About – Mystic Valley Studio

Mystic Valley Recording Studio is Boston's boutique analog recording studio, located just north of the city, in an unassuming house in Medford, Ma. With purpose-built, soundproof, sound-treated rooms and a focus on great sounding gear, it is one of just a handful of 100% analog recording studios in the world.

Much of the gear here is either a restored classic vintage piece, or modeled after one. Bands looking for a “retro” experience will be quite happy here, while modern bands simply looking for great sound should be equally satisfied. I strive to maintain a clean, creative environment, where great sound is paramount, at a price that anyone can afford.

If you’ve never worked with tape before, you might be surprised at how flexible it can be. I can track a full band “live”, or you can lay down each instrument separately as overdubs… whatever makes sense. For those that don’t know, punching-in/out is indeed possible on tape, and we can even splice two or more separate performances together.

*Although Mystic Valley is primarily an analog studio, outside engineers and bands may bring digital sessions here for tracking and mixing with use of our Mytek and Motu AD/DA converters. Additionally, basic tracking of drums, bass, guitar, etc, can be done here in analog and transferred to digital to be finished elsewhere. Digital projects may also be sent in for remote mixing.

Studio owner Alex Garcia-Rivera is a platinum awarded recording engineer / producer. He is also a drummer with a career spanning 3 decades. He has played in dozens of bands, most notably American Nightmare, Shelter, Piebald, Saves The Day, Cold Cave, and Bloodhorse. He has also been a working drum technician in the Boston area for over 20 years, having helped shape the drum sound for many notable albums, including those by Converge, Madball, Mutoid Man, and High On Fire.