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Some of my clients have been kind enough to offer tesimonials....

Matt Swindells - Muscat Sound is the perfect solution for my recording needs. I make records on a tiny budget. I have my own computer with pro-tools but I also need a place to record my drums or any other loud instruments. Muscat Sound is that place. Check out the drum sound on my new recording Matt Swindells Here. I have had comments from other studio engineers and musicians who think that the drum sound is recorded to tape. It sounds analogue. Its the warmest digital drum recording I have encountered and I do lots of sessions at different studios.. I don't know how Alex gets that sound, but he does.Whether I'm working on my own stuff or doing a drum session for another artist the sound is consistently good. The same warmth translates to all the other instruments I have recorded there, be it vocals, guitars, percussion or whatever. The affordability of Muscat Sound helps musicians on 2 levels. First it helps you bring your musical idea's into reality and secondly it ensures a creative and relaxed environment where you are not always worried about the clock. You have time to get performances right and to also be creative on the spot. Having a good performance is the most important thing for me when I record music, even more important than the sound. At Muscat Sound I always leave happy on both counts.

J Neo Marvin and the Content Providers - "I'm tremendously satisfied with the results we got... Alex James Muscat has a good thing going: a comfortable, homey little studio with OUTLANDISHLY reasonable rates. Alex is an intense guy with very strong opinions which make for furiously entertaining conversation, but once it's time to work, he is totally focused on getting the job done. As an artist and a producer, I really appreciated his musical ear (especially his sense of pitch) and his feel for the moment a good take happens. His commitment to his work (and the artists he works with/for) helped us get through a few highly stressful moments, too. Another quality I find essential in an engineer is the willingness to try out any crazy idea I come up with (or suggest an even better and often crazier alternative) and Alex has this. My recommendations to anyone who is serious about recording." - J Neo Marvin

Lullaby Crush - "Alex provides a very productive and stress-free recording environment from which to work in and the results my band got with him behind the board sound just plain great. But don’t let his friendly, laid-back manner fool you. Not only is Alex a knowledgeable and professional engineer with years of studio experience, he's an accomplished musician and songwriter. Whether you are thinking about recording a few songs for a demo or you are looking to produce a full length professional-quality album, I suggest you utilize Alex’s services. His rates and commitment to your project just can’t be beat." - Jason Cole "We were very fortunate to record our first CD with Alex. The studio had everything we needed and was comfortable - the hourly rate was reasonable and extremely competitve with other studios. But most of all, Alex's engineering skills and industry experience were invaluable and allowed us to create the CD we all wanted. Everyone is pleased with the professional quality of the result - and we definitely plan to go back for our next recording. - Val Lipman

Deborah Crooks - "Professional, friendly and affordable, a boon for any recording musician, from those working on simple demos to full-length CDs. I've gone there to work on a friend's project and to make quick demos. On both occasions, Alex brought his wealth of musical experience, good ear and technical know-how to the project at hand, managing to be both efficient and creative. Plus he made it comfortable for everyone to perform well. Making a clean, well engineered recording."

Andy Padlo - "We came to Alex with our recording project already started in a raw, garage (literally--we'd been recording on a laptop in my garage) format. Alex impressed me from the very moment I spoke to him about my music and my recording--he was knowledgeable, he listened, he made sense. In the studio he was organized and quick on the uptake, and his focus was always the same: to use his skills to help me get the sound I was looking for. He made me feel he cared about the music we were making, that the quality of the project mattered to him, and this helped make every session positve and productive. We came out with a cd we're absolutely proud of."

Bryan Harrison - "Alex James Muscat is a man dedicated to the local, independent recording artist. From the first moments of entering the recording studio enviornment, Alex sets about making the artist feel at ease. As a producer and engineer, Alex reads every situation well. His creative nature, and his desire to work with the artist to create the best possible representative recordings of the given material, serve to further put the artist at ease, enabling everyone to just relax and create. His equipment is state of the art, and his facilities are ideal for many applications. In addition to his fine production work, Alex has contributed both bass and keyboard parts on some of my recordings. He's a very capable musician/artist in his own right, and seems to have the ear to know what a song needs, with a sense of the direction a project might need move in. Alex's dedication to the local artist community shows up in numerous ways. He promo's and features artists with whom he works on his web site, as well. Alex has brought his recording equipment, desktop computer included, to do a live recording session for me. While we experienced a few technical issues outside of his control, we still managed to mix-down several tracks from the evening that are included on my live CD. It's that extra effort that, alone, makes working with Alex James Muscat, an invaluable asset for the independent artist. His relaxed demeanor sets a comfortable tone, and makes the whole process more fun. I've been extremely happy in working with Alex, and have plans for more sessions in the near future."

