The Ice Plant on SoundBetter

Affordable, high-quality studio with top of the line/vintage/boutique outboard gear and instruments, operated by musicians who know how to make records.

Owned by musicians/producers/engineers Wayne Silver and Adam Zirkin, The Ice Plant designed to tailor to our needs and workflow by world-renowned architectural acoustic design firm Francis Manzella Design, Ltd. Located in New York City, our 1300 square-foot space is a comfortable, creative, and vibey environment, capable of tracking anything from overdubs to voiceovers to full-band live performances. Our studio features high quality construction, a comfortable live room and iso room, and a lounge that overlooks the Manhattan skyline.

We are conveniently accessible from Manhattan and Brooklyn, located right off the 59th Street Bridge and the Long Island Expressway, with FREE garage parking), and 5 minute walk from the 7 train (and near many other subway lines as well).

At the heart of our studio is an API console, and a large rack featuring some of the most classic and sought after pieces of outboard equipment. On top of that, we have an incredibly deep and curated instrument collection, which includes over 60 guitars and 2 dozen keyboards (including a refurbished 1890s Bösendorfer), all of which is available to inspire you while capturing your performance when it matters most.

Wayne is here to capture your creative vision, utilizing his skills and years of experience as a producer, engineer, mixer, and musician to bring your ideas to life.

I'd love to hear about your project. Click the 'Contact' button above to get in touch.

1 Reviews

Endorse The Ice Plant

by Mary Murphy
A beautiful studio out in LIC! State of the art facilities at affordable rates. Had a project with a tight turnaround and Wayne Silver knocked it out of the park! Do yourself a favor and book your next recording session there!

Interview with The Ice Plant

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: "With so many guitars, how often are you restringing them?" All. The. Time.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Have a vision with share with me and believe in it. Arrive at the studio, rested, prepared, and excited to create. Doing those things will give a far better result than any knob turning could.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both. Really! The studio has an API console, a wall of outboard, tape, and a very large collection of musical instruments- many of which we also have virtual versions of. The experience of playing a real keyboard will always feel more authentic than triggering samples with a controller. But the flexibility of a DAW is unmatched. I find that recording through real instruments through analog gear into the computer, where it can be edited and mixed, is the best of both worlds. But ultimately, the nature of your project will determine the process.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I promise to ask the right questions to understand your creative vision, and interpret your vision with good taste and skill to create a final product that represents you at this moment in time, and will be something that you will always look back on with pride.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Meeting and working with creative people and bringing their ideas to life. Nothing is more satisfying than taking something from an artist's imagination and delivering it back to their ears.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Write songs you believe in. Strive for them to be strong enough to come across well acoustically or with a simple accompaniment. A great song can be produced in many ways and in various styles, but if your song comes across well in its rawest form, it'll be that much easier to build a great production around it.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I have been a studio owner and record producer since 2010. I started my musical career as a professional guitarist in a touring band. During that time, I learned the basics of audio engineering while creating demos. I quickly found that being a musician who can make records was very satisfying. From there I set to develop my skillset as much as possible. The process of making records led me to collaborating with many artists, which only helped me continue to grow creatively.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Typically singer-songwriters and bands, of various genres. Anything with a great melody, chord progression, riff will inspire and appeal to me.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: My ear. If something is played for me, or if I hear it in my head, I understand what's happening, and I use this skill to quickly develop ideas with creativity.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I bring my experience as a professional musician with me on every record I make. By being equally comfortable with an instrument as a console, I'm able to offer, communicate or demonstrate creative ideas in a way that artists appreciate and find useful.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I work out of my professionally designed and built recording studio in New York City. The studio has a control room, live room, a spacious iso booth, and a lounge that has a lot of daylight and a view of the New York Skyline. As for gear: API console, a wall of outboard gear, Pro Tools Ultimate, and what I believe to be the most extensive musical instrument collection available at a studio, anywhere. We also have a Studer A820 and A810.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I produce, engineer, mix, and frequently perform many of the guitar, bass, and keys parts on records I produce.