Josh Aldrich on SoundBetter

My goal as a musician is to help bring your song to life and help it succeed! I'm all about writing nostalgic guitar parts and finding the "emotions & feelings" the artist wants on their project. I'm a huge pedal nerd & love creating the sounds and textures living in my head. Let's work together! You won't be disappointed.

I've been playing guitar for 20yrs now, and specialise in several different musical styles. In the US, I had the privilege of playing live with many professional artists and musicians including grammy and grammy-nominated ones in the Christian pop-rock and gospel music scene. I now reside in Paris and work as a live/session musician. I work from my home studio and I provide professional quality guitar stems for your tracks and will work on your project til' you are happy with the result(within reason obvi lol)! I can deliver anything from fat sounding rock'n'roll guitars, funky chops, to super big ambient loops etc. Excellence and passion are biggies for me whether playing live or in studio.

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Interview with Josh Aldrich

Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Multi-genre I think. I adapt to the style I'm playing. I grew up as a kid loving finger-picking on the acoustic to the Beatles. When I moved to France in the early 2000's I joined the conservatory to learn classical guitar(at the same time I was trying to rip Blink tho haha). That has had a pretty big impact on the way I play guitar and how I approach melodies.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I use Logic Pro, Focal speakers, and record mostly thru my Matchless Clubman and Kemper. I use a few different mics, several different guitars, and a ton of pedals..
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: This Spring I helped Makéda Manne, a good friend and rock/americana artist in Paris to arrange and produce her first EP, "French Brownie à la noix de coco". I don't think I've ever worked so hard on a project before and doing it with friends is always a highlight. I oversaw the musical side/arrangements of the EP and produced quite a bit, as well as tracking all the acoustic, electric and bass guitars. The first single "I don't wanna miss you" just released and the EP comes out May 21st!
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: An EP with my favorite artist ever, Makéda Manne. Can't wait to share it with y'all! It's gonna be an absolute banger.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Benoit Pelletier! He's amazing at everything he does.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both! Depends on the sound you're looking for. I tend to use Analog a bit more tho :)
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: To do my very best to help their song succeed and touch people some type of way!
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I'm passionate about music. It's what I was created to do and what I always dreamed of doing. So being able to do it full-time and see a song that I created or tracked on succeed and touch people a certain way makes me realise how blessed I am.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: I feel like a lot of people these days take music for granted and don't understand that full-time musicians need to eat and pay rent as well lol. So paying full-time musicians the right amount for the work they put in, so that we continue to exist and don't convert to serving coffee(absolutely nothing wrong with serving coffee..) and selling all our gear :)
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: Often it's what sound they're looking for and what they're trying to communicate thru their song. And for references if they have any haha. Makes things a lot easier.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Know the sound and kind of playing your looking for and do the research! There's so many amazing musicians out there.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Is this a trick question haha? Well hoping to God there'd be power on this desert island it would be a.. Duesenberg Starplayer TV, Matchless Clubman, Strymon Timeline & Bigsky, and JHS Morning Glory.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I known since I was a kid that I wanted to do music full-time. It has always been my passion. My mom has a lot to do with that. She's a singer and musician and installed a real love for music in me. And she always pushed and encouraged my siblings and I to pursue music as we grew up. I've played guitar for 22yrs and have been playing professionally for about 7yrs.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: This is difficult but Lenny Kravitz haha.. Everything he does makes me want to grab a guitar and jam. And because love, peace, and making the world a better place are important to him. I feel like that's a vital need in music nowadays.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: I love doubling parts with different guitars to make them sound bigger and fatter haha. (Ex. try a darker & brighter sounding guitar) Switching up pickups helps with this as well, and then panning the part the right way is always key.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Pop-Rock, Alternative, Indie-Pop, Rock'n'Roll, Ambient Music, Worship & Gospel, Americana, and Funk.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Finding the right sounds and textures for a part I think..
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Creativity and also what I said above.. Song lyrics often help put me in the mood to create melodies and parts that bring the right emotion to what the artist is communicating in their lyrics. I want to make they're lyrics shine thru the music.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I usually start by talking to the artist about their song.. What they're looking for, song references, sound and vibe, etc. I like to see the written lyrics as well to get in the mood. Then I put their song on repeat and record a bunch of voice memos of what I'm hearing in my head and then get to work.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Oh man.. I could go all day on this. I listen to a lot of music. Some of my favorite guitarists at the moment are Mason Stoops, Michael Lemmo, Tyler Bryant, Scottie Mills(Colony House), Tyler Martin, Andy Othling, Bobby Strand & Michael Pope(Bethel), Garrett Hardy & Julian Gamboa(UpperRoom), Parcels, Mutemath, Tycho, Young the Giant.. But of course greats like Keith Richards, George Harrison, Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz & Craig Ross, Slash, Christian Mazzalai & Laurent Brancowitz, Ben Howard, Dave Keuning, Jonny Buckland, the Edge, John Mayer, Robbie McIntosh, Adam Hann, Mark Knopfler, Tom Petty, Angus & Malcolm Young, Ryan Adams.. ok I'm gonna stop now haha..
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I mostly track electric guitars on songs for artists but also help them arrange and write progressions quite often as well.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Usually it's about the sound they want and if I can use a specific piece of gear. My answer is always yes if I have it lol.