StudioPros

Without a band of his own, Jeremy Bright turned to online musical collaborations to breathe new life into his songwriting.

“I’ll never be one of those people who lives for my job,” says Jeremy Bright. “I live for my off hours and my passions and my hobbies.” Bright’s passions, of course, include his music. A piano player since he was six, the Alabama-born songwriter’s love of music may have been set in motion generations before he was even around. “A lot of my family was into music, so it’s kind of in my genes,” he says. Now in Phoenix, AZ, Bright recalls his early musical influences being the soul music of his home state and the music of churches he grew up in.

And while he enjoys his day job as a software engineer, he doesn’t get his biggest fulfillment from his nine-to-five hours. Bright has been working on his latest album for three years, and he’s made collaborating with musicians online a regular occurrence. “I was in a band, but that kind of fell apart,” Bright says when explaining why he turned to the Internet to find musicians for his album. His search brought him to Studio Pros, where he explored the website and listened to demos to get a feel for whether the service would be a good fit for him. “What I heard was quality. So I gave it a shot, used Studio Pros on one of my songs. The tracks that I got back sounded good and I just kinda went from there.”

Bright used several Studio Pros services to supplement tracks he had recorded himself, choosing different Studio Pros musicians depending on what his songs needed. “I used the drummer to replace some of my drums, and on one song I used their guitar player to replace some bad tracks,” he says. “On ‘Angels Watch Over’ I used Studio Pros for the majority of the instrumentation on there.”

Listen to a clip of “Angels Watch Over” here:

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Isham knew his songs couldn’t reach their full potential in the confines of his project studio.  So he used Studio Pros’ musicians and engineers to bring them to levels he couldn’t reach on his own.

Five years ago, Studio Pros artist Isham first started getting serious about music and began exploring the many facets of being a musician. “I was torn between the artistic and technical aspect,” he says. “I love electronic instruments and old vintage stuff.” Not classically trained on any instruments, he initially relied on sequencers and software–plus a little vocal training–to take the music that was bouncing around his head and make it a reality. Isham used his home project studio to create music inspired by old R&B and soul artists such as Stevie Wonder, Prince and James Brown and electronic artists like Kraftwerk, The Crystal Method, Prodigy and Daft Punk. “I spend a lot of time in my project studio,” he says. “I use it to draft some instrumental tracks that I can share with my lyricist partners.”

Currently living near Bern, Switzerland, Isham realized he needed to take his music out of his project studio into a more viable option to create broadcast-quality recordings. So he turned to the Internet, where he found Studio Pros while searching for guitarists and vocalists to record custom tracks for his songs.

“I was already quite used to using the Internet to share my work with studios and session musicians,” Isham says. “But I was not always happy with needing to go to several places to get a final product.” He appreciated that Studio Pros was something of a “one stop shop” for all of his recording needs, from instrumental tracks to mixing and mastering. “Most of the instruments we need to do a pop/rock/electronic/R&B song are available in one place,” he notes.

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Isham was also impressed by the quality of Studio Pros’ session musicians and how quickly they could crank out quality tracks. “I’m amazed how in two or three days they can bring your instrumental tracks to another level,” he says. “And I really liked the very friendly and helpful staff. Kati is so nice and she always has good advice.”

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Chord Slinger N Lola used Studio Pros as the glue that held together their long-distance musical collaboration.

When Chord Slinger N Lola instrumentalist Don Wallingford first heard Lola sing, he immediately imagined how her voice would sound over his music. “I said, ‘My God, that would be so good for my music,’” he remembers. The only problem was that they were living in two different parts of the country: Lola sang in a metal band in New York City, while Wallingford was based in Cincinnati. “I sent her an email and asked if she’d be interested in a collaboration,” he says. “My music was very different, it was more ambient stuff. But her voice just sounded like a perfect match.”

Lola is originally from Greece, but came to America to pursue a master’s degree in psychology. Some of her influences include the Cranberries, Fiona Apple, and The Gathering; Wallingford’s inspirations skew a little more toward classic rock artists such as Simon & Garfunkel and The Who, but he also loves some modern bands such as Green Day. The two of them started putting music on websites such as Thesixtyone.com where they enjoyed some success on the charts. As they moved on to bigger sites, the duo realized they might need to start getting a little more serious about their recordings.

“We were on Reverbnation about six weeks and we were number one in the region and doing pretty well globally,” Wallingford says. “We thought, you know what, we probably need to take this to a higher level.” Inspired by all the positive feedback they were getting, they decided it was time to record in an actual studio–but there was still the problem of being in remote locations. “We had another problem because I play all these different instruments on the synthesizer, but when I use drum loops it doesn’t sound the same as a real set of drums,” says Wallingford. “I’m also not the best bass player in the world. I can’t get that professional sound because bass isn’t really my thing. When one person’s doing all of the instruments, it’s impossible to get really good quality.”

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As he was looking for options, Wallingford saw that Studio Pros had been selected by Sound on Sound magazine as the best online recording studio–which he realized was the exact type of service he needed. He soon became impressed with Studio Pros’ personnel. “I got to reading about how [Studio Pros] has all these Grammy award-winning people that really have their act together to play with you and make suggestions,” he says. “I talked to Lola and she said we should do it because we needed something studio-grade.”

