Astoria Soundworks offers in-person, remote, and online services for recording, editing, mixing, and/or mastering for albums, singles, demos, voice-overs, pre-recorded and live streaming events, podcasts, videos, concerts, and more, and is conveniently located near the Ditmars subway station and only minutes from midtown Manhattan. Astoria Soundworks has been helping bands make it big since 1998 and provides all the necessary instruments that musicians may need such as full drum kits, pianos and keyboards, amps, mics, and more. Many of the studios are equipped with CD recording tech so musicians can record their rehearsals. From Acoustic Jazz to Hardcore Metal, Astoria Soundworks has the right room to suit all their clients’ needs. A full line of equipment is also available.
Astoria Soundworks has Premier Rooms, Standard Rooms, and Session Rooms, as well as a Jazz Den for use by clients. Premier room A and B are the ultimate in professional rehearsal. They’re designed to accommodate groups of 6-10 with ample and elegant space and are fit for musicians with the highest level of talent.
Premier Room A is our largest and most sought-after rehearsal room. A massive 450 square feet of sound-insulated space provides the most pristine acoustics possible. Premier Room A Includes even a lounge area with a sofa to ensure your stay is as comfortable as it is productive. The room is equipped with Yamaha Maple Custom drums, a Full Ampeg SVT Stack Bass Rig, Yamaha MM8 88 Weighted Key Synthesizers, and several guitar amps and microphones. The 18′x23′ Premier Room has a capacity for up to 12 musicians.
Astoria Soundworks has 14 Standard Rooms, One-Five, Seven, Nine, 11, 13, C, E, F, and G. Each room is designed to provide bands of four-six people with a comfortable and professional rehearsal experience. All rooms are fully stocked with drums, full amp rigs, mics, and keys. Each room is 13′x22′ and is equipped with Yamaha Oak Custom Drums, a Full Ampeg SVT Stack Bass Rig, and a Korg Triton 88 weighted key Synthesizer. Additionally, every standard room at Astoria Soundworks has several guitar amps and microphones.
Session Rooms 10, 12, and 14 are smaller than Astoria Soundworks’ Standard Rooms and are designed to serve groups of 1-3 people. Practice room 8 is slightly smaller than the session rooms, and is designed with the solo practicing musician in mind, but can accommodate up to three musicians. Each session room is 19′x19′ and is equipped with Oak Custom Yamaha Drums, a Kawaii Upright Piano, and a Yorkville KB200 Combo Amp with 1 Microphone.
The 13’x24′ Jazz Den is the premier space at Astoria Soundworks to practice Jazz, Blues, Big-Band, Broadway, and more. Astoria Soundworks converted Standard Room D into an over-equipped rehearsal space, complete with Amps, Drums, and a Semi-concert Grand Piano. The Jazz Den can accommodate groups of up to six people and is equipped with a Yamaha Oak Custom Drum Set, an Ampeg B-200R Rocket Bass Rig, a Full Mixer, a full Yamaha Semi Concert Grand Piano, and much more.
Studio Square Recordings in Astoria strives to get the best sound from every artist and specializes in Melodyne and AutoTune vocal processing. Their goal is to provide our clients with a uniquely creative environment, top-of-the-line equipment, and skilled industry professionals to help inspire creativity. Studio Square offers vocal tracking, mixing, mastering, production, and listening sessions, and their equipment includes Yamaha HS7 Monitors, a Yamaha HS8 Sub, a Neumann U87 Microphone, a Neumann TLM 103 Microphone, a Universal Audio Apollo X6, a Universal Audio 6176 Mic, Avid Pro Tools, Auto-Tune Pro, Many Waves Plugins, and more.
Studio Square has the best microphones in the business available for use by aspiring recording artists. The recording studio also includes a soundproofed vocal recording booth, noise-isolating stereo headphones, and more. Studio Square’s recording engineers can sculpt your voice using various plugins such as AutoTune, and Melodyne, along with many other tools.
Studio Square possesses the expertise, tools, and plugins to dial in a musician’s sound, and their engineers listen to what musicians have to say and shape the mix to fit that and much more. The engineers at Studio Square can record musicians in the studio or can pick up where they left off with a recording of their own. Studio Square’s audio engineers make use of professional techniques to make songs club-ready.
