Definitely a fun stop if in the Shoals area. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect and didn't know all the interesting history of the music scene that has long been in the area. Though the building itself is not large- the tour packs lots of history and personal stories about the music and musicians that recorded there. Our tour lasted about 45 minutes and our guide was passionate about the studio, music and its famed (pun intended) history. It's hard to leave the tour without being a little in awe of the performers that recorded there. I mean muscle shoals has got the swampers! read more

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About ten years ago a friend said to me, "you must watch this movie 'Muscle Shoals.'" I'm like, ok, sure. Fast forward to last week when I found it streaming and we watched it just before heading off on our Alabama roadtrip. Thank goodness we did as it offered a perspective on Muscle Shoals we wouldn't have realized. We came here to golf, but we were not about to miss the chance to visit this amazing piece of music history. We chose the full tour for twice as much money, and from our perspective it was well worth it. We got a 1.5 hour long visit, including Rick Hall's office and a few other upstairs areas packed with memorabilia, plus the regular tour which only includes Recording Studios A and B. (Also totally worth it if that's all you can do.) Our tour guide, Will, was so knowledgeable and personable and patiently answered question after question, never rushing us at any time. The incredible music that has been created and recorded in this building by so many talented musicians over so many decades is staggering. Plus it has consistently been in use as a recording studio and publishing house since that time, which directly links it all the way back. I find this mind blowing! Definitely watch the movie prior to visiting here if you can, it will enhance this tour. Highly recommend! read more

Drove 2 hours out of our way to experience the studio and studio tour. Amazing tour and studio. This was the highlight of my trip!

This is a nice little piece of history. Tours are atv9am and 4pm and they are recording all the time. To get to hang out in the studio where some of the greats had gotten their start or cut their 2nd and 3rd albums was just a really cool experience. We got to listen to some recorded music in Studio A where Aretha and many others cut some tracks. It would be really cool to get to here some live music on the tour, but maybe that can just be a suggestion for now read more

Fame - Recording & Rehearsal Studios Near Me - Muscle Shoals, Alabama

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Spend an utterly fascinating hour and discover how the best Southern musicians of our generation created the unforgettable Muscle Shoals sound. Founder Rick Hall and the famous Swampers created countless special hits that we all still enjoy. If you're in Alabama this is a must-see. read more

Saturday was when the tours are. The tickets were $15/ each . It was a very informative tour and questions were answered. It was great I would recommend it. We also went to Alabama Music Hall of Fame and muscle shoals music studio. We did all three tours in one day it was well worth the time. Then we had dinner in Florence down town. Fun day! read more

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Fame Studios is what brought us the north Alabama and it didn't disappoint. The tour guide was a Fame engineer and ended with us in a control room sitting and listening to tracks from the Small Town Big Sounds album. read more

Fame - The board - Recording & Rehearsal Studios Near Me - Muscle Shoals, Alabama

The one positive experience were the two guys working at the gift store and office - they were friendly and polite. An arrogant prick of a tour guide (Spencer) who really just wanted to get the tour over with, speaking fast and responding in a condescending manner to any questions. Such a startling contrast compared to the tour at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, where the guide really had a reverence and passion for the studio and the music that came out of there. When the FAME guide showed us Rick Hall's office, my husband asked about the quite bizarre barber's chair that was there, the guy responded "I guess it's just gangster." What a dork. They also need a serious overhaul of their merch design (it's really gaudy compared to gift shop selection at the other studios.) A total ripoff. read more

I'm pretty surprised that FAME (I didn't know it was an acronym until the tour) has so few reviews--the way the staff talked, they do a pretty steady tour business. A couple of the people in our group were visiting from Saskatchewan! We had a great hour here on a Saturday morning. The young woman working the front and answering the phones, Abby, was a total delight. She clearly loves being around such an important part of American music history and was really fun to talk to. I can't recall our tour guide's name but she was great. She has worked at FAME for several years and had a very casual style as compared to what you might be thinking of for a paid tour. For one thing, there are really only two rooms--studio A and studio B--so it's not as if you're zipping around from place to place. She was not scripted at all. Rather, she just talked informally about how FAME came to be, who has recorded there, and how the company has evolved over time. We started our tour in what was basically a break room; there were pictures on the wall all the way up to the ceiling, and the tour guide pointed out a few of the pictures and told anecdotes about those musicians. At the end of the tour, we went into the control room of Studio A, where the son of FAME's founder, who has gone into the family business, was working on a track that had been recorded in the studio earlier this year. He took questions from our group and showed us some cool stuff about how the sound board works--taking different components out, changing the volume of certain components, etc. And did I mention that you get to stand in the room where Etta James recorded "I'd Rather Go Blind"?!?! Overall, my husband and I thought this was a super fun way to spend a morning. It's not fancy. You're not getting a slick experience created by marketing consultants. FAME is a working studio that hasn't changed a whole lot since the '60s. The experience is best for people who have at least some awareness of the history of the music scene in the Shoals area--the staff assumes that you know your stuff already, at least a little bit--you're not going to get an orientation here. That said, Muscle Shoals/Florence are not close to much of anything else--we went 2.5 hours out of our way to get here (we were in Nashville for a long weekend)--so hopefully the folks that come to the studio know exactly what they're coming for. read more

