Bay Area’s 2200 Studios Unveils Studio A

Sausalito, CA (April 14, 2025)—The Bay Area’s 2200 Studios, which originally opened in 1972 as the Record Plant Sausalito, later operating as The Plant then Plant Studios, recently unveiled Studio A, the facility’s flagship room.

The facility, which once hosted classic album sessions by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac and Sly Stone, opened in early 2025 after coming under new ownership about four years ago. It now features an SSL Origin 32-channel analog in-line mixing console in its flagship Studio A.

Change is a constant at the complex, especially for Studio A, according to Grammy Award-winning mix engineer and producer Damien Lewis, the facility’s director of operations and chief engineer, whose credits include Justin Timberlake, Lizzo, Rhianna, Beyoncé and others. “About every 10 years, this room got remodeled,” he reports. Under Lewis’ guidance, the facility is being restored to full operation with all-new technology and renovated interiors.

“I’m an SSL guy—I’ve always loved them and the SSL workflow,” said Lewis. “The Origin made a lot of sense to me because it incorporates the best of SSL up to this point. We make records differently now, and the Origin has the modern features that we require for today’s music, down to the 0 dB summing mixer mode. It sounds amazing, it’s versatile and it reflects the modern hybrid workflow, and with its footprint and low power consumption—I love the auto sleep mode—offers a lot of bang for the buck.”

Seen on the Scene: NAB 2025

​The studio purchased the new Origin as a turnkey package, including wiring looms and patchbays, from Sweetwater and sales tech Michael Grebe. “He flew out and worked with our tech to do the install,” Lewis says. “The process was seamless, and we had it up and running in about two days.”

Lewis has a 500 Series rack currently installed in Origin’s center section, but ‘drops in’ an SSL UF8 controller if additional faders are needed for automation duties. “I love the modularity, and I love that someone was smart enough to move the EQ section down so you can reach it without having to stand up and reach over the aux sends. And the routing matrix being located in the center section is also fantastic,” he says of the bus assignment controls located in the master tile of the console.