I reached out to Paul to set up time for my daughters birthday for her and a few friends to do some recording! Paul was great to work with, very patient, helpful, excellent communication and was great with guiding the teens through the process! Highly recommend! read more

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY recording day! Normally, my insecurity and perfectionism makes me HATE recording dates. This time, I shared a time slot with a girlfriend to make audition demos so we could check each other's type-A neuroses. We had to reschedule like 3 times because all the local accompanists were busy gigging High Holidays. Paul, the proprietor, was totally cool and worked with us with no pressure to commit when he knew we were scrambling. I walk in to the studio, which is small but comfortable. Nice wood paneling, not super live but definitely not dead. Great mic too, but the shining star in the room was the BEAUTIFUL Yamaha grand in flawless condition perfectly in tune. Glory, glory be, a real piano in a recording studio. You should've seen the look on our accompanist's face. Paul mixed our tracks perfectly and quickly - I walked out with my demo an hour and a half after arriving. He's super knowledgeable about both classical and jazz. Would definitely recommend him to anyone. The only flaw is that the studio has no sign, but there is a parking lot. If you're looking, its the place next to the chiropractor. . . on the same corner as the fabulous Pampas Cafe. read more

Big City Recording Studio is seriously the best place to record in LA - especially if you are a classical musician! Paul has a beautiful set up with a full Yamaha grand piano which is perfectly tuned and he has an amazing mic set up too. He replies to e-mails and phone calls super quickly and is very flexible with his scheduling. Paul has a classical music background so he understands that sometimes recording turns into a mind game - he is super encouraging and easy to talk to. He is also a master mixer and he e-mailed me my audition tracks before I even left the studio! This would also be a great place to record jazz and instrumental stuff as well! He is the only one I trust to do my recordings! read more

One of the ONLY studios in LA with an amazing Yamaha Grand Piano sound. Great experience overall!! Paul will take care of you and your client's exactly the way you need. read more

I looked for a long time, trying to find a studio to record a piano album - that means I needed a good piano, which is surprisingly hard to find in LA? I was also on a budget and needed an understanding engineer that would put up with me for a reasonable amount of money. And that's how I found Big City Recording Studios. Paul was great to work with from the beginning - he answered emails promptly and didn't seemed to stressed out about scheduling. I asked about several dates, wasn't committing right away and wasn't sure how many hours I would need, but in the end he was happy to accommodate whatever I decided to do. We settled on two days of recording, back to back, for 5 hours each (which is loooooooong and tiring for everyone involved). He even offered the have the piano tuned (for a fee) that same morning, which none of the other studios I contacted had mentioned, strangely enough. I got there early on the first day and he let me in right away, while the piano was still being tuned. It is a beautiful Yamaha C-7 in extremely great condition - it was a joy to play on and really had a great sound. I would recommend it to all my pianist friends (which I already did, after everyone heard the recording!). We got started right away and everything went perfectly well; even when I couldn't play two straight notes properly and was getting everything wrong by the 4th hour, Paul was very patient, completely unphased and kept working and encouraging me. He also works very fast, which is important when you're paying someone by the hour. He has incredible editing skills and was able to get everything done pretty quick, right on the spot. He also took care of mastering and even answered a bunch of extra emails after we were done. I highly, highly, recommend going there for any recording needs - piano or not. I know I will definitely be back for any other project I work on! read more

I've lost count of how many times I've recorded at this fine studio. It's always a great experience. The owner / engineer, Paul, is easy to work with. He's got a great set of ears, he knows his gear inside and out and works very fast, and he gets great sounds. The best thing is that he's a musician himself so he really understands things from both sides of the glass. Paul's mixing and mastering skills are incredible as well. Everything I've ever mixed at my own studio goes to him and no one else for mastering. What I get back is music that breathes and sounds big, warm and full with just the right amount of sparkle. If you need recording, mixing, or mastering services (or all three!) this is the place to go. Bonus: The studio has one of the finest Yamaha C7 grand pianos that I've ever heard. read more