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Chicago Recording Studio Boutique Logo 3.1

Services

Tracking

I can record you with some of the best equipment the modern world has to offer.

Mixing

I can take raw tracks you've recorded at any studio and turn them into professional, polished recordings.

Bon Appétit

 

This is a Chicago recording studio and music production studio owned and operated by producer/engineer Matt Griffo in Chicago, Illinois in the Rogers Park neighborhood right by the Jarvis Red Line stop. Musicians also have access to a variety of instruments and equipment which is available for use during each session. Griffo has been a Chicago mixing engineer since 2005.

 

Below is more information on the services I provide and how to understand the overall landscape of not only what I have to offer, but the differences between different types of studio setups.

 

MIXING

If you already have your tracks recorded and are looking for a mixing engineer, and have all your stems/tracks ready to send over. Go to the bottom of this page using the request form. The best audio engineers, like Serban Ghenea, Manny Marroquin, Jaycen Joshua, Dave Pensado, or Tony Maserati, don't use basic home recording studio equipment. They are using some of the best sound recording and reproduction equipment on the market. Most people with a home recording studio setup, may even have the right recording studio software, or even a professional recording setup, but the knowledge and ability to quickly and accurately make a well balanced track is huge. It's important to hire the right person for the job.

RECORDING

There are a lot of types of Recording Studios.

- Top-tier

- Mid-tier

- Project

- Home

 

TOP-TIER

Top- tier studios are easy to identify. The rates are typically $100/hr and higher. A few top recording studios in Chicago are Gravity Studios, Chicago Recording Company, and the Recording Studio in Downtown Chicago, Chess Records. In Los Angeles there is Conway Recording Studios and Capital Records. In Miami, Florida there is Criteria Recording Studios. And one of the most famous, Abbey Road Studios.

MID-TIER

Mid-Tier studios can offer similar capabilities to a top-tier studio. However, some elements of the studio, usually the equipment, are not as expensive as the top-tier studios and the rates go down accordingly. Rates might be in the $60/hr and higher range. I have been to a few mid-tier recording studios that I have been very unhappy about the low-quality recording equipment they were using and decided to never go back again.

PROJECT STUDIOS

Project studios are usually independently owned and may or may not operate as a commercial facility. Producers, engineers, and some artists may establish such project studios. Generally they can compete well in terms of capabilities with the mid-tier studios. They are often located in a home. The rates, if applied, may be similar to a mid-tier or even a top-tier studio. They are significantly different from a home studio in terms of construction, acoustics and equipment. Some of them look and perform very similar to a top-tier studio. They pretty much all have a professional recording studio setup. In Chicago there is Studio 11 Chicago and a place called Music Garage Chicago, which is mainly for renting rehearsal space but has a few spots to do recordings as well.

HOME STUDIOS

Home studios are hard to define. Some are very rough, with very tiny budgets, with little or no thought put into room acoustics. Equipment is usually very low-cost and the range of equipment is usually very limited. Recording experience for these types of studios is random, and a home studio set up can be from a hobby to someone trying to make money with it.

 

The hard part is that back in 2020 to 2021 a lot of mid-tier and project studios began closing, leaving us with the top recording studios in the US and something moreso in between project studios and home studios. Those recording engineers and mixing engineers are using their home spaces as recording studios and having to pair down space. Which makes identifying studios aside from top-tier studios far more challenging. My best advice is to listen to the work on their websites and if you like the quality and sound of the finals, then that's great. Budget is a huge consideration and Gravity Studios Rates are going to be far higher than a smaller studios space, and for good reason. Doug McBride from Gravity Studios is an amazing mix engineer, he works quickly and it sounds awesome. But not everyone has that type of budget.

Some places now are even offering to send a professional audio interface and microphone to the musician and record them remotely. The way this works is the audio engineer gets a feed from their computer and essentially runs the session from wherever they are in the world. The only problem with this is that most people don't have acoustically treated living spaces. There could be air conditioning sounds, heating sounds, radiators, dogs barking, reverberant walls. Overall, to me, it makes a lot more sense to record in a properly treated space. Even the best microphones aren't going to be able to help a recording in a bad space.

When in the studio, the engineer or producer is often considered to be the “5th member” of the band. The tools they choose and the techniques employed can infuse the recording with a rich spectrum of colors and textures. As the source audio passes through the signal chain, there are many stages at which it can be affected. Arguably the most important of these is the choice and positioning of the microphone.

Take your music

And make it come to life for the world to listen to

Request a Quote

Tracks

Record on rare iconic mics

And find the perfect fit in a fraction of the time

Learn more about the microphones

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Use Killer Gear

Out of the instruments available you'll also have access to the St. Vincent signature guitar which features a lightweight African mahogany body, premium roasted maple neck with rosewood fretboard.

and it all leads you to a great mix

Griffo has been working in analog studios and mixing booths since the age of 5 and has been mixing tracks for artists since 2008 "in the box". "Mixing In The Box" refers to mixing a song completely within one software program.

Using Universal Audio's Apollo Audio Interface in conjunction with his deep knowledge of analog equipment, the results make for faster work flow and amazing sounds.

Give a listen to the tracks above to hear the results.

Try Out Vintage Amps

Plug in using Unison technology on the front panel instrument inputs, giving you dead-on, impedance-matched emulations of guitar and bass amps like the Fender '55 Tweed Deluxe, Marshall Plexi Super Lead 1959, and the Ampeg B-15N Bass Amplifier.

Book a session

Matt is a brilliant producer and engineer of both audio and video, and a pleasure to work with. I have been working regularly with him for several years, and I hope to continue that collaboration far into the future. In addition to his vast technical knowledge, he is a brilliant musician and multi-instrumentalist, and he brings THAT expertise into his studio work as well. He has made particular musical suggestions to me that I've incorporated into my recordings. He is also a life-long learner. I have seen him purchase particular apps, patches, etc., and figure out how to use them on the spot, just because he thought they would make our tracks better. I recommend Matt 100%.

- Ranjit Souri

Matt was an incredible resource for recording our album. His technical finesse and musical acumen brought things to our recording that we didn't even consider. He really knows his stuff, and he made the entire process much less stressful. We were very happy with the final product, and have every intention of working with Matt again.

- Justin Hamby

As a choreographer who works in nontraditional spaces, I have a specific set of needs from a composer. Matt was able to intuitively respond to the dance materialcreating a complex and beautiful score. Not only did he expertly develop the compositionhe also recorded the parts for both piano and cello and provided digital files that I could use in a variety of settings. I still get compliments on the music and recording quality!

- Rachel Damon, Creative Director of Synapse Arts

Matt recorded two of my original songs and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. He was insanely helpful, knowledgeable, professional and at the same time just the right amount of laid back and flexible. The songs ended up sounding exactly how I had heard them in my head; Matt was able to translate what I was thinking into high quality amazing sounding tracks. He even jumped in & improvised on piano with no rehearsal on one song after I was like, man, I would love to have piano on this song! He’s truly incredible and I will definitely be recording with him again.

- Sayjal Joshi

Matt Griffo is a silly genius. He not only a trained musician who practices regularly, he is tech savvy, staying up on the latest recording and producing tools, and totally nerds out about them. He knows sound, he knows production, he knows musicality and style, and he will deliver a result quickly. His time is valuable. My recommendation is come in knowing what you want as much as possible. If you are unclear and want to experiment, you may want to do so outside of the production time to make your time the most valuable. While Matt is open to experimentation, he does extremely well with clear direction. Know your stuff before coming in if possible!

<3

- Liz Chidester from the band Liz & The Lovelies

Testimonials