"Strings on the Fly"
Get Christian Howes on Your Next Recording!

Attention: Producers and Self-Produced Recording Artists:

If you are committed to making your recording sound great, adding strings can greatly enhance your music. This is the one-stop-shopping destination to cover ALL your live string needs.

Besides adding a touch of class and dimension to your recording, working with Christian Howes will save money, time, and hassles.

The Common Flaw with Hiring String Players...

Usually, if you want string parts, you need to hire arrangers, copyists, transcribers, and several string players to do the job. Chris is a cutting-edge player in every sense. He can do all of these things himself, and his single focus on your project will make the difference.

Christian is well-known for his mastery of all musical styles. He will make the string parts feel rhythmically accurate and stylistically appropriate whether he's playing jazz, classical, rock, R&B, folk, gospel, bluegrass, world music, or hip-hop.

How Does it Work?

Chris transcribes, arranges, and performs ALL string parts for your recording, with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. You don't pay a dime unless you're totally happy with the final result!

Here are Chris' answers to some frequently asked questions:

Do you do all the parts yourself, and trigger samples to make it sound bigger? 

"Yes, and yes. I can accommodate many different production styles.

For example, sometimes producers send me samples and I blend live parts with the samples. Sometimes producers want a larger section and I hire a section. Sometimes I do as many as 50 overdubs, creating a large string section.

Sometimes a string quartet is preferable to a string section, and sometimes 12 overdubs creates a heavy enough section sound. With three violins and an octave-geige at my disposal (a rare instrument that sounds like a cello), I'm able to create a wide mix of sonic colors and cover the frequency range of violin, viola, and most of the cello range.

When necessary, I can hire cello or bass to cover the very bottom end, but this is rarely needed."

Do you need written parts, or can you create the string arrangements yourself? 

"No. I don't need written parts, but if you want me to play written parts, I can. I can play what's written or generate an original arrangement for your song, based on your guidelines and supervision. Whether you have no idea at all, a general idea, or a very specific idea of what you want, I can serve your needs, work within your production style, and give you what you want.

For example:

1) Some producers prefer to sing parts to me in the studio, and/or give general directives, i.e., "give me something lush", or "add some funky lines," or "just sweeten it with the strings" etc... In these cases, I am able to either 1) create string arrangements in advance of the session, or 2) create arrangements "on the fly" in the studio with the producer's supervision.

2) Some producers want me to recreate the samples from the keyboard part, or double a guitar or bass part already recorded. In these cases, I can transcribe the parts you want doubled if you don't have them written out. Often a producer has recorded strings samples from a keyboard. In these cases I can blend live strings with the samples or replace the samples altogether. If you haven't written out anything from the song, I can transcribe the whole song very quickly.

3) When producers give me written parts, I can read them and execute them accurately, often at first sight.

Where do you record, and in what format(s)? Can you do "tracks by mail?"

"I record at home in NYC, on the road, and travel to where a producer is based. With today's digital recording and Internet technology, I can record all the parts from anywhere in the world and send the tracks to you anywhere else you happen to be.

Sometimes, I use big fancy studios, but often, I work in my own apartment or at competent home studios with great engineers who know how to get great sounds.

I've worked with Pro-Tools, Logic, and other formats, and compatibility is never an issue these days.
When recording remotely, I always keep the producer in the loop at every stage of the process.

So, for example, if you are in L.A. and I'm recording in NYC, I call you at the beginning of the session and talk through the session goals. After recording a small section, I email you mp3s, play something over the phone, or upload the tracks to FTP, and you can listen and let me know what direction to go from there.

You will be included at every stage of production, almost as if you were live in the studio with me and the engineer."

What does it cost? 

"Rates vary depending on how much work is needed. Transcription, arrangement, performance, and studio/technical needs all have their own costs. Let's talk about your project."
 
Talk to Christian Howes about your next project

For more information, please email Chris at: chris@christianhowes.com .