Gifthorse
Recording, Production, Mixing
Athens, Georgia
Gifthorse is a recording studio operated by Steven Ledbetter in Athens, GA.
Testimonials (swipe to see more)
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I work with Steven on a regular basis. His is an ability that is fluid in all aspects of a recording studio. Along with a wide range of musical sensibilities and sonic aesthetics, nothing is out of reach, working with Steven.
Sam Fogarino
(Interpol, Empty Mansions)
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Steven has a tenacity in the studio. My first noticeable impression of the quality he pursues is how much time and attention he focuses towards dialing in the perfect drum sound. The next thing I noticed was how good his ear is. He really gets the vibe that a song needs, and works really hard to make sure nothing takes away from that or adds too much, whether sonically or symbolically. The best part of recording at Gifthorse was leveraging Steven’s great history of knowledge and skills as a musician. He’s professionally trained from school, and seasoned from playing in numerous successful bands. This means he has a great ear as a producer in helping you realize how to bring a song together, whether that’s through executive decision making (like trimming a song down, adding a section, or changing a transition) or by adding instrumentation himself. Anytime he adds a part to the track, it’s always amazing. He also really pushes me and my band. Whenever we’re recording and there’s a section he thinks could be better, he gives us the space and the confidence to really go for it, and stretch our skills to the max. 10/10 take my money. I’m most proud of the work I’ve made when it’s recorded at Gifthorse.
Aidan Lyerly
(Bayou Princess, The Touch, Skinny Norm) -
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Steven has collaborated on some of my favorite musical endeavors so far. He brings unique journeyman wisdom as a player, arranger, and recordist. Open-mindedness and creative flexibility are present in distinguishing amounts with Steven. He constantly adapts and innovates throughout sessions based on the ideas and flows. Many times throughout our sessions, he made apt suggestions that no one else I know would have made.
Jack Pace
(Buice, Strumbrush, Assembly)
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Steven is incredibly knowledgeable, kind, and easy to work with! He was able to help decode the engineering and mixing process for me and was such a great resource for creative input and technical skill. Most importantly, he quickly got my songs sounding the way I wanted them to! I would happily recommend Gift Horse to anyone looking to take their music to the next level
Brandon Steinhauer
(Spitehound) -
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When I first went into Steven’s studio to have my songs produced, I had no idea what to expect. I had been writing songs for years, with no experience recording them professionally. From the beginning, Steven intuitively understood my songs, and the larger scale vision I had for them. He was genuine and easy to work with. He steered me in the right direction when my ideas led me astray, pushing me to be a better artist. His ideas and musical contributions made for much better songs than what I could have imagined on my own. He worked extremely hard on all my songs, through all the steps of the recording and mixing process. He went well above and beyond my initial expectations. I couldn’t be happier with the quality of both the albums he helped me create and I would absolutely recommend him to anyone else who is looking for a producer who understands their art.
Lyric Lowry
Gear isn’t everything…
but it is cool to be surrounded by vintage microphones, analog compressors, tape machines and inspiring instruments. Combined with a flexible patch bay and 32 channels of i/o, we have near endless flexibility in crafting an aesthetic for your project. Want 200 tracks in pro tools? great. Prefer to cut an eight-track tape recording live with the band? awesome. We would love to figure out how to turn the sound in your head into a reality.
Reach Out
stevenledbettermusic@gmail.com
ig: @gifthorseathens