Sound City Studios

Lore & Background

The studio was created by Joe Gottfried and Tom Skeeter. They purchased a custom state-of-the-art recording console from Rupert Neve for $75,175. The first song recorded on the console was performed by Buckingham Nicks and led to an invitation to join Fleetwood Mac. In 1969, the studio hosted David Briggs productions including Spirit's Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus and Neil Young's After the Gold Rush. Cult leader Charles Manson recorded in Studio B months before the Manson Family crime spree. The studio closed to the public in 2011 and much of the equipment was sold off, including the Neve 8028 console purchased by Dave Grohl. In 2017, the studio reopened for public use.

In Their Own Story

The hallway smelled like warm tube amps and cold coffee. Prince was already in the control room, headphones around his neck, watching the VU meters dance while the band played a take he hadn't written yet. The drummer hit the floor tom and the whole back wall of the live room shuddered. He pulled the headphones off, smiled at no one in particular, and said, 'Again, but this time the bass plays like it's arguing with the kick.' The bassist laughed. They ran it four more times. By the fifth, the tape was hissing, the room was warm, and the song had become something none of them had planned. Outside, the Van Nuys night was quiet. Inside, the room was still ringing.

Reader's Guide

Sound City Studios is located in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was leased for public use until 2011, then leased by Fairfax Recordings from 2011 to 2016. In 2017, a partnership between Sandy Skeeter and Olivier Chastan reopened the studio. In 2018, Tony Berg and Blake Mills took over the lease. The studio is known for its signature drum sound and uses classic analog recording techniques.

Did You Know?

• The studio's Neve 8028 console was one of only four in the world at the time of purchase.
• Over one hundred albums recorded at Sound City have achieved gold and platinum certifications.
• The interior of the main studio has allegedly never been painted over, nor its linoleum tiles changed, due to fear of affecting the legendary sound quality.
• Dave Grohl purchased the Neve 8028 console from the 2011 sale and installed it at his Studio 606.