[1] Between 1969 and 1980, numerous notable artists recorded at the studios, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and The Grateful Dead.

Wally Heider had apprenticed with as an engineer and mixer at Bill Putnam's United Western Recorders studio complex in Hollywood in the early 1960s, after which he founded Wally Heider Recording with the opening of Studio 3 at 1604 N. Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood.

Heider and his crew garnered a high reputation for top notch engineering that resulted in excellent studio and remote location recordings, including sessions with the Beach Boys and Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Artists from the Bay Area such as Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service and the Grateful Dead had been recording in Los Angeles and New York, and Heider saw the need for musicians involved in the nascent San Francisco sound to have their own well-equipped and staffed recording studio close to home.

Between 1969 and 1970, many other high-profile acts followed, including Harry Nilsson, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, the Steve Miller Band.

Engineers and staff at the studio during that time included Bill Halverson, Stephen Barncard, and Glyn Johns, and Allen Zentz.