Studio A

Home To A Larger-Than-Life Sound

Studio A boasts a remarkable 32-foot ceiling, a unique feature resulting from Metallica’s demand to raise the roof an additional 14 feet during their sessions in the 1990s to achieve a bigger drum sound. The live room delivers a modern, open sound with just the right amount of natural decay, creating a beautiful ambiance ideal for drums, strings, horns, and piano. This space is exceptional for drums, offering a bright, larger-than-life sound. Surrounding the live room are two amp lockers and two isolation booths. The spacious iso booth, featuring clear sightlines, is perfect for vocals, guitars, upright bass, tight drum recordings, or piano—easily rolled into the booth when needed. Studio A is also home to a coveted Yamaha C7 grand piano, hand-selected by Bill Evans and featured on countless hit records, including Journey’s iconic “Don’t Stop Believin’.”  

The Control Room 

The newly rebuilt control room offers outstanding acoustics and exceptional bass response, thanks to extensive design upgrades. It features custom 15” 3-way soffit-mounted mains with dual 18” subs. Additional monitoring is handled by ATC 45s with subs for midfields and Yamaha NS10Ms for nearfields. At the heart of the control room is a 48-channel SSL Origin Analog Console, complemented by an extensive collection of vintage outboard mic pres, dynamics, eq’s and reverbs.  

Artists who have recorded in Studio A

Rick James, Santana, Deftones, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Chris Isaak, Luther Vandross, D’Angelo & The Vanguard, Dave Matthews, Huey Lewis and the News, Aretha Franklin, Widespread Panic, Carrie Underwood, Susan Tedeschi, Too Short, Primus, Journey, Cher, Joe Walsh, Van Morrison, Sammy Hagar, Jefferson Starship, Tracy Chapman, Los Lobos, Tower of Power, Larry Graham, Bob Marley, and Metallica. 

Studio A - Record Plant Sausalito
Control A - Record Plant Sausalito

Studio A Gear List

Console:

  • SSL Orgin 32 Ch. Inline fully loaded Mic Pres + EQ’s

Mic Pres

  • 4 Ch. API 3124
  • 8 Ch. BAE 1084
  • 12 Ch. BAE 1073 w. HPF
  • 2 Ch. Manley

Dynamics

  • 2 Distressors
  • 1 DBX 160vu
  • 2 Valley People Dynamite
  • 2 Urei LA3A Vintage
  • 1 Urei LA2a Vintage
  • 2 Urei 1176 Blackface Vintage
  • 2 Ch. Neve 33609 Vintage
  • 2 Ch. Dolby SR/A


EQ

  • 2 Manley Pultecs
  • 6 API 550A Vintage


Time Based Effects:

  • Bricasti M7
  • Eventide H3000
  • Lexicon PCM70
  • Lexicon PCM 42


Misc

  • 48 Ch. Avid HD I/O
  • Avid HDX
  • Apple M2 Mini
  • 16ch Aviom Multi Cue
  • Yamaha NS10M
  • ATC SCM45’s w. Sub
  • Custom Manny LaCarrubba 15” Mains w. Subs