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FAME Studio changed my life in ways I didn't even realize till I visited it while in town many years later. What a perfect storm of Wonderful. Lightning in a bottle, one bolt after another. Watch the Muscle Shoals doc if you haven't already. read more

In Muscle Shoals, a small town in North Alabama, history was made FAME studios. Some of the artists that recorded here were; Aretha Franklin, Duane Allman, John Hiatt, Little Richard, Bobbie Gentry, Otis Redding, Spooner and the Spoons, Otis Clay, Ella Washington, Soul Survivors, Alabama, Jamey Johnson, Wilson Pickett, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Drifters, George Jones, Ray Stevens, Billy Ocean, Bill Haley & The Comets, John Paul White, Billy Currington, Darryl Worley, Waylon Jennings, Bobby Womack, The Ramrods, Drive By Truckers, Jason Isbell & the 400 unit, Iron Horse, Civil Wars. They offer tours M-F and sell t-shirts. This place doesn't have the ambience of the breakaway Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, but is still a must visit for music enthusiast. read more

Fame - Recording & Rehearsal Studios Near Me - Muscle Shoals, Alabama

Really great place to visit. Lots of the actual instruments used. Good tour guide. Speak to Ms Linda at the front desk. She's been there forever and can answer any questions you have and is glad to do so. She is a delight. The price is a bit steep, but if you're a music lover, you have to go. Once you're in for $15, it's worth the EXTRA $15 to go up and be in Rick Hall's office and imagine all the meetings and work that happened there read more

Enjoyed touring this historic landmark! Our tour guide (I don't remember her name) was delightful. Despite the fact that she had only been working there for a couple of years, she has long term connections to the studio and was really knowledgeable. Definitely not the most organized experience, but that kind of added to the charm. They are still a functioning studio so giving tours is not necessarily the thing they are focused on day to day. A great little glimpse into music history! read more

Fame - Recording & Rehearsal Studios Near Me - Muscle Shoals, Alabama

FAME Studios-you were a spiritual, musical pilgrimage, and an experience I won't forget. We had the chance to record here (my boyfriend and his high school mates) for his birthday on May 3 and May 4, 2018. We booked it well in advance with John Gifford III (in house engineer). Upon arrival, it indeed filled us with chills. This is the mecca, the spiritual ground of southern rock and soul music. Duane Allman was the in-house guitarist for awhile. John was a total JOY to work with. He was accommodating, friendly, welcoming, and patient. He is also an incomparable talent who knows his craft unlike any other. At the same time, he seems like an old friend-although we just meant, it was like we've known each other for years. We recorded in "Duane's room" Studio B. Studio A is the more "famous" studio as it housed the great hits (etta james "i'd rather go blind", wilson pickett "hey jude").....but B has it's own incredible history as well. The rooms and building remain clothed in so much original instruments, furniture, walls, and photos. However, John had the most up to date equipment catching our sound. We all recorded our parts and had a successful-and surprisingly afforadble-session. John's own mixes of our recordings sounded great, but we will get the final tracks mixed soon. The entire staff is friendly (from the front counter to the interns). We felt at home here. This was such a beautiful, moving experience, and I still can't believe I got to make music with the people I love in an original, historical studio. I imagined the spirits there smiling down on us regular Californians, cheering us on as we make our own music, moving forward. read more

