Mixing is the part of the music production process where you balance all the tracks, give space and clarity to each instrument, and put them together to form a cohesive whole.
My goal in mixing your music is to help you get the sound you want. Tell me what you want to hear. Or tell me about some of your favorite artists and what you like about their sound, and I'll bring those elements to your mix.
If your music is already mixed or is "almost" there, you may want to consider mastering.
While I do happily accept complete Pro Tools sessions (see below), I more commonly receive songs "tracked out." This mean that you send an audio file for every track of your song (wav or aiff).
You'll want to make sure that each audio file starts at the beginning of your song/session. That way when I import the individual audio files into my Pro Tools HDX system, there won't be any syncing issue with individual instruments in your music. Not sure how to do that? Click below to see how.
If your rough mix has effects you love, feel free to apply them to your tracks before you send (AudioSuite effects, rendered effects, etc.) If you have an idea of what effect you want but don't want to send a permanently "effected" track, feel free to send two versions — one with and one without. Or you can send just the original version and let me know what specific effect you'd like on it.
If your music is already mixed or almost there, you may want to consider mastering.
You can send your files through my get started page.
(Upload file size limit is 2gb. If your files are larger, contact me and we'll figure it out.)
$125/song
You'll receive an invoice after your songs are uploaded (payable with a paypal account or credit card).
Your music will be completed as soon as payment has gone through.
You can always email me if you have any questions.
Mastering is the last step of the production process when your mix sounds good on its own but needs that extra little push to make it come alive. A mastered song sounds great across all listening platforms (i.e. on the radio, in your car, on your home speakers, etc.) and when stacked up against your favorite recordings.
When you have me master your music, the overall loudness, punchiness, low-end, brightness, and width of your mix will stand tall next to your favorite bands. If you have me master a full-length record, all the songs will sound good together.
Let me know about your favorite records and I'll use them as a reference. Otherwise I'll use my best judgment and industry standards.
If your mix is close but you're not sure if it needs straight mastering, you may want to consider stem mastering.
A WAV or AIFF file of your song(s).
(Make sure to leave at least 3db of head room and do not use any limiting on your master bus/fader).
You can send your files through my get started page.
$25/song
You'll receive an invoice after your songs are uploaded (payable with a paypal account or credit card).
Your music will be completed as soon as payment has gone through.
You can always email me if you have any questions.
If you're not familiar with stem mastering, here are the basics:
Stem mastering is somewhere between straight mixing and mastering. It's a hybrid of both, enabling the mixer to isolate parts of the arrangement to make subtle changes to an instrument group, while keeping other instrument sounds intact.
For example, say you need to boost the middle frequencies on the vocals. On a straight master, when you boost the middle on the vocals, it affects the same frequencies on every other instrument at the same time (i.e snare, guitars, etc). But say the snare already has enough middle frequencies and much more would diminish it. This is where stem mastering comes in. It allows you to boost or cut that middle frequency for any group, while keeping the snare, guitars, and other instruments unaffected.
The individual groups of tracks/files are called "stems." They're a single audio file made up of the specific instrument group (for example, all of the vocals including main vocals and backups). To get them to stem form, you simply solo them all together in your session and export them as a single audio file. Unlike mixing, you should leave all of your effects, volumes, pan, etc. intact when making the stem.
You may want to stem master your track if:
It's very subjective whether your song needs stem mastering or not. If you're in doubt, feel free to send me an audio file or link to your song. I'd be happy to let you know if I think you should use stems or not.
Up to 10 stem files per song, depending on how much flexibility you want to give me (more stems means more control).
Typical stems are as follows:
Singer/songwriter
Electronic/computer-based music
Music with live drums
Please make sure that all of your stem files start from the very beginning of your session/song. Not sure how to do that? Follow the instructions below:
You can send your files through my get started page.
(Upload file size limit is 2gb. If your files are larger, contact me and we'll figure it out.)
Please keep in mind that stem mastering does not usually include automation (volume rides, EQ changes from section-to-section, etc.), so make sure your automation is intact when you export your stems.
$80/song
You'll receive an invoice after your songs are uploaded (payable with a paypal account or credit card).
Your music will be completed as soon as payment has gone through.
You can always email me if you have any questions.
Production is where you take a song idea or melody and build an arrangement or song recording around it. For example, if you're an aspiring singer who writes great melodies and lyrics but don't necessarily have the time or expertise to write and record complete arrangements around those ideas, production might be the way you want to go.
As a published and award-winning songwriter and arranger, I'm here to help you bring out the best in your music and get it to the final stage of a mastered song.
If you already have a completely recorded arrangement, you might want to consider mixing or mastering.
Your song idea.
Many clients send me a single vocal track that they recorded on something as simple as a smart phone. I also accept demo tracks that include acoustic guitar, piano, etc.
All I really need is the basic idea of your song — a lyric, a melody, or a basic arrangement (use a separate track for each instrument). Then you can direct me where you want the song to go. Tell me about an artist you love whose sound you'd like to use as a reference (i.e, a dance song like Katy Perry's Firework).
Or you can be as general as you'd like. For instance, you can tell me to make it a certain style (soft, heavy, upbeat) or genre (rock, pop, country, indie). Just point me in the general direction you'd like to take the song.
Of course we'll always stay in contact to make sure it's heading in the right direction every step of the way, from the basic rough to the final master.
Send your file(s) through my get started page.
$350/song
The Breakdown:
You'll receive an invoice after your song ideas are uploaded (payable with a paypal account or credit card).
Your music will be completed as soon as payment has gone through.
You can always email me if you have any questions.
"I love how you polished up the song. My vocals sound incredible. I don't know what you did, but you're truly amazing!"
