News

Sweetwater unveils one-of-a-kind mobile Dolby recording studio

89.1 WBOI | By Ella Abbott

Published May 13, 2026 at 3:52 PM EDT

Inside the mobile recording booth, speakers are hidden inside nearly every surface and a large screen and connected sound board allow for mixing.

In a partnership with Airstream, Sweetwater unveiled a first-of-its-kind mobile Dolby Atmos recording studio Tuesday.

The Dolby Atmos studio is built into an Airstream trailer. Hidden speakers in nearly every surface –the walls, the ceiling, behind the large screen used for editing – play Elton John's 'Rocketman.'

The setup harkens back to Sweetwater's origins, when founder Chuck Surak drove around in a VW bus, modified into a mobile recording studio.

The Airstream trailer that contains the recording studio is currently parked on the Sweetwater campus in Fort Wayne. Over the summer, it will travel across the country connecting with artists and musicians.

Vice President of Brand, Steve Dwyer said the goal was really to meet people where there are, even outside of Fort Wayne or Indiana.

"So, how do we bring the Sweetwater difference and the attention to detail and the level of professionalism in the way we do things – how do we bring that out into the world?" He said.

Towards that mission, the van will travel around the country this summer, appearing at music festivals, schools and trade shows.

A partnership with Airstream, the studio inside was designed by Russ Berger Design Group, a leader in Dolby Atmos studios who also designed several of Sweetwater's other studios.