Zapp City Studios

10/20/2026

Our stunning Ludwig Classic Maple with a 24” kick mic’d up and ready to rumble on yet another client’s new record. Will it be on yours, too?

10/16/2026

Loading in for a weekend recording session. We have 50+ vintage and current guitars, basses and mandolins available for our recording clients. You. You’re record!This client requested a few select pieces from the house.

10/07/2026

Big thanks to Curt Mangan Strings for keeping Zapp City Studios and our clients stocked with the best premium strings, hand made right in the good ol’ Southwest in Cortez, Colorado!

10/05/2026

Time to purge gear you’re not using to help fund new purchases! This is a great opportunity to get out and enjoy our beautiful fall weather, mingle with other Tucson community musicians and buy, sell and trade items without the hassle of online sales platforms.

No charge for seller’s spaces, simply email us at [email protected] to reserve your spot!

*Sellers will need to provide their own table, chairs, shade, and other essentials.

Set-up: 8:00am - 10:00am
Hours: 10:00am - 3:00pm

09/26/2026

Had a visit from this legend today. As our live sound engineer, Jim Coleman is (and has been) the 5th/6th member of Roger Clyne , Gas Giants, Sidewinders, Gin Blossoms and my solo band for years, right there in the trenches since the beginning.

09/21/2026

High profile client with a few days off from tour coming in from out of state this week to lay down a couple new tracks. They called asking for an authentic, organic drum sound. It’s kind of our thing here. Can’t wait for them to arrive and I get to listen to their drummer play and pick out one of these fine snares from our collection.

09/14/2026

Just got this rad new book from Melissa Auf der Maur for the lounge at Zapp City. Melissa carried her 35mm with her everywhere, and while some rockstars request M&Ms with the brown ones removed, she had a roll of film on her rider every night. While no one else was taking pictures, Melissa was getting creative with timers, cable releases, self portraits and more. Robert Plant once asked, “Does anybody remember laughter?” Melissa Auf der Maur asks the figurative question of us all, “remember analog?” She has now published a book with hundreds of her photos documenting her time on the road with Hole and Smashing Pumpkins, with plenty of candids and artistic expressions.

09/12/2026

09/09/2026

Man, it is always such an honor and a privilege to be asked to play on another artists project. Here I am tracking bass with our 1972 Gibson Les Paul Triumph, plugged straight into our ‘76 Fender Bassman 100 4x12 for Craig Green and his forthcoming release. Thanks for the invite, Craig! This bass and amp were curated from our collection we keep available to our clients. Thanks for the rad shirt, Nancy Marotta IFYKYK

Photo courtesy of Rex Scofield

09/07/2026

Mondays at Zapp City are typically spent in the lounge sending out invoices, locking down the calendar, really just tackling the administrative side of running a studio. While doing so, we crank the Marantz and drop the needle on something stellar. This week, it’s KISS Destroys Anaheim ‘76. Freshly mixed from the original master recordings by Eddie Kramer, this two record set begs the question: why wasn’t THIS released as Alive II?! I mean, we all loved Alive II as kids, but this? This is an artifact of a band in its prime; a group of 4 young musicians who were actually much better performers than credited. Un-F’d with, this performance, of course, has its moments of pitchy vocals, lyrical flubs, etc. but there’s nothing here that as the artist, would make me say, “ok, let’s keep the drums and re-record everything else.” Nope. I’d have said print it. Shrink wrap it and let’s go! This is a true account of an event. On the other hand, this is a welcome “new” old live KISS record to wear out on the turntable.