Recording a record is a big commitment. Here are the answers to the questions bands ask most before booking The Panda Studios.
Everyone from artists making their first serious record to established artists making their next one. Signed or independent, local or flying in, fully prepared or still figuring out what the project needs. If you care about making something great, there's probably a way to make it happen at Panda.
Any Panda engineer can run your session. If you already know who you want to work with, just let us know. Otherwise, we'll get you set up with one of our engineers based on availability and the needs of the session. Larger projects may also use multiple engineers or rooms at once.
Absolutely. Bring your own team, work with one of ours, or run the session yourself. We can provide as much or as little support as you need. Book the room, use the gear, and run the session your way.
Panda has deep roots in punk, hardcore, alternative, rock and heavy music. That's where a lot of the catalogue comes from, and it's what the rooms were built to handle.
But the facility and the team work well beyond that. Our engineers cover pop, hip hop, Latin, indie, singer-songwriter and vocal-led material, and the studio has been used for podcasts, voiceover and film and television audio. If you're wondering whether your music fits here, ask. The answer is usually yes.
It depends on the room, the engineer, the scope of the project, and whether it includes production. There's a genuine range. Room rental starts from $50/hr for Baby Panda, our smallest room, while staffed sessions and full productions are priced differently and quoted per song or per project.
Tell us what you're making and we'll recommend the most efficient way to book it.
Get a Quote →Yes. Studio sessions require a 50% deposit to reserve the dates. The remaining 50% is due before final deliverables are released.
Freelance sessions, mixing, and mastering are paid 100% upfront.
Deposits are non-refundable because they reserve time on the studio calendar. If plans change, we may be able to transfer the deposit to new dates depending on notice, availability, and circumstances.
If something changes, tell us as early as you can. The more notice we have, the more we can do.
Yes. Single-day bookings are completely normal. Plenty of singles, vocal sessions and overdub days happen here.
Yes. Multi-day lockouts give you the room around the clock, and they're usually the best option for albums and intensive sessions. Booking consecutive days also brings the effective daily rate down substantially compared to hourly.
Because the building is fully soundproofed and runs 24/7, a lockout genuinely means whatever hours suit the record.
For full albums and projects of ten days or more, aim for three to six months out. Singles, EPs and mixing work usually have more flexible availability, and we can sometimes accommodate short notice.
Production is more than operating Pro Tools or capturing what you already wrote. A producer helps shape the finished record.
That can mean arrangement and song development, rewriting parts, finding the missing chorus, pushing performances, choosing tones and instrumentation, building the right recording workflow, and making the decisions that serve the record rather than simply preserving the demo.
Every Panda producer brings a different perspective and working style, but the goal is the same: help you make the strongest version of the record you came here to make.
Absolutely. Book the room, use the gear, and run the session your way. If you want engineering or other support from Panda, we can provide as much or as little as you need.
Panda has three studios that can run independently or at the same time. Panda West is the largest room, built for full bands, drums, ensembles, filmed performances, and larger productions. Panda East is a complete second studio with its own live room and synth collection. Baby Panda is a smaller, highly controlled room for vocals, voiceover, podcasts, interviews, songwriting, programming, editing, and overdubs.
There is also a dedicated isolation room for amps and other isolated sources, plus the warehouse space, which can double as a natural reverb chamber and creative production space.
Yes. Panda's standard gear collection is included with the appropriate room and session, with no per-item rental fees.
Specialty rentals or anything we do not already own can be added if needed.
Yes, during consecutive multi-day lockouts when your room remains reserved for the duration of the booking. For sessions that aren't lockouts, check with us first.
It's one of the real advantages of booking consecutive days: drums stay miked, amps stay dialled in, and you don't lose the first two hours of every morning rebuilding yesterday's setup.
Yes. Two acoustically distinct live rooms, a dedicated isolation room for amps, and the layout of the building mean you can track the whole band playing together while still keeping enough separation to fix things later.
You can also spread out, with amps in one room and drums in another, which is often the best of both worlds.
Yes. Panda has lodging on site for artists working here: beds for up to nine people, a shower, a refrigerator, a microwave, a coffee machine and a kettle.
It's genuinely one of the best reasons to book here. You're not paying for hotels on top of studio time, you're not losing momentum commuting, and if an idea shows up at 2am the room is right there.
Fremont, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, at 3657 Edison Way #4, Fremont, CA 94538.
All three major Bay Area airports are workable: Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco. San Jose and Oakland are typically the easier drives.
Not necessarily. Warm Springs / South Fremont BART is less than a mile from the studio and walkable, with Uber and Lyft easy if you have luggage or don't feel like walking. BART connects Panda to the rest of the Bay Area, including SFO and Oakland Airport.
A rental car can still be convenient for food, errands, or exploring, but you can absolutely get here and get around without one.
Absolutely. Mixing and mastering can be done remotely from anywhere in the world. Send us the session or stems and we'll take it from there.
No. We can stream the session to you with high-quality audio and a live visual feed, so you can listen, watch, react, and make decisions with us in real time.
You don't have to be here to be here.
Send us whatever you have. We prefer Pro Tools sessions or full multitracks, but don't overthink it. Send the project and we'll take care of the rest.
Mix reviews happen together, either here at Panda or remotely with high-quality audio and a live visual stream. Before Mix 1 is printed, we go through the mix together, make changes in real time, and get it where it needs to be. Then we print Mix 1.
We repeat the process for Mix 2. Any additional revisions after Mix 2 are billed hourly.
Yes, we can provide stems, instrumentals, clean versions, performance tracks, and other alternate deliverables for productions and mixes. They are separate services and are not automatically included, so they need to be planned into the project scope and price in advance.
Yes, if they're included in the project scope. Full multitracks, Pro Tools sessions, stems, and archival files can all be provided, but they need to be planned and priced into the project in advance.
Ownership sits with the artist or label according to their own agreements. Panda does not claim ownership of your master simply because it was recorded here.
Yes. Panda has free on-site parking plus ample free street parking, with room for vans and trailers. There are no parking fees.
Yes. The lodging has a refrigerator, microwave, coffee machine, and kettle. There's no stove.
Food and drinks are welcome, just keep them away from the gear.
Absolutely. Film and photos are welcome as long as they don't interfere with the session or anyone else's privacy.
Yes, by appointment only. Panda is a private working studio, so we don't accommodate random drop-ins. Reach out first and we'll schedule a time to show you around.
Tell us what you’re making, how many songs, where you’re coming from and what kind of help you’re looking for. We’ll come back with a real answer.
Start a Project →