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Empowered Recordings, a recording studio in Silver Spring, Maryland

Recording studio in Silver Spring, Maryland. Music, podcasts, and audio restoration.

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Minutes from Washington DC. Remote clients worldwide.

Engineering records since 2012 24 mic preamps Full bands tracked live Remote mixing and mastering

What we do

Services

Recording, mixing, mastering, audio restoration, and podcast production.

01

Recording

Full-band live tracking with 24 mic preamps. Drums, bass, guitars, and vocals captured together.

Recording studio ›
02

Mixing & mastering

Mixing and mastering for records tracked anywhere. Stems or session files, remote worldwide.

Mixing and mastering ›
03

Audio restoration

Noise, hum, hiss, clipping, and damaged archival audio. Free assessment on any file.

Audio restoration ›
04

Podcast & spoken word

Studio and remote recording, plus editing and post-production to broadcast loudness standards.

Podcast production ›

Why this room

Records made here have traveled.

The Obsessives recorded Manners here in 2014. Near Mint Records reissued it, the band was signed, and they toured nationally. Bleary Eyed tracked Cherry Blossoms here in 2015, released on an independent label, and are still putting out music a decade later. Opposite Tiger brought a full band in for Insulting Flora in 2025. All three are worth your time.

Those are their songs and their records. What a studio contributes is making sure nothing gets in the way: that the performances are captured properly, that the technical decisions serve the material, and that what leaves here is genuinely finished.

The clearest sign that part is working is that artists come back. Most of the work here is repeat work.

Hear the records More about Isaiah

Who books here

Bands, vocalists, and podcasters.

As a recording studio in Maryland serving the whole DC metro area, the catalog runs wide: rock, emo, indie, punk, and post-rock on the band side, hip hop and R&B on the beat-driven side, plus folk and singer-songwriter records. Full-band sessions and solo vocal sessions both run here.

Bands and full groups

The whole group tracking at once. Rock, punk, emo, indie, post-rock.

Rappers and vocalists

Vocals over your instrumental or a beat made here. Comping, stacking, and tuning happen in the session.

Singer-songwriters

Acoustic and folk recording, from a single guitar and vocal up to a full arrangement.

Demos to full albums

Two-song demos through full albums.

Inside the studio

A private room, built around the sound.

The mix position at Empowered Recordings in Silver Spring, Maryland, with ADAM A7X monitors, acoustic treatment, and outboard rack Mix room
A fully miked drum kit in the treated tracking room at Empowered Recordings in Silver Spring, Maryland Tracking room, kit miked
A session in progress at the mix desk at Empowered Recordings in Silver Spring, Maryland Session in progress

A private studio in Silver Spring, by appointment. An acoustically treated tracking room and a mix room, with a separate ground-level entrance and free off-street parking for two vehicles. Mics, amps, headphones, and instruments are available in house.

Signal path runs through a PreSonus Quantum HD 8 feeding a Focusrite Scarlett OctoPre and a PreSonus DP88 over ADAT, for 24 mic preamps. Guitar and bass go through a Fractal Axe-Fx III and an Eleven Rack. Everything is wired for modular routing.

Full equipment list

How it works

From inquiry to release.

01

Send the details

Send the details and your timeline. You get dates and an estimate back before committing.

02

Track

The room is patched and headphone mixes are set before you arrive.

03

Delivery

Masters delivered ready for distribution. Raw multitracks are always yours.

In their words

What clients say.

“

Isaiah is an extremely technically skilled engineer. I was amazed at how he actualized my creative vision so organically and with so much precision. He helped me understand nuanced engineering decisions and their impact on the final product. I will absolutely return for future projects. The process was a great experience.

Ivan L.
“

Empowered Recordings is an absolute pleasure to work with. Isaiah has a natural ear for music, as well as a technical skill level that surpasses many in the music business.

Chad W.
“

Isaiah is a great collaborator. He is extremely professional and super friendly. I look forward to working with him again.

Cime B.
“

It was a pleasure working with Isaiah. Very much recommend.

Yevheniy B.
“

Excellent. Hope to reach out again in the near future.

Gary H.
“

Wonderful. Will come back again.

Haisam E.

Common questions

Questions about recording in the DMV.

Where is the studio located?
Empowered Recordings is a private studio in Silver Spring, Maryland, minutes from the DC line and easy to reach from Takoma Park, Wheaton, Bethesda, Hyattsville, and Northeast DC. Sessions are by appointment, and clients get the exact address when a session is booked. There is free off-street parking for up to two vehicles and a private ground-level entrance.
How much does it cost to record here?
Rates are published in full on the rates page, with no quote form required to see a number.
Do you record full bands, or just solo artists?
Both. The room runs 24 mic preamps, so a full drum kit, amps, and scratch vocals can all be captured at once rather than pieced together one layer at a time. Solo writers and vocalists book here constantly too.
Can you mix something I recorded somewhere else?
Yes, and a large share of the work here is exactly that. Send stems or a session file and it gets mixed here. See mixing and mastering for how files should be prepared.
Do you work with clients outside the DC area?
Mixing, mastering, restoration, and podcast post-production are all handled remotely for clients anywhere. Only tracking requires being in the room.
What if my recording has noise, hum, or damage in it?
That is a specialty here rather than an afterthought. See audio restoration. Send the file and you will get an honest assessment of what can and cannot be fixed before you commit to anything.

Tell us what you're making.

Send over the details and you will get a real answer on availability, approach, and cost.

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