Are you looking for an affordable recording studio in Los Angeles to get the best sound for your music?
With over 400 legally registered recording studios in the city, it can be challenging to choose the right one!
This comprehensive guide will provide you with tips and advice to find the best hourly and monthly recording studio rentals in Los Angeles to help you capture your music perfectly.
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Top Hourly Recording Studios in Los Angeles
Finding reliable and clean hourly recording studios in Los Angeles can be challenging. As an active recording artist in LA, I’ve curated a list of my favorite affordable studios.
These studios offer rates under $50 per hour, providing excellent value for your money. On average, you can expect to pay between $35/hr and $50/hr for a recording studio rental in Los Angeles.
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🏴☠️ Pirate Studios
Location: Silverlake and Culver City
Price: About $20/hr
Pirate Studios offers some of the most affordable recording spaces in all of LA.
For about $20/hr, you can get a clean room with speakers and a vocal booth. Pirate is great for songwriting or production sessions where you only need a laptop and a microphone.
Pricing is based on demand throughout the day. This means that a great way to save money at Pirate is by avoiding evenings and weekends. Instead, mornings and weekdays are slightly cheaper!
All studios at Pirate are managed remotely. There isn’t a studio representative on-site.
Once you make a booking, you will receive an email containing a door code for entry. The Pirate facility has approximately 20-30 studios, each accessible via a keypad. In case of any issues during your session, they offer 24/7 support.
Parking is always tricky here. Park on the neighborhood streets rather than trying to find space in the parking lot.
📹 Peerspace
Locations: All over LA
Price: About $50/hr
Peerspace is often referred to as the Airbnb of recording studios and creative spaces.
Their platform allows you to search by date, location, and type of recording studio. You can explore hundreds of professional and amateur recording studios across LA, from Hollywood to Malibu.
Each listing on Peerspace provides detailed information about microphones, soundproofing, computers, plugins, and more, making it easy to find the perfect studio for your needs.
Peerspace is my top recommendation for finding recording studio space and rehearsal studios in Los Angeles. With Peerspace, you have access to some of the best recording studios in LA.
💲 Hush Money
Location: Downtown LA
Price: $45/hour or $300-$400/day
Link: https://www.hushmoneymusic.com/
Hush Money is a gem in Los Angeles. Owned and operated by musicians, they’ve got 4 unique recording studios available by the hour or all-day.
Get help recording your song with an engineer for just a little extra.
Rates are very reasonable and every studio is super clean and ready to hit record.
Get into a vocal booth and record vocals or record some guitars in the spacious and vibey rooms.
💇 The Barbershop
Location: Echo Park
Price: $35/hr or $50/hr with an engineer
Link: thebarbershoprecordingstudio.com
The Barbershop, named after owner Scott Barber, has everything you need to make a great record. The views and vibes from this Echo Park studio are next level.
The studio has drums, guitars, and tons of other live instruments to make tracking a breeze. You can book online through an email form or by DMing, calling, or texting Scott directly.
Artists like Grouplove, Grace Vanderwaal, and boy pablo have all made their way through The Barbershop over the years.
🦌 Golden Impala
Location: Silverlake
Price: $45/hr without an engineer or $75/hr with an engineer
Golden Impala offers recording and music video production services in Silverlake at an hourly rate of $75.
They have high-quality microphones such as U87s and an Apollo 8 interface to ensure excellent sound quality. You can record live with Autotune or edit your vocals in Melodyne using their in-studio Mac setups.
This studio is ideal for vocal tracking and laying down album-ready vocals.
To get started, bring your instrumental files in WAV or MP3 format. The studio can also assist with downloading beats from Beatstars or YouTube.
Please note that a minimum of 2 hours is required and a 100% deposit is required upfront. However, this studio is perfect for tracking lead vocals, doubles, and adlibs for a single release. It's designed with modern pop, hip hop, and EDM productions in mind.
🟦 Opus Recording Studio
Location: North Hollywood
Price: $35/hr solo or $60/hr with an engineer
Link: https://www.opusrecordingstudio.com/
Opus is a high-quality North Hollywood recording studio equipped with Ableton Live 10, Logic X, Pro Tools, and a Universal Audio Apollo Twin Duo.
