Madeline Currie

Producing happens all the way through the recording process, from pre-production to mastering. A producer’s job is to help with many tasks, such as creating a budget, writing grants, booking studios and creating floor plans, communicating with the mixing/mastering engineer, writing arrangements, songwriting, giving feedback during recording sessions, and more. The ultimate goal of the producer is to help ease the load and ensure the artist achieves their vision.

Editing is the first step in the post-production process after recording is finished. It involves tasks such as putting an out-of-time performance back in time, comping together multiple vocal takes into one “perfect take”, and cleaning up noise in between instrument entrances.

Mixing involves many tasks, but the overarching goal at this step is to achieve cohesiveness between all the elements and achieve the artist’s desired aesthetic. Effects such as compression, EQ, reverb, etc. are used to control dynamics,  add a feeling of space and depth, and glue everything together.

Mastering is the final step in process before the music is distributed to streaming platforms and physical media. The mastering engineer makes sure that the loudness is at the commercial level, evens out any tonal imbalances, and sometimes may apply some subtle “sweetening” to make the mix sound better.

For editing work, please send:

1. All the audio you’re using in your mix. When I import the files into my software, everything should line up with each other.
2. Instructions on what edits you would like done. If you don’t have anything specific that you want done, I will go through the tracks and do a general cleanup and editing to put performances back in time where needed. If you’d like me to comp multiple takes together into one, please let me know which takes you would like to use.

For mixing work, please send:

1. Your edited tracks. Please make sure all editing work is clean and finished before you send it. When I import your edited tracks into my software, they should all line up.
2. Reference tracks. These are songs that have the sound you are going for in your own mix. When you send over the reference tracks, make sure you have notes accompanying them that explain what you like about them. This is especially important if you send multiple reference tracks and want me to reference specific sounds from each of them.

For producing work, please send:

1. Audio demos. These don’t have to be well-produced demos; a simple phone recording of you singing and playing guitar is enough.
2. A description of your project. Tell me about your song(s) and how you’d like me to help with your project. Some artists want help with the logistics, such as creating a budget and writing grants, while some want help with writing arrangements and bringing new ideas to their music. Before working with each other, it’s important to check if I’m the right fit for your project.

1. Get the sound as close to how you want it during the recording process, not mixing. Never fall into the trap of thinking you can “fix it in post”. If you recorded your guitar part on a Les Paul, you won’t magically be able to make it sound like a Stratocaster later on.
2. Send well-edited tracks. There shouldn’t be any pops or clicks (usually the result of not using cross-fades on every edit), and performances should be relatively in-time.
3. Avoid using vague language to communicate ideas. Part of my job is to interpret your words and translate them to sonic changes in the mix. Using effective language means less revisions, which saves time for both of us.
4. Send reference tracks. The best way to communicate what you’re looking for in your music is to send me recordings that have the sound you desire.

This largely depends on the size of your project. Mixing a folk album with just acoustic guitar and a vocal will require much less work than a full pop production with 30 tracks. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with the details of your project, and I’m happy to provide a quote.