List of recording studios

The Residents have used (and created) a number of recording studios during their long career, beginning with their earliest recordings made in their San Mateo apartment through to the far more professional studio set-up the group use to record today.

San Mateo apartment (1969-1971)

The Pre-Residents recorded many reel-to-reel tape items at their apartment in San Mateo, resulting in the composition of four (largely unheard) demo tapes.

Albums recorded at this studio

• The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger (1970)
• Rusty Coathangers for the Doctor (1970)
• The W***** B*** Album (1971)
• B.S. (1971) (partial)

Sycamore Street studio (1972-1976)

El Ralpho was the name used by The Residents for the recording (and film) studio they set up at their headquarters at 20 Sycamore Street in San Francisco, after leaving their apartment in San Mateo.

Albums recorded at this studio

• Meet The Residents (1974)
• Not Available (1974) (partial)
• The Third Reich 'n Roll (1976)
• Fingerprince (1977) (partial)

Grove Street studio (1976-1983)

Diagram of the Ralph studio set-up ca. 1978

The Residents and their newly-minted management company The Cryptic Corporation moved from the Sycamore Street studio to the much larger space at 444 Grove Street in San Francisco on July 31st, 1976, and remained there until August of 1983, when lease holder John Kennedy evicted the group.

Albums recorded at this studio

• Fingerprince (1977) (partial)
• Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen (1978)
• Not Available (1978)
• Eskimo (1979)
• Commercial Album (1980)
• Mark of the Mole (1981)
• The Tunes of Two Cities (1982)
• Title In Limbo with Renaldo & The Loaf (1983) (1981 sessions)
• Assorted Secrets (1984)

Clementina Street studio (1983 - 1984)

After The Cryptic Corporation separated from Ralph Records in 1982, the two moved out of their shared space at 444 Grove Street. Ralph moved to 109 Minna Street (where it would remain until 1999), whilst The Residents moved 5 minutes away to Clementina Street in August 1983.They remained here for only a year, but completed two full albums in the space

• Title In Limbo with Renaldo & The Loaf (1983) (partial)
• George & James (1984)
• Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats? (1984)

Folsom Street Studio (1984-1994)

In August of 1984, The Residents and The Cryptic Corporation relocated to 556 Folsom Street, where they would remain until 1994.

• The Big Bubble (1985)
• Stars & Hank Forever (1986)
• God In Three Persons (1988)
• Buckaroo Blues (1989)
• Freak Show (1990)
• Our Finest Flowers (1992)

Different Fur Studios (1989)

The Residents briefly recorded at Different Fur Studios in 1989, before returning to their Clementina Street studios. In 1985, The Cryptic Corporation mixed The Residents' Eyeball Show LP at Different fur.

Albums recorded at this studio

• The King & Eye (1989)

Haus Des Rundfunks (1999)

The Residents recorded their live in the studio album Roadworms: The Berlin Sessions at Haus Des Rundfunks in Berlin, Germany between July 1999 and March 2000.

Albums recorded at this studio

• Roadworms: The Berlin Sessions (2000)

Mission Street Studio (1994-1999)

Speculated to have been financed by a 'healthy advance' for the Bad Day in the Midway CD-ROM, The Residents, The Cryptic Corporation and Ralph America operated out of 604 Mission Street Studios until 1999, when it was vacated 'in preference for working from home offices.'

Albums recorded at this studio

• Gingerbread Man (1994)
• Hunters (1995)
• Have A Bad Day (1996)
• Wormwood (1998)

Romanian studio (2005-2006)

The Residents took a trip to record at a mysterious benefactor's studio in Romania between 2005 and 2006, resulting in their 2006 album Tweedles!

Albums recorded at this studio

• Tweedles! (2006)

25th Street Recording (2021)

In 2021, The Residents recorded their streaming TV special Duck Stab! Alive! live in the studio at 25th Street Recording in Oakland, California.