Cascade Studios

conveniently placed in Hollywood. Fair prices. Ok back line. Reliable practice place for local musicians. They also have a showcase/​stage room which is convenient for performance practice, and other type that needs a more accurate live sound.

Sub par experience. Tiny room and crap gear. Pdp drum kit (beat to shit). The only guitar amp was a crate combo and the bass rig was nothing to write home about either. They charge for cymbals. Only plus was the beer can holders on the walls.

Two very different reviews of this place — we came first in the day time and it was great! Staff were lovely, gear was OK (I mean you never really find GREAT gear at a rehearsal studio but it was good enough!)…there was a really loud drummer rehearsing in the room next door to us so before we even got to the room the guy swapped us into a room further away so we weren’t disturbed. All in all, a good experience and def would go back in the day! Would have given 4 stars.
However in evening, every band was soooo loud and the sound proofing is terrible — we could barely hear ourselves for the noise coming from every other room. It was pretty much a waste of time trying to rehearse (as we were using loop pedals etc and it kept looping the noise from next doors room!) so def won’t be going back in the evening! Would have given 1 star.

I have been coming to Cascade Studios for almost two years and I have to say this place is great! I have to come to Cascade’s defense in this review because some of the previews reviews come from what sound like ungrateful and self centered individuals. I will start by saying, the management has never messed up my reservation or double booked. They go as far repeating the exact information while you are on the phone so that there is no confusion on the booking. If that doesn’t give you a peace of mind, they even call you the night before to confirm that they have the right person for the booking.
Despite some of the mean things that were said of the staff, the staff is always there to help. Yes, at times they might be short staffed where one individual has to attend up to six different bands at the same time! This does not give anyone the right to bash on this hard working establishment. As far as the AC situation, is it really that hard to ask someone politely to either turn off /​on the AC? I don’t think so, it’s called communication if you haven’t heard about it you might have some real big problems making it in the music industry!
Parking, there are ten available spots for PAYING customers. People should be damn grateful that this place located in Hollywood (where parking is impossible) has a lot. Throwing a quote here, early bird gets the worm! The main reason why most of these people don’t find a parking spot on the lot is because they are typically late! If you choose not to park for free on Seward, call ahead of time they will tell you how many spots are left on the lot.
Last but not least, prices and time. This is a business! It is not a swapmeet! You should not go in with a mind set of negotiating prices. Do you go to Trader Joes and ask the cashier to knock off two dollars from your total price? No! If you paid for two hours, two hours is what you get. Don’t start crying because they politely ask you to start wrapping up your set! People keep in mind, treat others like you want to be treated!

Best rehearsal spot in town!
great prices, clean rooms, nice drums, nice gear.
If anything breaks down just ask and they come running with replacements.
Staff is friendly and everyone on staff is a pro live sound engineer.
They sometimes let you in early if the room is open and if a band is in before you they make sure that they are out of the room on time so you can start on time.
Ask for ac and it gets nice and frosty.
The place doesn’t smell like booze and weed like most rehearsal spaces and they keep the roudy musicians in check making it a safe clean place for kids.
Parking is limited but in Hollywood parking is rare as it is.

For my 1000^th review, I’ve decided to dedicate it to one of my biggest passions of all, singing and music!
After having been invited to meet a recording artist and record producer here the day before, I decided to come back the next day and rent one of the smaller rooms to practice my music and vocals for a few hours to kill some time before dinner. At $ 12 an hour before 5pm, it really was a great deal compared to the recording studio’s in the bay areal. They even let me have the room free for 30min prior to reservation, since I got there early and no one using it. I only wish that the rooms were more sound proof as once the rock bands starting coming in it was very noisy and hard to hear myself. I also didn’t appreciate how the guy that worked there kept coming in while I still had 15min left and interrupting me to remind of the time. He did this two more times, on the last when I still had 5 – 6 paid minutes left, he went inside and began putting the equipment away. I thought this was very unprofessional, especially, since he had been interrupting me in the middle of actually recording my vocals!
The prices obviously can’t be beat, however, the environment and the customer service do leave more to be desired.

I’ve been to many rehearsal studios in LA County, and this one is most likely my least favorite… So much that I felt the need to write a review about it. Staff are very inconsiderate and are quick to end your sessions before the scheduled time, even if there isn’t anyone booked after you in the same room. AC isn’t reliable so you’ll be cooking up real quick, and the gear is even less reliable. But good luck arriving there because parking is a bitch! Their parking lot has about 7 spots, so you pretty much have no choice but to park on the street. And the meter maids are always patrolling in that area, ready to give you a chicken-​shit ticket.

Alright

Cascade Studios are a friendly, affordable option for rehearsal studios in LA.
There are several different types of spaces available for booking including a Showcase stage complete with stage lights and professional audio desk (with engineer an optional extra).
Amps are provided at no extra fee and there are instruments available for hire for a small cost from behind the desk as well as strings, picks, capos– everything you could possibly need!
The staff are knowledgeable and always willing to lend a helping hand if the gear isn’t working or you’re unsure of anything.
My studio of choice is definitely Studio B OR Showcase room :)

On retrospect, I may have been a bit harsh in my original review. For a rock act, this place is just fine. For a jazz act like mine, not so much — but then again, I am the idiot bringing a jazz act to a place so obviously designed for rock bands. C’est la vie.

I love this place, love the crew the studios the great service, the gear is always in good working order the rooms are always clean, and the best thing is that its hassle free. If you need a place to rehearse you need to try this place. Hopefully the have a studio available the have 10 studios and there always seem to be busy. We love the Brazilian goddess working the front.

