Recording Studio Berlin
Hot Milk Studio is a recording studio in Berlin-Buch built around one idea: musicians should be able to play together and have it sound like they did. Four interconnected rooms with visual contact between them, a Yamaha G5 grand, a dedicated drum room and an engineer who has been behind the desk since 2009.
The rooms
Most studios make you choose between separation and connection: isolate everyone and lose the interplay, or track live and lose control of the mix. Hot Milk Studio is laid out so you don't have to choose. Three dedicated recording spaces plus a control room large enough to record in all have sightlines between them, so a full ensemble can play together while each instrument is captured with its own acoustic space.
Instruments & equipment
A studio is only as good as what's in it when inspiration strikes at four in the afternoon. The rooms are stocked with instruments that get used, not displayed — most of what you see in the photos is available to play on your session at no extra cost.
Bringing your own backline or a particular instrument is always welcome — tell us in advance and we'll plan the room layout around it.
What we record
The studio's strength is acoustic music played by people in the same room at the same time. Jazz, soul, world music, rock, singer-songwriter and roots projects make up most of the calendar, alongside classical, choral and operatic work recorded both here and on location across Berlin.
Music Production
Full production in Berlin — arrangement, live tracking, overdubs, mixing and mastering.
Explore Music ProductionLive Tracking
Multiple rooms with visual contact for honest, full-band takes.
Explore Live TrackingJazz & Acoustic
Warm, natural capture for small group jazz, strings, winds, brass and acoustic projects.
Explore Jazz & AcousticMixing & Mastering
Mixing and mastering for projects recorded with us or elsewhere.
Explore Mixing & MasteringClassical on Location
Concert halls, churches, conservatories — recorded on site with full control.
Explore Classical on LocationDrum Recordings
Variable acoustics for your drums, from tight and dry to big and ambient — for rock, jazz, pop, and acoustic music.
Explore Drum RecordingsPiano Recording
Acoustic piano sessions for classical, jazz and contemporary projects.
Explore Piano RecordingVocal Recording
Vocal recording with a wide selection of top microphones and top recording chain.
Explore Vocal RecordingVideo Session Production
Live-recorded sessions captured on camera, edited as performance films.
Explore Video Session ProductionThe engineer
I'm Robert Cummings, the engineer you'll be working with. I started as a drummer in Winnipeg, Canada, in the early 80s — into heavy rock, fascinated by jazz before I really understood it, and just as happy listening to Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Brahms.
In other words, I was a musician first and became an engineer much later. Through drumming I developed an understanding of how ensembles work together by listening — and how great musicians don't just play correctly, they make it feel good. I began recording in 1999, producing my own bands, and opened the first Hot Milk Studio in Berlin-Kreuzberg in 2009. I've been running sessions here ever since.
That background is why sessions here are set up around the players rather than the gear: the best performances happen when musicians feel relaxed, supported and able to hear each other, and great sounds start in the room, not on the screen.
More of the story is on the About page.
Rates
Pricing is published rather than quoted on request, so you can plan a budget before you get in touch. All prices are plus 19% VAT.
Getting here
Hot Milk Studio Berlin, Schwanebecker Chaussee 5, 13125 Berlin. The studio sits in a quiet, forested part of northern Berlin, inside a historic building — far enough from the city to work without interruption, close enough to get to in under an hour.
Full directions, transit details and arrival notes are on the location page.
Hot Milk has it all — beautiful rooms, great sounds, amazing ears and a great relaxed vibe. Always a pleasure to record with Rob. He's a fantastic drummer to boot!
At Hot Milk Studio the day rate is €500 (plus 19% VAT) with a minimum booking of 2 hours, dropping to €400 per day for projects of 3 days or more. That includes the engineer, all four rooms and the studio's instruments. Unattended mixing is €350 per song and stereo mastering €50 per song.
Four interconnected rooms with visual contact between them means full bands and ensembles of varying size can play together live while each instrument is recorded with acoustic separation. Ensembles of a dozen or more players have been recorded here in one pass.
Schwanebecker Chaussee 5, 13125 Berlin, in Berlin-Buch in the north of the city. Roughly 30–45 minutes from Hauptbahnhof or Alexanderplatz by S-Bahn and bus, with free parking directly behind the building.
The day rate includes Robert Cummings, who founded the studio in 2009 and engineers the sessions himself. He is a drummer as well as an engineer, which tends to show in how rhythm sections get recorded. Bringing your own producer or engineer is fine too.
A Yamaha G5 grand piano, Seiler upright, Hohner Pianet, Korg 770, harmonium, multiple Ludwig drum kits with an extensive snare collection, a Latin percussion locker, Danelectro guitars and a range of amplifiers — all included in the day rate.
Yes. Sessions run in English and German, and mixing and mastering are regularly delivered remotely for artists who recorded elsewhere. Files are exchanged online with revision rounds built into the price.
Yes — studio visits are welcome and usually a good idea before a larger project. Get in touch and we'll arrange a time to walk the rooms together.
Let's plan a session together.
Tell us about the music, the players and the sound you'd like to hear back. We'll come back with a plan.
Book a SessionContinue exploring
