Beginnings (1983–1989) In 1983, Eddie Van Halen built the studio next to his home with then wife
Valerie Bertinelli. He named it "5150" after the police code overheard by producer/engineer
Donn Landee, one night on his
police scanner. Designed by Landee, the beta version of 5150 Studios was a high-ceilinged sixteen-track studio suitable for recording, overdubbing, and simple mixing, if needed. The recording room was roughly , sound insulated with
fiberglass and
rubber, with a booth on the north end. The construction on Van Halen's property was passed off to city inspectors as a racquetball court, disregarding the soundproof walls with cinder blocks filled with concrete. A challenge arose in the form of a powerful AM radio antenna from a sports station broadcasting 50,000 watts of power a few miles away. To prevent Van Halen picking up boxing fights and football games through his guitar wireless units, engineers wrapped a layer of grounded chicken-wire fencing around the studio, turning it into a
Faraday cage.
Remodeling and beyond (1989–present) Between February 1989 (after the
OU812 Tour ended) and March 1990 (before starting work on
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge), Van Halen remodeled the studio, doubling its size, replacing the main mixing board, and at the end of the recording floor, adding an isolated drum room for his brother
Alex. When he was finished, it also featured a small arcade for video games and pinball machines. The studio met with controversy as the Hollywood Association of Recording Professionals cracked down on home studios in the Los Angeles area, claiming owners were renting them out and hurting traditional recording studios. Van Halen's studio proved otherwise, as Van Halen insisted it was for himself to make music. Because of his testimony, he was given the proper zoning variance to legally make music at his house. In 1999, Van Halen remodeled the studio once again, by adding a 72-input analog mixing desk and a
Mellotron. == References ==