Our Story

Formerly known as Mama Jo's, Dave's Room was originally built in 1970, a time when recording studios were invested with beautifully balanced acoustics and serious aesthetics. Endowed with massive oak beams and copious velvet wall coverings, Mama Jo’s was one of the most beautiful. Famed acoustician Vince Van Hoff was recruited to design the control room, and soon it acquired a reputation for being a “tweaker” room; a place where artists, producers, and engineers who were really particular about sound quality wanted to work.

With a roster of artists and producers that reads like a “Who’s Who” of rock, jazz, pop, and R & B talent, Mama Jo’s was one of the top recording studios in the Los Angeles area for over two decades. When the original owners moved on, it was abandoned for a number of years until November of 2006, when David Bianco rediscovered this lovely room. Through the ruined flooring and dust and debris, he saw a perfectly-sized live space with three isolation booths and a control room, just waiting to be rescued. Dave and friends quickly put together a crew and immediately started the renovation.

While adding some modern touches in amenities and recording gear, Dave determined to preserve the original studio's aesthetic and acoustics, to get the best of the old and the new. He strove to create for his clients a warm and casual environment that comes from working at home, but combined with the skin and bones of a recording structure designed specifically for that purpose.

Since the studio's reopening in January of 2007, Dave's efforts have been rewarded with a continuous stream of recording projects for major label artists, up-and-coming new bands, and film soundtrack work.

The feedback has been very positive; clients often express surprise at the warm, analog quality of the sound that is captured digitally from this room. Bands that prefer the energy and process of recording live are pleased at how easily this is accomplished in Dave’s Room, in the luxury of great sightlines and full isolation. And artists and producers often comment that it is a good thing to be able to complete the whole process of making an album - recording, overdubbing, and mixing – all under one roof, at a reasonable price, and to feel at home while doing it.