Sean McLaughlin

Assistant Professor

Affiliated Departments

617-747-6503

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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.

Courses Taught (4)

Vocal Production and Mixing for Musicians

MP-231

Record Production for Musicians

MP-305

Mix Techniques 2

MP-341

Vocal Production

MP-431

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

Education

School Name

The New England Institute of Art

State or Province

Massachusetts

Degree

Professional Diploma

Field of Study

Recording Arts Technology

Date Degree Received

1994

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.”