Charlie is great. We have had him mix our last couple records and have been very happy. On the last…read moreproject, he even mastered for us and did quite a good job. Charlie's studio is comfortable and while he's certainly a guy who knows his gear (and has plenty of the good stuff), he's also an idea person, constantly walking the line between engineer and producer. The location is close to a few food spots (and Peet's!) which is nice for taking breaks. If you're in the Bay Area, you'll do yourself a favor to head on over to his place in Berkeley.

Sonic Zen Records is a recording studio…read more Just came from my first-ever mastering session with Charlie from Sonic Zen Records and I'm juiced! I went in with a mix I was satisfied with - just needed to bring volume closer to industry standards so my music wouldn't be drowned out by some wanker with supercompression - and came out with a bonafide masterpiece debut (if I do say so myself). Charlie was warm and professional from beginning to end. Listened patiently to what I thought I wanted, then made sure I was bringing what he needed to do his job. As I arrived, he offered me water then got to work. While he was working, Charlie talked with me about what he was doing to make sure he was moving in the right direction, but never asked questions I didn't have the knowledge to answer and kept moving towards completion; that is truly professional! We didn't talk about philosophy (his degree on the wall), but seems like he took his aesthetic cues from the music (not the musician). That's what I'm trying to do - let the music lead me. My project was small, but Charlie has the skill and capacity to record live albums (7 isolated performers at once), and in-house instruments too. Thank you, man, for treating my music with respect and making it sound great! p.s. to check the record see www.myspace/ncsmithbabysteps

Working with David was a very enjoyable experience. He is focused, professional and relaxed. We…read moreaccomplished so much in a few days because he is fast and accurate with Pro-Tools. AND he has the sweetest Steinway grand piano with a buttery touch. I highly recommend his services. Bodhi Starwater, musician and producer.

I had a professional pianist record piano for a song of mine at Whip Records. David Landon did an…read moreexcellent job as recording engineer. The piano was in tune and in top condition. Recordings came out great. Rates were very reasonable. David was responsive to questions I emailed him after the session. Overall a very good experience.

Nice place but hard to get anybody to be accountable, I talked myself into working on music again…read moreand $1200 of studio time and 4 songs later they said they lost my files and nobody will respond to me about a refund or free studio time to re record all my music over, I've text the owner and the engineer but no luck. Updated response to the business owner! I shoot video for a living I have 100 terabytes of data audio files are very small compared to 4K-8K footage I also RJ a commercial recording studio and I still have files for artist who have went to prison or lost touch 15 years later also other artist have passed away and I'm still able to give their kids and family files all these years later! Imagine if they erased all the famous artist sessions because you have so many clients this would make me not want to use the studio if was a artist and also your engineer did not disclose this I had no hard drive at the time and did not expect the engineer to quit or be fired

I was recommended this studio by someone I respect. At first, it was professional, I was happy to…read morefind a place in the East Bay that I could record. I usually drive to San Jose or San Rafael. I paid my deposit and scheduled a 3 hour session. My first appointment, my engineer was a no show, with no notification. When I arrived, nobody answered my texts, calls or emails. I have 2 kids at home and pleaded with my husband to watch the kids for that time. I waited an hour. Nothing. They blamed it on the fire on the Carquinez bridge, which I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND, BUT 2 people knew and none bothered to notify me or pick up my calls/texts. The next day, they said they'd make it right. I rescheduled the appt 2 weeks for 10-2 (I asked TWICE for an extra hour for the inconvenience) and received 2 confirmation texts. I text at 9:30am to get my engineer's contact details. You won't believe, I got a text saying "I think the engineer rescheduled your session from 2-6, will that work for you?" I literally respond with... "was someone going to notify me? I'm leaving now so lmk if I should stay home." I NEVER get a text back! I call and text, NOTHING. 30 minutes later, I arrive at the studio and get a hold of the engineer. He's in Fairfield and will arrive at 11. He arrives at 11:15/11:20. He's cool and apologizes. I have somewhere to be at 3, so I leave at 2:30 and ask him to finish editing the last track. He emails me all the stems and mixes, but accidentally muted 2 WORDS at one section of the song. I email him to unmute the vocals and change something he accidentally duplicated twice. He tells me... he'll have to charge me an HOUR, when I know the change itself would take, MAXIMUM 5 minutes + exporting... I tell him I think it should be included since I would've caught that if we started on time. I mean, I didn't ask him to mute my vocals. I check in 3x that week to both folks and guess what??? NO ANSWER. At that point I'm thinking, I I've ever been more disrespected or dealt with this lack of communication and unprofessionallism EVER! Not by a business, or an ex! I text them both at 7am Friday, if I don't hear back today, I'm writing a review. They FINALLYYYY hit me back!!! Thank God! And they'll offer 3 free hours. The engineer responds for the first time too, he's going to send me the revised track at 7pm. He sends it at 11:45pm... I will have to respectfully decline the complimentary session. You guys made me so bitter along this process. I'll find PEOPLE that respect people, their time and have integrity in their word, their business and their work. No hard feelings, I just hope no one ever gets treated this way by you again.

