Tasteful, melodic, memorable guitar parts that complement YOUR project. My music has landed on Netflix, Spotify Editorial & Amazon featured playlists - I know how to an add edge to your sound. I have recorded for AR Rahman and other global acts, recently on Akshay Kumar's "Atrangi Re" on Netflix this January.
I have acoustic, 12 string, nylon, electric & bass guitars at my disposal to fill out your artistic needs. New demo? Struggling with ideas? I can help guide the arranging process, give double-tracks, layers & pan different parts to create a beautiful layered texture & open up the sense of space & intimacy of your song. I specialize in creating a wide, stereo image of small, deliberate parts without a wasted note.
Everything must have purpose.
As a composer in the traditional sense of the word, I'm also able to notate string arrangements & chord charts. I've honed these skills while studying at Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University where I had a merit scholarship for classical music, as well as winning several national & international competitions for my guitar playing.
My NUMBER ONE priority is balance - not showing off or over playing. I'm flexible & communicative.
Many tracks, movies, singles, EPs, film scores, orchestras and projects I've been a part of have earned millions of views on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, BBC Radio & Bollywood.
"You're in good hands" - I'm currently endorsed by Kepma Guitars, Procraft India & Gibson who in addition to supporting my playing, also help sponsor my Chennai Guitar Fest, which I am the founder and Artistic Director. It is the biggest acoustic guitar festival in South India.
Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.
Credits
29 Reviews - 5 Repeat Clients
Endorse Matt Bacon
check_circleVerifiedMatt is incredible as always! I feel great to get another opportunity to work with him.
check_circleVerifiedMatt is an idea man, with great instincts. He knows when to lean in and when to lay out, which is great. He not only gave me a lot of cool textures and ideas to work with, but he really threw himself into my tune wholeheartedly. A great musician, easy to work with.
check_circleVerifiedMatt is a very talented musician and Artist, and I appreciate all the work he put into my track. He is responsive, communicative and willing to go the extra mile for his clients. Thank you Matt!
check_circleVerifiedMatt was so dedicated to producing a good quality result for my song. Would recommend his work to anyone looking for guitar!
check_circleVerifiedMatt was a pleasure to work with. He is a very smooth, dedicated and skillful guitarist.
I like how enthusiastic and prompt he is with his work.
I am definitely coming back for another gig very soon.
check_circleVerifiedMatt was a pleasure to work with! Excellent communication, super fast and great quality work! A real pro who knows his stuff. Look forward to working with Matt again in the future.
check_circleVerifiedMatt is meticulous and super dedicated. His bass and harmony chords were really beautifully thought of! He dropped all his STEMs in a nicely arranged manner on my project folder, and we plan to work together on more projects. His strings are a great compliment to my vocals for my Indian music projects.
check_circleVerifiedMatt is insanely talented and it’s been one of the most rewarding experiences working with him. His guitar playing skills are next level, but his communication is also the best that I’ve come across on Soundbetter. He walked me through each stylistic choice he made, gave me regular updates, and delivered a really polished final product.
Seriously impressed and cannot wait to work together on another song!
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Having worked with Matt twice before, it was only natural I approached Matt again to record guitars for a full-length song. After listening to the demo, Matt proposed to record all the parts including drums, bass and several guitar layers. His one-stop shop made it easier for me to track everything with just one person. His frequent updates on his progress also put me at ease that everything is going well. He pays attention to your needs and executes it accordingly. Highly professional!
check_circleVerifiedAbsolutely perfect collaboration. Matt has great intuition , experience and amazing skills to add wonderful musicality to a project. This was really good fun , am really happy with the outcome and am looking forward to more projects in future.
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Matt is a brilliant musician and an endless reservoir of ideas. I shared a demo of an acoustic piece and he converted it into something very beautiful, adding depth and colour to the music. Truly a delight to work with. He is extremely efficient without any compromises to the quality. Highly recommended.
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Matt is an exceptional professional. He captured everything I was looking for in a guitar-based track for a film score - he provides meaningful suggestions to improve your work and ideas. Could not ask for a better musician to work on my film score. Most definitely the musician I'll turn to for any upcoming job.
check_circleVerifiedVersatile, thorough, great communication and super fast delivery. Played various styles to suit the song and gave me enough extra material to work with. Highly recommended!
check_circleVerifiedAwesome job with many options and easy to deal with on the project will use again in the future
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Awesome job Matt sounds great easy to work with on this project
check_circleVerifiedOnce again an amazing work by Matt. He delivers everything you ask for ...and more.
The track really comes alive when he plays the guitar. He got it and he is your man. No doubt!
Also a supernice guy...hire him!- check_circleVerified
Well, this must be one of the best to hire on guitar here on SoundBetter. I hired a lot of people but Matt is exceptional I must say. He always send me a lot of different takes so I can choose which to use. I appreciate so much the good communication, the fast delivery and the super high quality.