Lyndsay James
"Thank you for this! We're extremely excited about getting played on the radio! It was amazing working with you and we really can't thank you enough for doing this for us."
Swim To Sydney
"I'm so happy I reached out to you. You managed to get my bass line punchier and clearer in one day than I could in two weeks. Thank you so much for the quick turnaround."
Weegee
"I would definitely send this to commercial radio."
Aaron Axelsen, Live105
"We LOVE the mixes and sent them out immediately. We had a great time working with you!"
Airborne
"Thanks again for everything. It was a really awesome, fun experience for us, and we learned a lot."
South Hero
"We all really enjoyed the process and working with you."
Jeff Wieland, Facebook
"I was thinking about starting to mix myself, but you've saved me from having to stress about it. I've found my new mixing engineer. Thanks Monty!"
Jason Herberg
I originally got into music because of my dad. I grew up surrounded by every kind of music, instruments, and lots of gear. One of my earliest baby pictures shows him holding me and playing a guitar at the same time. You could say I was hooked from day one.
I started playing in bands in middle and high school, all while making garage recordings on old tape decks and 4-track recorders. After years of trial and error in songwriting and recording, by college my band was signed to a record label and getting air time on Bay Area and national radio stations.
Once my band was signed, I wanted to know everything possible about making a record and promoting our band. I jumped at the chance to be an intern at the label that signed us. Eventually, after working with countless bands doing everything from stamping promotional packages to micing drums, I was brought on full time by the label as head tracking engineer.
Then I started mixing in my spare time. At the same time, my own band was getting exposure through radio play, touring, and getting reviews in online and print magazines.
After several years of full on producing and only messing around with mixing, I finally felt like I was getting the hang of it and decided to not only produce my band's next record, but also mix it. I was nervous — I'd never had my name on a project as sole mixing engineer before. But I did my best and sent if off, eagerly awaiting the critical media's crushing blow.
Luckily the opposite happened. The recording was welcomed with open arms. It received respectable radio play. It secured licensing deals with ESPN, Showtime, the CW, and on mobile apps. It was also placed in a couple indie features. The coolest thing was that it helped us win a Bay Area competition to open at Oracle Arena in Oakland for MUSE, AFI, 30 Seconds to Mars, Vampire Weekend, and Metric. There's nothing like playing an arena in front of thousands of people.
Since then, I've focused more on helping other artists bring a professional shine to their mixes. Many of my clients have received radio airplay and critical acclaim from my mixes. I still love playing and writing music myself, but there's something really special about helping an artist produce a sound that stands on its own and is something we can both be proud of.
If you have any questions feel free to email me. If you're ready to send your song files, you can do so below.
Along with your name and email, please make sure to write down the following important information in the upload message box:
For Mixing:
For Mastering/Stem Mastering:
For Production:
Please make sure to write down the following important information in the message box:
I look forward to hearing your music!
Depending on the size of your session, sending it to me online can sometimes take a little while, especially if there is unneeded data in your session audio folder.
What do I mean by unneeded data? Check this out:
Pro Tools saves all audio that you record or import. All of it. Even though you may delete a vocal take from your session edit window, it doesn't mean Pro Tools deletes that audio file. It removes it from what's being used in your music and saves it deep in the audio folder.
This guide will show you how to make a copy of your session with only the audio that you're actually using in your timeline. This will drastically cut down on the upload time for your songs.
Don't worry. You won't destroy or delete any data by following this guide. You'll simply be making a copy of the data in its most compact form, bringing over only the audio/tracks/automation that are in your timeline.
First of all, Save As your session so you can go back if you have any problems.
1. Delete your unused playlists (if you don't use playlists, go to step 2)
2. Remove your unused clips/audio
3. Click File < Save Copy In
4. Find your new saved folder and compress it
5. Send it over!
You can send your files through my get started page.
(Upload file size limit is 2gb. If your files are larger, contact me and we'll figure it out.)
When you send your audio files to me, they all need to be the same length so there won't be any syncing issues when I import your files into my Pro Tools HDX system.
What do I mean by syncing issues?
When you import an audio file into your session, Pro Tools automatically places the file at the beginning of your session. For example: Say you have a clap that comes in only on the choruses. If you send me a file with the clap that is only the length of the chorus, it will be placed at the beginning of the session when I import it and I won't know where it should actually go. To ensure I know where each track should go, make sure each instrument/audio file is the length of the entire song, starting at the beginning of the session. By doing so, Pro Tools will place each file at the beginning of the session, the files will be silent when their instrument isn't playing, and will play the instrument when it's supposed to be played.
First, Save As your session so you can go back if there are any problems.
1. In your edit window, select All in the group menu (this will select your all group, so any changes you make will happen to all tracks in your session).
2. Highlight starting from a little after the last clip in your session and drag all the way to the beginning of your session so that all clips are darkly highlighted from the beginning to the end of the song.
3. Press Shift+Option+3This will consolidate all your audio files into the same length as one another (on pc it's Shift+control+3).
4. With all of your tracks consolidated and still highlighted, press Shift+command+k (shift+control+k on a pc). A dialog box will come up.
5. Send it over!
First, Save As your session so you can go back if there are any problems.
1. In your session, go to file < export < all tracks as audio
2. Set the save format to WAVE.
3. Leave bit depth as is.
4. Select a save destination you can easily find (I also recommend making a new folder to export all of the files to).
4. Hit Save.
5. Send it over!
Unfortunately I'm not familiar with other audio software exporting options. But google is a great resource!
You can also try your software's documentation regarding exporting song-length audio files.
You can send your files through my get started page.
(Upload file size limit is 2gb. If your files are larger, contact me and we'll figure it out.)