You work hard to develop your art - realize it in a professional, cost-effective, and friendly environment.
Book Studio Time Today!
You work hard to develop your art - realize it in a professional, cost-effective, and friendly environment.
Book Studio Time Today!Audio Bistro is a music & sound recording studio in Chicago’s Logan Square. Proprietor Doug Bistrow is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and has been a professional musician and audio engineer since 2005.
At Audio Bistro, my hope is to expand the “audio color palate” as much as possible. It is up to you, the artist, to choose! You may be involved as little or as much in the technical part of the recording as you like. I will help make your work at Audio Bistro go as smoothly and worry-free as possible, so that you can concentrate on what you do best.
In addition to engineering, I am also a professional bassist (electric and upright), a competent keyboardist, and an outstanding tambourinist!
You work so hard to develop your art - realize it in a professional, cost-effective, and friendly environment. Please contact us for your no-obligation tour right away!
Audio Bistro features top-of-the-line equipment in a warm and inviting atmosphere to make your project truly come to life!
The engine of the studio is the very best in analogue to digital conversion by Universal Audio. Often times, this is where all-in-one boxes will skimp. Apollo 16 is the flagship of Universal Audio’s acclaimed recording interface range, giving professional and commercial studios all over the world the very finest in A/D and D/A conversion with the tone and feel of classic analog recording.
The art we make is only as good as the art we can witness ourselves - painting studios must have good light. Just as important in a sound studio are the speakers on which we listen back to what we have done. These monitors include handmade drivers that offer the best in quality and accuracy. The woofer offers longer excursions and stays linear longer, resulting in a cleaner, tighter bass response. These monitors are flat, accurate, and detailed in the bass end. What you hear is what you get.
The M-1 Mic Preamp is among the finest mic preamps in the world. It provides the accuracy and transparency that is missing in other mic preamps. The world's best input transformer (Jensen JT-16-B), best op-amp (990 discrete op-amp) and the elimination of all capacitors from the signal path combine provides the highest performance possible.
These classic vintage preamps sound open, rich, and beautiful. These Altec amplifiers have been modded and given a “sum out” option wherein up to six lines can be run mono through their own output amplifier for a thunderous, warm tone.
The Pultec EQP-1A is a passive two-band tube equalizer that gives tracks the massive bass, silky air, and addictive warmth that has made it a studio standard all over the world.
Besides providing a wide range of control and a unique feature set, the Distressor offers a warm, vintage sound by using a custom designed gain control circuit. All eight of the Distressor’s curves are unique and distinctive, from the 1:1 mode that simply warms up signal with low order harmonics without intentional compression, to the “Nuke” setting - a brick wall limiting curve that shines on live drum room mics. Each curve has its own personality and several actually use different circuitry, and are effectively different compressors. Most exceptional is the 10:1 “Opto” ratio which uses separate detector circuitry to emulate the oldest (and valued) “light controlled” devices, such as the LA-2A.
This classic vintage compressor was used at CBS Laboratories starting in the 1950’s. It has a warm and familiar sound. Using early solid-state silicon transistors and a balanced amplification scheme, this compressor achieves level control by changing the bias on an intermediate stage's transistor bases, essentially varying the amp gain. This thing is built like a tank - they don’t make em like they used to!
Introduced in 1967, the U 87 gained instant favor with engineers, producers, and their clients; by the mid '70s it was a staple in every world-class recording studio. The U 87 presents a wide range of features and versatility that make it to one of the most desirable microphones available. Well-known for its warm and well balanced characteristics - the perfect choice as vocal microphone for all types of music (too many records to list) and speech (National Public Radio). The usage as main microphone for orchestra recordings or as spot mic for single instruments make it the most general-purpose microphone in studios, for broadcasting, film, and television.
The C414 XLS multipattern condenser microphone offers a choice of nine polar patterns for the perfect sonic capture for every application. The C414 XLS maintains the sonic character of the legendary C414 B-ULS, the most popular AKG C414 version since 1971. Engineered for highest linearity and neutral sound, it has been the most versatile large-diaphragm microphone for decades.
The M 160 is a dynamic double ribbon microphone. Featuring a hypercardioid polar pattern with a noise attenuation of 25 dB at 110°, the M 160 is an outstanding microphone which is very effective for all types of remote and in-studio voice reproduction. In the recording studio, the M 160 is recommended for miking string instruments such as violins, violas, cellos and for pianos, saxophones as well as for hi-hat and toms. However, I have also found it to be excellent on electric guitar amps and other higher-volume sources that would overwhelm most ribbon microphones.
