Neil Finkenbinder

I'm originally from Northwest Arkansas. I grew up on a small farm that dealt primarily with beef cattle. At the age of 3, I discovered the pleasure of listening to recorded music; the soundtrack to The Little Mermaid was my first cassette tape. I started playing music in the high school band when I was 12 and continued until I graduated. I also played with the school jazz band and was in a garage band with some of my friends.

I graduated from Dardanelle High in 2002 and went on to Middle Tennessee State University where I earned my bachelor's degree in Audio Recording Production Technology. Of my four final studio projects, two of them won the class vote for best project. I graduated college in 2007 and moved to Raleigh, NC to start my career.


Recording Philosophy

Engineering and producing both come with a serious responsibility to the artist and his/her work. In order to meet that responsibility, I use the following principles in all aspects of the engineering and producing:

All expression is valid. It is not my place as an engineer or producer to judge or criticize anyone's creation. It is my place, however, to help and encourage each artist to do his/her best when putting his/her work out into the world.

Each artist, each song, each take is unique. I will not use "cookie-cutter", copied or generic techniques unless directly told to do so. Equipment presets are used only as a starting point and are generally avoided. This ensures that the artist will have his/her own unique sound which will allow him/her to stand out from the crowd.

Nothing is done until everyone is satisfied. If, for whatever reason, I am unable to meet any expectations, I will help a client find someone who can.

Clients will be treated with respect at all times.