Santa Monica has more working recording studios than its size suggests, and they are very different from each other: a legendary analog room a block off the Promenade, a 24-hour engineered studio on Pico with posted prices, a members-only club, a Dolby Atmos room co-founded by one of the best-known mix engineers in the business, audio-post houses for commercials and voiceover, and a handful of boutique rooms like ours.
This page puts them side by side so you can pick the right one for your project.
How we compiled it. Every fact below comes from the studio's own website or its Google Business listing, checked on September 23, 2026. Where a studio doesn't publish a rate, we say so instead of guessing. Ratings and hours change, and so do prices, so check the studio's site before you book.
Disclosure. This guide is published by Paradise Recording, which is one of the studios listed. We don't rank anyone, including ourselves. The studios appear roughly by how often artists compare them, and our own entry is labeled as ours.
Santa Monica recording studios at a glance
| Studio | Where | Posted rate | Hours (per Google) | Google rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th Street Recording | 1211 4th St, a block off the Promenade | Not posted online; book by phone | Open 24 hours | 5.0 (38 reviews) | Analog tracking, drums and piano; nearly five decades in business |
| Green Tea Studios | 2114 Pico Blvd | With engineer: $160 for 2 hrs or $300 for 4 hrs (Room A), $130 for 2 hrs or $240 for 4 hrs (Room B). Without engineer: $30–$40/hr | Open 24 hours | 5.0 (168 reviews) | Engineered vocal sessions on a budget |
| NewVine Music Studios | 1639 11th St | Quoted per project; book online | Until 10 pm | 5.0 (25 reviews) | Vocals, voiceover with Source-Connect, podcasts, production |
| Tiny Room Studios / The Recording Club | 1660 9th St | Membership from $450 a month in studio credit, plus a $5,000 initiation fee; engineers extra | Until midnight | 5.0 (40) / 5.0 (10) | Regulars who want a members' club with a stage and live room |
| Clearmountain's Berkeley Street Studios | 1715 Berkeley St | By inquiry | By inquiry | — | High-end tracking and Dolby Atmos; live shows for up to 180 |
| 48 Windows | 1661 Lincoln Blvd, Suite 220 | Contact the studio | Until 6 pm | 4.9 (13) | Audio post: commercials, voiceover, audiobooks, sound design |
| 7th St. Media Station | 1453 7th St | By request | By request | 5.0 (2) | Voice work, multilingual casting, dubbing |
| The Village (West LA) | West Los Angeles | By inquiry | Open 24 hours | 4.8 (158) | Major-label tracking and mixing in a landmark building |
| Paradise Recording (ours) | 1505 4th St, Suite 219 | $160 for 2 hrs up to $850 for 12, engineer and whole studio included. Rehearsal $30/hr; bring your own engineer $50/hr | 9 am – 2 am daily | 5.0 (66) | Vocals, full bands and live drums, podcasts, late sessions |
Rates, hours and ratings as listed on September 23, 2026.
The same building as Green Tea at 2114 Pico also lists lmnl studios, The Kitchen Studios LA and Broken Horn Studios on Google, and Blighty Music Studios shares 1639 11th St with NewVine. If you're searching Maps and see several studios on one pin, that's why.
The studios, one by one
4th Street Recording
A boutique studio at 1211 4th Street that has been recording in downtown Santa Monica for close to fifty years. Its site highlights an API console, vintage analog gear, Pro Tools Ultimate, a dedicated drum room and piano, along with a client list that includes The Beach Boys, Weezer and Muse. It doesn't publish rates online, but its Instagram bio says it was ranked among the "Top 10 U.S. Studios Under $100/hr", and you book by phone at (310) 395-9114 or through its site. Pick it if you want an old-school analog room with a long track record.
Green Tea Studios
Established in 2015 on Pico Boulevard and open around the clock, Green Tea publishes more prices than anyone else in town. Room A is $85 an hour with an engineer ($160 for two hours, $300 for four), and Room B is $70 an hour ($130 for two hours, $240 for four). Both rooms can also be rented without an engineer at $30–$40 an hour, with 8- and 12-hour blocks. Session time can be used for tracking, general mixing, mastering, pitch correction and arrangement. With 168 Google reviews it has the deepest review history on the Westside. Pick it for engineered vocal sessions when price is the deciding factor.
NewVine Music Studios
A music production and recording studio in a 24-hour secure building on 11th Street, a few blocks from the Pier. Its site describes a control room, live room and lounge, Universal Audio preamps and converters, a roof deck, and Source-Connect for remote voiceover sessions. It also advertises a designated parking spot. Rates are quoted per project, and you can book through the site. Pick it for broadcast-quality vocals, voiceover and podcasts, especially with a remote director.
