Bergatron House of Music: An L.A. Studio with a Hidden Mountain Retreat

Jason Whitton performs in the live room at Bergatron Music.

Located in North Hollywood, California, Bergatron Music & Post boasts a large selection of analog outboard gear, microphones, and instruments. But the gear isn’t what brings people to this small, sharp-looking studio—it’s all about the experience.

Hidden in the backyard of Brian Starley’s home, past the garden vegetables and inviting patio, lies a studio with vibe and purpose. Having honed his craft for many years, Starley makes an attempt to elevate the session experience for all of the artists that come through, creating the most open and expressive environment for writing and recording that he can.

Starley has even gone so far as to create an otherworldly experience for some of his artists by taking them to a family-owned cabin in Idaho. Located right next to the Grand Teton Mountain range, a two hour flight from Los Angeles, his clients are able to escape from the day to day and unravel their rawest selves.

A private organic garden in the back patio of Bergatron House of Music.

Neighborhood Advantages:

Being in the San Fernando valley just outside of L.A. proper, the main Bergatron studio is removed from the hustle and bustle of city life, but close enough to head into Hollywood within 10 minutes.

This allows clients access to some of the best parts of L.A. without feeling overwhelmed every time they make the trip to and from the studio.

Starley owns the grounds the studio is on rather instead of renting, helping to cut down on costs and pass on savings. The atmosphere—creative and laid back—features an outdoor patio lounge area that sits next to a diverse vegetable garden.

Facility Focus: Music production, tracking, mixing, and mastering; ADR, VO, and post-production sound.

Bergatron engineer Bryan Starley at work recording guitarist Eitaro Sako and drummer Bernie Dresel.

Bergatron Founder:

Brian Starley started out in Salt Lake City as a guitar player, recording his own demos between two mini disc players part-by-part.

Having caught the bug early on, he moved to LA to attend Musicians Institute at a young age, where he landed an internship with Conway Studios. Within a week he was able to demonstrate enough work ethic to get him promoted to runner and he was off.

For six months, he worked away at Conway while still in school. After graduation, he moved to better-paying job with a well-known cartage company in the industry from 2006— 2011 where he gained invaluable access to and (knowledge of) all of the busiest and best studios in LA.

Starley would perform amp repairs, set-ups, and load-ins on trucks full of gear for many of the top producers and session players in LA, an experience he credits with teaching him more about recording and producing than anything else.

He was often one of the lucky few that got to set up or sit in during the big sessions where it wasn’t uncommon for a guitarist to have a full box truck for all their carted gear. He was also able to witness the clear and steady shift from these huge sessions to the new Pro Tools way of life.

His own production company, Bergatron Music & Post, remained part of Brian’s workload, but didn’t become his full time ambition until 2013 when he added to and completely renovated his backyard guest house, now running a successful studio from it, full-time.

An overhead view of a session at Starley’s remote recording retreat by the Grand Teton mountain range.

Mission Statement:

Starley says that the great session bassist Abe Laboreil once told him: “Music is just another language, but you must speak it every day to be fluent.”

“At Bergatron House of Music we eat, sleep, and breathe that fluency,” Starley says. “We’ve purposely created a space for our clients to escape their everyday burdens and dig down to their most hones, creative selves. This is where creation is at its best.

“Our goal is to get to the core honesty of every project we take on. Our team has helped with the development of several successful crowdfunded music projects. We are a network of creative minds and artists in the truest sense.”

Client List: Starley’s most recent project is a country record called Honey Butter by Jason Whitton, which can be found on iTunes. Past projects can be found on his website or Soundcloud account.

Workflow: With his formative experience in large studios, it’s no surprise that Starley’s workflow is very analog heavy, with well-chosen microphones going into outboard preamps and compressors. Once recorded, the audio stays inside the computer, avoiding additional rounds of conversion.

The site of Starley’s remote studio in Victor, Idaho.

The Idaho Experience:

For artists who have an adventure bug, or who really want to disconnect from their day-to-day lives for a while, Starley maintains a second recording space in Victor, Idaho nestled at the foot of the Grand Teton mountain range.

Here, he brings his mobile Pro Tools-and-Apollo rig, and sets up inside a large living room with 30-foot ceilings. In this environment, Starley positions himself inside the room with the artist, making for a very personal production experience that allows for creativity and communication to flow naturally.

When here, Starley aims to get the band to adopt “no-editing” approach where they work together to refine the performances and look to capture the best full takes they can, tracking out each song naturally and individually.

Garion John Wells is a producer and engineer who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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