Panda West live room with the Drumbrella at The Panda Studios recording studio in Fremont, California
recording studio, fremont ca

Make your record at Panda.

Tell Us What You’re Making → Tour the Studio Hear the records
“covet” · basement

Made at Panda. Certified Platinum.

Basement made Colourmeinkindness here in 2012. The band stopped. The record didn’t.

  • 2012Recorded at Panda
  • 2026Certified Platinum
  • 1,000,000Units

Produced, engineered and mixed by Sam Pura.

Hear “Covet” The story
selected work

20+ years
of records through Panda.

Mom Jeans. Best Buds The Story So Far What You Don’t See The Story So Far Self-Titled State Champs The Finer Things Mom Jeans. Puppy Love Scowl How Flowers Grow Hundredth Rare Sunami Sunami LP SpiritWorld DEATHWESTERN Ryan Caraveo Forever Foggy Lionheart The Will to Survive SPICE Viv Misser Distancing
Basement Colourmeinkindness The Story So Far Proper Dose The Story So Far Under Soil & Dirt Basement Promise Everything Ryan Caraveo Trouble in Paradise Spite Nothing Is Beautiful Gulch Burning Desire to Draw Last Breath After the Burial Wolves Within The Dangerous Summer Mother Nature Fallujah The Harvest Wombs SPICE SPICE Forever Came Calling Contender

Press any cover to listen

01 Mom Jeans., Best Buds album artwork

442M+Spotify streams

Mom Jeans.

Best Buds

Recorded at Panda by Ryan Ellery

DIY beginnings to stages with Jimmy Eat World.

02 Basement, Colourmeinkindness album artwork

PlatinumRIAA single “Covet”

Basement

Colourmeinkindness

Produced, engineered and mixed by Sam Pura

335M+ streams. The band flew from Ipswich to Fremont to make it.

03 The Story So Far, What You Don't See album artwork

#46Billboard 200

The Story So Far

What You Don’t See

Produced, engineered and mixed by Sam Pura

214M+ streams, and the path to arenas with Blink-182.

04 State Champs, The Finer Things album artwork

#2Billboard Heatseekers

State Champs

The Finer Things

Produced, engineered and mixed by Sam Pura

75M+ streams, and on to the Warped Tour main stage.

05 Ryan Caraveo, Trouble in Paradise album artwork

37M+Spotify streams

Ryan Caraveo

Trouble in Paradise

Mixed and mastered by Sam Pura

Genre-crossing, and far beyond rock.

06 Scowl, How Flowers Grow album artwork

Coachellaafter this debut

Scowl

How Flowers Grow

Produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Charles Toshio

Santa Cruz hardcore to Coachella.

07 Hundredth, Rare album artwork

#20Billboard Independent

Hundredth

Rare

Co-produced with the band, engineered and mixed by Sam Pura

Hardcore, completely reinvented as shoegaze.

08 The Dangerous Summer, Mother Nature album artwork

3 in 1produced, engineered, mixed

The Dangerous Summer

Mother Nature

Produced, engineered and mixed by Sam Pura

All at Panda. A comeback that changed the band’s trajectory.

View the Full Work Catalog →
where they come from

One song
at a time.

Hometowns of the artists on these records. Press a light to hear one.

the waiting room

Bands, live
in the room.

A live-session series filmed and recorded at Panda from 2010 to 2017. 23 bands. 5.3 million views.

Play The Waiting Room session: Title Fight834K views
CH 01Title Fight834K views CH 02The Story So Far1.1M views CH 03Citizen567K views CH 04Touché Amoré235K views CH 05Code Orange67K views CH 06Seahaven309K views CH 07Man Overboard232K views CH 08Polar Bear Club217K views CH 09Balance and Composure168K views

Made by Sam Pura and The Panda Studios with Evan Henkel, Armando Armas, Mark David and William Levy. Audio recorded and produced by Sam Pura. Views on YouTube, October 2026. All 26 sessions →

