All about DBAR Productions & MusicTECH

Location

DBAR Productions and MusicTECH are located in a private residence in Issaquah, Washington, just a short 20 minute drive from downtown Seattle, in a development just one mile off of I-90.

The Names

Originally Stephen Sherrard just did business as MusicTECH and got on the web around 1996 with the domain www.music-tech.com. After a short while he discovered that MusicTECH was a bit too popular as there were several other companies with that name. To avoid confusion and to set up a new production company for his own product lines, Stephen switched the name he uses on the internet to DBAR Productions, although the parent company is still MusicTECH and that's what he still calls his Seattle area studio. The original MusicTECH web site has now become Music-And-Technology.com (still accessible also via music-tech.com) and is a site full of resources and technical assistance for recording musicians.

Staff

As of this time, DBAR Productions and MusicTECH are both run by just one person, Stephen Sherrard. Check out Steve's bio page for more.

Studio

Although the studio is located in a home, MusicTECH is NOT your typical home studio. The high-end equipment has been carefully selected to provide major label quality professional results, and you'll find the same equipment in many professional facilities throughout the world. The studio has also been acoustically treated with professional products (not cheap acoustic foam that you'll find in a lot of basement studios). The only difference from the large studios is that MusicTECH doesn't have a huge tracking room, although it's more than big enough to record drums. When an even bigger space is needed, Steve is more than qualified to work at any major studio out there and often takes his clients to big studios to record large groups, and then brings them back to his much more cost efficient studio to do everything else. No sense in paying for more space than you need! Check out the Studio Page if you want more details on the equipment used at MusicTECH.

What makes DBAR Productions special?

There are plenty of great studios and great producers and engineers in most major cities. Finding the right one for your project can sometimes be a challenge, though.

What sets Stephen Sherrard apart is that in addition to a highly technical background (degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering, plus served as a Nuclear Engineer for the Navy for 5 years), he also comes from a very musical family and has been involved in music his entire life (playing trumpet, piano/keyboards, a little guitar, as well as singing experience). He is truely passionate about music and enjoys listening to and working with a very wide variety of musical styles.

Steve understands that the music comes first and that the technology must serve the music without ever getting in the way of it. He effortlessly handles all the technical details for you so that you can get into your creative space and concentrate on delivering a moving musical performance.

Steve also has that rare natural talent of a "great ear", meaning simply that he knows how to make things sound good and to fit them all together into a great sounding mix (much more difficult than it sounds).

Learning to record and mix is like learning another musical instrument, and the more that you work at it, the better you get. Steve has been doing this professionally for more than 14 years now, and as a serious hobby for much longer than that. He also worked as a full time staff engineer at one of the largest studio facilities in Seattle, Triad Studios.

Just as important as technical and musical skills are social skills. If you don't feel comfortable with the person you are working with, you won't be able to deliver your best performance in the studio. Steve is a very easy going person who seems to be able to get along with just about any type of person. If you are looking for a highly energetic cheerleader type of person to motivate you, that's NOT Steve. But, if you like a laid-back, easy going professional, who is always prepared and works quickly and efficiently without getting in the way of your creative vibe, then Steve may be the engineer for you. If you need help with production, Steve is more than happy to offer his feedback and suggestions and help guide you along in the recording process in a friendly and non-intimidating way.

Stephen Sherrard is a highly trained professional who has been recording and producing music and audio full time for more than 14 years now. He takes a great deal of pride in his work and strives to ensure that he always exceeds his client's expectations.

Contact Steve today to discuss your project in detail!