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Over 1,000 reviews on this site. Has worked with many nationally and internationally successful multi-platinum artists as well as countless local and independent talent, in a variety of genres. Worked on multiple #1's at radio.
Born and raised in Chicago, went to school at ASU and then CRAS, and currently based back on the NW side of Chicago. Worked under Johnny K at Groovemaster for 7 years as an engineer, with artists such as Disturbed, Megadeth, Staind, 3 Doors Down, Pop Evil, Sevendust, Red Sun Rising, and countless others. Lately I've been focused on producing and mixing more indie, alternative, and pop stuff.
Terms:
- I always allow for as many revisions as needed; I will keep refining until everyone is happy. To keep things efficient I do put a time limit of 15 biz days from delivery of first pass. After that, $25/pass. Also, after 10 passes add $25/pass, and after 15 passes add $50/pass. Usually good in 4-5 :)
- Rate includes final 44.1k 24b WAV master & unmastered full-res mix with headroom. Can include 2 alt prints (inst + acca) free of charge; additional mixes incur cost. Can provide stems for $50/song.
- Song length over 5:00, add $25. Over 6:00 add $50. Over 8:00 add $100.
- Track count over 75 add $25. Over 100 add $50. Over 150 add $100.
- Can typically get to a first pass in 5-10 biz days from booking.
- All passes sent with my mastering on there, so once we're done - we're done.
- Open to discounts when booking and working on 3 or more songs at a time.
- Happy to send more relevant examples of my work, I can only put four up here. Just ask :)
Would love to hear from you. Click the contact button above to get in touch.
Credits
- Megadeth
- Disturbed
- Staind
- Trapt
- Aranda
- Sevendust
- Airbourne
- Kobra And The Lotus
- Straight Line Stitch
- Bad City
- The Last Vegas
- Hessler
- 3 Doors Down
- Fight Or Flight
- Art Of Dying
- Mark Tremonti
- PoP Evil
- Alien Ant Farm
- Telescope
- Makeshift Prodigy
- Richy Nix
- Lansdowne
- 12 Stones
- Avatar
- Mindset Evolution
- Fireside Silhouettes
- The Letter Black
- The Protest
- Red Sky Mary
- Magician In The Machine
- We Are The In Crowd
- Adelita's Way
- Nola Ade
- Against the Current
- Red Sun Rising
1136 Reviews - 250 Repeat Clients
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Matt always nails it, love how we only ever get to revision 2!!!!!
love you work mate and thnk you.
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Matt was amazing to work with. He provided a great mix right out of the gates and was very patient and communicative with all of our tweaks. Matt really brought our track to life, he is a true professional!! We will be working with him again SOON. 10/10 recommend!
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Matt was amazing to work with! He nailed what I was looking for and was super easy to communicate with. Highly recommend!!
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This was my first time working with Matt and it was an absolute pleasure. I had sent my own mix as a reference and he immediately said he can hear where the mix/master needs to go...and he did it! He really did take the song to the next level. Super friendly, super professional and super easy to work with. I look forward to working with Matt again! A total pro.
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Matt is fantastic, always on the ball and we have a blast!! Choose Matt!!
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First time working with Matt and hope to again! What a great experience, you can tell he cares so much about what he does and I'm so pleased with the final result. Great communication and quick turnaround. Tysm Matt! :)
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Matt took my wee folk song and made it into an ethereal sounding beast
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Fantastic Mix Engineer. Got it right in the 1st draft itself and nailed the final mix.
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Had an amazing experience working with Matt on my latest track. Super talented, patient, and fast. He brought my vision to life! The mix sounds incredible, and the whole process was smooth and effortless. If you’re looking for a mix engineer who truly listens and delivers, Matt is the one. Highly recommend!
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Over the last couple of months, Matt went above and beyond on the mix, nothing was ever too hard and his understanding of the direction of the songs and sound grew and grew the deeper we got into the process to the point where he started listening and suggested improvements we didn’t even know we needed, haha!