I worked with gifted engineer James Ward at Live Oak Studio to record the Audible version of my…read morebook "Better Than Real Life." With James' help, I believe we created an Audible book to be proud of. This was my first experience doing such work, and James helped me feel right at home. I was also able to meet Priscilla, the owner, who was gracious and supportive. I give Live Oak and James my highest rating and hope you consider using them for your work.

This was the first audiobook that I recorded for a book coming out with Harper-Collins/Zondervan…read morePublishing and it was a really, really great experience. Thanks to Priscilla and to James the audio technician who was amazingly helpful, patient, and so kind coaching me as I went along. I couldn't recommend a studio higher for the way they communicated quickly and answered all the questions I had. I was in the studio for 3 whole days, and then back another few hours for some touch-ups the publisher wanted to do - and "How (Not) To Read The Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-Women, Anti-Science, Pro-Slavery, Pro-Violence and Other Crazy Sounding Parts of Scripture" is done and I am so thankful the publisher chose Live Oak Studio to have me record the audio. THANK YOU PRISCILLA AND JAMES!

Hello! Happy Note Studio is a private, personal studio. We are always open, no matter what Yelp…read moresays. We record RAP, Rock, Jazz, Voice Overs, Audio Mastering, Video Editing, you name it. We master over 20 songs per week for CBS Network, nationally. Many Gold and Platinum RIAA Awarded records by Bon Jovi, Prince, Shaq O'Neal, Midnight Starr, New Edition and many others! With over 30+ years experience, and a wonderful team of engineers we recommend, we will do great work for you at a very good price. We use only the best equipment - Meyers Sound monitors, Studer Digital Console, zillions of plug-ins, big recording room for great drum sounds and such, tube microphones, and the best VIBE in the Bay Area - we guarantee it!

everything on the menu looks amazing, but for sure the LAMB BURGER is to die for. Nothing more to…read moresay. http://www.michelbistro.com/#!home/c17n2 also,

I've done many mixing and mastering projects with Christopher over the last 10 years, both for my…read moreown music CD's and for clients I've been producing. He is extremely knowledgeable and professional, and has taken all my recordings to the next level. Christopher is very easy to work with and I always value his musical input and feedback. I've recommended him to many people over the years and will continue to do so. Michael Diamond Music producer/ recording artist

Recorded here for the first time in August 2010. I have a bass & drums duo that has been recording…read moresince 2002. Most of the time we record at a studio in Massachusetts, since that's where the drummer lives and I used to make it back east every year. But the past year or so haven't been able to go back, so when the drummer came out here, I decided to look for a local studio. Although I have lived in California for over four years now, I never thought to look for a studio here - I was really surprised how many there are! Yelp helped me sort through them, and Robot Envy looked like the one most suited to my needs. I was not disappointed! Sammy was great, he was open to what we wanted to do, which is basically improvise live in the studio. He got us set up with a minimum of hassle, and we were recording within an hour or so. It helped that he has a great sounding drumset, which my drummer loved. We recorded a lot of material which I have been sifting through - the stuff we recorded sounds great! Sometimes engineers can be intimidating (if not outright jerks), but I felt comfortable asking for what I wanted or making suggestions. In summary, comfortable atmosphere, good location, great sounds. Highly recommended!

great studio, I'll do all my recording there. Beginning our third album with Sammy.read more

Justin is just an amazing person. His knowledge of our…read moresystem was great and he was genuine and honest. He was very patient with us in fixing our sound system, and training us. He was very personable, and friendly. He blended right in with our praise team; I felt like he was one of our crew! Thank you so much Justin! You were and are awesome! Mission Pointe Church

I reached out to Soul Graffiti looking for a place to have one of my student bands rehearse on a…read moreregular weekly basis. Soul Graffiti was not only very helpful, but they were friendly quick to respond and very knowledgeable. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them! Not only that they reached out to me asking about my needs, and they offered to ask friends of theirs nearby who had possible rehearsal spaces very very helpful