Custom Riffs

Do you need a jazzy guitar solo for a song you're recording? Jeff Anvinson of JLA Music can record one to your specifications. Are you looking for a cool bass line to complete a recording of your new jazz composition? Let Jeff know what you're looking for and he'll create it for you in his custom riffs shop. He's an expert composer, arranger, performer, contrapuntalist, orchestrator, and recording engineer (plus a trained and skilled guitarist, pianist, and singer) so he can bring all those skills to bear on anything you might need.

I've (Jeff) created parts for virtually all standard instruments. I learned to play most of them when I earned my undergraduate music education degree, plus I've taken individual lessons in several of them: guitar, piano, bassoon, and voice. When I create a custom riff, I either know how to play it on the real instrument, sing it, or I can synthesize it to sound natural by dint of my experience and training.

Here's a list of the instruments that I have recorded, either by playing them, singing them, or creating synthesized parts:

• Woodwinds: Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Saxophone, Bassoon
• Bass: Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, Tuba
• Strings: Guitar, Violin, Viola, Cella, Contrabass, Electric Bass
• Percussion: too many to list but includes the standard instruments like snare, bass drum, cymbals, hi-hat, triangle, etc.
• Keyboard: Piano, Organ, Harpsichord, and others
• Vocals

I consider myself a specialist in creating custom riffs. I can come up with just about any instrument you can think of and make it sound like the real thing. I can lay down a solo or accompaniment riff in whatever style you need. I can also compose or arrange a custom riff that will fit your needs perfectly.

Need an up-tempo upright bass line for your swing tune? You got it! Are you looking for a punk rhythm guitar riff for your original punk song? No problem! Plus, if I can't do it myself - though chances are I can - I know lots of excellent musicians I can call on!

I've been creating custom riffs for clients and friends for a long time. I've been composing and arranging music for over 35 years and studied music at the undergraduate and graduate level with some of the best teachers around, including a Pulitzer Prize winner. Check out the sample riffs below and get in touch with me at JLA Music if you want some of your own custom riffs!

Contact JLA Music

If you would like JLA Music to create some custom riffs for your recording project, please contact JLA Music. We'd love to put our talent, experience, and hard work into making your project as good as possible. We're sure you will be completely happy with the result.

Collaboration with Anthony

For the last few years, I've collaborated with Anthony, a songwriter, musician, and recording engineer who lives in the southern United States - over a thousand miles from the JLA Music studio. Anthony has been writing songs for decades and hired me to record guitar parts to use with some of his songs. We've collaborated on six of his songs with plans to do more. It's been a wonderful partnership.

The process goes like this: Anthony uploads a rough recorded version of his song to a Dropbox account that we share. After he describes what kind of guitar parts he wants, I import Anthony's rough draft recording into his recording software and records the guitar parts. I record several takes and keep the best ones. After some editing, I upload them to the shared Dropbox folder. Anthony downloads them, imports them into his recording software, picks the ones he likes, and mixes them into his recording. Anthony creates a master recording and uploads it to Dropbox so that I can hear the completed song. It is a challenging process but it is completely rewarding to hear how things come together in the end. There are several clips below, starting with Anthony's completed master of the entire song. Then you'll be able to hear clips of my guitar part, followed by how it sounds after Anthony edited it, inserted it into his song, and mastered it. This is my favorite song from our collaboration, a beautiful, touching song composed, recorded, edited, and mastered by Anthony called, "Don't Take My Dreams Away". (I obtained Anthony's permission to use the song on my website.)

Here is an excerpt from one of the riffs that Jeff recorded for Anthony - the one Anthony chose to use for his song - followed by the corresponding excerpt from the final song that Anthony mastered.

Interested in Anthony's Music?

JLA Music hopes you want to learn more about Anthony's music. If you're interested in purchasing his songs or recording them, or just want to contact him, please contact me and I will get you in touch with him. I'm very proud to be collaborating with Anthony. (Please note that this song is copyrighted and owned by Anthony so it is illegal (and downright rude!) to make a copy of it. Don't steal music from artists and upload it to the internet. You are literally stealing income that the artist deserves.)