Recording Studio Rockstars

RSR254 - Kevin White - Retro Future Music And Theramin For Film & Bands

Jul 17, 2020
Kevin White, Nashville-based musician, audio engineer, musicologist and film composer known for retro-futurist sounds. He dives into theremins, ondes Martenot and early electronic instruments. He shares Soviet synth lore, tape-lofi tricks, tremolo and reverb approaches for rock, and how he scored Teslafy Me using vintage Tesla-era sounds.
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ADVICE

Get Clients By Producing Tribute Compilations

  • Do build relationships with artists by creating tribute compilations to a shared influence to win clients quickly.
  • Kevin used a T-Rex tribute in Nashville to recruit 10–12 artists and convert several into ongoing clients.
INSIGHT

Tone Matters More Than Fidelity

  • Prioritize tone over fidelity when shaping recordings; the studio's job is to create something better than the original.
  • Kevin contrasts hi‑fi's truth-to-source with studio goals of crafting bigger-than-life, character-filled sounds.
ADVICE

Sync Songs To A Real Amp Tremolo

  • Use a recorded amp tremolo as the fixed timing reference and map its tempo in your DAW before building arrangements.
  • Kevin records a guitar tremolo sample, measures BPM in Pro Tools, then bases the click/drum parts around it.
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