Tracking Done Right Starts Long Before the Session.
Two purpose-built rooms. One philosophy: sculpt the sound from the start.
The Cloud 9 Recording Approach to Tracking
At most studios, the recording room is an afterthought. At Cloud 9 Recording, it’s the whole point.
Both of our recording spaces were built from the ground up using floating room, non-parallel wall construction — a design method that eliminates the standing waves and acoustic inconsistencies that plague conventional spaces. After construction, each room was fine-tuned using Omni and bi-directional diffusion until the response was accurate enough to trust.
What that means for your session: what you hear in the room is what ends up in the mix. No second-guessing, no surprises, and no relying on post-production to cover up problems that should have been solved at the source.
Pre-Production Is Everything
Pre-production, pre-production, pre-production. Before you step foot in the studio, you need to be well rehearsed and have a clear vision of your desired end result.
The most expensive thing a musician can do in a recording studio is show up underprepared. Studio time moves fast, and every hour spent working out parts, troubleshooting gear, or debating arrangements is an hour that isn’t going toward the record.
Before your session at Cloud 9 Recording, we encourage every artist and band to:
- Know your parts cold. The studio emphasizes performance — it doesn’t hide mistakes.
- Have a clear sonic vision for the project and be able to communicate it to your engineer.
- Make sure all instruments are in proper working order — electronics, intonation, and any effects you plan to bring in.
- Think through your arrangements in advance so time in the room is spent performing, not reworking.
The studio is not an environment that covers up problems. It reveals them. Preparation is the single biggest factor in how a session goes.
What’s in the Room
Cloud 9 Recording is built around a custom 32-channel inline analog console with 64 outputs available on mixdown, running alongside a 32-in, 40-out Pro Tools HD system. For artists who want the warmth and commitment of tape, our vintage 2″ 24-track MCI analog tape deck is available for tracking.
Our gear list and the session musicians in our Rolodex reflect nearly 30 years of building relationships in the industry. If you need it, we can most likely connect you with it.
Who Records Here
Cloud 9 Recording has tracked projects across virtually every genre and format — rock, pop, punk, metal, country, jazz, a cappella, spoken word, and orchestral recordings. Over 27 years, our rooms have hosted:
- Full bands across every major genre
- Solo artists and singer-songwriters
- A cappella groups
- Audiobook narration for Random House Publishing
- Choral recordings captured in external environments, including the Greek Orthodox Divine Liturgy recorded in a domed cathedral
Notable engineers who have worked at Cloud 9 Recording include Michael Barbiero, Brian Malouf, and Mike Scielzi — alongside the in-house engineering work of Jack and Joe Napoli, who have run the majority of sessions since the studio opened in 1994.