Late Night Recording Studio in Toronto: Open Until 2 AM
The problem with studio hours in Toronto
Most recording studios in Toronto publish evening hours and close on Sundays. If you work a day job, that leaves a narrow window: get off work, get across the city, get warmed up, and be out before the room closes. It is a bad way to make a record.
24K Studios is open 9:00 AM to 2:00 AM, seven days a week, including holidays. That is not an after-hours arrangement you have to ask for. It is the published schedule, every day, and an in-house engineer runs the session whether you book noon on a Tuesday or eleven at night on a statutory holiday.
Who actually books late
Three kinds of sessions fill the late calendar.
Artists who work during the day. The nine-to-five pays for the studio time, and the voice does not care that it is 10 PM. A block from 9 PM to 1 AM is a full working session with no clock-watching.
Sessions that run long. A song that was supposed to take three hours takes five. At a studio that closes at 10 PM, that means coming back another day and trying to find the same headspace. Here, an 8 PM start leaves six hours before closing. Book the length you think you need, then add an hour.
Producers on a deadline. When a mix is due Monday and the vocal is not cut by Friday afternoon, the weekend is the whole plan. Saturday night and Sunday are open here like any other day, and mixing and mastering runs on a three-day turnaround from the day the files land.
What “until 2 AM” means for your start time
Sessions must finish by closing. Closing is 2:00 AM. So the latest a session can end is 2 AM, and the latest start depends on how long you book.
- One-hour session: last start 1:00 AM
- Two-hour session: last start midnight
- Four-hour session: last start 10:00 PM
- Ten-hour full day: last start 4:00 PM
Pick the length you need and subtract it from 2 AM. If the slot shows as available on the online calendar, it is bookable.
Something to be honest about: a one-hour slot starting at 1 AM is fine for a hook, a pickup, or a couple of ad-lib passes. It is not enough for a full song from scratch, even with the engineer set up before you walk in. For a full song late at night, book two hours or more.
How a late session is booked
The same way as any other session. Studio time is booked by the hour on a live online calendar, any length from one hour up to a ten-hour full day. A 50% deposit online holds the room. The balance is paid at the studio after the session, by card, debit or cash.
Send your beat ahead to info@24kstudios.ca, or bring it on a drive. The engineer lines up the session, sets the chain for the voice, and gets a level before the clock has done anything. Takes are comped as you go, so you leave at 2 AM with a decision made rather than forty files to sort through the next morning.
Cancel or move with 24 hours or more notice and the deposit comes back to your card in full; the studio absorbs the processing fee. Inside 24 hours the deposit is not refunded. Rescheduling is free with 24 hours notice. That applies to a 1 AM booking the same as a 1 PM one, so if your shift changes, move the session the day before rather than the hour before.
The room at midnight
Late sessions on Queen East come with a specific worry: traffic, and whatever is happening in the hallway. The booth at 24K is isolated at the wall. Sound-proofing insulation is built into the structure itself, with acoustic foam over the reflective surfaces on top of that. Most treated booths are a room with foam glued to the walls, which handles reflections and does nothing about a streetcar. Built the other way round, the takes do not carry the room: no traffic from Queen East, no hum from the hallway, no boxiness to EQ out later.
The booth has sightlines straight through to the desk, so the engineer is looking at you and not at a screen. At the end of a long day, that matters more than it sounds.
Two large-diaphragm condensers live on the stands in the booth. The microphones are a Neumann U87 and a Warm Audio WA-87, the preamps a Neve 1073SPX and a Universal Audio SOLO/610, the interfaces a Universal Audio Apollo x16 and Apollo x6. Same chain at midnight as at noon. The full list is on the gear page.
Getting there
550 Queen St E, at the corner of Queen Street East and River Street, on the 501 streetcar line. Phone (647) 389-6649, or use the contact page.
Before you book
Check the calendar for the length you need, count back from 2 AM, and send the beat ahead. If the session is voice-over or corporate work rather than music, the hours are the same but the job is quoted per project, and a scoped quote comes within one business day.
Questions people ask
What time does 24K Studios close?
24K Studios is open from 9:00 AM to 2:00 AM, seven days a week, including holidays. Sessions must finish by 2 AM.
What is the latest I can start a recording session?
It depends on the length you book, because every session has to end by 2 AM closing. A one-hour session can start as late as 1 AM, a two-hour session at midnight, and a four-hour session at 10 PM.
Is 24K Studios open on Sundays and holidays?
Yes. The studio keeps the same 9 AM to 2 AM hours every day of the week, including Sundays and holidays.
How do I book a late session?
Book by the hour on the live online calendar, from one hour up to a ten-hour day. A 50% deposit holds the room and the balance is paid at the studio after the session by card, debit or cash.
What happens if I need to cancel a late-night booking?
With 24 hours or more notice, the deposit is refunded in full to your card and rescheduling is free. Inside 24 hours, the deposit is not refunded.
24K Studios is at 550 Queen St E, Toronto, open 9 AM to 2 AM every day. Music · Voice & corporate · Gear · Book studio time