Wade Nichols, Audio Engineer & Teacher

Studio Team

Studio Team Page Photo of Wade Nichols sitting in Studio A

Wade Nichols owns Starsound Studios, one of the top studios in Ohio that has the only Dolby-certified Atmos Mixing Studio. He teaches audio-by-video tutorials on his YouTube channel, which is growing daily, and he has started The Cleveland Recording Summit. The CRS is a series of masterclasses on how to record. He grew up in Lakewood, Ohio. Music has always been a part of his life. Wade took verbal quizzes on the instrument playing on a Herb Albert record by his mother while at 3 or 4. Trying to catch him with a sound that he did not know was the goal. His mother described that he was never stumped. That is how the love of music began! The audio engine of our studio team is Wade Nichols.

He sang in the choir at school and church during middle and high school. After picking up the guitar, he started playing in bands and learning to run sound for those gigs. From that point forward, his music jobs have consisted of just being in the right place at the right time. Therefore, the opportunity arose to run live sound for national recording artists, live theater, and hundreds of live local bands in and around the Milwaukee area. He wrote three albums during that time, and those songs played on local Milwaukee radio stations. He played those same songs live on local cable shows as well. Remember that he never had formal training in any form of music.

Multiple Projects

In 1993, the next step was to own and operate Starsound Studios. Wade Nichols started it in Milwaukee and re-established it after returning to Northeast Ohio in 2001. He also created the arena rock tribute band Rock Rewind. Recording the music, video, and light show Pre-Recorded for the incredible Rock Rewind was designed and played by Wade at Starsound Studios.

Through it all, he studied to be a science teacher. After a principal requested that he teach music in the Cleveland School District in 2004, he wrote a grant. When the grant committee accepted, he installed a recording studio lab in the back of the school auditorium. That building closed, and Wade currently teaches 5th and 6th grade science.

Meeting His Mentors

Wade had the great fortune of traveling to New York and learning twice from Grammy-nominated recording engineer Fab Dupont. After those experiences, he flew to Boston for another opportunity to work with the company Izotope and a Grammy-nominated mastering engineer and professor at Berkley College of Music, Johnathan Wyner.

He has also driven to Sweetwater in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to learn numerous times from their recording, mixing, mastering, or financial studio operations master classes. Wade took two multiple master mixing classes at Sweetwater Studios with the one and only Chris Lord-Alge. CLA has won five Grammys and a TEC award. Wade also took a master recording class with Ed Cherney provided by Sweetwater Studios. Ed has won several Grammy, TEC, and Emmy awards. The extensive list of mentors has imparted years of recording and engineering wisdom. Therefore, Wade has built up much knowledge for his clients. In other words, they benefit from the sound of their recordings. Another massive guiding force on his path was Derek Senestraro. He started as Wade's sales engineer. Over the years, they have become good friends. When Derek stepped down from Sweetwater, a void was created. They continue that friendship today.

He is taking classes in the RAT Recording Arts and Technology program at Tri-C Community College to earn an associate's degree in recording/engineering. The running joke is that he is back in school to learn what he already knows and does daily at Starsound Studios.

All of this education Wade sought makes our team the right choice for your next recording.

Wade is accepting interns from multiple schools, colleges, and universities. He has had interns from Berklee College Of Music, Chillicothe Recording, Tiffin, Cuyahoga Community College, and Youngstown State University. Tiffin University has now accredited Wade. He will mentor students for their internships to become recording engineers. He is also earning that same accreditation from Tri-C. Wade is going to do seminars for the students within the RAT program. He is now starting to become the mentor of young engineers like his mentors have been to him. Since the construction of the Dolby Atmos studio, Tri-C will have him conduct masterclasses for their students and mentorship program.