
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I love the look on people's faces when they get to hear the final mix of their song! That's what makes me work so hard! I'll never forget the first time I got a mix back from the studio. Me and my bandmates blasted it on repeat the whole ride home! We were rockstars that day. And I want other musicians to feel that high! That's what's kept me going for over 20 years.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: What do I charge to sing a song or to produce and/or mix a track. My answer is: It all depends on the complexity of the song and whether or not I connect with the vibe. If their song lyrics call women bitches and hoes... or mention popping pillies and drinking an ice cold bud light on a Friday night - then I ain't singing it. No matter how much money they offer me.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That it's super easy to deliver a powerful & timeless vocal performance. Haha If you asked the guys from Hinder, or some of my songwriting buddies like Al Detrolio, Lee Pinson, or Jeremy Bussey... they'd tell you about the lesions on my throat after screaming a song at the top of my lungs for hours on end... just to capture the right emotion on tape (or hard drive, rather). On the super heavy stuff like "Climb" by Al Detrolio or "Rather Hate Than Hurt" by Hinder...I sang so hard, for so long that my throat started bleeding and I couldn't talk for a couple of days afterwards. But if the melody moves me and I feel like the lyrics could inspire someone or help through a heartbreak... then it's worth swallowing some blood.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: One of the first things I ask artists and/or songwriters is to send me links to a couple of their favorite productions with notes on what they like about each one. - i.e. "IRIS by The Goo Goo Dolls has the drum sound I'm looking for - or - "I want the vocals to have the same vibe as SECOND CHANCE" by ShineDown!" That really helps me nail the sound they'd envisioned.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Don't be afraid to ask for revisions! As an artist & a songwriter - I know firsthand how much it sucks to get a final mix that you aren't happy with, or to have to give disclaimers before you let anyone hear it! What makes me love my job is the look on people's faces when they hear their song come to life just like they'd envisioned it or better!
I was the everything in this production
- Singer - MaleAverage price - $400 per song
- Songwriter - LyricContact for pricing
- Top line writer (vocal melody)Average price - $150 per song
- ProducerContact for pricing
- Pop-Rock ArrangerContact for pricing
- Songwriter - MusicContact for pricing
- Mixing EngineerContact for pricing
TERMS OF SERVICE
Turn-around time is 3-6 days unless other arrangements are made. 2 revisions free (unless major). Big revisions are extra.
Writing/publishing/and master share is negotiable.
- Chris Stapleton
- Bryan Adams
- Ed Sheeran
- Taylor Acoustics
- Neumann M147
- Neumann KM 184
- Neumann TLM 103
- Telefunken AK47
- BAE 1073
- Great River ME-1NV mic pre - Vintech Dual 72 mic pre
- AVID ProTools Ultimate
- Apollo Twin X MKii w OCTO Satellite
- Fractal Axe FX2
10% off for soundbetter members!
