Beach Boys Studio

The studio was built in 1967 due to various issues Wilson regularly experienced when working at commercial studios, such as being hassled by owners for touching the control board (a violation of union regulations), as well as to eliminate the inconvenience of booking time in advance.

[4] Because his bandmates took much of the recording equipment with them when they left for concert tours, Wilson was not typically allowed to use the home studio unless the band was present.

For the first few months of operation, the makeshift studio was installed with a Gates Dualux radio broadcasting console as the quick recording of Smiley Smile didn't allow enough time to acquire a conventional mixing board.

[6] By the recording of Friends in early 1968, the studio continued to use the Dualux console yet the rest of the chauffeur's quarters had been converted to feature a more permanent set-up.

From 1967, until its dismantling in late 1972 by Marilyn Wilson,[7] the studio recorded a mix of artists with personal ties to the Beach Boys, including American Spring, The Flames, Stephen Kalinich and Charles Manson.