It’s so comfortable in the handsomely appointed Jam Crib Music Rehearsal Center that often the musicians — kids and adults alike — kick off their shoes and rock out tunes in their socks.

The center on North Anthony Boulevard has become the “go-to” location for instrumentalists and singers to practice with their bands — a place where seven acoustically enhanced studios create the foundation for dreams of “making it big.”

State-of-the-art musical equipment — drum sets, guitar and bass amplifiers, microphones, mixers, speakers and recorders — is accessible in all the studios and in the larger rehearsal hall with the stage, said musician and business founder-owner Tim Coffel.

Jam Crib began as a dream in August 2004. Nine months after envisioning and planning his own music facility, Coffel opened the 5,000-square-foot, high-tech complex.

“We provide practice spaces, training and education, recreational playing, and other services for amateur and professional musicians,” said Coffel, who earned a business degree from Indiana University and who also attended Wayne State University in Detroit and Capital University Conservatory of Music in Columbus, Ohio.

While trying to locate a noise-insulated practice room for his band to use a few years ago, Coffel had difficulty finding one and became a man on a mission.

“I wanted acoustically engineered facilities that would give musicians a better place to practice besides a basement or garage, and sound-proofed so as to avoid tickets for noise ordinance violations,” said Coffel, a drummer who has played 41 years and performed at prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York.

“Also, I was disillusioned with local bar jam sessions, where you waited most of the night and, in the end, only got to play three songs,” he said. “I opened up studios for jam sessions so musicians can play at least an hour nonstop and really have an opportunity to improvise.

“Third, our Jam School was influ- enced by the movie ‘School of Rock.’ I’d observed my son playing with his friends in our garage, and going nowhere fast,” Coffel said. “Now they’re all taking private lessons and becoming very proficient — they were also playing in the bands at school, which sounded great under the guidance of the band director. So I decided to start the city’s first school to teach young musicians how to successfully play together as a rock band.”

Adult musicians are also welcome. Just ask 45-year-old Matthew Stabler, a guitarist and drummer who began playing at the facility with his own band a year ago.

“No one has a bigger heart in this community than Tim,” said Stabler. “He’s bridging the generation gap, and bringing people of all ages — not just teens — together, at a time when society is becoming more and more isolated. A great creativity is cultivated at the Jam Crib, and everyone loves being here.”

Sixteen-year-old Tony Hicks, a home-schooled guitarist who plays with his Jam Crib-created ensemble, T.H.E. Band, says being a member has helped him to interact with others.

“We all have different tastes in music, and we have to find that balance point,” said Hicks, who, with the rest of the band, had been taking private lessons before coming to Jam Crib. “Tim helps us get gigs and meet people.”

Renee Hicks echoes her son’s praise.

“Tim works tirelessly for these kids — rearranging bands, finding places to perform and hooking up the right kids together,” she said. “Jam Crib provides an atmosphere where kids can get together with the same interests. He is doing a great job of it, especially since no one else is doing it locally.”

According to Coffel, more than 1,005 people have joined Jam Crib with one-year memberships since its 2005 opening.

“We are now in the process of renewing our first- and second-year customers entering into our third year of business,” said Coffel, who admitted the first two years of the enterprise had some bumps that were “very difficult” to overcome.

“I invested nearly all of my life savings to build Jam Crib and worked seven days a week so that clients could have a wonderful place to pursue their musical ambitions,” said Coffel. Still, last December he had to send out a mass e-mailing to members pleading for them to come in and use the facility to help him stay in business.

“This endeavor caused the breakup of my 23-year-marriage, and health problems from extreme stress,” Coffel said. “I strived to keep faith in this vision, but it wasn’t enough.”

Perseverance, patience and making adjustments have helped Jam Crib achieve the success it has had, said Coffel, a drummer with the Katzenjammer band.

“All I can do is work toward future goals,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ve become wiser from this experience.

“Over the past two years, word-of-mouth advertising has vastly increased because of customer satisfaction,” Coffel said. “Additionally, I was able to get some of my financial obligations renegotiated. We’re now in the process of seeking out corporations to create recreational music programs at Jam Crib for their employees and their employees’ children.”