Opus Recording Studio has two recording studios, with or without a sound engineer. Each studio holds a maximum of four people. Both studios are ideal for mixing and mastering sessions, but are primarily used for vocal recording and production sessions.
If you’re in the Valley, Opus is a great place to quickly get into a vibey space to write and work on pop or hip-hop projects.
Opus Recording Studio provides a safe and comfortable environment for musicians to create 24/7.
🌺 Black Lotus (New in 2024)
Location: North Hollywood
Price: From $30/hr to $50/hr
Owned by Berklee graduates and passionate studio players, Black Lotus in NoHo offers two spaces with a third one coming soon.
Studio A costs $50 per hour or $400 for a full day, while Studio B is priced at $30 per hour or $200 for a full day.
They provide additional services such as engineering and musician hire, along with mix, edit, and master services with endless revisions.
The recording studio was designed to make it simple for artists to show up and start recording drums! What started as a way for the owners to record their own tunes turned into a way to offer affordable, world-class recording rooms to independent artists.
⚫ Broken Complex
Location: North Hollywood
Price: About $50-100/hr. Discounts for longer sessions or with an engineer.
Broken Complex Studios is a full-service professional music studio in North Hollywood, also offering mixing and mastering rooms.
The studio has a control room and a live room with space for a full band. There’s also a vocal booth, guest lounge, and a shower for longer stays.
Book for $50/hr (8 hour minimum) or $100/hr on your schedule. They also sell beats on their website through BeatStars.
🍥 MIX Recording Studio
Location: Downtown LA
Price: About $45/hr (3 hour minimum). Discounts for longer sessions.
MIX Recording Studio provides high-quality studio space and a range of additional services, including recording, mixing, mastering, production, podcast and audiobook recording, vocal production, tuning and editing, beats, and industry consultations.
They specialize in pop, hip-hop, and RnB, and EDM projects and you can easily book sessions with or without an engineer on their website.
MIX Recording Studio is an exciting studio space that makes creativity feel effortless. From the chairs to the walls, it's clear that this studio was built by musicians for musicians. This makes it an ideal place to finalize a mix or record a full pop vocal.
Get cheap and discounted recording space for less than $20/hr if you’re willing to work at night after 12 AM. They also offer free studio tours to connect with the industry community.
💗 FAM
Location: Westlake, East of Downtown LA
Pricing: $25-$40/hr without engineer ($30/hr with engineer)
FAM curates four different recording studios, each designed for inexpensive and efficient recording sessions in modern productions.
The artwork, lighting, and songwriting couches make this a fun space to channel your inner Billie Eilish. Connect to their Apollo Twin with your Macbook and get going with your project.
This studio rental ranges in price from approximately $25 to $50 per hour with only a two-hour minimum requirement.
Two studios are ideal for beat-making, vocal tuning, and editing, while the other two are best suited for dialing in a mix.
Monthly Lockout Recording Studio Rentals
For musicians who require a dedicated recording space that's accessible 24/7, monthly lockout studios in Los Angeles provide the flexibility to record whenever you need.
Prices for monthly lockout studio rentals typically range from $300-400 per day for fully equipped studios, with monthly music studio rentals averaging around $2,000 per month.
🇼 The Williamson
Location: North Hollywood
Price: $1,700-$3,200/month
Link: https://thewilliamsonstudios.com/
The Williamson is a private workspace in North Hollywood designed for people in creative industries. They have about 20 studios available at this location.
It offers production suites, recording studios, executive offices, and event spaces. They’re ideal for clients who want a discreet and quiet place to record and work.
You can secure monthly lockouts for studios, offices, and production suites with a minimum commitment of one year.
The Williamson offers a luxurious hotel-like atmosphere with 24/7 exclusive access, convenient parking, fast internet, daily cleaning, a rooftop deck for events, and much more.
〰️ Exposition Studios
Location: Culver City
Price: $1,800-$2,800/mo
Link: https://www.expositionstudios.com/productionlockouts
What started as a rehearsal studio became some of the best monthly production and recording lockouts in town.
They only have 8 studios right now, but you can get on the waitlist for whenever they open up.
Studios are soundproofed, very clean, and some have iso booths for vocals built-in.
📼 Beat Garage (Hourly, Daily, and Monthly Lockouts)
Location: North Hollywood
Price: $25-$50/hr or about $450/day
Link: https://beatgarage.com/
Booking: Apply online for monthly lockouts or call (818) 358-0099 to rent hourly.