I already hired him for more guitarplaying on upcoming tracks! So if you're looking for a professional guitar player he is your guy! - check_circleVerified
It's been a pleasure to work with Matt. He has been very proactive and gave me different options to pick and choose which made my life easy. I loved his quality of work.
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Matt is an amazing musician who goes above and beyond to give the best possible for the song. I am so thrilled to find someone like Matt on Soundbetter. He tried 25 different stems and gave me options on pick and choose. He is super quick and the quality of work is amazing. I want to surely work with him again for another song.
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First time working with Matt. Wanted acoustic guitars and man what he delivered! He gave me a lot of different tracks/options and the communication during the process was great. Appreciated just that so much!!
He delivered superqualitystuff...very skillful/talented and I couldn't be more happy. This guy I can highly recommend! Of course I will hire him again.
Thanks Matt!!
Interview with Matt Bacon
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Anders Ekbald - vocals
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Realistically you need a combination of both nowadays to make music, but the old records like Beatles, Stones, Zep, CSNY & old 50s Jazz in mono mixes have so much warmth & character. It all comes down to how the performance was captured.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Getting to lend a personal touch to songs.
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I'm currently collaborating with a Tamil rap group who are behind the viral Enoma Saani YouTube channel. We have about 10 songs - rap is not my preferred genre of music, but these guys write absolute bangers, and give me fre reign to play whatever I want. They always come up with clever and cool ways of sampling my parts & mixing it with sound design that includes water, rain, nature & found sound they record to give their music an organic edge.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: My Spotify album of original acoustic guitar instrumentals, which I've composed based on themes from the Odyssey and ancient Summarian influence.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: Shredding. I will NOT overplay on your song, unless it musically calls for it.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What inspired you to write this track or work on this project? Whats the purpose of it?
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Acoustic guitar, classical guitar, 12 string guitar, laptop & a bunch of sheet music paper
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I'm 30 now and have been living in India teaching at a music college. Here, I've collaborated on Bollywood films to everything from Tamil Raps songs, I also founded the first international Guitar Festival in south India. I have a book published by Mel Bay on arranging music for Indian raags, and am currently composing music for my next Spotify album, after being featured to 540,000 followers on Editorial playlist Classical New Releases.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Purposeful, layered, but some-what-nuanced guitar parts. George Harrison.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Always save your first takes, because even if there is errors, there's always a first-take rawness that adds character to a track.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Acoustic, Rock, film scores, classical, ambient, and singer-songwriter
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Knowing when enough is enough. Due to my classical music training, I've got a good sense of balance. There is no ego if every song doesn't turn into Hotel California for the guitar part. My goal is to bring together simple, purposeful playing that complements the songs.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Taste, balance and most importantly - RESTRAINT
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I listen to the track & on sheet music, dictate parts and highlight places in the session that will be good opportunities to bring out the guitar part. Then, I play through it twice and listen back. After assessing what's working and what needs improvement, I go and hammer out those parts. Ideally, I try to send tracks that are one continuous take, from beginning to end of the song so it has a more natural performance quality. Then I send a sample to the producer or songwriter, and tweak it with their input when asked.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: Right now I'm stuck at home - one condenser mic, a DI into my Focusrite Clarett 4pre & a Marshall amp all running into Presonus Studio One Pro. For guitars - I have Alhambra & Yamaha classicals, an Epiphone 12 string, Kepma FG acoustic guitar (my fav!) 2 Gibson Les Pauls, and a Gibson SG Standard. For rock stuff, I have a vintage Tubescreamer & Crybaby wah that I've had for decades from my dad.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: Jimmy Page, Julian Bream, Coldplay, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, John Mayer, Pace de Lucia, Genesis
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I frequently record acoustic fingerstyle & rhythm parts for singer-songwriters and classical guitar for film scores. In terms of electric guitar, I serve tracks in a Jimmy Page-meets-Brian May style of layered guitar with memorable, simple parts.
I was the Guitarist, engineer in this production
- Acoustic GuitarAverage price - $200 per song
- Classical GuitarAverage price - $200 per song
- Electric GuitarAverage price - $125 per song
- Bass ElectricAverage price - $50 per song
- YouTube Cover RecordingAverage price - $200 per song
- String ArrangerAverage price - $250 per song
Turnaround time flexible & at project's discretion - as fast as one hour if urgent, or one week if a large project
I always send my "scratch" takes to give a sense of my approach - then 3 revisions
- Led Zeppelin
- George Harrison
- Andrés Segovia
- Kepma Acoustic
- Epiphone 12 string
- Gibson Les Paul
- Gibson SG standard
- vintage TS808 Tubescreamer
- Cry Baby Wah
- Alhambra & Cordoba Nylon guitar
- Focusrite Clarett
Discount rate for pre-funding multiple tracks or albums! For people needing several types of guitar playing on the same project, I can offer a "project rate" rather than a rate per track.
