If you need a banging mix at an even better price, then you have come to the right place. Jalen is here to address all of your audio needs, and take your mix to the next level!
Jalen is a mixing engineer who resides in Charlotte, NC. He began his journey as a student at the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS). There, he graduated in the top 97th percentile, and went on to complete an internship under J-Stylz (member of grammy-nominated R&B group Blackstreet). He is now freelancing, and ready to work with you!
Contact me through the green button above and let's get to work.
Credits
4 Reviews - 2 Repeat Clients
Endorse Jalen Booker- check_circleVerified
I am not sure if he knows the difference he did not follow my instructions and he changed the direction of the song
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A true professional and very talented. Thank you for your work !
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Patient thru it all even when I had many suggestions. Ultimately got the sound that I wanted. Would highly recommend! Thanks Jalen!
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Interview with Jalen Booker
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Digital all the way! These days, plugin emulations sound so close to the real thing! Digital is also much more convenient, and cost-efficient than analog.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I love that this job gives me the flexibility to think creatively on a daily basis. This is the only job that I have ever had that has truly challenged me to think outside of the box with every project I take on.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: I would bring my MacBook, my Audient iD14, my Sennheiser HD 600's, my studio monitors, and my Shure SM57!
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started my journey as a student at the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS). I graduated in the top 97th percentile, and then went on to intern under J-Stylz (member of grammy-nominated R&B group Blackstreet). After I completed the internship, I took all of the skills that acquired and began freelancing. I have being doing this for around 5 years now.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: I would definitely describe my mixing style as aggressive. I love mixing drums that really get the mix knocking, and an aggressive 808, or bass-line.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I would love to work with 6LACK one day. I love the vulnerability that he provides in his music, and I can really tell that he puts his all into his music.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: One music production tip would be to always maintain headroom when mixing. There is no cleaning up a distorted mix!
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Most of the music that I work on is Hip-Hop/R&B.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: I believe that my strongest skill is communication. I understand the amount of trust that it takes to hand over your creation to a trusted professional. With that being said, I try to communicate as much as possible, so you can be sure the process is always moving in the right direction.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I pride myself on bringing energy and aggression to every mix that I work on. Making the drums knock is my specialty!
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: When I upload a session into Pro Tools, I always start with gain staging! From there, I will pull up the faders and begin working on a rough balance of the instrumental. Once that is complete, I bring in the vocals and begin to dial everything in to taste.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I work through a completely digital setup! My audio interface is connected by USB to my MacBook. I use the Audient iD14 to power my headphones and monitors. All of my mixing is done through Pro Tools.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: MixedbyAli is definitely one of my top inspirations. His ability to achieve such clarity in the mix is something that I have always strived for. I am also a huge fan of the way he leaves his sonic footprint on anything that he touches.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: The most common type of work that I do for my clients is mixing & mastering.
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I am especially proud of the mix that I was able to achieve on a track called "Rain", by David Ladwig. He sent me the instrumental, along with a file of his raw vocals. I was able to add in a ton of stereo widening, and pitch shifting effects to the vocals, and we were both very happy with the final result!
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: At the moment, I am working on multiple projects, remotely, from my home studio.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: I am very familiar with the work of audio engineer Jordan Criddle. He works out of his home studio in Kansas City, and I would definitely recommend him to my clients!
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: My promise is to work on the mix until it is right!
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Most commonly, customers ask me how quickly I can turn around a mix. I always answer that it will me 72 hours (maximum) to return a mix to a client!
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: The biggest misconception is that an audio engineer can make anything sound magical. An engineer needs good recordings to create a good mix!
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: I always ask prospective clients what their vision is for the song/album that I am mixing. As the engineer, it is my duty to take the artist where they want to go with their record.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: I would advise customers to provide as much detail when explaining the vision for their song/album. We are engineers, not mind-readers!
I was the Producer / Engineer in this production
- Mixing EngineerAverage price - $100 per song
- Mastering EngineerAverage price - $30 per song
- Beat MakerAverage price - $250 per song
If you hire me for work, I will deliver you an industry-standard mix within 72 hours!
- Pro Tools 12 HD
- Audient iD14 Audio Interface
- Focal Alpha 65 Studio Monitors
- Sennheiser HD 600 Studio Headphones
- Apogee Groove
If you hire me for mixing through SoundBetter, I will also provide a rough master for free!