Tiny Room Studios and The Recording Club
The Recording Club grew out of Tiny Room Studios, founded by pianist Greg Spero, and describes itself as a luxury studio membership club: four rooms, a Trident 88 console, two Yamaha grands, a stage with a five-camera rig, plus a gym and sauna. Memberships start at $450 a month, and each tier returns three times the fee as studio credit. There is a $5,000 initiation fee, which current members can waive by invitation. Credits cover room time; engineers are paid separately. Pick it if you record constantly and want a club rather than an hourly room.
Clearmountain's Berkeley Street Studios
Co-founded by mix engineer Bob Clearmountain and Apogee founder Betty Bennett, Berkeley Street pairs a vintage Neve 8068 MkII control room and Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 monitoring with a live room that doubles as a venue for up to 180 people. Studio G is a podcast room and lounge. Sessions are booked by inquiry. Pick it for high-end tracking, Atmos work or a filmed live performance.
48 Windows
An audio post-production house on Lincoln Boulevard since 1997. It mixes TV and radio commercials, reality TV, audiobooks, promos, music and voice recording, and it now has an annex in the West Valley. Contact the studio for rates. Pick it for broadcast and voiceover post rather than music tracking.
7th St. Media Station
A private, clubhouse-style studio on 7th Street built around voice work: multilingual casting and talent, mixing, sound design, dubbing, and remote connections over ISDN and Source-Connect. Hours and tours are by request. Pick it for voiceover and dubbing projects.
The Village
Technically West LA rather than Santa Monica, but it's the room most people mean when they say "the Westside studio". Its own site describes a recording complex in a 1920s Masonic Temple with six decades of landmark records behind it. Rates are by inquiry. Pick it for major-label budgets and records that need that room.
Paradise Recording (our studio)
A boutique studio in Suite 219 at 1505 4th Street, two blocks off the Promenade. Every booking is the whole place: the plant-filled Rainforest vocal room, the Rock live room with a pre-tuned Ludwig kit and a 1917 Chickering baby grand, the control room and the lounge. Nobody else is in the building while you're there. Recording sessions include our engineer and run $160 for two hours, $300 for four and $850 for a 12-hour day. Rehearsals are $30 an hour with the full backline, and you can bring your own engineer for $50 an hour. We're open 9 am to 2 am every day and you book online. Every rate is on one page.
How to choose
- Vocals on a budget: Green Tea's Room B has the lowest posted engineered rate we found in Santa Monica. At $160 for two hours, Paradise and Green Tea's Room A come next, and Paradise's price covers the whole studio, not a single room.
- A full band or live drums: 4th Street's drum room and piano, the Rock live room at Paradise, or the large live room at Berkeley Street if the budget allows.
- Voiceover, audiobooks and commercials: NewVine, 48 Windows and 7th St. Media Station all run remote-direction setups for this kind of work.
- Atmos or a filmed performance: Berkeley Street.
- You record several times a week: compare The Recording Club's membership with bulk hours elsewhere. Paradise sells 15+ hour blocks at $70/hr with an engineer.
- Late-night sessions: Google lists 4th Street and Green Tea as open 24 hours. Paradise runs until 2 am.
When you compare quotes, ask the same four questions of every studio: is the engineer included, what's the minimum booking, what happens after midnight, and when do you get your files?
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest recording studio in Santa Monica with an engineer included?
Among studios that post their rates, Green Tea Studios' Room B is the lowest at $130 for two hours with an engineer, as listed on September 23, 2026. Green Tea's Room A and Paradise Recording are both $160 for two hours, and Paradise's price covers the whole studio. Other Santa Monica studios quote on request.
How much does a 2-hour recording session cost in Santa Monica?
Where studios publish them, two-hour prices with an engineer start at $130 (Green Tea, Room B) and $160 (Green Tea, Room A).
Paradise's two-hour session is $160 with the whole studio included. Studios such as 4th Street, NewVine and Berkeley Street quote by phone or inquiry.
Which Santa Monica recording studios are open late or 24 hours?
Google lists 4th Street Recording and Green Tea Studios as open 24 hours. Paradise Recording is open from 9 am to 2 am daily, NewVine until 10 pm, and The Recording Club until midnight.
Where can a band record live in Santa Monica?
4th Street Recording has a dedicated drum room and piano. Paradise Recording's Rock live room has a pre-tuned, pre-mic'd Ludwig kit, amps and a baby grand, and every booking includes it. Berkeley Street Studios has a large live room that doubles as a venue.
Is The Village in Santa Monica?
No. The Village is in West Los Angeles, a short drive from Santa Monica, which is why it often comes up in searches for Santa Monica studios.
Who publishes this comparison?
Paradise Recording, a studio at 1505 4th Street in Santa Monica. We're one of the studios listed and we've labeled our own entry. Every other fact comes from the studio's own website or Google listing.