In the mid-90’s SBS Labs and then later 70 Hurtz recording studio was started in a bedroom in Denton, Texas. Finally, the confines of a house, roommate, neighbors and the occasional visit from Denton’s finest meant the time had come for a change. I moved my self and the studio out to 4 acres in Argyle, Texas just 10 minutes outside Denton. The studio was built from the ground up and consisted of a small mixing room, iso booth, and 16 x 22 tracking room. I recorded so many local Denton, Dallas and Ft Worth bands it was quite amazing. I was so busy I really couldn’t believe it. After 5 years of running and operating the studio alone my sanity was being pushed to its limits and the walls seemed to be closing in on me. Luckily for my sanity Matt Pence and Matt Barnhart were looking to relocate their studio back to Denton from St Louis. We agreed that friendly competition was not the way. A partnership was created. From that partnership The Echo Lab was born. A new 800 sq ft live room was added soon after.

From there I decided it was time for a life change. I moved to Austin and reignited my live engineering career. House gigs at The Mercury/Parish and La Zona Rosa soon turned into touring work with bands such as The Polyphonic Spree, Ray Lamontagne, St. Vincent and John Vanderslice. After a few years of touring I decided to move back to North Texas and get more involved in the partnership of The Echo Lab. However the road had taken over my life. Trying to align the schedules of my self, with two other engineers and trying to book a band with day jobs into The Echo Lab was virtually impossible. So finally after 7 years on the road I decided to call it quits. I’m now back in the studio to stay! Tracking, mixing, producing and mastering records is what I love to do.

If you have any questions please contact me.

Thanks for visiting and hope you enjoy.

David Willingham

About Me