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Jeff Heiniger knew the importance of a professional production–so he turned to Studio Pros when he didn’t want to settle for anything less.

Jeff Heiniger has known what goes into a professional production for a long time. In 1987, he won a national songwriting competition in the UK that was put together by Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman. The prize: a chance to record in the Stones’ state-of-the-art mobile recording studio with top producers Mick McKenna and Terry Taylor. “It was brilliant to work with actual professionals,” Heiniger remembers. “They turned our demo into something that was fantastic.”

Heiniger first started taking music lessons after getting a piano when he was 13.  He also started listening to all sorts of pop music, from Electric Light Orchestra to Depeche Mode, ABBA to The Beatles. Since winning the competition he has put together a Pro Tools-equipped home studio, but soon realized that without a professional producer behind the board he wasn’t going to achieve the same sort of radio-ready product he got with is winning song. “The problem is that I’m not an engineer, so I didn’t have anybody to record my stuff,” he explains. “What I found was really good about Studio Pros was that the production was sort of taken out of my hands in a way.”

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When he found the Studio Pros website, Heiniger was actually looking for session vocalists on the web. “I couldn’t find anyone locally who was any good,” he says. “It’s quite laborious, taking your music to a recording studio and finding an engineer who will record a session singer who you may not like. It seemed quite a lengthy process, and one that may not yield results at the end of the day.” He found himself intrigued by the Studio Pros website. “The site itself looked very professional. Professionalism and price were important.”

With Studio Pros, Heiniger was able to focus on writing a song on piano, then letting our team of world-class studio musicians build the rest from the ground up. Along the way, he would provide input and feedback to make sure everything came together how he wanted it. In order to make it easier, Heiniger would provide reference tracks with other music that matched the vibe he was going for with each song.

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A seasoned songwriter and poet, Rich Marcello teamed up with Studio Pros to give his productions the professional edge he needed, and keeps on coming back for more.

Boston based songwriter Rich Marcello is no novice when it comes to getting out the ink and jotting it down.  With over 30 songs professionally produced with Studio Pros, he’s gotten the continual experience of producing his tracks online, and is regularly bringing Studio Pros more material to produce.  “I’ve been writing for around 20 years,” says Marcello.  “At first I did a lot of the production myself but several years ago I decided to get them professionally produced, which was one of the best decisions I ever made.”

Marcello came across Studio Pros (which was at the time DrumsForYou.com) through an online search and decided to give it a try.  Starting with just a drum track, he heard the quality of Studio Pros’ production team and decided to try it out for a full production.  “By letting other really talented musicians work on my material it really took my work to a much better place. I knew I found a great partner in music and I’ve felt that on every song Studio Pros has done for me.  I think Studio Pros is the best in the business–I won’t ever use anyone else,” Marcello stated.

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David Llorente used Studio Pros for his first professional project and was blown away not only by the musicianship, but by how much they cared.

“It was probably one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had as a musician.”

That’s how David Llorente feels about his time working with Studio Pros. “Just going through all the processes, seeing what people have to do to get a professional track cut. I didn’t know how long it took. I didn’t know everything that was involved from start to finish. And now, having gone through it with Studio Pros, I’m never gonna forget it. It was awesome.”

Llorente, a Nashville-area singer/songwriter, was hunting down recording options online when he discovered Studio Pros. “I really wanted to get this project out, it was real heavy on my heart,” he remembers. “I read about Studio Pros and thought, ‘that’s a good idea.’” Though intrigued by the idea, Llorente still needed convincing that Studio Pros was the best choice for his music. All it took to persuade him was a little research and a phone call to head of production Kati O’Toole.

“The credentials behind the staff are amazing,” he explains. “I actually went and checked out Katie’s albums that she had done. She’s not just a producer, but she’s a musician and songwriter.” Knowing that his songs were in the hands of fellow musicians put Llorente at ease. “I could hear that she’s passionate about what she’s doing. It was cool to have some people that really cared.”

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Ever wondered how a full music production is made?  Here’s the step-by-step process of how Tim Knighton produced his first song.

It all starts with an idea.  In Tim Knighton’s case, it was an idea for his original song called “Hail the Woman,” one of many tunes he wanted to record for an album.  ”The website was easy to use,” he explains.  ”So I picked a track that I knew I’d want to put on the album and thought I’d give it a try.”  Knighton recorded a scratch version of the song and sent in to Studio Pros to kickstart the production process.

Listen to Tim Knighton’s original version of “Hail the Woman:”

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The first step for Studio Pros was sending him a sketch of the song, which included a guitar part under his original vocals.  (This sketch is used as a guide for the rhythm section to record their parts over later and won’t actually appear in the final product.)

“Hail the Woman” song sketch:

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When Knighton approved the sketch, that was when the fun began.  Piece by piece, Studio Pros’ world-class session musicians laid down their parts (drums, bass, guitars, keys). Knighton received mp3 rough mix previews after each new instrument was recorded to make sure he was completely happy with the production every step of the way.  With each instrument that was recorded, Tim had a chance to give feedback and make one free modification per instrument to ensure he was happy with the instrumentation as it unfolded.  Once he approved the drums, it moved to bass, then final guitars and keys.

