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    Dark Star Audio

    5.0 (1 review)
    Open 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

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    Music production services

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    The Grill Recording Studios

    The Grill Recording Studios

    (15 reviews)

    Nice place but hard to get anybody to be accountable, I talked myself into working on music again…read moreand $1200 of studio time and 4 songs later they said they lost my files and nobody will respond to me about a refund or free studio time to re record all my music over, I've text the owner and the engineer but no luck. Updated response to the business owner! I shoot video for a living I have 100 terabytes of data audio files are very small compared to 4K-8K footage I also RJ a commercial recording studio and I still have files for artist who have went to prison or lost touch 15 years later also other artist have passed away and I'm still able to give their kids and family files all these years later! Imagine if they erased all the famous artist sessions because you have so many clients this would make me not want to use the studio if was a artist and also your engineer did not disclose this I had no hard drive at the time and did not expect the engineer to quit or be fired

    I was recommended this studio by someone I respect. At first, it was professional, I was happy to…read morefind a place in the East Bay that I could record. I usually drive to San Jose or San Rafael. I paid my deposit and scheduled a 3 hour session. My first appointment, my engineer was a no show, with no notification. When I arrived, nobody answered my texts, calls or emails. I have 2 kids at home and pleaded with my husband to watch the kids for that time. I waited an hour. Nothing. They blamed it on the fire on the Carquinez bridge, which I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND, BUT 2 people knew and none bothered to notify me or pick up my calls/texts. The next day, they said they'd make it right. I rescheduled the appt 2 weeks for 10-2 (I asked TWICE for an extra hour for the inconvenience) and received 2 confirmation texts. I text at 9:30am to get my engineer's contact details. You won't believe, I got a text saying "I think the engineer rescheduled your session from 2-6, will that work for you?" I literally respond with... "was someone going to notify me? I'm leaving now so lmk if I should stay home." I NEVER get a text back! I call and text, NOTHING. 30 minutes later, I arrive at the studio and get a hold of the engineer. He's in Fairfield and will arrive at 11. He arrives at 11:15/11:20. He's cool and apologizes. I have somewhere to be at 3, so I leave at 2:30 and ask him to finish editing the last track. He emails me all the stems and mixes, but accidentally muted 2 WORDS at one section of the song. I email him to unmute the vocals and change something he accidentally duplicated twice. He tells me... he'll have to charge me an HOUR, when I know the change itself would take, MAXIMUM 5 minutes + exporting... I tell him I think it should be included since I would've caught that if we started on time. I mean, I didn't ask him to mute my vocals. I check in 3x that week to both folks and guess what??? NO ANSWER. At that point I'm thinking, I I've ever been more disrespected or dealt with this lack of communication and unprofessionallism EVER! Not by a business, or an ex! I text them both at 7am Friday, if I don't hear back today, I'm writing a review. They FINALLYYYY hit me back!!! Thank God! And they'll offer 3 free hours. The engineer responds for the first time too, he's going to send me the revised track at 7pm. He sends it at 11:45pm... I will have to respectfully decline the complimentary session. You guys made me so bitter along this process. I'll find PEOPLE that respect people, their time and have integrity in their word, their business and their work. No hard feelings, I just hope no one ever gets treated this way by you again.

    Final Frame Videography - Nellie + James

    Final Frame Videography

    (160 reviews)

    I debated whether I wanted a videographer for our wedding for quite a while. I didn't want to drop…read morea ton of money on a short music video as a lot of other companies advertise because I preferred something less "cinematic"/was looking for more of a "documentary/authentic style" of the highlights and ceremony. Graham (Final Frame) was the perfect fit! He is very professional and readily available for any questions, etc. He has a quicker turnaround for the video which is a bonus, and I really liked that his presence was very subtle (doesn't feel like you're on a movie set with a ton of bulky equipment). He edited a wonderful video (documentary edit), and I feel like I really get to relive the wedding day, and I love that I get to re-watch all the speeches/special moments of us with our friends and family. One of my favorite parts is that he will interview the guests (optional) and you get to hear and see family/friends video messages. It was awesome and really special. I'd highly recommend Graham! He is excellent!

