Carbondale’s Cool Brick Studios is open again for business with improved recording and editing capabilities. The studio is poised for professional audio recording, mixing and mastering and post-production sound design, including for films.
“Every project that comes in the door to me is like cool, and sacred,” owner and senior producer Dave Taylor told The Sopris Sun. Taylor was born in Georgia and began working in audio production in New York City. He has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley for over three decades.
Taylor’s dedication to music and attention to detail provide local and visiting musicians alike with the opportunity to capture high-quality studio tracks. It’s something bands like Wild Flight, Sweet Jessup and the Dirty Buckets and A Band Called Alexis have all taken advantage of — to name just a few local groups.
“I don’t care if it’s like somebody that just knows three chords and they bring in a little simple song, my job is to help it develop into the best that it can be.” Taylor mused, “Every project is like a child. It’s birthed, it grows and matures, and then at some point you have to let it go.”
Among his current projects, Taylor is mastering tracks for a hip-hop artist from Memphis. “I can’t say that I have a favorite genre [to mix] anymore. I like a challenge,” he said.
With a caveat — Taylor may turn away music that “denigrates women or promotes violence,” for example. “I don’t want that kind of vibe in the studio because I believe that music has energy and it goes into the walls and the building and floor and stuff,” he said.
Cool Brick Studios has existed for more than a decade at 86 South Third Street, Carbondale. However, the space recently underwent a significant renovation after Taylor purchased the building in 2019 — bringing to life a slow-cooked dream. Because the property is also home to Taylor’s residence, an addition freed up significant space to expand the recording studio. The studio renovations were completed in September and the living space was completed in February.
Among the improvements, Taylor now enjoys a state-of-the-art command station designed by famous Nashville engineer Carl Tatz. A large monitor displays his audio editing software with refined speakers tuned to his seat in front of several mixing boards. Beyond stereo, Taylor strives for a rich three-dimensional acoustic field with height, width and depth. “I mean, I’m driving Formula 1, man, instead of dirt track with the new set-up,” Taylor said. “That’s what it feels like.”
The historic downtown building now boasts two recording studios which can be tied together. Studio A has a drum kit that can be isolated. Studio B, previously the kitchen, is used primarily for acoustic “delicate” stuff and can serve as a vocal booth for recording a singer (who will be able to see their bandmates through a window in the door). The space is also replete with instruments from around the world, as well as microphones and other tools to dial in and personalize each project’s unique sound.
Taylor considers his first job to make the artists feel comfortable. Next, to “get out of the way.” There’s no trademark sound he’s going for to tie together his tracks. Rather, “I look at every song and project as being different, just like an individual,” he said. Nonetheless, he was sure not to totally dampen the reflections and reverb the space itself loans to the music recorded within its walls.
The base cost for clients is $150 per hour. Taylor charges $1,000 per day or $600 per half-day which he said is on par with other studios or cheaper. “I try to make it as workable as I can for the people who come in here,” he said, explaining that he’ll have a client arrive a day early when possible to set up and tune everything at no charge. “I want the client to do their best work,” he affirmed. He also does not claim any ownership over what’s produced at Cool Brick Studios; every project belongs to the client unless otherwise negotiated.
In honor of the building’s historic significance — it once belonged to early Carbondale entrepreneur William Dinkel as well as a former mayor — care was taken to match the addition’s brick colors and overall architecture to preserve aesthetic integrity.
As reported in late 2021, pre-Columbian tools were unearthed during the excavation. Wooden handles and grooved stone held together with ancient vines were discovered. Taylor plans to donate one of the three objects to the Carbondale Historic Museum. The other two, in accordance with Ute advice, will be buried again, he said.

Learn more about Cool Brick Studios at www.coolbrickstudios.com