Drum track:

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Laying down the bass:

Recording the guitar track:

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Keyboard recording:

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Laying down professional vocals and putting on the finishing touches.

Then came the element that Knighton felt was the most crucial aspect of his song: vocals.  ”I’m a big believer that we’re all given certain gifts and abilities,” he says, contemplating his role in the music world.  ”And the one I wasn’t given was singing, much to my annoyance.”  But instead of worrying about his own perceived musical shortcomings, he chose to use a professional vocalist provided by Studio Pros to breathe new life into his songs.  After sampling different singers on the Studio Pros website, he decided that Phil (pictured, right) would be the best fit for his material.  ”From the first track Phil did, I knew this was absolutely the guy who could make a real difference on my songs,” he says.

Vocal preview:

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With the instrumental and vocal tracks complete, the homestretch of the recording process involved mixing and mastering the song by Studio Pros’ Grammy-nominated engineer.  The final product had taken the song from an idea bouncing around Knighton’s head to a fully realized, professionally polished production in almost no time at all.

“Hail the Woman” final production:

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From his first song to his first album: Knighton makes his dream a reality. (more…)

In need of professional studio musicians to make his vision come alive, Tom Gray and Studio Pros made the perfect recordings of his most personal songs.

Tom Gray grew up near Cleveland, Ohio, where he found himself involved in both the local jazz and rock scenes. A performer and composer, Gray was also classically trained as a singer, adding yet another facet to his diverse musical upbringing. But with the music he’s made with Studio Pros, he’s taken his versatile musical skill set and applied it all to pop music (“It has been really strange to find my ‘pop’ voice,” he admits).

But even as a pop artist, Gray lets his many musical roots show through often. “There’s a song called ‘Go’ that is almost like an avant garde jazz tune,” he says. “On the surface it’s approachable, but there is some really complex content (harmonic, meter, and structure) in there without sounding ‘jazzy.’”

Gray used Studio Pros as a tool to take some music that had been close to his heart for years and turn it into something tangible. “This album has been a long time in the making,” he says. “They are gems that I had written for myself but haven’t performed with anyone else. They’ve very intimate, very personal.” But after finding Studio Pros via a web search, Gray found a resource that helped him recapture and discover new inspiration in his own songs. “It’s funny, some of these songs are 15 years old and I’ve demoed them to death,” he says. But working with Studio Pros’ world-class session musicians helped him breathe new life into music he may otherwise left behind.

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Tim and Christopher Allen decided to use Studio Pros to breathe a little life into their recordings.  In the end, they ended up getting a bit more than that.

Along with Brad Ackerman (drums) and Kristin Allen (vocalist), Tim and Chris Allen form the band Allenton Hill, who cite influences as diverse as Owl City (on the song “Fireworks,” listen below) and Switchfoot.  ”Truthfully, most of our music has been influenced by three main bands: Hillsong, Phil Wickham, and Coldplay,” says Tim, who plays lead guitar, does some singing, and is the principal songwriter of the group.  He’s been playing music with his brother Chris, who sings and plays acoustic guitar and piano, since they were kids.  ”When we were young, we were always around music,” Tim remembers.  ”Most everyone in my family plays an instrument or two… Eventually the music fever hit Chris and me.”

“Dad always turned up the music when we were driving around and he’d have me pick out all of the instruments,” says Chris.  ”This led to me having significant appreciation for the details in music.”

The members of Allenton Hill, all in their early twenties, got together when they began to play at a local Youth Center in their hometown of Dayton, OH in 2006.  They met Ackerman, who has now been playing drums for about 16 years, when he ended up living at their house for a short time.  Although he currently lives in Nashville, Ackerman drives up to Ohio every week to be with the band.

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Roger Miller, like many musicians, is a bit of a perfectionist. Luckily, Studio Pros is full of perfectionists as well.

At the beginning of summer 2009, Roger Miller acquired the funding he needed to record a full-length album of his Christian alternative acoustic music. In order to get a professional sounding product, Miller decided he would head to Nashville, TN, rent out a recording studio, hire session musicians, and put together an album that could hold its own against any major label production. But during his online search for recording studios, he came across a more convenient option that caught his attention: Studio Pros.

Unsure of whether or not Studio Pros could really deliver the top quality product he was looking for, Miller sent in just one song to test the waters. The final product convinced him to continue on with his entire album. “The final album and the songs, they exceeded my expectations quality-wise,” Miller says.

Miller sang, played guitar and even some cello on his songs, but one of his favorite parts of the process was working with the professional studio musicians that Studio Pros provided. Through this recording process, Miller had access to some of the best musicians in LA playing on his songs, while still involving him in the production of his album. “Going into it, I had pretty high standards,” Miller says. But he was impressed with the caliber of playing he received. “The drum tracks were incredible. They were a lot better than I thought they were going to be. The backing vocals were stellar.” Miller used a strategy that combined using his own very specific musical ideas in conjunction with letting the musicians improvise and do their own thing when the songs called for it.

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