I have a large collection of eclectic instruments and hope to play one or many on your next recording! Can also make your MIDI piano into real upright piano quickly and cheaply!
I am a Greek-American composer/instrumentalist with over 20 years experience recording on film and commercial sessions in NYC. main instrument is jazz/pop piano but I have a studio full of interesting toys that I would love to record for you using gorgeous sounding BURL converters and a variety of excellent mic pres (Neve, Grace, Manley, API) and excellent mics (Lawson, Neumann, vintage Telefunkens, Coles, Earthworks, Royers). Having worked in commercials I am extremely quick and can usually turn around overdubs in a day (see pricing). Can sight-read, or play your MIDI. Please also note! I have a Yamaha upright Disklavier, which you can feed MIDI. I can quickly turn MIDI into great sounding upright parts.
INSTRUMENT COLLECTION
Ocarina (NEW!)
Hammer Dulcimer (ranges $150-$300)
Mountain Dulcimer
Harmonium (23 key)
Hohner Accordion (2-octave)
Balafon in C (2.5 Octaves from F to C)
African Harp (2 octave, tunable)
Autoharp
Melodica (soprano and tenor)
Yamaha Disklavier Upright (same as U1)
Yamaha C5 baby grand
Ukulele (bari and soprano)
Blues Harmonicas in 12 major keys
Kalimbas (3 types, C, G, and D all sort of pentatonic)
Greek Bouzouki (6 string)
Djembe
Bongos (LP)
Handbells
Windchimes, Sleighbells, Various Triangles
Toy Piano (Jaymar, 2-octave)
Various fifes, panflutes
Glockenspiel (2-octave toy-style)
Shakers, Tambourines, Claves, Guiro
Click the 'Contact' above to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you.
30 Reviews - 4 Repeat Clients
Endorse Toyroom
check_circleVerifiedExcellent excellent excellent! I really appreciated his dedication and professionalism. I will definitely work with him again.
check_circleVerifiedToyroom was very hardworking and patient. Our film took longer to edit than expected, and Toyroom was always available for revisions. Personally, Toyroom was very enthusiastic, supportive, and creative. Plus, Toyroom has a great sense of humor.
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Toyroom is great to work with! He's really nice, works really fast, and is a fantastic musician who translated a guitar demo I made to a glockenspiel part without any written music (which I can't write) and a fantastic approach. He has great instruments and makes great sounding recordings.
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Jay is great.
check_circleVerified (Client)It was a pleasure to work with you! Thanks for the opportunity :)
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Gave me exactly what I was looking for in a timely fashion. Five stars!
check_circleVerifiedToyroom was excellent to work with. I put a MIDI track through the Disklavier piano and it sounded beautiful. Toyroom was really helpful and allowed a second pass for me to make a few corrections! Will definitely be coming back!
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Very professional and polite. Very clean recordings at a fair price.
check_circleVerifiedToyroom brought the magic to our film in his beautiful and emotional music.
check_circleVerified (Client)Very easy to deal with. Sent all files and music as promised
- check_circleVerified (Client)
Provided nice lead sheets. Easy to work with
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Pleasure working with toy room his ideas are outside the box and takes production to whole other level!
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Eclectic and creative, Jay is a visionary
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toy room is exactly what he advertises, versatile, eclectic and very talented. You won't be disappointed
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This is the second or third time I have worked with Toyroom. He is very easy to work with has great ideas and brings a lot to the project
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Love collaborating!
check_circleVerifiedNice tracks. Top quality with very fast delivery. Highly recommended¡
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Consistently does great work
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Great work, very out-of-the box and original voice
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Great, heartfelt, versatile work
Interview with Toyroom
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I am playing Sandouri (the Greek version of the Dulcimer) on an independent film shot in Greece.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Analog outboard, digital inside. I wish I had time for tape but I don't
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I work alone in a quiet space.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: I haven't done a gig on here yet but I'll let you know if it comes up!
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: Sometimes people think because I am Greek that I won't be able to play jazz like an American but this is nonsense.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: I try to establish expectations very quickly, to make sure they are getting exactly what they want. Do you need this mixed or mastered? Will you need alternate takes? Is there a click?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Give me shot! I don't have huge film credits but I can really play and can make your songs sound great.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Does the computer count? I guess a loaded up UAD Apollo with every UAD plugin, a piano, a guitar, and a Roland Jupiter 8.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: My mother was a music teacher and her side of the family can all play by ear. They taught me at first and then I had other teachers. I went to a conservatory in the states and then moved to NY where I met lots of session players and became one.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Eclectic
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Before you drown an instrument in processing try getting the right mic position.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Anything!
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: I'm very fast.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: A unique perspective of having grown up on both Greek and American music.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Send me a guide track and a stem of the part you want played (a MIDI guide is a plus too) and pick your mics/pres and I will get it to you ASAP.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have a nice collection of mic pres- A neve 1073DPX (the stereo neve), a Manley Dual Mono, an API channel strip, and a Retro Instruments Powerstrip. These go into my Burl Mothership converter. Mostly I provide dry stems for someone else to mix but for some additional money I can give you a slick mix of these parts as well.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: In the film world I love Thomas Newman's music and Basil Poledouris. Music in general I love jazz and pop.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I overdub instruments from my large collection on their tracks. I either replace their MIDI or read the chart.
I was the Composer, Engineer in this production
- Film ComposerContact for pricing
- PercussionAverage price - $100 per song
- AccordionAverage price - $100 per song
- String ArrangerAverage price - $200 per song
- PianoAverage price - $150 per song
- Keyboards - SynthAverage price - $150 per song
- HarpAverage price - $100 per song
Up to 2 revisions. Stems (if applicable) included. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back! Turnaround is 2-3 days, $50 extra for 1-day or same-day turnaround.
- Eclectic
- Thomas Newman
- FILM SCORE
- Burl converters
- Neve
- Manley
- Grace
- API and RETRO mic pres/compressors. Matches Coles 4038s
- Vintage Matched Telefunken KM84s
- Neumann U87
- Royers
- Earthworks TC25s.
