Studio 52

Terrible. Owner is rude. The owner wanted to pick a fight with clientele. We avoided her as much as possible, but she ruined it for us. We watched her disrespecting over guests.

Definitely would recommend this place over the Sound Museum down the street. Much, much cleaner, better lit, better vending machines (which take credit cards BTW), better security, nice loading dock area, full-​time staff person there, etc. The sound proofing isn’t super great, so if you’re practicing between two loud bands there’s a good amount of noise bleed. Parking’s pretty easy because there’s the huge Homegoods lot right there. Overall I’d say your best practice space option in Allston.

There’s a lot of reviews here about how poor the sound proofing is at Studio 52. Perhaps I haven’t had the same bad experience because of the times that I show up to my studio space — I often go a few times a week after work and on Saturday mornings. When I go, there’s usually not many bands playing, so the soundproofing isn’t a problem for me.
You can definitely hear other bands playing, there’s no doubt about that. Some bands play louder than others, as well. Though I find when I’m at my drumkit with headphones on, playing along to music, I can’t hear a single thing from another room. I realize that not everyone is a single drummer playing by himself with headphones on, but I am.
I moved in the day they opened (June 1^st of 2012) and have been overall pretty happy with my experience. Some things that have come up in the past year:
1) The elevator has broken a few times — not the end of the world for me, I don’t move my drums out.
2) They repaired the roof because it was leaking — this did cause my entire room to get dusty, but I’d rather some dust than water damage.
3) I’ve had to complain about the smell of pot a handful of times — I was told there’s not much that can be done about this, which I understand. It’s disgusting, but it’s not like there’s cameras in every room to find out who’s getting high in the complex.
Unlike some other reviews, I’ve never been towed, I’ve never had an issue with the key card access system, I’ve never been locked out.
As for the comments about «posers» — take those with a grain of salt. Anyone who takes the time to call other musicians «posers» rather than supporting the budding music community shows a certain level of maturity. The complex may not be filled with the next Aerosmith, Godsmack, Boston, The Pixies or Dropkick Murphys — but I’ve heard some pretty good bands just walking around in the complex.
My favorite reviews are about how Glenn (the guy who runs the place) is a poser. Even if that were the case (which it’s not), if you’re a good tenant and not a jerk, you’d never have to even see him anyway. In my experience, he’s a great guy. Always willing to listen if you have a problem, always willing to chat about whatever’s going on. An overall good guy. Who cares if he calls you «dude».
In my year at Studio 52, I’ve been pretty happy. I can’t keep my drums in my apartment, so this works out quite well. Do I wish the sound proofing were better? Yes. Do I wish that whoever was smoking so much pot was kicked out? Yes. Do I gladly fork over my money every month for the convenience, safety, security, and availability of my drums? Absolutely.