Living quarters at The Panda Studios, where bands sleep on site
“I had the ultimately deluxe experience of staying at Panda for a week and getting fully immersed in my project. I probably had the best week of my life.”
Garrett H. · Google review
4.9Google · 36 reviews
4.8Yelp · 46 reviews
“Truly a remarkable and inspiring space to work on records with your best friends.”
Trevor B. · Google
“They bring out the best in artists and took our tracks to a level I didn’t think was possible.”
Fletcher M. · Google
“This is one of the best places to record music on planet earth.”
Robert · Google
“The dictionary defines ‘Best Friend Energy’ as the personification of Sam Pura and the Panda Studios team.”
Alberto D. · Google
“Tracks sound massive.”
Kristopher S. · Yelp
“He will push to get the absolute best he can out of you and for good reason. He cares. Like, a lot.”
Nick B. · Google
“The team at Panda Studios is beyond committed to making things sound awesome and to you having a great time. 10/10 no notes.”
Dennis T. · Google
“The result of my session was just a way better, leaner, meaner, way more professional sounding version of what I already had.”
Garrett H. · Google
A band arriving at Panda with their suitcases, 2014
2014
Someone in the Panda costume posing with a band, 2011
2011
A drummer at the kit with the studio dog leaning on him, 2020
2020
About twenty friends cheering in the control room, 2011
2011
Sam Pura and Theresa Brown holding up microphones in the West control room, 2025
2025
A bassist playing in the panda head, 2016
2016
A house show, with the crowd sitting on the live room floor, 2011
2011
A bassist tracking with the studio dog lying at his feet, 2019
2019
Sam Pura and a friend laughing, 2014
2014
A guest with his arms spread wide in front of the Wall of Fame, 2021
2021
A band and friends behind the drum kit with the panda plush, 2015
2015
A singer belting into the mic and pointing at the sky, 2011
2011
Sam Pura and a friend laughing in front of the framed records, 2026
2026
A band hanging out outside the studio, one playing acoustic guitar, 2016
2016
Sam Pura, a friend and the studio dog at the Wall of Fame, 2023
2023
Three friends holding up new outboard gear, 2018
2018

Ratings as of Oct 7, 2026, from Google and Yelp. Read them on Yelp →

the facility

Three studios.
One warehouse. Any hour you book.

Panda West live room with the drum kit and amp collection Panda West18′ × 20′ live room, 14′ ceiling Panda West control room West control room15′ × 17′ A drum kit in the Panda East live room, seen from above Panda East13′ × 17′ live room Panda East control room East control roomAnalog synths & drum machines Baby Panda writing and vocal suite Baby PandaWriting, vocals & overdubs Isolation room with guitars and cabinets Isolation roomAmps as loud as they want Sam Pura playing guitar in front of the Wall of Fame Wall of FameEvery record made here goes on the wall The warehouse at The Panda Studios, used as a natural reverb chamber The WarehouseNatural reverb chamber
3control rooms
2live rooms
9beds on site
53microphones
15amp heads
4drum kits

Everything’s included. No rental fees. Just bring fresh strings and drum heads.

Tour the Studio → Stay on Site → Browse the Gear →
ways to work here

Three ways
to work here.

Baby Panda, the writing and vocal room, from $50 an hour

Rent a room

Bring your own team. A Panda engineer gets you running on day one, then the room is yours.

Good if you already have someone to run the session.

From $50/hr →
A drum kit miked up in the Panda East live room

Record with an engineer

Your songs, captured properly, with a Panda engineer and the right room.

Good if you know what the record should sound like.

Quoted per project →
The Panda West control room, with the couch where bands listen back

Make the record with a producer

Songs, arrangements, sounds and performances, developed together.

Good if the songs are close but not there yet, or you want someone shaping it with you.

Per song or per project →

Not sure which? Tell us what you’re making and we’ll point you to the right one.

Tell Us What You’re Making →
the engineers

Who you’ll
work with.

Sam Pura, producer and founder of The Panda Studios
Sam Pura
Producer / Founder

Best if you want a producer shaping the songs.
Theresa Brown, lead engineer at The Panda Studios
Theresa Brown
Vocal Production

Best if the vocals are the center of the record.
RJ DeMarco, engineer at The Panda Studios
RJ DeMarco
Pop Rock / Indie

Best if you need parts written or played.
Charles Toshio, producer at The Panda Studios
Charles Toshio
Hardcore / Heavy

Best if it’s heavy, loud and guitar-forward.
Ryan Palma, engineer at The Panda Studios
Ryan Palma
Pop / Hip Hop / Latin

Best if it’s your first serious record.
Read Full Bios → All Services & Space Rental →
panda clubhouse

Your record gets
its own page.

Your demos, references, plan, dates, notes and finished music, in one place.

A Panda Clubhouse page: Welcome to The Panda Studios, Alex. The record's progress, step 4 of 5, in production, and what's up next.
The Clubhouse page on a phone, with the next step pinned to the bottom. Your record, in the making: the cover, a Listen button and the newest mix. Your music: your demo next to the first mix, with a note pinned at 0:42.
The real Clubhouse page, shown with a made-up band.
Panda West live room with the Drumbrella over the drum kit
fremont, california

Bring the songs.
We'll handle the rest.

  1. Share your demos and goals.Unfinished is perfect. Tell us what you want the record to be.
  2. Talk through the direction and budget.A call about the music, the plan and what’s realistic.
  3. Review a clear proposal.What we’ll make and how, laid out before anything is booked.
  4. Reserve dates.At The Panda Studios, or remotely wherever you are.
  5. Make the record.From the first take to the final master.

Scope depends on the music, your goals, the budget and the time we have.

Tell Us What You’re Making →