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.

A full-service recording studio in the San Francisco Bay Area. Three control rooms, two live rooms, and a place to sleep, so you can stop commuting and start finishing the record.

selected work

20+ years
of records through Panda.

20+ years of records made through Panda, from full productions to tracking, mixing, and mastering.

01 Mom Jeans., Best Buds album artwork

Mom Jeans.

Best Buds

442M+ Spotify streams. Drums and bass recorded at Panda, engineered by Ryan Ellery.

02 Basement, Colourmeinkindness album artwork

Basement

Colourmeinkindness

RIAA Platinum single “Covet.” 327M+ streams. #1 Billboard Vinyl Albums. Produced, engineered and mixed at Panda.

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

The Story So Far

What You Don’t See

211M+ streams. #46 Billboard 200, #1 Vinyl, #8 Alternative Albums.

04 State Champs, The Finer Things album artwork

State Champs

The Finer Things

75M+ streams. #2 Billboard Heatseekers. Debut that launched a decade of touring.

05 Ryan Caraveo, Trouble in Paradise album artwork

Ryan Caraveo

Trouble in Paradise

37M+ Spotify streams. Mixed and mastered at Panda. Panda outside the rock world.

06 Scowl, How Flowers Grow album artwork

Scowl

How Flowers Grow

Produced by Charles Toshio. The current Panda ecosystem, in one of the Bay Area’s most visible heavy bands.

Records Made Through Panda
The Story So Far Sunami Gulch Spite After the Burial SpiritWorld Fallujah The Dangerous Summer Hundredth
the facility

Three studios.
One warehouse. Open 24/7.

Panda West, Panda East, and Baby Panda run independently or together, backed by an isolation room and a warehouse that doubles as a natural reverb chamber.

Panda West

Live: 18' × 20', 14' ceiling Control: 15' × 17', 12' ceiling Home of the "Drumbrella" and the amp collection. Acoustics designed by Jeff Hedback, built and refined by Sam Pura.

Panda East

Live: 13' × 17', 14' ceiling Control: 16' × 14', 14' ceiling Analog synths, drum machines, and a medium live room.

Baby Panda

Room: 7.5' × 16', 8' ceiling Built for: writing & vocals Songwriting, editing, programming, and vocal tracking suite.

Sleeping area in the on-site living quarters at The Panda Studios
stay on site

Live inside the record.

Out-of-town bands don't need a hotel. Our living quarters sleep up to nine, so you can work late, sleep on site, and pick it back up in the morning without losing momentum.

  • Beds for up to 9 people, plus a common area
  • Shower, refrigerator, microwave, coffee machine & hot-water kettle
  • Fully soundproofed, so sessions run 24/7
  • Free street parking for vans, buses & trailers
See the Space
what we do

From first idea
to final master.

Come in with finished songs or a voice memo. We can take a project the whole way, or step in wherever you need us.

Production

Creative direction, arrangement, performance coaching, and full project oversight.

Songwriting

Structure, melody, and lyric work to get the song where it needs to be before you track it.

Recording

Live drums, guitar and bass, vocals, synths, percussion, brass, tracked live or piece by piece.

Mixing

Analog warmth and digital precision, with revisions until it translates everywhere.

Mastering

Streaming, vinyl, and broadcast-ready masters. Attended or remote.

Editing & Reamping

Surgical drum and vocal editing, sample layering, and reamping through analog chains.

All Services & Studio Rental
rates & engineers

There's a way into Panda
at most budgets.

There’s a way into Panda at most budgets.

Three levels of service, not three tiers of people. What you pay depends on how much of the record you want us to carry, and we’ll help you work out which one your project actually needs.

Tell us your budget on the booking form and we'll match you to the right room and engineer. No guessing, no pressure.

Get a Quote
Bring your own team Facility Rental

Book a Panda room and bring your own producer or engineer, or self-produce. Baby Panda room-only bookings start at $50/hr; the larger rooms are quoted by room and length.

From $50/hr
Most bands land here Engineered Sessions

Work with one of the producers and engineers who work out of Panda. We’ll help match the engineer and the room to the project. Quoted by engineer, room, length and scope, and multi-day lockouts bring the daily cost down substantially.

Quoted per project
More than tracking Production & Finishing

Need more than tracking? Production, vocal production, editing, reamping, mixing and mastering are all available through the Panda team depending on the project. Priced per song or per project rather than by the hour.

Per song or per project
Sam Pura, producer and founder of The Panda Studios
Sam Pura
Producer / Founder
Theresa Brown, lead engineer at The Panda Studios
Theresa Brown
Vocal ProductionPop · Indie
RJ DeMarco, engineer at The Panda Studios
RJ DeMarco
Pop Rock / Indie
Charles Toshio, producer at The Panda Studios
Charles Toshio
Hardcore / Heavy
Ryan Palma, engineer at The Panda Studios
Ryan Palma
Pop / Hip Hop / Latin
Read Full Bios
the arsenal

Everything's
included.

Every mic, amp, and outboard piece comes with your session. No rental fees. Just bring fresh strings and drum heads.

200+
Pedals & Outboard
40+
Mic Models
14
Amp Heads
4
Full Drum Kits
Browse the Full Gear List
good to know

The practical stuff.

Hours

Fully soundproofed and open 24/7. Work whatever hours suit the record.

Parking

Ample free street parking with room for vans, buses, and trailers.

Bring Your Own Team

Want to bring your own producer, engineer, or team? You can book Panda as a facility-only session. A Panda engineer helps get everything running on day one, then the room is yours.

Playing Live

Track the whole band together, or isolate amps across separate rooms. Your call.

before you book

Quick answers.

How do I choose the right engineer?

Tell us about your project, goals, and budget and we'll match you with the right producer or engineer at Panda.

How long should I book for?

Every project is different. Tell us what you're making, where you're at, and what you need help with, and we'll help you figure out the right amount of time to book.

What happens after recording?

As much or as little as you need. We can keep working with you through editing, production, mixing, and mastering, or prepare everything for wherever the project goes next. We'll help you figure out the right path.

How do payments work?

A 50% deposit secures your booking, with the balance due at session start. Mixing and mastering are paid upfront. Larger projects can be paid down over 12–24 months.

Read the Full FAQ
fremont, california

Bring the songs.
We'll handle the rest.

Tell us about the project and your budget. We'll come back with the right room, the right engineer, and a real number.

Start a Booking