Blitz Recording Studio in Queens is run by a small, specialist studio team. Blitz uses the best equipment in recording for the best sound quality. Their Engineers are experienced and easy to work with and their own creativity makes them the best In New York City.
Blitz believes that the caliber of engineers and producers is just as important as the quality of the studio, if not more. No matter how good the equipment is, to get a good product a recording artist needs a good engineer and producer. A great engineer paired with the right studio adds to what makes a great musician and Blitz is proud to be able to offer a few top talents specializing in many different genres.
Dubt Studios is a professional recording studio located in downtown Far Rockaway featuring the best of both vintage analog and modern digital tools. Recording tools include Avid Pro Tools Ultimate, Propellerhead Reason 7 DAW Music Software, ACID Pro 7 Digital Audio Workstation, Cakewalk Sonar Platinum, and Apple GarageBand while monitoring tools include a Yamaha HS5i “5 Powered Studio Monitor, a Yamaha HS8 8″ Powered Studio Monitor, and a KRK 10s 10” Powered Studio Sub-woofer. Production tools include iZotope Neutron 3 Advanced, Fl Studio, Logic Pro X, Wondershare Filmora, Adobe Audition, and Audacity Pro. Additionally, Dubt Studios is equipped with an AKG P220 Large-diaphragm Condenser and a Bluebird SL Large-Diaphragm Cardioid Condenser Microphone. Services offered at Dubt Studios include artist development, music production, studio engineering, professional photo shoots, management and marketing, website promotion and marketing, and mixing and mastering.
A Bloody Good Record (ABGR) Recording Studio in Queens was built by Mark Law in 2005 and is a home-like studio filled with warm vibes, priceless analog gear, a full production booth, a small vocal/instrument booth, warm lighting, amazing sound isolation and talent to help aspiring recording artists reach their musical ambitious. Conveniently stationed at the heart of Long Island City, the studio is two blocks away from the Court Square Subway Station for easy transportation access. The staff at ABGR pride themselves on offering a diverse number of services outside of the record, mix, and master choices, and with over 300+ productions completed, ABGR is excited about its growing clientele.
The Diamond Mine Recording Studio in Queens is a 1400-square-foot recording studio encouraging live performance and recording. It features a spacious, daylit live room with an iso-booth, a control room with a stockpile of analog gear, a lounge for relaxing, and an enormous roof with inspirational views of the New York City skyline. Opened in 2014, and nestled within a nondescript industrial building that used to be the Fairchild Recording Equipment factory, this studio includes a tremendous collection of vintage instruments and has served as a private creative hub for internationally acclaimed artists, producers, and songwriters. The Diamond is conveniently located 10 minutes from Midtown Manhattan or North Brooklyn. It is in a rapidly growing neighborhood that has great restaurants, coffee, bars, breweries, a bowling alley, and stunning waterfront parks.
The Diamond Mine is owned by a group of four musicians who have been musical partners since they were teenagers. Leon Michaels, Homer Steinweiss, Thomas Brenneck, and Nick Movshon are a soul-funk rhythm section who have, since 2000, created instrumental music under several different project names (Menahan Street Band, El Michels Affair, The Expressions, The Radiant Rhythm Band) and attracted some incredible collaborators along the way. Legendary Brooklyn Soul singers such as Charles Bradley, Lee Fields, and Sharon Jones have all recorded here with the guys as their backing band, and up-and-coming acts like Brainstory, Kirby, Holy Hive, and The Shacks, have discovered their sound in this space.
All-star producers such as Mark Ronson and Jeff Bhasker have used the studio for multiple projects including pop superstars like Dua Lipa as well as Lady Gaga. Further, the New York-native performer recorded her fourth studio album, Joanne (2016) at the Diamond Mine. Additionally, English singer-songwriter Adele worked on her third studio album, 25 (2015) at the Diamond Mine.
Thomas Brenneck is the leader of the Menahan Street Band, co-founder of Dunham Records, and former co-owner of Dunham Sound Studios in Williamsburg. Brenneck is best known for developing Charles Bradley’s recorded catalog over many years, as a founding member and producer of Budos Band, and as a former guitarist for Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings. He likes to work entirely on tape, even when it comes to editing and mixing. Most of his productions find a home at Daptone Records and its subsidiaries. His instrument of choice is the guitar, and Brenneck also plays the bass, keyboards, percussion, lap steel, and drums.
