Following its entry to the Reverb marketplace, we diligently tracked the trajectory of the Beatles’ original Abbey Road EMI TG 12345 recording console. Over five months later, the listing unceremoniously ended with no indication as to its whereabouts or destination. The console’s final bid price at the time of its listing’s end was $2,365,386.04. Wherever it lands, it sure has a story to tell.
Brought to Reverb by MJQ Recording Studio Real Estate, the original Abbey Road recording console, the EMI TG 12345, was first custom-designed by EMI Abbey Road engineers in 1967. EMI's Central Research Team developed the desk and tested it, recording three operas at La Salle Wagram in Paris, France, before moving it to Abbey Road Studios' Studio 2 control room in November of 1968.
There, the console was used extensively by the Beatles to record their album Abbey Road, along with their final session together on August 20th, 1969. The console stayed in Studio 2 until September of 1971 when it was replaced by the TG Mk.II console. In its time in Studio 2, the console was used on each of the four Beatles' solo albums including Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, McCartney's McCartney, Harrison's All Things Must Pass, and Starr's Sentimental Journey.
The EMI TG 12345 had undergone extensive restoration with many pieces discarded over the years being reunited and reassembled within the original console frame over the course of decades. Each reproduction part brought onto the TG 12345 was made with the same materials and processes as the originals. The console was listed in full working condition with its original sound profile intact and consistent frequency responses across its microphone cassettes.