The Zone Recording Studio

The Zone Recording Studio is a recording studio on 18 acres of Hill Country off Ranch Road 12, just outside Dripping Springs, Texas. Established in June 1996, it pairs vintage analog equipment with modern digital tools in what the studio calls an intimate setting, and it offers studio time with an engineer, mixing, mastering and production.

Recording and tape

• Studer A800 2-inch 24-track analog tape machine alongside Pro Tools HD
• Neve 8816 16-channel analog summing mixer
• Preamps including 12 channels of API 3124 and eight Brent Averill/Neve 1272s, plus Amek Neve 9098, Avalon 737sp and Manley VoxBox channels
• Microphones including a Neumann SM69 stereo mic, vintage KM 84s, U87s, an M149 tube mic, RCA 74B and “paintbrush” ribbons, and a matched pair of Royer 121s
• Quested H108, Mackie HR824 and Yamaha NS-10 monitors

Instruments

Instruments on site include a Samick 88-key concert grand piano, a Hammond B3 with a 145 tube Leslie, a Wurlitzer electric piano, a Rhodes MKII, a 1960 Les Paul Gold Top, a Vox AC30, a Mesa Boogie amp and a 1960s Ludwig drum kit.

Artists and records

According to The Zone, its clients include Ray Wylie Hubbard, The Band of Heathens, Los Lonely Boys, The Flatlanders, Joe Ely, Robert Earl Keen, Jerry Jeff Walker, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Peter Rowan and Hot Club of Cowtown. Other credits listed by the studio include the Dixie Chicks single “Lucky Ones” and Jack Ingram’s “Auld Lang Syne.”

Video, hours and booking

Through Zone.tv, the studio also offers multi-camera video with full lighting and audio production for streaming and online content. The Zone is open seven days a week, and sessions and quotes are arranged by phone or text.