Westlake Recording Studios

{{Short description|Recording studio in California, US}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}} {{Infobox company |name= Westlake Recording Studios |logo= File:Westlake Studios logo.jpg |image=Westlake Recording Studios.jpg |image_alt=Seats in front of a mixing desk in Westlake Studios |image_caption=A mixing desk in Westlake Studios |type=[[Recording studio]] |foundation=  1970s | founder = [[Tom Hidley]] & Glenn Phoenix |key_people= |industry = [[Music industry|Music]], [[radio drama]] | defunct =  | hq_location_city = [[West Hollywood, California]] | hq_location_country = [[United States|U.S.]] | num_locations = 2 | products = | owner =  | num_employees = | num_employees_year =  | parent = | website = {{url|westlakestudios.com}} |footnotes= }} '''Westlake Recording Studios''' is a music [[recording studio]] with two locations in [[Los Angeles]] and [[West Hollywood, California]].

==History== Westlake Recording Studios was founded in the early 1970s by the American [[audio engineer]] [[Tom Hidley]] under the name Westlake Audio. Hidley was experienced in the development of audio technology, having collaborated with [[Madman Muntz]] in the development of the first car stereo in 1959, and along with Amnon "Ami" Hadani, he had previously set up another recording studio in Hollywood, [[TTG Studios]], in 1965.<ref name="bb5-10">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rgsEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22two+terrible+guys%22&pg=PA101|title=From Auto Sound to Infrasound, Hidley's Career has Been Built on Breakthroughs|last=Verna|first=Paul|date=July 1, 1995|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref> The layout of the rooms at Westlake Studios aimed for an acoustic design that could give a fairly flat frequency response at the recording position, with low [[reverberation]] delay and extensive use of [[bass trap]]s. As the need to transfer audio material between different studios grew, there was an increasing demand for [[standardization]] across the recording industry; the success of Hidley's acoustic design was copied at other sites, and "Westlake-style" rooms spread to a number of other studios by the late 1970s. Westlake has been credited as "one of the first big commercial efforts to produce acoustically standardised 'interchangeable' rooms".<ref>{{cite book | author = Philip Newell | title = Recording Studio Design | publisher = Focal Press | year = 2003 | isbn = 0-240-51917-5 | pages = 315–316|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AKVQ7Ywz3DYC&pg=PA315|access-date=January 14, 2017}}</ref><ref name="history">{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.westlakestudios.com/about/|website=Westlake Recording Studios|access-date=January 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522113740/http://www.westlakestudios.com/about/|archive-date=May 22, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Artists who have recorded music at Westlake Studios have included [[Rihanna]], [[ The Weeknd]], [[Kygo]], [[Charli XCX]], [[Café Quijano]], [[Donna Summer]], [[Giorgio Moroder]], [[Quincy Jones]], [[Billy Idol]], [[Bruce Swedien]], [[Gilberto Gil]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Westlake Studios |url=https://gilbertogil.com.br/sec_disco_info.php?id=18&texto |url-status=dead |website=Untitled Document |access-date=April 10, 2020 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182425/http://www.gilbertogil.com.br/sec_disco_info.php?id=18&texto }}</ref> [[Missy Elliott]], [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]], [[Marilyn Manson]], [[Aaliyah]] and [[Justin Timberlake]].<ref name="SOS">{{cite web|title=Studio File: Westlake Studios, Los Angeles {{!}} Sound On Sound|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/music-business/studio-file-westlake-studios-los-angeles|website=[[Sound on Sound]]|publisher=SOS Publications Group|access-date=January 13, 2017}}</ref> Notable recordings produced at Westlake Studios have included [[Michael Jackson]]'s album, ''[[Thriller (Michael Jackson album)|Thriller]]'' (April–November 1982),<ref name="Easlea">{{cite book|last1=Easlea|first1=Daryl|last2=Chancler|first2=Ndugu|title=Michael Jackson: Rewind: The Life and Legacy of Pop Music's King|date=October 7, 2016|publisher=Race Point Publishing|isbn=9781631063671|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NUo-DQAAQBAJ&q=michael%20jackson%20thriller%20westlake%20studios&pg=PA112|access-date=January 13, 2017|language=en}}</ref> the number-one-selling album of all time;<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/06/music/main3461884.shtml??source=RSS&attr=_3461884 | work=CBS News | title=Michael Jackson Opens Up, Pop Icon Looks Back At A "Thriller" Of A Career In New Interview - The ShowBuzz|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080106103821/http://www.showbuzz.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/06/music/main3461884.shtml??source=RSS&attr=_3461884|archive-date=January 6, 2008}}</ref> and [[Alanis Morissette]]'s ''[[Jagged Little Pill]]'' (1994–1995).<ref name="SOS" />

