THE FIFTY50STUDIOS TEAM
Who We Are
WILL CARMACK
Senior Engineer/Lead Producer
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How long have you been working as an audio engineer? How long at fifty50? I’ve been working as an audio engineer professionally at fifty50 since 2013. Before that, I was an amateur, freelance engineer for myself, my friends and family, or whoever wanted to work with me.
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Where did you do your training? When I was in high school, me and my dad built a cool home recording studio in our attic. That’s where I first learned to record. I also got my masters degree in music at the University of Glasgow where I also worked in a recording studio. But I probably got most of my training just working at fifty50; trial by combat.
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What genres of music do you work with regularly? I have a background in indie/alternative/rock music and guitar is my main instrument so I produce a lot of that in session, but also love to work in hip hop. Making beats is some of the most fun I can have with an artist. I also love anything with a synthesizer.
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What's your favorite compliment a client has given you? I like it when people call me a wizard.
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Describe your favorite thing about your work as an engineer at fifty50, and what you believe are your greatest strengths as an engineer/producer. My favorite thing about my work as an engineer at fifty50studios is that I get to meet so many cool people. I feel like I’m in a different band every day, and that’s a blast. I think my greatest strength as an engineer/producer is getting into the minds of my clients and figuring out what it is they want, even if they don’t fully know themselves. I also can play quite a few different instruments so that’s pretty helpful when it comes to making cool stuff.
DAVID HOKANSON
Senior Engineer/Producer
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How long have you been working as an audio engineer? How long at fifty50? I have been working as an audio engineer since 2014, all at fifty50studios.
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Where did you do your training? Though I studied music at the University of North Texas, the majority of my training happened here at fifty50. I started as an intern and all the engineers here were kind enough to let me sit in on sessions and answer the endless questions I had for them.
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What genres of music do you work with regularly? I've recorded everything from German polka to southern rock to Iranian folk music. It's exciting and keeps me on my toes and allows me to step into worlds I wouldn't normally get to experience. Personally, I come from an indie rock/folk background so that tends to be the genre I listen to most often as well as what I most often produce. I have also recorded countless hip hop and R&B tracks and feel very comfortable in those genres too.
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What's your favorite compliment a client has given you? The compliments that mean the most to me revolve around the trust that it takes for someone to bring in their special creations to some stranger, and hoping they treat it with the care and a level of seriousness that it deserves. Anytime a client tells me at the end of the process, "Thank you for seeing my vision through," or "This song evolved in a way I would have never thought of." That means a lot to me.
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Describe your favorite thing about your work as an engineer at fifty50, and what you believe are your greatest strengths as an engineer/producer. My favorite thing about working at fifty50studios, as cliche as it sounds, is the people. The conversations I get to have with my clients and to work with them in creative ways to achieve their goals can be very fulfilling. I really like asking questions and getting to know the clients while working because these are their songs and their visions and if I feel like I know where they're coming from, I'll be able to best shape the songs in the ways they're wanting. I feel my best strength is a desire to connect and be in the clients shoes while making music. I believe that if you are having issues with a song and keep trying to throw more elements on it to make it more impactful, that's usually the wrong approach. Typically while producing, I really want to spend time considering options for the core elements of a song, and once those feel good, any additional elements can more easily be identified and will fall into place.
WESLEY COLEMAN
Staff Engineer/Producer
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How long have you been working as an audio engineer? How long at fifty50? I've been an active audio engineer since I graduated college in 2018 and have worked at fifty50 since 2019, but I actually first met the fifty50 team in 2015 as a client and have loved the studio ever since.
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Where did you do your training? In addition to learning from years of home recording, and watching Aaron Carpenter during the sessions I had with him as a client, I went to Full Sail University and graduated with a Recording Arts degree.
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What genres of music do you work with regularly? I have a ton of hip/hop and R&B clients, so that probably takes the cake for the genres I work on the most, but the variety of talent in Dallas has given me the privilege to become well versed in everything from gospel to indie rock to reggae to tejano music, the list goes on.
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What's your favorite compliment a client has given you? Tough question, I'd probably say, "That's exactly how I heard the song in my head" or "This song turned out way better than I even imagined it."
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Describe your favorite thing about your work as an engineer at fifty50, and what you believe are your greatest strengths as an engineer/producer. My Favorite thing about this job is collaboration, the idea that complete strangers can come together and make a great record is really cool. That moment when the energy of the record is feeding all kinds of ideas and the song takes a life of its own. It's beautiful. My greatest strength I'd say is the ability to listen. Listening to the artist of course to make sure their vision is reprepresented, but also listening to the song and letting it tell me where it wants to go. Every contribution I've made as an engineer or a beat maker has been made through letting the record spark the ideas, not forcing an idea on a record. As a producer, it's probably making sure the drums hit hard. That's super important to me. Haha.
