Grrrrrr. . . . Behold keyboardist Derek Sherinian's Hollywood Hills home studio, the Leopard Room. It has two rooms,says Derek, the control room, and the Leopard Lounge/ office. We soundproofed and put up tongue-and-groove wood in the control room, which was a bedroom. The lounge has a panoramic view of the Hollywood Hills and is covered in leopard and purple velvet. Its pretty obnoxious [laughs]. My friend Tom Fletcher dialed in the room acoustically so we could mix in here. My chief engineer Albert Law operates the studio and keeps everything running smoothly.

The Leopard Room is anchored by a Mac G3 running Digidesigns Pro Tools 5.0. The Pro Tools rig is the way to go for me,Derek enthuses. The flexibility of this system is awesome. The core synths in Dereks jungle are a Korg Trinity and Z1, Roland JV-2080 and JD-990, Kurzweil K2000, a vintage Wurlitzer, and a B-3. The Hammonds companion Leslie 147 is tucked away in an iso box and miked with a pair of Shure SM57s on top and an AKG D112 on bottom. The Trinity has been my main ax for the last four years,Derek adds. I love the joystick and ribbon controller. I just got a [Korg] Triton, which Im just starting to dig into. Its the main controller to the module rack.

Speaking of which, Dereks rack has two or three of almost everything! I believe that one keyboard cant do it all, and each of these modules has its specialty. The K2000 is great for strings and orchestral sounds; the Korg TR racks are for the leads; the [Korg] 01/WRs for pads; the JV-2080s have all-around great sounds, as does the [Korg] Wavestation SR. More is more!

Something you dont see in every keyboardists studio is an electronic drum kit. Derek has a set of Roland V-Drums, which he says is great for sketching out song ideas. I like writing with drummers, so it gives them something to jam on.

Its always been my dream to own a killer recording studio in my home where I can make records and not feel the pressure of the clock,Derek concludes. Its so gratifying for me to be able to play and write music with amazing musicians, and record and mix it on state-of-the-art gear. I love being able to burn a CD after a session and crank it in my car. The view here is spectacular, and its important to be in a relaxed environment when you're being creative. I use the Leopard Room primarily for my own musical projects, but I will book the room out to select clients.

Since Derek left the band Dream Theater last year, he's been busy establishing his solo career with Magna Carta Records, and launching his new band, Planet X, which features Tony MacAlpine on guitar and Virgil Donati on drums. Look for their debut CD Universe later this year. Derek also Produced the new PROJECT STEIGER album "Defiance, with Guitarist Ken Steiger at the Leopard Room Studios. Available at www.ProjectSteiger.com. You can contact Derek directly at DSherinian@aol.com..