Itaiguara is one of Musiversal’s most experienced and unquestionably epic session musicians. He’s globally acclaimed and accredited on Sony & BMG record labels.

Professional session bassist, composer and guitarist, Itaiguara Brandão has over 37 years of professional experience and has toured internationally with a wide range of world-class artists such as: Dianne Reeves, Ivan Lins, Marcos Valle, Toquinho, Angelique Kidjo, Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal, Leny Andrade, Joyce Moreno, Randy Brecker, Dom Salvador, Paquito D'Rivera, and Paul Simon. Itaiguara has played at major venues such as the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Zanker Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Itaiguara is one of the most sought-after bassists in the US, having completed over 6,500 performances since he moved to New York in 1995. He graduated summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music in Boston and has a masters degree in Jazz Composition from Queens College in New York. There, he was awarded a Berklee Achievement Scholarship for musical excellence in 1995, and the Marvin Hamlisch Award in 2019. He is featured as the double-bass player in Dom Salvador's "The Art Of Samba Jazz," winner of the prestigious Premio da Musica Brasileira (the Brazilian GRAMMY®) for "Best Instrumental Album of 2011" and nominated among the three best instrumental groups of 2011Itaiguara specializes in Brazilian music, Jazz, Latin, and Funk/Soul/R&B. He records on electric bass (4-string, 5-string, and fretless) as well as on upright bass (plucked, not bowed). On electric bass he delivers the DI signal and the bass cabinet miked. On upright he provides a recording with a Geffell M930 mic and a DI from the pickup. He uses two Vintech x73i preamps. Itaiguara prefers working from charts and lead sheets. He asks music creators to provide a sample bass line or riff idea they're looking for on a separate track (audio or midi), and an audio track with no bass for the recording session.

instruments
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WOODWINDS

1 Flute, 1 Oboe, 1 Bb Clarinet, 1 Bassoon

BRASS

2 French Horns, 2 Bb Trumpets, 1 Tenor Trombone, 1 Bass Trombone

STRINGS

1 Harp, 5 Violins I, 4 Violins II, 4 Violas, 4 Violoncellos, 1 Contrabass (includes C extension)

PERCUSSION (1 PERCUSSIONIST)

Timpani, Snare Drum, Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbal, Triangle, Tambourine, Woodblock, others including mallets

5 Violins I, 5 Violins II, 5 Violas, 4 Celli, 3 Contrabasses (includes C extension)

Notes
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No bow, No low B and C-extension
instruments
.............................................................

WOODWINDS

1 Flute, 1 Oboe, 1 Bb Clarinet, 1 Bassoon

BRASS

2 French Horns, 2 Bb Trumpets, 1 Tenor Trombone, 1 Bass Trombone

STRINGS

1 Harp, 5 Violins I, 4 Violins II, 4 Violas, 4 Violoncellos, 1 Contrabass (includes C extension)

PERCUSSION (1 PERCUSSIONIST)

Timpani, Snare Drum, Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbal, Triangle, Tambourine, Woodblock, others including mallets

