Capitol Studios - Echo Chambers

Echo Chambers

The Capitol Studios feature unique echo chambers. They are subterranean concrete bunkers built 30 feet underground. The sound isolation and acoustic properties allow recording engineers to sweeten tracks with a rich reverberation.

The echo chambers were designed as trapezoidal rooms by recording artist and sound expert Les Paul. They have 10-inch-thick concrete walls and foot-thick concrete ceilings. With speakers on one side and microphones on the other, they can provide reverberation lasting up to 5 seconds. Sound engineers "use them like an artist's palette," as one Capitol worker put it. Sound from the studios is sent to speakers in the echo chambers, and picked up by the microphones. The amount of reverberation is controlled at the sound mixing board.

The studios are threatened by the construction of a nearby condominium building and underground parking lot, which would involve heavy equipment working within 18 feet of the underground chambers.