XL Cover Story

Sweet Sixteen Central Texas recording studios

XL's Recording Studio Guide:
  » ... but what Charlie Sexton really wants to do is produce
  » The days of Stuart Sullivan's life
  » Bruce Robison puts a premium on natural reverb
  » Radio producing the biggest local hit CDs
  » DIY recording at home
  » More studios worth some liner notes

Slim Thug's "Already Platinum" (Pedernales Studio)

Robert Earl Keen's "What I Really Mean" (Wire Recording Studios)

Cory Morrow's "Nothing Left To Hide" (Cedar Creek Recording)

David Byrne's "Grown Backwards" (Tequila Mockingbird Studio)

Guy Forsyth's "Love Songs: For and Against" (Aerie Studio)

Junior Brown's "12 Shades of Brown" (Bee Creek Studio)

Faith Hill's "Fireflies" (Premium Sound Recording)

1. PEDERNALES STUDIO
447-2337; 264-1640
Owners: Freddy and Lisa Fletcher
Tracks: 24
Rate: $600-$850 a day, plus engineer
Recorded here: "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'," Jessica Simpson & Willie Nelson; "Already Platinum," Slim Thug; "Los Lonely Boys," Los Lonely Boys

2. WIRE RECORDING STUDIOS
442-7073; 447-6100; fax 442-7897
Owner: Stuart Sullivan
Tracks: 24
Rate: $500 a day, plus engineer
Recorded here: "Childish Things," James McMurtry; "What I Mean," Robert Earl Keen

3. CEDAR CREEK RECORDING
444-0226; fax 444-0300
Owner: Fred Remmert
Tracks: 24
Rate: $500 a day, plus engineer
Recorded here: "Nothing Left To Hide," Cory Morrow; "Blue Nightfall," Jimmy LaFave

4. BISMEAUX STUDIO
444-9885; fax 444-4699
Owner: Ray Benson
Tracks: 24
Rate: $600 a day, plus engineer
Recorded here: "Ode To Joe," Joe Maphis tribute LP; the Waybacks

5. CONGRESS HOUSE STUDIO
444-5762; fax 462-2209
Owner: Mark Hallman
Tracks: 48
Rate: $500 a day, plus engineer
Recorded here: "Dilate," Ani DiFranco; "What I Deserve," Kelly Willis

6. SWEATBOX STUDIO
762-9258
Owner: Mike Vasquez
Tracks: 24 digital, 16 analog
Rate: $35 an hour, includes engineer
Recorded here: "Beauty School" Crackpipes; "Baby It's Over," Stepbrothers

7. TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD STUDIO
499-8655
Owners: Wally Williams, Danny Levin
Tracks: 32
Rate: $500 a day
Recorded here: "Grown Backwards," David Byrne; "Greetings From Russia," Real Heroes

8. TOP HAT RECORDING
441-3021; 779-8190
Owners: John Harvey, Mary Podio, Ron Ellis
Tracks: 32
Rate: $400 a day, plus $25 an hour for engineer
Recorded here: "Moodswing," Kacy Crowley; "The Great Battle," Jon Dee Graham

9. THE BUBBLE
473-0779
Owner: Frenchy Smith
Tracks: 24
Rate: negotiable
Recorded here: "Mouth Full of Love," the Young Heart Attack; "Comedy Horn," Zykos

10. FLASHPOINT RECORDING STUDIO
476-7009
Owner: Bennet Spielvogel
Tracks: 32
Rate: $700 a day, including engineer
Recorded here: "I Got Lonesome," Stuart Adamson; "Tangle Of Love," Lynda Jones

11. LARRY TELFORD DIGITAL
444-6464
Owner: Larry Telford
Tracks: 32
Rate: $100 an hour
Recorded here: "Eclectic Horsemen," Geezinslaws; "Live, Laugh and Love," Clay Walker

12. AERIE STUDIO
292-8708; fax 292-8708
Owner: Mark Addison
Tracks: 16 analog, 48 digital
Rate: $400 a day, includes engineer Addison
Recorded here: "Love Songs: For and Against," Guy Forsyth; "Scenes From Nowhere," Will Sexton

13. MUSIC LANE RECORDING
476-1567; 289-4333
Owner: Jason Demetri
Tracks: 24
Rate: $200 a day, plus engineer
Recorded here: "Argue With a Tree," Blue October; "Half Mad Moon," the Damnations

14. BEE CREEK STUDIO
264-1379; fax 264-2196
Owner: Spencer Starnes
Tracks: 24
Rate: $75 an hour, includes engineer
Recorded here: "Ten," Asleep At the Wheel; "12 Shades Of Brown," Junior Brown

15. PREMIUM SOUND RECORDING
454-3180
Owner: Bruce Robison
Tracks: 32
Rate: negotiable
Recorded here: "For So Long," Robin Ludwick; "Fireflies," Faith Hill