ZACH DAVIS
Staff Engineer
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How long have you been working as an audio engineer? How long at fifty50? I’ve been an audio engineer for since 2013 and at fifty50 since 2018.
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Where did you do your training? I graduated from Full Sail University with a Bachelors Degree in Recording Arts.
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What genres of music do you work with regularly? Rap/Hip Hop, R&B, Gospel, Christian, Pop, Podcasts
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What's your favorite compliment a client has given you? I don't know if I can quote it here, haha. But I've been told that I'm very fast, patient, understanding and welcoming.
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Describe your favorite thing about your work as an engineer at fifty50, and what you believe are your greatest strengths as an engineer/producer. I like to help people get comfortable in the studio, especially when it’s their first time, and become their best self.
RICHMOND WOLFE
Staff Engineer
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How long have you been working as an audio engineer? How long at fifty50? I’ve been working as an audio engineer since 2022 where I started as an intern at a studio in LA. I began working at fifty50studios in early 2023 after moving back home to Texas.
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Where did you do your training? I went to school in Phoenix, AZ at the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences.
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What genres of music do you work with regularly? The studio sees a wide array of genres but if there was a couple I see most often, it’d be hip hop and rap.
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What's your favorite compliment a client has given you? I enjoy anytime a client says I made their pre-session nerves go away. It’s important to create an environment where clients feel comfortable and are able to open up.
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Describe your favorite thing about your work as an engineer at fifty50, and what you believe are your greatest strengths as an engineer/producer. My favorite thing about working at fifty50studios is the range of different people that come through the door. Every session is unique and I enjoy meeting new people and helping their visions come to life. My greatest strengths as an engineer root from my early childhood which involved cello and singing, both of which developed my ear for balanced sound & desire for creativity.
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AARON CARPENTER
Lead Mixing/Mastering Engineer
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How long have you been working as an audio engineer? How long at fifty50? I have been working as an audio engineer since 2007 and have worked at fifty50 since we opened our doors in 2012.
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Where did you do your training? I went to school at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas for a degree in Sound Technology.
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What genres of music do you work with regularly? You can find me working regularly on almost any genre of music or recording, but my favorite is probably experimental / prog rock. I also have a lot of fun with rap.
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What's your favorite compliment a client has given you? "I don't know what you just did, but I love it" or "Wow, that was fast!"
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Describe your favorite thing about your work as an engineer at fifty50, and what you believe are your greatest strengths as an engineer/producer. My favorite thing about working at fifty50 is the broad assortment of clientele we get. One day you might be helping a local rapper dial in their sound, the next you might be recording a 12-piece western swing band live in-studio, and the one after that you might be recording some voice over tracks for a talking Sting action figure. With Sting. My greatest strengths as an engineer, producer, editor, and mixer are my experience, speed, and attention to detail.
TODD COTHAM
Studio Manager/Videographer/Producer
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How long have you been working as an audio engineer? How long at fifty50? I, in fact, am the only person on the team who is not an audio engineer. If you show up to your session and I'm behind the board, something has gone terribly, terribly wrong. But, I've been doing my best to be useful in other ways since we opened the studio in 2012.
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Where did you do your training? I got a couple of degrees at Texas Tech University, neither of which have anything to do with what we do here.
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What genres of music do you work with regularly? In my management role, I work to some extent with every client that comes through the door, and that covers an extremely broad range of music genres and voice recording projects. It would probably be quicker to list the things we haven't worked on over the years, so...bagpipes? Wait, nope. I'm being told we've definitely done our share of bagpipes.
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What's your favorite compliment a client has given you? My favorite compliments always come from clients telling me how incredible our team is and how working with them was an amazing experience from start to finish. It's always a great reminder of how lucky I am to get to work with such a talented and genuinely good group of people.
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Describe your favorite thing about your work as an engineer at fifty50, and what you believe are your greatest strengths as an engineer/producer. Again, not an engineer, but I do love being a part of fifty50 and seeing so many interesting people and projects come and go, day after day. What we do is not always easy and it's not even always fun, but very rarely is it boring. As far as my strengths go, I believe that as a manager, my ability (or honest attempts) to clearly communicate with our clients and my team go a long way to keep everyone on the same page and working towards the same goal. As a videographer and a producer, I'm no technical genius, but I trust my taste and feel that know what works, what's good, and what could be made better with a little extra effort.​