Leon Michaels is the leader of the El Michels Affair, co-founder of Big Crown Records, former co-founder of Truth and Soul Records, and former co-owner of Soul Fire Studios. His 20 years of instrumental music have been pervasively influential among other artists, producers, DJs, and music supervisors, leading to a steady stream of samples and syncs and ensuring that he is constantly producing someone else’s record (e.g. Chicano Batman, Aloe Blacc, Nicole Wray), often for his own label. His primary instruments of choice are the organ, sax, and flute, and Michaels also plays the keyboards, bass, guitar, percussion, and drums.
Nick Movshon is known foremost as an extraordinary session bassist, but he is also a skilled studio drummer, having played on countless songs during his close associations with producers including Diamond Mine’s own Leon Michaels and Thomas Brenneck, as well as Mark Ronson, Dan Auerbach, Jeff Silverman, and Phillip Lehman. He becomes a contributing songwriter and arranger in any ensemble he plays for, and he can also produce and engineer. Movshon’s versatile collaborations have included Antibalas, The Black Keys, Ghostface Killah, and Lana Del Ray. While he can be congenial with almost any artist or band, he is equally at home building entire instrumental tracks without anyone else in the room. Movshon’s primary instruments are the bass and drums, and he also plays the guitar and percussion.
Homer Steinweiss is one of the best-known and most distinctive-sounding groove drummers of the past 20 years, having been an indispensable beatmaker behind all of New York’s revered funk and retro-soul outfits (Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley and Menahan Street Band, Lee Fields, and The Expressions), while lending his talents to mainstream artists such as Amy Winehouse, Bruno Mars, and the Jonas Brothers. Behind the scenes, Steinweiss is also a prolific songwriter and a capable producer, engineer, and arranger, having co-founded Dunham Records and Dunham Sound Studios with Thomas Brenneck, and is presently most focused on producing his own band, Holy Hive.
Otter House Studios in Queens offers a wide variety of services including rehearsals, recordings, production, distribution, rentals, and more. At Otter House, aspiring recording artists will have access to four live rooms, one isolation room, and one main control room for recording live sessions, drum sessions, full band rehearsal, or even a space to express themselves artistically. All rooms are wired back to the main control room, ‘The Producer’s Suite’, and is perfect for any producer or recording artist to get the work they need to be done.
Long Island Sound Studios in Astoria, just two stops outside of Manhattan, is Producer Michael Wuerth’s personal recording, writing, production, mixing, and mastering studio. LISS is a full-service music production studio designed with the songwriter at its core. Producer Michael Wuerth comes from a deep-rooted background in songwriting, music production, and mixing, and works across a wide span of genres like pop, electronic (EDM, house, etc.) indie, rock, metal, and more. Wuerth’s sound and style will transform a musician’s music into full, bright, and clear, productions combining organic instrumentation with modern production techniques. His deep-rooted background in songwriting and expertise as a recording, mixing, and mastering engineer ensures that his clients’ music will reach its full potential by the time it is released.
Mixerhead Recording Studios is a Digital Multitrack recording and rehearsal studio in Queens. Mixerhead is a state-of-the-art audio recording facility with custom-designed control and isolation rooms and custom acoustically designed isolation rooms that provide comfort, privacy, and the most advanced communication tools. Mixerhead’s services include audio recording, mixing/ mastering, music production/beat production, songwriting, DJ services/DJ classes (Traktor, Serato, Vinyl or CD), music lessons (Drums, Bass, Guitar), audio engineer classes (ProTools, Ableton, Reason, Maschine), live sound/ band and event sound, hourly/daily rehearsal room rental, daily production room rentals, monthly room leases, session musicians, graphic design and printing, web design, photography, and videography.
Mixerhead is equipped with four studios, A, B, C, and D, and a live room for use by musicians. Studio A is a fully equipped control room with a built-in mezzanine-style vocal booth overlooking the workstation. This design allows for complete privacy, comfort, and control of the artist and the engineer. This studio is a great room for tracking, mixing, listening, and mastering. Equipment in Studio A includes Mac Pro, Protools 10, Control 24, Event TR8, PS8 Yamaha Monitors, Manley Voxbox, Neumann UA87, Logic, Ableton Live, Korg Triton, and Axiom 61.
The Live Room at Mixerhead is the state-of-the-art self-contained main instrument tracking room. It can accommodate a full band for rehearsal and recording. It has been carefully designed for comfort and optimal recording and instrument tracking.