You must come here to drink in the history. Many famous songs and albums were recorded at Fame. It has a very rich history in the history of music with artists like Aretha Franklin, Duane Allman, Tom Waits, Otis Redding, Etta James, and so many more. I had no idea that Muscle Shoals/Florence Alabama was such a hot-bed of songwriting and recording talent until my friend who lives in Nashville and hob knobs with lots of songwriters told me this. Fame Studios is one of the reasons why this area took off. (Read from 2003 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1437161) Fame is an acronym that stands for Florence Alabama Music Enterprises. This building is registered as a historic building and you can still record here. They give tours during the week but it is still best to call ahead. read more

Absolutely loved it. I recommend watching the documentary first so you can keep up with the wealth of information you are provided with. If you are looking for an smarmy, slick, produced tour with updated furniture and snacks then don't bother, this tour is not for you. If you love the sound of southern pop, rock and blues and are serious about it's fascinating history then this tour is a must!! This is the original building with the old sound booths, furniture, instruments and ambiance that you would have encountered in the sixties and seventies. You could feel the history around you. I wanted to sit on the furniture that Etta James sat on. Heck I wanted to rub myself all over it! You could picture Duane Allman sleeping in the parking lot waiting to be noticed by Rick Fox. I thought the building and everything in it was beautiful. The tour guide is a musician and sound engineer and he knows his stuff. My husband and I were the only ones here on a Saturday morning and we got the guide all to ourselves. He gave his historical points but he also talked to us. My husband was a drummer back in the day and they ended up just chatted away reminiscing and talking shop, sound, music and instruments. I left giggling like a school girl I was so excited about just being in this building and talking about the music. I encourage anyone and everyone in the area to check it out. A true music lover will be in heaven. read more

We enjoyed our tour but didn't come away with the same personal connection we felt when we toured the "other" studio in Muscle Shoals. Our tour guide was a woman with a long family connection to Fame. However, the information was uninspiring and seemed to be more of a scattered list of who's recorded at Fame with a few interesting anecdotes here and there. Fame certainly is prestigious in the fact they've been around since the late 50's and have been writing, publishing and recording music for most of that time. But if you want to experience a more thoughtful, organized and immersive tour be sure to check out the "other" studio. read more

Muscle Shoals and FAME were the culmination of a music-related road trip that started in Clarksdale, MS for the Juke Joint Festival. Unfortunately, this tour very much paled in comparison to that from Muscle Shoals Sound. Here, the tour is given by an intern and although we very much applaud the apparent enthusiasm shown by ours for his interest in the world of music recording, the presentation as it pertained to the history of this location felt very shallow. More was spoken about "current" recording efforts here vs. those events spoken of in the documentary and other published efforts. One curiosity we had was whether different tour guides result in differing experiences. As others have noted, it did feel somewhat disorganized upon arrival and we definitely did not feel as "welcome" as we did during the Muscle Shoals Sound tour. read more

This is definitely not what it is made out to be. Very small and run down. Very very small. Did not get to do a tour of the building though because they only were doing two (one in the morning and afternoon). The workers gave off strange vibes. read more

Call ahead and they'll give you a tour. If you are a music fan, this is another MUST SEE. Do your homework, know what you're about to see-- and then enjoy the fact that this place still exists. Hell, the parking lot should be a National Historic Landmark-- Duane Allman camped out there. Wild but true! read more

Was psyched to do the tour with the long studio history. The engineer doing the tour obvs wanted to get in done quickly and was condescending with anyone asking questions and cooler than thou attitude/grumpy. Its does seem like perhaps they should get someone who wants to do these since the engineer wanted to get on with his day which makes sense. I was excited to get to nerd out a little but that was not the vibe at all, a bit of waste of 10$. Muscle shoals sound is the studio the musicians from fame started when the fame owner did not want to pay them enough and that was a totally great and worth it tour and def had a much better vibe studio-wise and where most of the more classic recordings were made. read more

Hallowed ground is the only term that comes close to describing what this place, this whole area, means to me. So glad and grateful that they have done what they've done in sharing this with the public. Must see, if just to stand here and feel its power. read more

The tour guide at Fame is also a sound engineer in the studio and a musician. Fame is still a viable operating recording studio. The tour was great. The guide knew the history of the artists that recorded here and, since he is an engineer, he knows the technical side of the studio. Those that like the music produced at Fame and those that want to learn how the music was produced at Fame will have an exciting, enjoyable tour. We got an in depth explanation of the equipment, we got stories of the artist, we got to hear recordings from the soundboard and we heard finished/mastered recordings. Fame is a 'must see'. read more