We would highly recommend him and can’t wait to share the album with the world soon enough!
Thanks for your talent, patience and great attention to detail! We appreciate you so much! 🙏🏻 - check_circleVerified
Awesome to work with. Truly
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It's always great working with Matt. I've had several mixes done by him.
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ALWAYS a pleasure working with Matt
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It´s been a blast working with Matt. He´s such a great guy; even if I don´t know him personally, that shows. His work, talent and patience had been a blessing and I look forward to working with him again.
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First time working with Matt And he delivered an amazing mix right out the gate. Very quick to deliver pleasure working with him
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Excellent work as always. Extremely attentive and you won't be left disappointed!
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This was my second time working with Matt and it was a great experience. He's skilled, great with feedback, and you can tell he really cares about the final result. Highly recommended!
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Matt is the best! 11/10 communication, always speedy with edits, and most importantly, his work sounds FANTASTIC! Will always recommend him
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Always a great and easy experience with great mixes!
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Working with Matt was absolutely amazing. He really brought my record to life. Such clear and concise communication, and he got the vision right off the bat. Will be coming back for many more!
Interview with Matt Dougherty
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Krysta Youngs if you're looking for female vocals. Daniel Salcido / Commandspace Audio if you are looking for a place to record in the Los Angeles area. Nate Barnes if you need drums!
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: I'd say try to get a rough mix to a point that you're at least excited about it - whether that's you yourself figuring that out, or pushing your producer or engineer to get it there. It might not be technically perfect but it should at least be something you can be proud of. I can pretty confidently say that there isn't a single big major label hit song out there where everyone thought the rough mix sucked and then a mixer magically turned it into a hit.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both and why not? All that matters is that the song kicks ass, so I've never really cared too much about the whole analog vs. digital thing.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: That I get to help people in some small way realize their own dreams or ambitions...and in doing so, I realize mine.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Whether or not to send things "dry" or "wet" I would say is the most common question. To which I always say: send it so that I can spend the least amount of time trying to just get things to where you already had them, and spend more time pushing the mix forward and making things better! Vocals are usually best sent "dry", but everything else I'd say send "wet" - the creative vibe that is there when producing / making the actual music shouldn't be underestimated, and should be left as intact as possible :)
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: I'd say as a mixer, there is a big misconception that all the magic happens when you go to mix. I would say that magic should be there from the moment you push record - the vibe and idea should be there all along, and my job as a mixer should be to preserve and clarify what is already happening there. Don't save anything for down the road or fixing it later, that rough mix should get people excited! And then when you mix it for real it can take a true step forward technically and sonically.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What mixes/productions out there do you like / want to emulate aesthetically?
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Hmmm.... if I'm being honest probably a generator, microwave, hunting knife, flashlight, and cell phone, so that way I could actually survive :) But if I'm taking this question at face value, I'd say: Pro Tools (lame I know) Chandler Curve Bender Distressor Neumann M149 Barefoot MicroMain27
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I started out in an experimental rock/indie/hiphop/alt band in high school. I was playing drums, so it made sense for me to get a Pro Tools rig and some mic's since I had the most stuff to record. Then, bands at my high school found out I had some gear and asked if I'd be down to record them. Over time I found I was more into the art/science of recording than I was into the idea of trying to make it in a band and everything that goes with that. Then, at the last second I decided I wanted to go away to college and did the 4-year business school thing at ASU. Kind of put music on the backburner but always knew I wanted to get back to it. I went to CRAS after I graduated ASU, and then moved back to Chicago and secured an internship at Groovemaster Studios working for producer Johnny K. I moved up from unpaid intern to "main" intern and then started getting paid to do editing and basic assisting. After awhile I started handling full sessions and main engineering duties and ended up working there as an engineer for about 4-5 years full time. At that point I started getting more into my own production things and became more freelance based, working out of multiple studios. Currently I spend about 75% of my time mixing out of my home setup, and the rest engineering/producing around Chicago (and around the country).
