The Consulting Team

Demacio "Demo" Castellon

Multi-Grammy Award Winning Engineer

Anthony Fernandez

Music and Technology Guru to the Stars

Joshua Lewis

Founder - Engineer -

Then this will be the most important decision that you can make.....

Get your DREAM STUDIO consultation from Grammy Award winning engineers.

Remove the Overwhelm - Start Making Music!

Anthony Fernandez In Action

The process of building a recording studio can feel overwhelming. They know what they want, but may not know every last bit of minutia needed to make their dream studio become a reality.

This is where we do our best work.

We pledge to save you time, money, heartache and needless mistakes because we have designed, built, and integrated hundreds of recording studios over the last two decades.

We remove the headaches and cost overruns that inevitably plague 9 out of 10 projects.

How we build your dream studio together

What to know before building your Dream Studio

What is the intended purpose of your recording studio?
What is the most cost effective means of achieving your studios intended purpose?
How should it be designed?
What aesthetic are you looking to achieve?
Should there be initial sketches or renderings done?
Which studio designer is the right fit, if one is needed at all?
Are architectural drawings required, and if so, who should produce these?
Which acoustic materials will be the best choice, given the room design?
What mechanical and acoustic issues will need to be surmounted?
Which equipment will be best suited for the studio?
What will be required to integrate (connect) all components of your studio?
What experience should the General Contractor have (if one is needed)?
What ordinances need to be met?
Which sound mitigation measures need to be taken.
What are the power requirements for the studio going to be?
What is a reasonable expectation on time frame for project completion?
What are some of the common pitfalls that new studio owners make that end up costing them the most money.
How should this entire process be managed? Can someone manage it for you?

We are here to make sure that you do not make the same mistakes that nearly all new studio owners make.

Josh Lewis - Managing Partner

Step 1 – Conceptualization and Fact Finding

Using your input with these questions, and several others we will come up with a studio concept that works for you!

We first assess the typical use cases that will arise in your studio environment. What do you intend to record? Solo vocalists? Brass bands? An orchestra? These will determine the layout and equipment used in your studio.
What is your functional and aesthetic vision for the studio?
What design elements make you feel inspired to create?
What is the existing structure that we will have to build within? What are the existing limitations of the structure? Which structural properties can we take advantage of?
What is your budget for the project?
What is your timeframe for build out?
Will your studio have more than one control room?

We are now ready to come up with a conceptualization and 3d renderings of your studio. At the end of this step you should have a clear vision of what the end product will look like.

Step 2 – Architectural Designs

Given your budget, we determine which of our vetted design firms will best fit your aesthetic vision and technical requirements. Making ill-informed choices in this stage is the single biggest cause of cost overruns and less than optimum results. Proper planning, with reliable partners leads to much better outcomes, lower costs, and few surprises if any. Little Fish Audio’s primary purpose is to advocate for you the client, to make sure that YOUR needs are best served.

Together we choose an architect and contractor to create a blueprint and actually build the structure.
We choose licensed and insured contractors that are very familiar with your local building codes AND recording studio construction.
We make sure that you have an iron clad contract with these providers that protects YOU against poor performance.
We develop a timeframe of deliverables from all partners involved.
We come up with an equipment list and studio wiring schematic

Step 3 – Studio construction:

Managing contractors and timetable we make sure that your partners deliver as promised. We hold their feet to the fire, in a kind and helpful manner!
We make sure that you are kept abreast of all necessary issues requiring your attention and take care of the rest.
During some part of this phase we place orders for the equipment and begin the assembly of wiring systems needed to integrate your studio.

Step 4- Studio wiring and integration

We oversee the labor needed to connect every aspect of your studio space. Analog, digital, audio, network, cables and paneling are put into place. Usually patchbays are used as a central point of access to all of your studio connections. These patchbays are configured in a way that is most amenable to your workflow. The layout should be such that you rarely need to patch equipment.
Most all of our audio cabling is made by hand, to the exact specifications required for your design. This inevitably cuts costs tremendously.
We rigorously test all connections between your rooms.
We install all software, including DAW, audio plugins, software synthesizers, and make sure that every bit of your studio is performing like a well oiled machine.

Step 5: Documentation

When needed we will put together a guide, or “How To” document describing any configuration or technical steps needed to better utilize your studio

Step 6: Ongoing Maintenance and Technical Assistance

As a trusted studio partner we remain available for any and all technical questions that may come up for you when using your studio.

Why The Urban Recording Company is your Ideal Partner

Why choose The Urban Recording Company for your recording studio needs? Because we make sure that design, construction, installation are done right the first time. URC’s team of experts can help you avoid the myriad of pitfalls that plague new studio owners.

We use only insured installers who are up-to-date on industry standards and trends.
We use only top quality products in each installation.
We employ only the best audio professionals to design and install each system.
We’ll be involved from start to finish – from the initial consultation to final review.
We talk to major audio manufacturers all the time and can troubleshoot any problems that might arise.
We stand behind the work with our legendary Urban Recording Company’s 100% Satisfaction guarantee.

Project Management Services Cost

Although this depends on a variety of factors including complexity and location of the project, Urban Recording charges a fixed percentage of the overall projected cost of your studio. This ranges between 5-18% (larger for smaller projects) of total estimated cost of your project. We work on an hourly retainer (billed in increments of 1/4 hour), at a rate of $185/hr.

40% of estimated cost Due at project inception – Step 1
30% Due at commencement of construction – Step 3
20% Due before integration – Step 4

What Typical Studio Buildout Costs

Studio architectural plans and construction can cover a very wide range depending on a multitude of factors. Typically costs are between $150-$400/ sqft.
Architectural blueprints and/or acoustical plans: From $3500 for a simple home project to $150,000 for multi-room commercial facilty designed by world renowned architects and studio designers.
Equipment: All analog and digital equipment plus wiring. Often this budget matches or exceeds that of the construction spending.
Integration Labor: From as little as 25 man/hours to several hundred hours of labor. Our integration labor rate is $85/hr.

To get a quote or just to learn more about our installation program, contact Joshua Lewis by email or by phone at (305) 602-4670

For a FREE consultation, with no obligations, please enter your information below and w shortly!

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