Though Q Division Studios has moved through several locations over the years, it’s remained one of Boston’s most storied rooms—an independent hub where big ideas and bigger sounds have been captured for decades. In this interview, we talk with co-founder Jon Lupfer about the studio’s evolution, the people who shaped its identity, and what it takes to keep a creative space thriving as the city (and the industry) changes around it.
Studio A
Where is the studio located?
This is the 3rd location for Q Division, all around Boston. This one is in a standalone warehouse space tucked into a residential neighborhood of Cambridge.
Who are some notable artists who have recorded at the studio?
Historically: Aimee Mann, Pixies, James Taylor, Fountains of Wayne, Letters to Cleo, Ray LaMontagne, Morphine, Jerry Douglas, Jon Brion, Patti Griffin, Guster, CJ Chenier
2025, in the new location: Session Americana, Yo-Yo Ma and Jacon Collier, Dropkick Murphys, Yoko Miwa, Elovators, Peter Parcek, Peter Wolf, Danielle Miraglia, Greg Hawkes, Mommyheads, Blind Boys of Alabama, Thalia Zedek… plus Elvis Costello, ‘Til Tuesday and Shudder to Think came in for live show rehearsals.
How did you start the studio or what led you to start the studio?
Mike Denneen and I started the original studio in 1986. We had no business thinking we could start a studio, but we were young and full of hubris; we made plenty of mistakes but one of our lucky accidents was we hired Michael Blackmer to design the original room, and we built a great sounding room that was a lot better than the gear we had in it at first, which allowed us to grow into it and learn while doing.
How do you go about finding new gear for the studio and what’s your favorite toy?
I tend to like old gear, but there are a lot of new microphones I’ve seen recently. I’ve always loved the original akg D12 for kick drum, but they don’t make them, and after my 4th one broke, we decided we’d do a search for a modern replacement. We ended up with a couple, but my favorite is the DPA 4055 which is got just a lovely low end. We just did a session with Earthworks that features a lot of cool mics I hadn’t seen. My favorite toy though is my Mellotron MkII. It belonged to Michael Pinder of the Moody Blues, which is true of a fair number of mellotrons.
Studio B
Name 1 or 2 favorite/most meaningful sessions/albums from the studio.
I hate to go all early, but I would have to say the first couple of Aimee Mann solo records, as well as Surfer Rosa. Because I think that Q Division played a role in the sound of those records and those records played a role in the sound of a lot of other music.
Name 1 or 2 most surprising moments in the studio.
I’m thinking of a particularly magical night when Jon Brion was in the studio recording a bunch of his songs just to get them down and he played them in rapid succession, and I felt like I was watching a concert just for one or two people. On a more recent note, there’s a client who comes in about once a month and records all analog and he always brings with him a lot of props. Like last month he brought in an inflatable gorilla. I so appreciate that vibe.
What’s the best/worst part of running a studio?
I like being around when art is made. The Boston music scene feels like a family to me, or a village. I love it when Q feels like a community clubhouse, or the local pub. The pandemic made me want that all the more. Worst? I don’t love when the business side gets to be too much of the job.
What was the first session done at the studio?
The first album was for the band Beauty Constant, but even before that I think the actual first session involved one of the guys who helped us build the studio, James Joughin, and what it mostly has come to mean to me now is that James made a chart of performance over time in the studio that we still have framed outside of studio A and is famously called the Q Region chart, and it’s been copied many times. I’ll send it to you.
Is there a non-musical aspect of the studio that you are proud of?
I’m really proud of a ton of things in the new studio. There’s a lot of color and things to look at. In Studio A, the diffusion in the back of the control room that’s also a bookshelf. There’s a bench next to the window into the live room that’s low enough to sit on, and has storage underneath. The cables are behind a door that’s also a baffle. All this stuff is functional, but cool to look at too.
How would you describe the vibe in your studio? How do you maintain it?
I’ll start with what we’re trying to avoid. The two poles of studio décor tend to “sterile lab”- clean and functioning, but very non-descript and bland, and on the other extreme is what I might call “dirty basement” which has a lot of personality but also is too cluttered and a bit gross. I steer for a middle between those where it’s inviting and there are instruments lying around because it’s fun and inspiring to pick up some weird old instrument, but also the bathrooms are clean. The natural way of things is towards clutter, so maintaining a certain functional level of clutter is what takes all the work. I love old gear, but I’m constantly reminding myself that it’s better to have 2 old keyboards (say) that actually work than 10 old keyboards that don’t.
Any final thoughts?
The music business is changing, and music technology is changing the way people like to/ can afford to do things. A lot of music we used to record is now done by individuals on their computer. I like that music too, but those people don’t usually want a big studio. Q is set up to record people making music live together, and who want to let someone else handle the technical side. So we try to be really good at that. I don’t want Q to become a museum of the way music used to be recorded. I want us to show the way it’s still done, at least some of the time.
About the author: Producer, Engineer, Musician and all around music enthusiast.