RCA Studio B

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Built by Dan Maddox in 1957, RCA Records Studio B was constructed at the request of Chet Atkins and Steve Sholes to facilitate the needs of RCA Victor Records and other record labels. According to Chet Atkins in his autobiography, the plans for the studio were drawn up on a napkin by Bill Miltenburg, RCA's chief engineer and recording manager.

Construction took 4 months, and the studio was opened in November 1957 at the cost of $37,515. The recording studio is a single story building with offices occupying the front but the area of the studio and control room has a second story that contains an echo chamber. The actual studio itself measures 42.5' by 27' by 13'. In 1960 and 61 an addition was added with office space and rooms for tape mastering and a lacquer mastering lab. A larger studio was built on 17th avenue in 1964 that they called Studio A and the existing studio was named Studio B.

The studio became famous in the 1960s for being a part of what many refer to as the Nashville Sound. A sophisticated style characterized by background vocals and strings, the Nashville Sound both revived the popularity of country music and helped establish Nashville as an international recording center.

In 1977 the studio was made available to the Country Music Hall of Fame for tours, and in 1992 it was donated to the Country Music Hall of Fame by the late Dan Maddox. Up until 2001, it was operated as an attraction when the new home for the Hall of Fame was built in downtown Nashville.

Now the studio is co-operated by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Belmont University's Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business program. Students use the facilities for classes learning the basic techniques of analog recording.

Tours of the studio are still done by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum daily.