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The console that recorded The Beatles' iconic Abbey Road has been restored and is now available for sale on Reverb. The EMI TG12345 recording console, which the Fab Four used to produce their final 1969 album, will be offered for purchase starting October 29 through the official Reverb shop of London-based recording studio professionals and collectors MJQ Ltd. This unique console was specially designed for EMI Studios in 1968 and was the first of 17 consoles created by EMI. It played a crucial role in achieving the ambitious sound that The Beatles envisioned for Abbey Road.
The recording equipment was disassembled and sat unused for more than 50 years. It took five years to restore it under the supervision of Brian Gibson, a former EMI engineer and collaborator with The Beatles (according to Reverb). Gibson and a team of audio engineers and technicians managed to reassemble the console using 70 percent of its original parts, creating replacement components that seamlessly integrate with the older parts.
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Image Courtesy: MusicTech
Discussing the console on Reverb, Dave Harries, who participated in numerous Beatles recording sessions with this equipment in the 1960s, remarked that ‘Abbey Road’ is one of the best albums ever made, and its exceptional sound is due in large part to this recording console. The way Abbey Road was recorded gives the album a distinctive sound that set the standard for future pop recordings.
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Image Courtesy: Yahoo
He added that this particular console is one of a kind. It’s unique and irreplaceable. Its sound quality holds up against any modern console and, in many ways, it’s probably superior. Back then, it was built to a different standard—cost was no object. EMI designed this to be the best in the world.
In addition to being used to create The Beatles' final album, the console was also utilized by all four members—Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, and John Lennon—for their solo projects, including Lennon’s Instant Karma!, Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, and Starr’s Sentimental Journey LP.
In other news, Paul McCartney recently received a shirt signed by late football legend Pelé.
--Silviya.Y