Brooke Michael- "the biggest bang for your buck, but that is really just an added benefit to working with Alex. Not only is he completely on top of his game as an engineer, but I also found his production expertise and ideas to be invaluable. Alex is totally available to work with an artist on as few or as many levels as you need. I always left our sessions feeling taken care of and accomplished - and it takes a lot for me to feel that way!"

Bob O' Magic - "I first had the opportunity to work with Alex James Muscat when he asked to use one of my songs on Last Stop Record’s compilation c.d., Kick Out the Jams. Alex was as passionate about engineering the project as i was about songwriting. As an advocate of independent artists, he insisted on stepping out of the way, encouraging me to produce. Soon we were back in the studio..."

Fred Odell - "...a positive experience. Alex Muscat's knowledge and experience, coupled with a love for independent music helped me to make the recording I had initially envisioned. One of Alex's strength's is his ability to listen to what the artist wants and help them realize that. He is professional, efficient and knowledgeable. He's a great asset to the San Francisco independent music community."

Jim Reid - "Alex, You did a great job on our Jim Reid for Mayor campaign song CD and I could not imagine going to a better person. Your work is very professional, your facitity works and your labor rate is VERY reasonable enabling ordinary people to bring their creative work into the world. You do a great service to people like me who value creative work."

Mural Of Sun - "Alex is the studio man. If you want high quality affordable mixing, talk to this guy." - Ned Tozrun Neil Howard/The New Black Trio- " I have found the experience of working with Alex to be consistently productive, easy and most of all, thoroughly enjoyable. I trust his ear on everything I do and I also especially appreciate his understanding of what I may want to try as opposed to what he or someone else would or would not do... He works to make the artist the producer and himself the best engineer any producer would want...and the results are always remarkable."

Steven Capozzola - "I have to say, the most fun I've ever had in recording was at Alex James Muscat's Recording Studio studio in San Francisco, California. From the minute I walked in, I felt at home. I loved all the posters on the walls (Neil Young was the first thing I spotted), and I still love that couch in the lounge. And of course there's that kitchen table in the lounge where I've enjoyed many a pizza meal after hours and hours of work. But Alex has a special studio because, for all the hi tech equipment and patch wires and perfect sound baffling and the big mixing console, he's managed to retain a sort of homey, clubhouse vibe to the place. Even the carpeting makes it feel like someone's living room. But anyway, I managed to record a full CD of songs in exactly the way I'd hoped-- and I ended up with an ideal record. There's a few reasons why things worked so well. First, Alex is a hell of a musician, so he can recognize when a part is being played wrong, and he'll push you to do it right-- which may mean doing it again and again. (Alex's famous line is, "I want you to do it again...I know you can do it better than that." And of course you do it again because Alex inspires that sort of craft-- that you want to equal the expectation he has). And then there's the fact that Alex can arrange and produce the song itself, which means that when a song needs an intro, or a way to end, it's invariably Alex who'll have the ingenious flash of an idea of how to come up with a really cool bridge or riff to kick into the main part of a song. And, lastly, Alex is very fair. I once wanted to re-record a song we'd already completed. Alex could have easily agreed, if he were simply in it for the money. But he isn't, and I had to convince him to that the version we'd finished wasn't quite what I heard in my head. And then, when he agreed to try it again, he willingly followed my lead to try something rather unconventional-- and that worked very well in the end. Of course, the reason it worked is that, even though we cut an initial live track of drums, guitar, and vocals, Alex had the studio know-how to successfully separate different sounds, and to engineer on the fly with such skill, that we got a great track out of something very risky. I happen to live on the East Coast now, but I look back very fondly on all of my sessions and happen to miss those days quite a bit. I got a great CD, and a great experience."

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If you are a band, musician, songwriter or artist of any genre that is considering recording give me a call and hear what I can do for you.

Call Alex at 415.999.4764