5 Violins I, 5 Violins II, 5 Violas, 4 Celli, 3 Contrabasses (includes C extension)

Notes
.............................................................................
No bow, No low B and C-extension
DAW
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Audio Interface
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Apogee (Duet)
preamp
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Vintech Audio (X73i)
mics
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Geffell M930
,
Electro-Voice RE20
,
Amplifier
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Mark Bass combo
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instruments
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Double Bass
,
Electric Bass (4-String)
,
Electric Bass (5-String)
,
Electric Bass (Fretless)
,
Notes
.............................................................................
No bow, No low B and C-extension
Itaiguara recorded 3 takes. When I got the files and loaded up the first take, I didn't even bothering listening again to others ... it was perfect. No cutting, editing needed, nothing.
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Tom Malinowski
Music Creator
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Itaiguara is the best. It's always a pleasure with him.
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Andrew Kadin
Music Creator
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Itaiguara kills it every time! He goes above & beyond. He is generous, caring & very talented!! He does his prep work sooo well, great & thoughtful communicator. He pre recorded sheet music & it made a huge difference, I’m so grateful! Itaiguara is a gem ❤️🎯🎸🎶
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Danika Fields
Creative Artist & Producer
5 out of 5 stars4 out of 5 stars3 out of 5 stars2 out of 5 stars4 out of 5 stars
Itaiguara was brilliant - as always!
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Arnoud Breitbarth
Musical Theatre Writer
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Had an incredibly productive day with Nate, Adam, Itaiguara and Joe... lots of fun and awesome results. There was some sort of issue with Google Drive links after the sessions, and the audio wasn't getting to me, but a quick email with Diogo and it was fixed right away. I appreciate everything you guys do! Thank you so much!
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Jed Davis
Music Creator
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Itaiguara definitely went out of his way deliver my specific request. Nice work!
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Kelly Harris
Music Creator
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Itaiguara is great. Got the feeling I was going for perfectly from a fairly basic track.
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Rolando Gori
Composer & Producer
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Itaiguara is great
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Gio Croatto
Music Creator
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Another great recording with Itaiguara. Not only did he play perfectly, but he's been quite inspirational about our work needing to be finalized and released as an album.
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Tom Malinowski
Producer
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I love working with Itaiguara! He always comes to the sessions prepared, with relevant questions and notes. He takes the time to study the piece before we begin, so things always go smoothly and genially... and, of course, I always leave feeling that my music is interpreted above and beyond what I expected.
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Rolando Gori
Composer & Producer
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Another great session with Itaiguara. He is a solid session bassist to work with who brings many additional ideas to the recording.
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Tom Malinowski
Music Creator
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I have not listened to stems yet but needed to miss sessions today due to a blackout, I communicated with Itaiguara to proceed without me and I see session files coming in so I am grateful he is getting this work done on my behalf without me. TY
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Danika Fields
Music Creator
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Always a pleasure working with Itaiguara! Excellent bass results!
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Tom Malinowski
Music Creator
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That was a great experience... Itaiguara breezed through multiple amazing takes, making the session easy and fun. Both the video chat and audio stream worked perfectly and I had great-sounding tracks emailed to me within minutes. I'm looking forward to working with Itaiguara again; I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this service!
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Jed Davis
Music Creator
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The bass tracks that itaiguara sent me are great. I'm looking forward to working with him on the next project.
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Andrew Kadin
Music Creator
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I had two great sessions this morning with Yuri and Itaiguara. They both made everything easy and fun as always! Also as usual, I ended up with great tracks. Thank you so much!
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Jed Davis
Music Creator
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Sonically the files are great!! Itaiguara has a fantastic Geffel microphone that sounds wonderful. Great experience.
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Steve Allen
Music Creator
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Itaiguara wonderful as always TY
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Danika Fields
Music Creator
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Itaiguara played perfectly, and the tone/sound of the bass is amazing!
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Federico Torri
Composer
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Itaiguara is the constant professional. His dexterous fretboard work and technical mastery of walking bass lines has produced some truly amazing tacks. Itaiguara comes to each session with the chart reviewed and edited. He really makes Musiversal session work seem flawless.
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Tom Malinowski
Producer
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Itaiguara is a super bass player !!! Nailed this Motown style piece with great groove and taste!
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Paolo Montrone
Songwriter & Musician
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Itaiguara‘s bass stems sounded great! His tone and intonation was spot on and there was a lot of energy in his bass line. I’ll definitely be booking him again!
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Jason Robba
Music Creator
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Itaiguara is a pro! Always great ty
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Danika Fields
Music Creator
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Recording a bass track with Itaiguara was smooth and productive. He had done his homework, so in addition to being wonderfully talented, he was ready to record immediately upon the start of the session. He knocked out two great takes in 20 minutes and we ended the session early. I had the stems within minutes of completion.
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Nicholas Loghides
Music Creator
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Itaiguara rocks!
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Rolando Gori
Composer & Producer
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Itaiguara is always incredible
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Danika Fields
Music Creator
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As usual, I loves me some Itaiguara Brandao!! TY
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Danika Fields
Music Creator
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Great session with Itaiguara! He really nailed the track with a great bass lead line.
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Tom Malinowski
Music Creator
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Working w Itaiguara is always wonderful!
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Danika Fields
Music Creator
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Great as ever! Thanks Itaiguara!
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Rolando Gori
