Sound City Studios was founded in 1969 by Joe Gottfried and Tom Skeeter. It struggled financially until Gottfried purchased "a state-of-the-art recording console from Rupert Neve, a British electronics genius who built technologically advanced audio gear: one of four in the world, a 28-input, 16-bus, 24-monitor 8028 with 1085 EQs and no automation" (from wiki).
The studio would go on to record a number of legendary artists and albums: Neil Young's After the Gold Rush (1970), several Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers albums, and Nirvana, Nevermind were all recorded at Sound City.
In May 2011, the studio closed it's commercial services, and is now used privately. Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) purchased the original Neve 8078 and installed it in his home studio. In 2013, Grohl made a documentary about the location called Sound City.

