Stage A

Sound Stage A was constructed in the summer of 1939 for live orchestra recording. Because of the studio's location near the Burbank Airport, special priority was given to soundproofing the building with state-of-the-art acoustics, including a "building within a building" design for noise reduction. As an orchestra stage, "A" accommodated up to 68 musicians. During the years 1959-1986 nearly all of the music for Disney films was recorded here. In the early years, Stage A housed "The Iron Pencil" console originally designed for "Fantasia." In 1977 "Pete's Dragon" tested a new digital recording process, and two years later, "Black Hole" was the first film to be fully recorded on 1" digital tape. Other notable projects scored on Stage A include "Mary Poppins," "The Happiest Millionaire," "Ben and Me," "Sleeping Beauty," and "The Living Desert." The "Mickey Mouse Club" also did much of their re-recording work on Stage A. In 1987 "A" was converted to a motion picture re-recording stage. In 1999 a major technical and architectural renovation was completed to provide the latest in technology for motion picture re-recording. Several of the Sherman Brothers' most notable Disney songs and scores were recorded on Stage A, including music from Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room (1963), It's a Small World (1964), Mary Poppins (1964), the Winnie the Pooh featurettes (1966, 1968, 1974), The Jungle Book (1967), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

Burbank, California · United States