Sean McLaughlin

Assistant Professor
Faculty Bio E-Mail
spmclaughlin@berklee.edu
Telephone
617-747-6503
Personal Websites
Sean McLaughlin's website

For media inquiries, please contact Media Relations

Sean McLaughlin loves recording and mixing songs. After working in Los Angeles in the early 2000s with notable producers such as Andy Johns, Jimbo Barton, and Carmen Rizzo, and artists such as Rush, Elliott Smith, Marilyn Manson, and Death Row Records, he returned to Boston in 2004 to open 37’ Productions. Since opening his studio, he has been working on projects both regionally and nationally. Some of the artists with whom he has plied his trade are Matchbox Twenty, Queensryche, Dirty Vegas, Sarah Blacker, and Kristen Merlin, among others, as well as ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and MTV, among others.

McLaughlin was named Producer of the Year by the New England Music Awards in 2013 and 2018, becoming the first to achieve that honor twice. In 2019, he became the only person to win Producer of the Year from the Boston Music Awards and the New England Music Awards. In 2014, he authored Mixing with iZotope, a comprehensive mixing guide for beginner to intermediate mixers. Currently, he mixes over 200 songs a year for artists in a wide variety of genres.

Career Highlights
  • Bass and guitar player
  • Leader of Sarah Blacker
  • Member of Tony Savarino and the Savtones, Munk Duane Band, and Fil Panico
  • Performances with Jenee Halstead, Tony Savarino and the Savtones, Munk Duane Band, and Fil Panico
  • Recordings as engineer and/or producer include Sarah Blacker's In Waves (Caroline/Universal, 2015), Precious Little Things (2013), and Come What May (2011); Jenee Halstead's Edge of the World (2015); Matchbox Twenty's iTunes Festival (Atlantic, 2015); Vary Lumar's Breaker (2014), Capture (2013), The Jig Is up (2012), and Waiting Room (2008); and Queensryche's Queensryche (Century, 2013)
  • Other clients include ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Sam Adams, Radio Shack, Zildjian, Vater Percussion, ESPN, NFL Network, and Blink Creative
Awards
  • Producer of the Year, New England Music Awards, 2019, 2018, and 2013
  • Producer of the Year, Boston Music Awards, 2019
In Their Own Words

“I want all students to know that they don’t have to have all the answers, but they do have to work with a purpose. I don’t teach the how without teaching the why. Every action has a reason or purpose for that action. I can’t teach them every minute detail of how a record gets made because records get made in a myriad of ways and with a vast array of techniques. Ultimately, I want to teach them how to listen and think for themselves.”

“I have a lot of passion for what I do in all aspects of the studio environment, from producing to tracking to mixing, and I bring that same enthusiasm to the classroom. I want all my students to work hard, and they’ll be working harder than they ever imagined when in a studio atmosphere; but I also want them to understand this still feels like the greatest job in the world, even after 25 years.”

“Making records is such an incredible art form: taking someone’s idea, someone’s inspiration, and through a combination of art, science, and empathy, creating a fully realized version of that inspiration and hopefully inspiring others in kind. A lot of the students have an interest in gear (some of which I’m guilty of stoking), but record-making is about creating and enhancing the connection of an artist and their songs to the audience, and that starts with the producer connecting with the artist and their songs. The same goes for mixing: taking the song and encapsulating that emotional core in the most impactful way possible. That’s what it’s all about.”

Additional Related Links
37' Productions
iZotope Mixing Guide

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