The history of the studio was interesting I admit. The guide was an intern, she said. Unfortunately she did not have enough deep knowledge of the place to share some interesting stories. What we want, I think is to get a feel for what it was like and how groups interacted and why they came to the middle of nowhere to work with this group of recording engineers and musicians. It was a let down when she was unable to answer any questions or provide stories or gossip. She used an electronic pointer to name people whose photos were on the wall - musicians who had recorded there. Then a woman asked who else had recorded there and she repeated the same litany. We were able to see the 2 studios but "stories" about the studio and it's artists were few and far between. It felt more like a shrine to Rick Hall - understandable I guess - but odd. Tour starts with a brief movie you watch while standing in the gift shop. There were several tall people in the way so we missed parts of it. The building is very run down, in need of paint and cleaning, but is a fully functioning studio. A guy there told us he arrived at 6AM to start song writing. We wore masks and at one point dropped the mask briefly for a photo. Surprise! Mold! Music lovers and followers of artists will love it because it will touch them in a certain way to see where certain albums were cut. read more

This historic location is a must visit for anyone interested in the Music of Muscle Shoals. I can't wait to see the remodeling to be done by Beats. :D read more

Tons of music history here! Had a blast with Spencer as our tour guide. He had tons of knowledge about the history and has been a part of the FAME family for quite some time. If you love music this is definitely a place that you need to go visit! read more

They only have tours at 9 am and 4 pm. And they don't seem to organized. We got there at 10:30 and found out about hours. So we came back the next day at 8:45. We stood outside on a dirty dark porch with beat up furniture from the 60s. Threadbare porch couch. People went in and ignored 6 of us waiting to get in. No employee even acknowledged us. 5 after 9 we boldly walked on and asked for tickets. They said they don't sell tickets but someone would be in shortly. Cost was $10. Finally at 9:25 some sleepy 20 something came on and stated he was an intern. He kept calling us "dude" and used the term insane to describe everything. He was obviously impressed with his employer but he did not share any great info about studio a or b. That was the tour. He referred to the documentary which we knew of from visiting the muscle shoals music hall which was really great. I realize the historical value of the place and it is still a working recording studio so I give it a 3 star. But without that it is an old 1960 building that hasn't been improved in years other than recording studio euipment. Sorry read more

This place where so much music history was born is well worth the time to find and enjoy. It doesn't look like much from the outside and we weren't even sure it was open but walk inside and you're transported in time to the birthplace of some of our best music. The tour was intimate and informative. If you're a music fan at all this place will be of great interest and enjoyment. read more

As a huge fan of American Soul I was really looking forward to visiting the studio where so much great music had been produced. Before travelling to the States I checked out their website to find the details for visiting. It stated that tours took place at 10 am and needed to be pre-booked (this has since been changed). The contact details were a phone number and an on-line form, but no e-mail address. I filled in the form asking how I could book a tour but was disappointed to receive no response whatsoever. In the middle of February I had arrived in America and sought to book a place on the tour. I rang the given number and was told no booking was necessary so I duly arrived at 10am the following day. The tour was conducted by a young man who told us he was a producer at the studio before showing us the building. The tour was not bad, but it was not good either. I got the impression that showing tourists round was an irritating distraction from what he really wanted to be doing. Much of the presentation was off the cuff with little evidence of preparation. It compared badly to Sun Studios which we had visited the previous week with its slick presentation, interesting anecdotes and samples of records which were clearly planned. It also compared badly in terms of welcome against their near neighbours The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio who seemed to appreciate the fans who had travelled great distances to visit their venue. None the less I decided to mark the fulfilment of my ambition by buying myself a souvenir. Despite the fact it was double the price I could pick it up for on Amazon I purchased a CD. On leaving the studio I drove to Nashville some 300 miles away and it was only there that I discovered I had been given an empty case and there was no disc within it. I used their messaging system again I informed them of the problem and asked them to forward the CD to my home. Once again I received no response. I lived in hope that when I finally got home the disc might have been posted, but I was again disappointed. I used their messaging system for a third time to question the situation but again I received no reply. I firmly believe that if a company has taken money for a product it is their responsibility to ensure the product is delivered. Clearly Fame Studios see it differently. I do not regret visiting the studio because of its iconic status un the world of R&B and by going there I fulfilled a long held ambition, but this does not disguise the fact that the communication was appalling, its customer care non existent, its presentation amateurish and its ethics questionable. They offer little in the way of experience but exploit the sentimentality of its fans. Shame on this organisation. Visited February 2017 read more