Known as the “Johnny Carson microphone,” these beautiful vintage ribbon mics are wonderfully warm on acoustic guitars, bowed string instruments, and the like. The microphone has been acoustically designed to suppress rear sound and provide a wide front pickup pattern. This polar pattern is somewhat more directional than the conventional cardioid, providing excellent control of unwanted surrounding noise and reverberation. The performance characteristics are ideal for studio use in recording.
The Electro-Voice RE55 is an omnidirectional dynamic microphone designed for the most demanding professional applications. Smooth, wide range response and high output level make this microphone one of the most useful and versatile ever created.
Featuring a wider frequency response and higher SPL capabilities the M80 delivers condenser-like performance in a rugged dynamic design. The head grill and capsule assembly have been designed to reduce proximity effect resulting in added low-end clarity for vocals, while still providing strength and authority with an open airy character.
The microphone that was used to record Michael Jackson’s voice on Thriller is a mainstay in studios across the world. With its flat, percussive response and heavy shielding, this mic gives both foundation and air to whatever it records.
For all things bass, from kick drums to bass cabinets, this beautiful microphone takes care of the low end. This microphone provides superb attack and punch with none of the “woofy” aftereffects.
This beautiful and rare instrument with matched amplifier and speakers finds its way on to a lot of records - even if the artist had not initially planned on it! Because once you sit down and play a few notes, the tone of this amazing electric piano is very hard to pass up. A classic instrument on many of our favorite recordings, this is one of Fender’s very best iterations.
Hand-made in New York, this museum-quality upright bass delivers A-list orchestral sound and thumping, powerful, complicated pizzicato tone. One of the finest pieces in my entire collection.
This bass is an industry standard, and it is not difficult to see why. With the extended range, powerful, punchy sound, and double humbucking pickups, this bass guitar is extremely versatile. Equally at home in the turntable-style reggae sound, the aggressive rock sound, or the funky slap sound, this bass does it all.
For much of recorded music’s history, this was the only bass guitar there was! The P Bass is one of the most iconic and familiar sounds we know - the original sound in electric bass! From Motown to rock ’n’ roll to jazz, this bass guitar sounds at home in any musical situation.
Hand-built in California, this phenomenal amplifier is known for its pure clarity and power. Very transparent and clean, it really brings out the natural beauty of anything that is run though it.
This beautiful amplifier gives instruments the full range of tone and a powerful punch. A variable crossover brings out the perfect mix of boom and snap. A dedicated 300-watt amp power amp circuit drives the lows, while a 100-watt amp takes care of the highs, so the frequencies that need to most power don't stave the rest of the sound.
Too many to list here, but a wide assortment of effects pedals to provide overdrive, distortion, chorus, compression, flange, echo, harmony, reverb - you name it!
Not all gear is guaranteed to be in the studio for every session. If you need a specific piece of gear to be available, please ask.
Please see our Studio Policies.
This is my first time building a studio from the ground up. I did many parts of it at least twice! It was a very rewarding process and I learned a lot. I hope some of these ideas and methods can help other people who are working on studio build outs.
Thank you for your interest in Audio Bistro.
Please drop me a line and I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Audio Bistro is committed to a comfortable, professional, and enjoyable work environment. Therefore, we have the following policies to help make sure everyone is on the same page. If you have questions about any of these policies, please do not hesitate to ask.
-Payment is due in full at the end of each session. No data will be given until payment is received.
-Your data, your responsibility. The studio keeps everything on at least two drives, but you never know when disaster may strike! I recommend everyone bring a flash drive or portable hard drive as a backup. If you wish, for a $10 deposit, you may take one of the studio’s flash drives (if available). Bring the drive back, get your money back!
-You break it, you bought it. If you damage equipment doing something it was not designed to withstand (such as spilling beer on it!) you pay for the repair/replacement. This has never happened, so please don’t worry! I expect it never will.
-I can not give out mix session files. This one can be a little confusing. There is almost no chance you would need them. They would not do you much good, as I use plugins from many different sources. I can give you bounces, stems, individual track bounces, etc. There are several different solutions which will most likely be more helpful for you anyway. People who have asked for mix session files got what they needed each time! So please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions about this policy.
-And last, very simply, this is my home. Please treat it with respect and good judgement and I promise you will have a wonderful experience here. I have had nothing but positive interactions with the artists who have come and created here. It is a special place, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity!
Contact: doug@audiobistro.net