    We hired Graham for our videography in late 2019 for our June 2020 wedding, but then the pandemic…read morehit and we had to postpone. Graham was incredibly supportive and flexible. Graham is very responsive and easy to work with. The day of our June 2021 wedding, Graham showed up on time and got right to work. You hardly even know he's there, which is exactly what we wanted from a videographer. He films "documentary style" and gets all the parts of the day that are such a blur to the bride and groom. My favorite thing about his style is the interviews he does with the bride and groom separately and the interviews he does with guests. It's such a nice touch that makes watching the video even more special. Graham is so affordable given the INCREDIBLE work that he does. I can't believe some people don't get a videographer for their wedding as it was such a special experience to rewatch our day through the eyes of our guests. My sister used Graham a few years ago, and I will be recommending Graham to every future bride and groom. His work is stunning, he doesn't interfere or get in the way, and he adds special touches that make the video even more fun to watch. Thank you so much Graham!!

    Mothership Studio - Live Room

    Mothership Studio

    (2 reviews)

    Potrero Hill, Bayview-Hunters Point

    Really cool studio - fully equipped with tons of crazy gear - awesome outboard, every instrument…read moreyou could ever need. So many different mics - a lot of vintage ones too. Laid down vocals and 12-string guitar for a folky track. Danny B. the engineer I worked with was incredible - really flexible and meticulous with understanding my vision and making it happen. Did a three-mic setup for the guitar - and it sounds INCREDIBLE. Highly recommend for recording anything from simple folky acoustic all the way up to full band and everywhere in between. This place is straight up legit and captured my music in a way I'm not sure other studios could have. Again highly recommend working with Danny if you can. Prices are also pretty reasonable - will def be recording more here when I get the chance.

    This review is specifically for Chris Paxton. I've had a great experience working with Chris in…read moremixing/mastering one of my latest house tracks. He's a fun and professional to collaborate with, and I'm beyond happy with how my song sounds as a finished product. I've been producing on Ableton for a few years, and I was specifically looking to work with someone in studio to learn and improve my mixes in general. I spent a few hours with Chris in his Oakland studio and learned so much during that time. It was one of the most informative sessions I've had since I started making music! Chris shared numerous different techniques and workflow tips with me while making suggestions and helping refine my track. It's clear that he's an expert in Ableton, but is also generous in sharing his knowledge. After our in-person session, we collaborated for another week or so via phone/e-mail through the mastering process. Throughout this process, he was thorough, patient, and gave invaluable feedback and recommendations - all while communicating effectively. Something I really appreciate about working with Chris is that he makes suggestions and gives honest feedback, but also makes sure that he respects the original vision for what the track should sound like. He makes suggestions but never pushes or makes it feel like you're straying or altering your original track. I look forward to working with Chris again! Highly recommend Mothership Studio.

    Oakland Music Complex - Come support live local music at the OMC on 3-11-16 ... Including A Blackbird En Route and Challenger Syndrome.

    Oakland Music Complex

    (12 reviews)

    West Oakland

    I can't believe no one has reviewed this place! It is a great rehearsal studio, and great place to…read moremeet fellow musicians. It's huge, taking up a whole city block, and affordable, offering daily and monthly rates on a great variety of different types of studios, a loading dock and many many other conveniences. The loading dock is set up like a garage and you can lock yourself in which is a great security feature. It's also kept spotlessly clean, and I do mean the restrooms, which are large and accommodating. BF says that basically, this place saved the bay area music industry when all of the other studios went belly up. And he wants me to say that 24 hour access and security are provided, that it's an extremely safe place and that Al Lucchesi the guy who owns it is an amazing, selfless and beautiful person. I found this article to be very interesting as well: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/gyrobase/riding_the_sound_wave/Content?oid=898417&page=1 From their page: "Our monthly studio building has 165 studios and is three stories high. The heart of the creature is our so powerful freight elevator which has dutifully hauled the instruments of many a band and has shown up in lots of photo shoots and videos". Conveniently located just off the Grand St turnoff and close to public transportation.

    Awesome place Awesome people…read moreAwesome Cafe Awesome recording studio downstairs Awesome Management Clean Bathrooms, halls, and rooms Functional Roll-up door and freight elevator Only 4 stars because it is owned by West Oakland Associates, meaning they want want want money. The prices are crazy. Yes I would recommend Helpful? click the [Helpful] button below

    Sonic Zen - 1909 Chickering Grand Piano

    Sonic Zen

    (6 reviews)

    West Berkeley

    Charlie is great. We have had him mix our last couple records and have been very happy. On the last…read moreproject, he even mastered for us and did quite a good job. Charlie's studio is comfortable and while he's certainly a guy who knows his gear (and has plenty of the good stuff), he's also an idea person, constantly walking the line between engineer and producer. The location is close to a few food spots (and Peet's!) which is nice for taking breaks. If you're in the Bay Area, you'll do yourself a favor to head on over to his place in Berkeley.