Westlake Studios have also been used to produce audio material for films, television shows and commercials.<ref name="history" /> In June 1980, [[National Public Radio]], in a co-production with the [[BBC]], used Westlake Studios to record a 13-part [[Star Wars (radio)|radio adaptation of ''Star Wars'']]. NPR returned to Westlake in 1996 to record its production of ''[[Star Wars (radio)#Return of the Jedi|Return of the Jedi]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sterling|first1=Christopher H.|title=Encyclopedia of Radio 3-Volume Set|date=December 2, 2003|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135456481|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5oimpCPL1ewC&q=Westlake%20Recording%20Studios%20star%20wars%20radio&pg=PT3213|access-date=January 13, 2017|language=en}}</ref>

==Recording studios== [[File:Buddy Bregman conducts at Westlake Recording Studios - (May 2006).jpg|thumb|[[Buddy Bregman]] recording his last album sessions in Studio D at Westlake, May 2006]] Westlake has a total of seven recording studios, including four with full size live rooms, two production rooms and a mixing suite.<ref name="studios">{{cite web|title=Studios|url=http://www.westlakestudios.com/studios/|website=Westlake Recording Studios|access-date=January 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513002820/http://www.westlakestudios.com/studios/|archive-date=May 13, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Studios A and B are located on [[Beverly Boulevard]] in [[Beverly Grove, Los Angeles]] and Studios C, D, E, Production Room 1 and Production Room 2 are located on [[Santa Monica Boulevard]] in West Hollywood.

===Studio A=== Studio A is one of the most historic rooms at Westlake. The control room of Studio A features an 80-channel [[Solid State Logic]] XL 9000 K console and a {{convert|1200|sqft|m2|adj=on}} tracking room, including a large piano isolation room. Studio A was where Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'' was recorded in 1982.<ref name="studios" /><ref name="Easlea" />

===Studio B=== Studio B is a full size studio that features a 72-channel [[Solid State Logic]] [[Solid State Logic SL 4000|4072 G series console]] and a large selection of outboard gear. It has a {{convert|500|sqft|m2|adj=on}} tracking room and a {{convert|65|sqft|m2|adj=on}} isolation room.<ref name="studios" />

===Studio C=== Studio C is a full size studio that features a 72-channel Solid State Logic 9072 J series console and a large selection of outboard gear. It has a {{convert|1000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} tracking room and a large private lounge.<ref name="studios" />

===Studio D=== Studio D is Westlake's largest room. It features a Solid State Logic XL 9000 K console and a large selection of outboard gear. The main tracking area is {{convert|1120|sqft|m2}} and there is a {{convert|200|sqft|m2|adj=on}} piano isolation room and a {{convert|176|ft|m|adj=on}} isolation room. Studio D has a private entrance and features 3 lounge areas including a loft that overlooks the tracking room.<ref name="studios" />

===Studio E=== Studio E is a mixing suite that features a Solid State Logic 9072 J Series console. Out of all the studios at Westlake, Studio E has the largest selection of outboard gear. Studio E has a {{convert|52|sqft|m2|adj=on}} vocal booth and a private lounge.<ref name="studios" />

===Production Suites 1 & 2=== In addition to the five studios, Westlake has two smaller production rooms designed for overdubs, writing and mixing. Both of these rooms contain Solid State Logic AWS 900+'s, 24-channel controlled analog consoles. Both rooms contain small tracking rooms fit to record vocals, guitar, bass and many other smaller instruments.<ref name="studios" />

== References== {{Reflist}} {{Coord|34.09095|N|118.348461|W|display=title|type:landmark}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * [http://www.westlakestudios.com/ Official website]

[[Category:Recording studios in California]] [[Category:West Hollywood, California]] [[Category:Music organizations based in Los Angeles]] [[Category:Albums recorded at Westlake Recording Studios| ]] [[Category:Companies based in Los Angeles County, California]]