Abbey Road Recording Console Used by the Beatles on Final Album for Sale

variety.com:

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The custom-made recording console used on the Beatles’ last recorded album and the members’ early solo recordings has been completely restored and will be for sale on Reverb, the online music marketplace Reverb starting on Oct.

29, the site announced Tuesday. The restored EMI TG1234 recording console will be for sale through the official Reverb shop of London’s recording studio experts, MJQ Ltd.

The one-of-a-kind console was custom-built for EMI Studios in 1968 and used the following year to record “Abbey Road,” the last album the Beatles recorded together before their split in 1969. “Abbey Road is one of the best albums that’s ever been made, and it sounds so good because of this recording console,” said Dave Harries, who participated in numerous Beatles recording sessions with the console in the 1960s. “Because of the way that Abbey Road was recorded, the album has a distinctive sound that hallmarked the future of pop recording.” The console was also used for the individual Beatles’ first solo projects, including John Lennon’s “Instant Karma!” single and “Plastic Ono Band” album, Paul McCartney’s “McCartney,” George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” and Ringo Starr’s “Sentimental Journey.” According to Harries, George Harrison asked EMI if he could buy a console for himself — he was turned down for fear that it would be replicated and sold to a competitor. (While Reverb does not have photos of the Beatles using the console, it can be seen in a shot here.

The console for sale is not the one used earlier in 1969 on the “Get Back” / “Let It Be” sessions.) “If you talk to the engineers who have used it, they’ll tell you the same thing: It’s a beautiful sounding machine…it enhances.