    Sonic Zen Records is a recording studio…read more Just came from my first-ever mastering session with Charlie from Sonic Zen Records and I'm juiced! I went in with a mix I was satisfied with - just needed to bring volume closer to industry standards so my music wouldn't be drowned out by some wanker with supercompression - and came out with a bonafide masterpiece debut (if I do say so myself). Charlie was warm and professional from beginning to end. Listened patiently to what I thought I wanted, then made sure I was bringing what he needed to do his job. As I arrived, he offered me water then got to work. While he was working, Charlie talked with me about what he was doing to make sure he was moving in the right direction, but never asked questions I didn't have the knowledge to answer and kept moving towards completion; that is truly professional! We didn't talk about philosophy (his degree on the wall), but seems like he took his aesthetic cues from the music (not the musician). That's what I'm trying to do - let the music lead me. My project was small, but Charlie has the skill and capacity to record live albums (7 isolated performers at once), and in-house instruments too. Thank you, man, for treating my music with respect and making it sound great! p.s. to check the record see www.myspace/ncsmithbabysteps

    Ben Bernstein Music - Ben Bernstein, Music Producer

    Ben Bernstein Music

    (13 reviews)

    North Oakland

    I've done three significant recording projects now and Ben is definitely the best; so much so that…read moreI plan to re-record one old project with him sometime next year. The project Ben recorded and edited for me was an audio business book. However, the book was not a straight-forward read because it had three sections. One section was "book" content, one section was reading five interview transcripts and making that sound like the listener was there, one section was instructional content. Ben immediately got how the three had to be different and was a true partner in helping me handle all three. Ben also smoothly handled my errors and re-do's. What's more, he dealt with my noisy gut issue (an annoying Crohn's symptom) with grace and humor which helped calm the noise. He is professional and personable -- always there on time for our sessions even after being in the City recording for KFOG (how cool is that!?). The end result is an outstanding product. Last but not least to mention in this recommendation: Ben's fees are very reasonable. I never once worried about time. All in all, I recommend Ben Bernstein for recording and editing of your business projects and of course music. Also want to note that we used his studio in Emeryville, not the one shown on the website. The Emeryville studio is much larger and has all the pro bells and whistles. It's also very easy to get to. And if you happen to want to run by Ikea...you're right there :)

    Ben was great to work with. The sound quality was excellent and the work was well done. Could…read morerecommend them more highly

    Moving Portraits - San Francisco Brewer's Guild shoot

    Moving Portraits

    (4 reviews)

    Mission

    Wow, I was completely blow away by the quality and uniqueness of the video we received from Moving…read morePortraits. We wanted to document the story of how we met and got engaged to send to our guests before our wedding. We got both a short and a long video and both were excellent. They were able to take the footage we had of our engagement and photos we'd had posted online to create a beautiful telling of our story. I still can't believe how many photos they found in my giant online archive that went perfectly with each thing we talked about. The attention to all those tiny little details is one of the things that made the video so perfect. The music was also a big plus for us. They managed to find really cool songs that matched the mood of each moment in the story. One of the songs we liked so much we used it as the music we walked down the aisle to! Interacting with Haley & Simone was also very pleasant. They're easy to talk to, which is good since you'll be sharing quite a bit with them. They are also highly organized and professional. I never felt worried entrusting them with something as important as this. I think they're specializing in capturing the stories of our elders. I do wish my grandma was still alive as I know they would've captured her unique stories really well. I will certainly hire them in the future to document the life stories of my parents. Overall, I can't say enough positive about them. Look at the videos on their site (I think ours is up right now) and you'll see the quality of their work. Thank you Simone & Haley and the MP team!!

    Haley and Simone are the nicest people you could every hope to meet. That said they really know…read moretheir stuff. They bring serious professional editing and filmmaking chops to the table. Family history is preserved beautifully for years to come with their expertise, love, and humor. Go to their website and watch clips of some of their videos and I dare you not to smile.

    Dark Star Audio - musicproduction - Updated May 2026

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