Boston. It’s not a cultural hub whispered in the same breath as the likes of LA, New York, Nashville or London. But, recording studios in Boston have long been a place that has bred great talent in music and film.
Aerosmith, Dropkick Murphys, The Pixies, Rob Zombie, Mark Wahlberg, and Matt Damon all call the city home. And as you’d expect of a city steeped in artistic and cultural significance, there are a fair few recording studios in the Boston area.
In this article, we’ll look at 6 of the best Boston recording studios.
Infinite Recording Studios
Nestled in the suburb of Reading to the north of Boston city centre, Infinite Recording Studios is a beautiful little complex that boasts two full recording studios and a third studio dedicated to podcast creation.
They have an impressive roster of artists that have recorded there too. Aerosmith, Alanis Morrisette, Black Eyed Peas, Charlie XCX, Justin Bieber, U2, and Flo-Rida have all made appearances. As you can see from the client list, they accommodate bands really well. But, Infinite Recording is probably one of the best hip-hop recording studios in Boston.
In addition to recording, they also offer music production, recording mixing, and mastering services. As well as lessons and even bespoke beats through their Infinite Beatz platform.
In addition to recording, they also offer music production, mixing, and mastering services. As well as lessons and even bespoke beats through their Infinite Beatz platform.
Contact Details:
A: 236 Ash Street
Reading
MA
01867
N: 617 286 6821
Plaid Dog Studios
Plaid Dog is a really lovely studio and has quite a unique setup. The space itself is absolutely gorgeous and was designed by Sonic Space and has 3 isolated tracking rooms. One of which is 350 square feet which is great for getting those big drum sounds.
There’s also an impressive gear list which includes a 1972 Fender Rhodes, a 1960s Wurlitzer, a 1962 Hammond, and a Steinway baby grand.
But perhaps the most unique thing about Plaid Dog is how they manage the costs of recording. You can, of course, simply contact them and book a slot and pay the normal rate, but the vast majority of their recording projects are crowdfunded.
Plaid Dog’s mission is to create a better way for artists to fund recording music. So they start off by recording a demo of a single and video to get people excited about an artist’s music. They then run a crowdfunding campaign and then, and once the money is raised, the artist is back in the studio to begin recording.
Plaid Dog work with artists from all over the US and they cover travel expenses and provide free accommodation to artists who are from outside of the Boston Area.
Contact Details:
A: 52 Everett St
Allston
MA
02134
Email: [email protected]
N: 617 925 5556
Boston Recording Studios on a Budget
Mad Oak Studios
Mad Oak has been in the game for 20 years and claims to have the best gear list in town. As well as a beautiful-sounding space designed by the Walters-Storyk Design Group, who are themselves one of the best designers of a state of the art acoustic spaces in the world.
The gear list is pretty impressive with a lot of Rupert Neve outboard gear and some really lovely keyboards and guitar amps for artists to play with. The toys are all built around a pretty spectacular 32 Channel API 1608 console. Which can either be used to record directly onto the Studer 827 24-track tape deck or through to the 32×32 Burl Mothership with built-in Pro-Tools. The studio is analogue and artists can choose whether to go digital further down the chain.
They’ve worked with some pretty big names including Aerosmith, Ben Folds, Joe Perry, and Weird Al Yankovic. But they also take the time to mention on their website that their philosophy is very artist-centred and with that in mind, they want to work with artists regardless of their budget or background.
Contact Details:
A: 390 Cambridge St
Allston
MA
02134
United States
Ugly Duck Studios
Ugly Duck is a full-service audio recording and video production studio. Although they can support band recording, they appear to operate more in the artist development and post-production phases.
They have worked with the likes of MTV, the BBC, Walt Disney, and Lucas Arts, so they certainly have some pedigree in this space.
Contact Details:
A: 155 N Beacon St
Brighton
MA
02135
United States
N: 617-861-0510
Blink Music
Blink Music is a loft-style studio where all of the equipment and the engineers are all bundled in together, which can be really nice in terms of creating a relaxed and creative atmosphere in a studio.
The space is really nice – incorporating 16-foot ceilings which allow for some really nice acoustic recording – Blink is particularly known for its acoustic piano (they have a gorgeous Petrof grand piano on site) and vocal recordings and they have previously been involved in a lot of film scoring work.
Blink is primarily focused on more classical-styled and film music productions, but they do work with bands as well. They also offer a very high-quality on-location recording service, so they can come to wherever the original music is made to make some great recordings if needed.
Contact Details:
N: (617) 225-0044
Email: [email protected]
A: 129 Franklin Street
Cambridge
MA
02139
The Record Co
If you are looking for cheap recording studios in Boston, the Record Co might be a really good option. The Record Co is a not-for-profit company that was set up in order to provide musicians in Boston a place to rehearse and record regardless of their background.
The complex is huge – they have 2 recording studios, 2 production studios, and 15 rehearsal rooms available and the rates are pretty reasonable.
Studio A is the biggest of the studios and is available for just $130 for four hours whilst studio B is slightly smaller and available for $100 per four-hour block.
The gear list is pretty nice too – classic Vox drum kits, Yamaha Baby Grand Piano, and some very good outboard equipment.
Contact Details:
N: 617 765 0155
Email: [email protected]
A: 960 Massachusetts Ave
Boston
MA
02118
That Was Our Guide To The Best Boston Recording Studios
So, there you have it! That was our guide to the best Boston music studios.
Boston is an awesome city with some incredible studios that have produced some of the best rock and hip-hop music over the past quarter of a century.
The list here is not comprehensive and there are dozens of other really high-quality studios dotted around the city, which are also definitely worth checking out before planning your next recording project.
Have you ever been to a recording studio in Boston? Tell us about your experiences in the comment section below! We would love to hear from you.
You may also be interested in some of these other articles about the best recording studios across the USA.
- Atlanta
- Asheville
- Baltimore
- Birmingham AI
- Buffalo NY
- Burbank
- Charlotte NC
- Chicago
- Colorado Springs
- Columbus Ohio
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Houston
- Lafayette
- Las Vegas
- Lauderdale
- Los Angeles
- Memphis
- Miami
- Nashville
- New York
- Oklahoma
- Omaha
- Orange County
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Raleigh NC
- Rochester NY
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Tampa
- Tulsa
- Virginia Beach
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