BeatGarage offers both daily and monthly studio lockouts in North Hollywood.
Their live tracking rooms also double as rehearsal studios and can be rented in conjunction with their famous Studio B if you need more space for your songwriting or recording day.
Their main studio has an excellent vibe, is centrally located in the Valley, and comes equipped with drums, pianos, guitars, and anything else you might need to lay down a full song or demo.
If you rent monthly, expect quiet sound-proofed rooms that are designed with productive musicians in mind.
🦷 Snaggletooth Studios
Location: North Hollywood
Price: $500-$1,500/month
Although they’re primarily an hourly rehearsal studio, Snaggletooth also offers monthly lockouts for drummers and other small bands to record and rehearse.
These studios are ideal for solo drummers or artist projects looking to rehearse and record in the same space. Great for demos or running through a full live set. These rooms are designed to get loud.
🍋 LemonTree Studios
Location: Highland park
Price: About $3,000 per month
LemonTree is a premiere monthly studio lockout space located just outside of downtown Los Angeles. They don’t offer hourly, daily, or weekly rentals of any kind.
Located in Highland Park, LemonTree offers 20 boutique bring-your-own-gear production lock-outs for long term leases.
All studios are soundproofed and separated from each other to ensure quiet and clean recordings. The studios share live tracking rooms too. The live tracking room has talk-back monitors to each private studio. Since 2007, LemonTree’s studios have produced hits for Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Skrillex, and more.
📈 Lockout Music Studios
Price/Sizes: Unknown
Locations: Torrance, Long Beach, and Riverside
Sizes/Pricing: Unknown
All the rooms are sound-padded, acoustically tuned, and available 24/7 for use as a recording studio or beat-making studio.
The big selling point of Lockout Music is its location.
Most recording studios for solo artists are located in the Valley or Hollywood, but Lockout Music Studios are currently on the outskirts of LA County.
They plan to expand to more central locations soon, but currently serve a much-needed group of musicians who don’t want to spend two hours sitting on the 405 to get into the studio.
Musicians living in Torrance, Long Beach, and Riverside now have access to the same quality of gear and recording spaces as those in West Hollywood.
FAQs About LA Recording Studios
What should I look for in a recording studio in LA?
There are a few types of recording studios in LA. There are fancy studios with vocal booths, drums rooms, and a wall of synthesizers and outboard gear. There are also small studios where it’s just a set of speakers, a microphone, and a USB recording interface.
Make sure your studio is equipped to handle the type of project you want to record. Do you just want to record vocals? A cheaper studio might be able to handle it. But if you want to record guitars through some loud amps, you’ll need to check that the studio has the gear you need.
Most studios have a gear list on their website or on their Peerspace page with additional info.
Also, check that the studio has a safe place to park and load in. Gear theft from cars happens from time to time.
If you’re looking for an ADR recording studio for voiceover work, check out this guide.
How much does it cost to rent a recording studio in Los Angeles
Costs vary depending on the studio, but hourly rental rates typically start at around $40 an hour, with monthly rentals starting around $2,000.
What should I bring to the recording studio?
You shouldn’t need to bring anything besides your laptop or computer to a recording studio. Almost all studios have all the necessary gear you’ll need to record your song if you’ve checked their gear list beforehand.
You must bring those if you want to record your guitar or instruments. You should also bring any reference material you plan to use during your session, such as song lyrics and chord charts for other musicians.
As an aside, most podcast studio rentals in Los Angeles have equipment you can use already set up.
Do recording studios in Los Angeles offer discounts or promotions?
Generally, no. Most studios are privately owned local businesses. However, you can negotiate better deals if you book many hours at a time or for a full day.
Some of the bigger companies operating studios around town, like Peerspace and Pirate, do have discounts and promo codes, though.
How do I have a great recording session?
Preparation is key before recording. Familiarize yourself with your songs beforehand to save time. Ensure your equipment is in good condition, bring a backup instrument, and replace amp tubes and strings at least a week before recording.
Focus on your performance and how it relates to the song's message. Communicate your preferences to the recording engineer.
Record live with a band to capture the energy of the performance. Use a guide vocal as a reference point throughout the session.