Composer & Producer
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Itaiguara Brandão is an amazing bass player. He makes studio work seem effortless, even though I'm aware it's a lot of hard work!
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Tom Malinowski
Music Creator
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Always a pleasure recording with Itaiguara!
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Tom Malinowski
Music Creator
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Itaiguara is the best!
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Andrew Kadin
Music Creator
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Another perfect session with Itaiguara!
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Tom Malinowski
Music Creator
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Another great session with Itaiguara Brandão! Looking forward to my next session on double bass. Keep up the good work team!
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Tom Malinowski
Music Creator
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Itaiguara is fantastic! 2 great sessions! He is very thoughtful with preparation and that is helpful and much appreciated:)
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Danika Fields
Music Creator
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Itaiguara did a great job as usual. I always enjoy working with him.
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Andrew Kadin
Music Creator
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Itaiguara is fantastic as usual🎸⭐️
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Danika Fields
Music Creator
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Mingus reached out from the grave and ask Itaiguara to stop what he's doing! no one is out there dropping bass bombs like this guy.
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Tom Malinowski
Music Creator
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Itaiguara is such a pro! I had trouble with vid & sound and Itaiguara just started session without me, losing no time! I was able to get sound about halfway thru, so glad he just pressed on without me and everything sounded great as usual. Afterwards I saw I had a zoom update so hopefully that's what it was... TY
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Danika Fields
Creative Artist & Producer
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Awesome as always! Itaiguara is so great with not only coming up with solutions to tricky fingerings but also takes the time to clue me in & gives me greater innerstanding. Love his style, much appreciated:)
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Danika Fields
Creative Artist & Producer
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Itaiguara is amazing. Great guy and super professional
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Daniel McCallum
Music Creator
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Absolutely a pleasure to work with Itaiguara, professional and groove!! I'll book again asap for another bass session!
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Stefano Ritteri
Music Creator
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I had two sessions today - one with Itaiguara and one with Nate. Both went smoothly (as usual) and I ended up with incredible takes on some fairly challenging material. I really feel like there's nothing I can throw at these guys they can't handle! Thanks again for this great service. :-)
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Jed Davis
Music Creator
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Beautiful interpretation. The 3 T’s: Tone taste and timing. What can you ask more ? Yes a great person like Itaiguara to share the joy of collaboration.
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Paolo Montrone
Songwriter & Musician
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Fantastic work Itaiguara! Upright bass was well recorded, and perfectly blends into the song. And great work at interpreting the music without the score. I love being able to communicate musically with Itaiguara in all different ways.
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Rolando Gori
Composer & Producer
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Another fantastic session with Itaiguara! Even though the piano was slightly off time he was able to provide 2 takes (one with click, one with piano) so that I could stitch together a coherent track!
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Tom Malinowski
Music Creator
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Itaiguara is spectacular! The double bass sounds amazing:):)
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Danika Fields
Music Creator
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Fantastic as always from Itaiguara
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Danika Fields
Music Creator
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Itaiguara rules!!!! Please let him know how pleased I am with his performance
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Woodlock Flick
Music Creator
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This week I had multiple sessions with Itaiguara, Nate and Joe and every one was a productive pleasure! I feel like I just keep giving the same praise over and over again, but thanks so much for this awesome service!
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Jed Davis
Music Creator
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Itaiguara is quite the professional. We had ten minutes left and then "Oh, how about a bass solo on the fly, wouldn't that be cool!" Pretty cool.
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Tom Malinowski
Music Creator
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This was my fourth session with Itaiguara and I couldn't be happier... I'm getting perfect bass tracks, with multiple great takes to choose from, and Itaiguara makes the process simple and fun. Thanks so much!
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Jed Davis
Music Creator
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Always a pleasure working with Itaiguara!
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Rolando Gori
Music Creator
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Great job in every session, Itaiguara is the best bass player I ever met. Very much enjoyed it when the demo came to life.
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Note Ratthakorn Komol
Music Creator
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Another killer session with Itaiguara! Lately it feels like I'm out at a club listening to a concert. Wild bass lines.
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Tom Malinowski
Producer
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Fantastic sound combining DI and MIC files on double bass! Thank you Itaiguara for the suggestion!
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Gio Croatto
Music Creator
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Itaiguara is great. A real bass player...
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Nicolaas tenBroek
Music Creator
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The session with Itaiguara was very cool and very professional, I felt a lot of fun with the session and his sound is great.
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Note Ratthakorn Komol
Music Creator
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Because Itaiguara is so good!
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Jarrod Ward
Music Creator
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Itaiguara is a professional who puts quite a bit of prep work into making sure the track turns out fantastic.
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Tom Malinowski
Music Creator
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Itaiguara is fantastic:) Ty
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Danika Fields
Music Creator
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Itaiguara is always fantastic!
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Danika Fields
Music Creator
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As usual Itaiguara and Nate deliver! TY Musiversal!!!
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Danika Fields
Creative Artist & Producer
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Itaiguara noticed my wav file was at 96khz, and he made sure to match that. I also liked that there was a DI and a mic that caught more organic sounds, so I'm able to blend and use both.
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Behzad Habibzai
Music Creator
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