January 30, 2017

Meet Alexander Lowe of Red Tuxedo Mastering in Buckhead

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexander Lowe.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Alexander. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started working in studios at 19 out in California doing whatever jobs were available. In 1993, after finishing school at Berklee College of Music, I moved to Atlanta for an intern position at Doppler Studios. I graduated to an assistant engineer at Doppler and other Atlanta studios for the next 7 years on projects such as Outcast, the 1996 Olympic opening, and closing ceremonies, TLC, Stone Temple Pilots, Fishbone, just to name a very few. It was an amazing time with great opportunities and I got to work with the elite of the music industry.

Near the end of that time, I started working at a studio called Southern Living at its Finest (SLAIF), owned by the late Ricky Keller. There I recorded and mixed many projects for a huge variety of music, from commercials, hip-hop, Christian, jazz, bluegrass… the list is huge. Ricky knew so many people and pulled in incredible artists to his studio. I was the staff engineer and worked on anything he threw at me. It’s there where I also started getting into mastering around 1997. I stumbled around for a little while, absorbing information from any engineer I worked with as an assistant and taking some of the projects I engineered to mastering facilities in Nashville and NY. My product got better, and a few years later I decided to invest in some high-end mastering gear and continued to develop the service I had created out of SLAIF.

My client base was growing and I found myself with an opportunity to move into Rodney Mills Masterhouse in Duluth. I worked out of his studio for 3 years. Being around Rodney was a wonderful experience and I learned a lot about improving my mastering skills during that time, as well a dealing with clients and honing the mastering business. He is a huge icon in the Atlanta music industry. It was an honor to be around him.

In 2003, Southern Living closed down, and it was time for me to venture out on my own. That is when I started Red Tuxedo with Benjamin Price, a well established recording engineer here in Atlanta. We were in a studio near the corner of Spring and 14th. We did mostly recording and mixing there, and I continued to master out of the studio in Duluth. Ben eventually went off to start his own great studio, and I started focusing more on Red Tuxedo as a mastering facility.

Red Tuxedo Mastering moved around a little bit after that, finding spots in Inman Park and off of Cheshire Bridge Rd, when we finally settled at Doppler again in 2009. It was like coming back home. The staff was great to be around. In 2010, Rich Stratton came on board as a second mastering engineer. With his musical background and IT and management skills, he picked up the mastering quickly and now takes on half of the work that comes through the studio.

In 2009 I started working in the film industry here in Atlanta as a Pro Tools operator on sets and music pre-recordist in recording studios. We now have 3 systems that work on films in Atlanta. I also help LA film companies find other music services in Atlanta with the connections I’ve established over the 20 years here. It’s been very exciting to see Atlanta grow with the movie industry who have established a good presence and hopefully will continue to take advantage of all there is to offer here.

Has it been a smooth road?
Is there ever a smooth road? In answer to this question, struggles are expected. The music industry is well known for it’s feast or famine lifestyle. You hear it all the time that people need to adapt. I taught at schools and helped clients make the most of their investments. I had to look at my services and streamline my system to make the most out of it, while still growing as a company. I really enjoy what I do, and even when finances were not good, I could not think of doing anything else.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Red Tuxedo Mastering – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Red Tuxedo primarily a music production company. At our location in Buckhead, we specialize in our music mastering services. Our client base is the independent musician and the record companies. We help educate our independent clients with what is needed technically from a final product so they don’t waste time trying to realize their creative goals. This experience is reflected in working with record companies. We deliver our products correctly and in a timely manner so all our clients may focus on developing their music and business needs.

We also offer on set Pro Tools system for TV and film productions, as well as rental and liaison to the music and movie industries here in Atlanta. We are proud of offer a very professional service backed with years of experience, as well as an established client and vendor base to pull from to help facilitate the needs of productions who are looking for music services here in Atlanta.

We have the ability to put the right people together quickly.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love Atlanta. I love the potential this city has. I dislike that it’s not growing fast enough. Atlanta is trying to keep up with the demand that has been placed upon it. I have faith in it, though.

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