I don’t know if it was just me or the darkness but it was s big tricky to find. But the person at the front desk was friendly and the smallest room we rented was still pretty spacious :) we went on a Friday night and was able to park in the back with no problem!

These guys are the best. They are fantastic for same-​day bookings and never give you attitude (unlike flintstones studios over in echo park). Sound bleed can be an issue if you aren’t playing an amplified instrument but they are great about moving you to a different room if you need it. Great clean rooms with all the stuff you need, especially AC. Consider Cascade studios if the other popular rehearsal joint gives you sass.

Pros:
Back-​line gear is ok. PA is ok. Good vocal mics. The rooms don’t bleed as much as their competitors. A/​C is pretty frosty. Prices are average. If they’ve overbooked and you’ve reserved a small room, they may bump you up to a bigger room for the same price. Restrooms are clean. Vending machine is stocked with tasty treats :)
Cons:
Parking is extremely limited. And during busy hours you have a ridiculously limited time to unload your gear from your vehicle until you become the source of traffic. If you are new to the place and do not request the A/​C to be turned on, prepare to be microwaved in your room. Takes a while to find a working mic-​stand.

It’s all about Mickey and Joe. Band I’m in rehearses there every mon. night. Left my sparkle drive pedal in the room didn’t notice til 2 days later, called on a whim and they said they had it there for me and Mickey turned it in. solid! Also one of my amps was funky after changing tubes, brought it to Joe to take a look at, he whacked it and said there that will be 100 bux jokingly, fixed! If you can get past a lot of the wannabees there (all over Hollywood) and the tight parking you’re good. perfect 5 would be if they had old tube amps to use! in a perfect world I guess. ha!

A decent spot in Hollywood. There are a lot of decent sized rooms but the sound tends to bleed though quite a bit. The room I was in was J and although it was a large room, they need some sound foam put up on the low ceiling to stop the sound from bouncing around so much. I think if that small improvement was made the room would sound great.
The back-​lined gear is pretty good as far as rehearsal studio gear goes. Just make sure to bring your own throne if your a drummer because like most hourly spots, the throne is in bad shape and wobbles all over the place.
Parking in the back is highly convenient since it’s right on Santa Monica BLVD.

I’m not writing from a musician’s standpoint — just to be up front.
My sister is a drummer, and I usually tech for her… or at least accompany her on the drive to LA from Orange County. So I’ve been inside tons of rehearsal spaces in and around LA.
Since this was a short rehearsal, I decided to just stick around the lobby and work on my laptop (instead of heading the nearest coffee shop). I asked the folks at the counter for the wifi password, but my machine wasn’t connecting. They gave me a different wifi to try, and said that if I go closer to a certain room, it’s better.
Then, Manny actually came out from the booth with keys. Since they had a room open — coincidentally, one right next to where the wifi router is — he unlocked the room and let me setup shop in the empty, quiet, air conditioned studio with great wifi connection! So much better than on the couch in the main lobby!
I love when people go out of their way to provide customer service — and even to someone like me who isn’t even rehearsing here.
Other perks of this place from my short assessment:
— Super clean, even the bathrooms
— Does not smell like pot
— AC works awesome
THANK YOU CASCADE!

Awesome customer service and facilities! The staff is really laid back and even gives a few extra minutes if we’re running late. Nothing but good things to say about Cascade!

I’ve had the opportunity to practice at a lot of studios over the years, and it’s always a balance between a few things — price, quality of the rooms, quality of the equipment, and the people. Cascade Studios strikes a nice balance of these elements, and has a few real pluses that made me want to post a review for my fellow musicians out there looking for a nice place to get loud…
First, it’s centrally located in Hollywood, so the guys in my band (from Hermosa Beach to Pasadena) can all agree on it. Second, the rooms are nice, well maintained AND reasonably priced — I’m not looking for the Ritz here, but they actually put some time and effort into cleaning, painting, and designing rooms that are comfortable and nice. And the showcase room is AWESOME when you can get it (of course a bit pricier than the other rooms). Another plus is that in addition to the stock gear, you can rent guitars, pedals, and just about whatever you might have forgotten.
But what really sets this place apart from so many other places I’ve rehearsed is the people that work here… I’m SO tired of surly, bitter musicians, and the friendly helpful attitude of the staff at Cascade makes rehearsal fun and relaxed. They’re just nice people… And as a bonus, they do some pretty killer work on electronics and instruments (Mick set up my guitar and did a great job!).
The only minus I would give is that some of the stock amps aren’t the best, and much of the gear (particularly mic stands) is pretty beat up… but I’m not sure how to avoid that with so many of those surly musicians using it…

My band used to rehearse here every week.
Why we used to:
* Attentive staff.
* Lots of equipment (mics, music stands, mic stands, cables, etc).
* Reliability of equipment.
* Lots of different rooms and setups available.
Why we don’t now:
* Management would screw up reservations or doublebook
* Staff were jerks about going even 1 minute over our scheduled end time, even if the room was not booked for the next hour.
* Parking SUCKS. You will rarely if ever find a spot in their secured lot. Street parking is a gamble and most likely you will have to park a few blocks or across the street. The meter maids aggressively check this area so if you have the slightest violation (no front plates, etc), they will love to leave a ticket.
* AC was not reliable and was controlled in their office, not in each individual room. We were hot and asked them to leave the AC on while we practiced. They would still shut it off every hour and we would have to ask them every hour to turn it back on.