MonoLisa Studios in Long Island City was opened in January 2013 by 3X Grammy award-winning recording engineer Denise Barbarita and is the perfect environment for any artist’s needs, from basic tracks to final mixdown. MonoLisa Studios specializes in recording, mixing, and producing music for bands and artists of all genres, as well as providing ADR/Foley/VO, stereo/5.1/ATMOS mixing services for post-production. MonoLisa’s Live Room has a very open and musical sound, but if more isolation is needed, the Taytrix Panels can construct smaller spaces.
MonoLisa Studios is equipped with a mint condition Upright Yamaha Disklavier. The 15-year-old MX100 Mark II plays and sounds amazing, with the added benefit of MIDI compatibility, meaning that it’s capable of recording MIDI performance data while also recording the piano acoustically. The midi data recorded during the session can also be used to trigger another piano sample from MonoLisa’s extensive library to layer or perhaps replace the acoustic sound if so desired.
Owner/Head Engineer/Educator of MonoLisa Studios Denise Barbrita is a three-time Grammy award-winning Engineer/Mixer. Over the past 20+ years, Barbrita has worked on a variety of music productions, across many genres, working with independent artists and major clients alike. Her clients include Sony Masterworks, EMI, Koch Records, Nonesuch, Razor and Tie, KonceptVR, Movers and Shakers, and organizations such as The New York Film Academy, and MOMA, and she also works with film producers and directors creating soundtracks (music composition, sound design, foley, ADR and mixing) for feature films, documentaries, trailers, and commercials.
Co-Owner/Professional Drummer/Educator of MonoLisa Studios Rich Kulsar is available as a drummer and can answer any questions regarding the drums available for a musician’s session. A drummer in New York City since 1991, Kulsar has played with many artists across many genres. He records and performs live with well-known, not-as-well-known, and soon-to-be more well-known artists and musicians.
Trutone Mastering Labs in Nanuet, a Hamlet in the Town of Clarkston, Rockland County, was founded as a part-time business in 1972 by Adrianna and Carl Rowatti. The company operated from a 10′ X 10′ basement room of Carl’s childhood home in North Bergen, New Jersey. The services offered were cutting masters for vinyl records, on-location recording for local schools and churches, as well as custom record pressing. Music styles have been born, blossomed, and matured, and Trutone has been there to help shape the evolution. From classic analog to pristine digital gear, Trutone is equipped to enhance and refine.
In late 1999, to fill the growing demand of their New York City clientele, Trutone opened a storefront in New York City’s theater district and called it Music on the Run. The store was outfitted with robotic CD-R and DVD-R copiers and in-cassette duplicators. An in-house design team created professional, custom graphic themes and colorful printed inserts. The concept was an immediate success with local musicians, producers, writers, and voice-over artists walking into order, affordable, professional-looking demos. In 2005, Music on the Run was relocated under the same roof as the mastering studios, two blocks away, and video authoring and editing services were added.
After selling their studios to Sony Music Entertainment in mid-2008, the Rowatiis took up roots and moved Trutone Mastering Labs to a temporary location in a New York City suburb, while embarking on plans to construct another mastering studio. Carl collaborated with friend and acoustician, John Storyk to recreate the look, sound, and functionality he had created for their successful midtown studios. In May 2009, the new studio was officially opened and as anticipated, rates an A+ both acoustically and esthetically. Clients book attended sessions with Carl regularly and thoroughly enjoy the laid-back, country setting of the new studio. The Rowattis attribute their longevity to their perpetual ability to reinvent themselves and to the multitude of loyal, satisfied clients they have served throughout their many years in the music industry.
Conceptualized and designed by the renowned architect and acoustician John Storyk, Trutone Mastering Labs is esthetically sensational, acoustically accurate, and fully appointed in every respect, allowing the working producer/artist to produce and be productive. Carl has meticulously, handpicked each piece of gear to ensure that his client’s broad range of tastes and requirements are fully covered. From rare, vintage analog, to pristine digital gear, Trutone is totally equipped to professionally enhance and refine your mixes.
There are several recording studios in the state of New York where aspiring musicians can make their dreams a reality. New York City is the epicenter of music-making in the state, and several big names in the music industry have had their big breaks at recording studios throughout largely Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Some of these studios are legacies that have been around for decades, while others are just starting out.
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