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Manchester Orchestra - their latest offering was just ABSOLUTELY killer. Also, Biffy Clyro just because they rock so much...and then maybe #TBT Silverchair (probably the most underappreciated rock act of the last couple decades).
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: It seems to go in waves, but I'd say I'm currently pretty well split between pop and rock stuff. Overall I probably track and engineer more heavy stuff and rock stuff, and mix and produce more pop/indie-type stuff.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: I would say my sense of musicality - I play drums, guitar, bass, and keys and have a fairly advanced grasp of music theory as well as a very strong sense of relative pitch. I can VERY quickly familiarize myself with the chord progressions and melodies of the songs I am working on, and very often contribute creatively to what I am working on, even when it is just "mixing".
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I think I bring a very strong sense of musicality and utility - by that, I mean that I can take a client's stated goals with a particular project and help determine a good sense of how to get from point A to point B. For example, if they are trying to make a radio-friendly single in whatever genre they may operate in, I can offer a fresh perspective on how their song stacks up against industry leaders and what specifically they are doing differently or similarly.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: I work in stages. I always start by getting any file maintenance / organization out of the way first thing; basically, all the boring stuff. Then I'll come back and try and get the mix as far as I can in about 45 min to an hour and see where I'm at. I'll usually step away at that point and move to a different project to keep my ears as fresh as possible, creatively speaking. Then once I come back I try and "beat" my own mix and see how much further I can take things with a fresh perspective. Once the mix feels about 80% there and the overall vibe is starting to come together, I'll usually send a first draft to the client to get there general impressions and make sure I'm not drifting too far from their creative intention. Then I take their feedback along with what I'm hearing and refine from there. I always operate in an open-ended fashion and am willing to do as many revisions as it takes until everyone is happy. I find that I am usually happy after 2-4 passes - clients' input is invaluable to me when refining and pushing the mix as far as I can.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: The list would be too long to fit in here, but some mixing engineers that inspire me would be Andy Wallace, Serban Ghenea, Manny Marroquin, Andrew Scheps, Neal Avron, CLA, Rich Costey, Noah Shebib, and on and on... Production-wise I'm a big fan of Jeff Bhasker, Joel Little, Benny Blanco, Greg Kurstin, Joe Barresi, David Bottrill, GGGarth Richardson, Max Martin / Shellback / Cirkut, Jack Antonoff, Alex Da Kid, Ryan Tedder, Rick Rubin, etc...
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Overall I would say the most common type of work I do for clients on this site is mixing.
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I was the Producer, Mixer, Engineer, Instrumentalist in this production
- Shoe Strings - Olivia Grace (ALT / INDIE-POP)
- I Get Around - Adelitas Way (ROCK)
- You Didn't Mean It - NYRE (URBAN)
- Butterflies - Haley Gold (INDIE POP)
- Mixing EngineerAverage price - $350 per song
- ProducerContact for pricing
- Mastering EngineerAverage price - $80 per song
- Vocal TuningAverage price - $100 per track
- EditingAverage price - $150 per track
- Beat MakerAverage price - $1000 per song
- Editing is NOT included in mix cost. Happy to quote things upfront.
- I work in Pro Tools; send stems/tracks or a clean PT session.
- Acceptance of proposal is an acceptance of my terms.
- Lana Del Rey
- Disturbed
- Lorde
- Pro Tools
- ADAM monitors
- Apollo x16
- Neve Master Buss Processor
- Louder Than Liftoff Silver Bullet & Chroma+'s
- UAD
- SoundToys
- fabfilter
- Waves
- Slate
- Softube
- Brainworx
- Valhalla
- etc.
Willing to work with new clients and earn your business, open to first-time discounts if budgets are tight. Nothing is set in stone, I'd love to negotiate and earn your business!