Country music star Keith Urban breathes new life into a timeless Nashville gem, initiating a two-part series.
In the heart of Music Row, on a secluded cul-de-sac, Keith Urban's renovated studio, once known as The Tracking Room, has been reborn as a personal creative sanctuary and a selectively available recording facility, now named The Sound.
Originally designed by renowned studio architect Tom Hidley with Shozo Kinoshita’s in-wall monitors, The Sound boasts the largest live space in Nashville at 6,500 square feet. It opened its doors in October 1995 and hosted many top artists over 25 years before closing in 2020. In June 2024, Urban purchased the 9,300-square-foot building and rescued it from demolition, motivated by his deep passion for recording and long personal connection to the studio[1].
Currently, Urban has set up the studio primarily for his own use, performing writing sessions, global radio interviews, and recording at the facility. A control room has been built inside the tracking space, with isolation rooms repurposed as vocal booths. The studio's technical setup includes video and audio lines that allow Urban's wife, actress Nicole Kidman, to record ADR remotely. Urban values having the studio available for spontaneous creativity but plans to allow trusted friends to rent it only when he is on tour, as he does not intend to operate it as a fully commercial studio[3].
The studio's equipment setup still features the legendary architectural and acoustic elements of the original Tracking Room, including the renowned live space and original in-wall monitors. While specific details of the new gear were not outlined in the sources, the facility’s established reputation and Urban's use of a professional control room and iso rooms indicate a high-end, modern recording setup suitable for top-tier production[1][3].
Urban, with more than a dozen chart-topping albums and having won 13 CMAs, 15 ACMs, and three AMAs, sums up his experience with The Sound as a personal haven: he enjoys playing piano, guitar, and writing music there, describing it as "heaven"[3].
During the renovation process, the control room credenza was removed, and the original outboard racks were restored at Urban's request. The engineers worked tirelessly to reconfigure an 80-channel SSL 9000 J Series console with 48 inputs and marry it to Urban's 32-input 8068, creating a 15-foot-long desk named "The Beast". The wiring between the two desks is currently a work in progress[2].
The Tracking Room, now The Sound, is a blend of historic studio excellence with a modern personalized production environment tailored to Keith Urban’s artistic workflow and occasional collaborative rentals[1][3].
**Summary:**
| Aspect | Details | |-----------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Location | Cul-de-sac on the edge of Nashville’s Music Row | | Original design | By Tom Hidley, with Shozo Kinoshita’s in-wall monitors | | Space size | 9,300 sq ft building, 6,500 sq ft live room | | Current owner | Keith Urban (since June 2024) | | Name | The Sound (formerly The Tracking Room) | | Usage | Personal creative space, occasional trusted rentals when Urban is on tour | | Equipment setup | Control room in tracking space, several iso rooms as vocal booths, video/audio lines for ADR | | Notable features | Legendary acoustic design, largest live room in Nashville, integration for remote ADR sessions | | Commercial intent | Not intended as a fully commercial studio |
[1] Rolling Stone, "Keith Urban's Nashville Studio The Tracking Room Up for Sale," 2021 [2] Music Row, "Keith Urban Acquires Nashville's The Tracking Room Studio," 2024 [3] Billboard, "Keith Urban's Nashville Studio The Tracking Room Reborn as The Sound," 2025
- The control room inside Keith Urban's studio, The Sound, has been built within the tracking space, and isolation rooms have been repurposed as vocal booths.
- Urban's studio boasts a high-end, modern recording setup, featuring the legendary architectural and acoustic elements from the original Tracking Room, including its renowned live space and original in-wall monitors.
- An 80-channel SSL 9000 J Series console with 48 inputs has been married to Urban's 32-input 8068, creating a 15-foot-long desk called "The Beast."
- The studio's technical setup includes video and audio lines that allow Urban's wife, actress Nicole Kidman, to record ADR remotely.
