Todd Washburn composed and conducted the live performance of his first symphonic composition at age 16, which won him the Sousa National Award for Music the following year. He went on to study at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, where he became proficient on eleven different instruments as a music theory/composition major and achieved honorary recognition as an applied student of composition and performance. Todd secured his first recording contract right out of college, which led to regional airplay in the Southeastern U.S., as well as countless tour dates as a support act for national artists throughout the 1980s. Album projects followed, teaming him with a diverse selection of major label producers in studios throughout the New York and Boston area. He established his own music production and mastering studio in 1991 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which has grown from an eight-track set up at his home to a full-production and mastering facility, now located in Norfolk, VA. He was honored with the "Best Music" Award from the New York City Dance Alliance. Recent artists (2008) he has worked with have made the TOP 10 Indie charts for world-wide radio play.

Though the recording industry has undergone massive changes, especially since Hard Disk recording came on the scene, my approach to sound quality has remained relatively unchanged. In the early 1980s, I dove head first into studio work. Designer 24-track studios were booming, equipped to the hilt with high-end Studer tape machines and Neumann microphones. Consequently, I spent the next 15 years (and beyond) tracking and mixing projects through big, wonderful-sounding consoles: MCI, NEVE, SOUND WORKSHOP, TRIDENT, SSL. And of course there was all of the usual suspects in outboard gear, many of which are being revived today as invaluable "retro,""vintage" and "re-issue" pieces. Which brings me to my point about sound quality - the technology is in your ears. I fell in love with recording and producing, not only because I loved music, but because I also loved the sound of a great record. I have found that, if you work at it hard enough, with whatever tools you happen to have on hand, you can find the right combination of things that make a certain track come "alive" with it's own unique energy. A great, well-written song deserves nothing less. Whether you do it all-digital, all-analog or blend the two, it makes no difference. It's the end result that counts. Do whatever it takes to get you there. Get the sound that has such a feeling that other people will want to hear over and over. The really great recordings have magic in them, and there are a lot of different ways to go about helping create that. It's part of what makes each record so special and inspiring. When you strip away all the gear, all that you have left to work with is your heart and your ears.

TOP HITS

"Back To THe Country"
(Beadle Brothers) #1

"Polecat Holler" (Leverton Brothers) #1

"I Only Want To Dance With You"
(Dustin Neighbors) #1

"Home To Me" (Outbound Road) #2