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Neumann VMS 80 #GearThatMadeUs

In today’s 'Gear That Made Us' we feature the Neumann VMS 80 lathe. These sophisticated cutting machines were first designed around 1980, used to create master discs for vinyl record reproduction. Using a groove spacing computer and cutting head they cut a spiralling groove into the disc that stores the vibration of a recorded sound. This complex and delicate process takes a lot of knowledge and skill to carry ...

Fairchild 660 #GearThatMadeUs

The sound of a Fairchild 660 tube limiter helped to create the legendary drum and vocal tones found on countless Abbey Road records. Invented by Rein Narma in 1959 for American manufacturer Fairchild Recording Equipment Corporation, these highly prised volume-control devices are used not only on initial recordings, but also on final mixes. ...

28th April 2022

Studer A80 #GearThatMadeUs

In 1970 when designing the follow up to the successful J37, Studer invited Abbey Road engineer Ken Townsend to his factory to preview a new 8-track machine known as the A80. This entirely new design concept had outstanding characteristics: 8-track capabilities, a sturdy tape transport mechanism, electronic tape timing and electronic speed control. ...

20th April 2022

Hammond RT3 #GearThatMadeUs

This Hammond RT-3 organ was acquired in the ‘50s and has become a hugely important fixture in our history. It features on nearly every Beatles album, used by each respective member at one time or another, as well as by George Martin. Over the years, countless other jazz, rock and pop recordings made at Abbey Road feature this instrument, including Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’. ...

14th April 2022

The Curve Bender #GearThatMadeUs

The RS-56S UTC Equaliser (Universal Tone Control) was designed in 1952 by one of EMI's most skilled technicians, Mike Batchelor. It received the nickname ‘Curve Bender’ for its ability to shape a sound. At a time when most equaliser devices were simple affairs, this was a complex and very flexible tool. It controls the volume of different frequencies with great detail and is an early example of what we now know as 'parametric' EQ. The original specification states, “one of nearly 14 million pre-determined frequency response curves can be selected at will”. And that was just for the mono ...

13th April 2022

Manchester entertainment hub NQ announces partnership with Abbey Road Studios

Today, we’re thrilled to announce a new partnership with Manchester entertainment hub NQ. As we celebrate our 90th anniversary, we're signalling a new era with the creation of a resident creative community, based in a suite of new writing & production rooms opening next week. ...

BTR 2 #GearThatMadeUs

The BTR 2 was EMI’s second magnetic tape recorder, introduced at Abbey Road in 1954. This machine was the workhorse for many recordings in the ‘50s and ‘60s, handling all mono mixes. Abbey Road engineers devised clever ways of creating audio effects by manipulating the BTR 2 recorder functions, creating echo, doubling, and flanging effects. This is the machine that allowed technical engineer Ken Townsend to achieve a milestone in the history of sound recording, the invention of ADT (Automatic Double-Tracking). ...

31st March 2022

RS124 Compressor #GearThatMadeUs

This tube compressor is a key component of the Abbey Road sound. Specially modified by Abbey Road engineers, it was used on recordings by The Shadows, The Zombies and of course, The Beatles. As the story goes an Altec 436B compressor was brought in from America to be used as an automatic volume-control device. Finding it not quite up to their high standards, EMI technical engineers Bill Livy, Len Page and Mike Batchelor redesigned it in 1959, and the RS124 was ...

26th March 2022

Jim Johnston 1930-2022

Our condolences to the family of Jim Johnston, ex-head of Abbey Road Technical Services, who has passed away at the age of 92. Jim first began work at the studios in early 1954, after transferring from the EMI research facility at Hayes where he was working as a trainee design and development engineer. He soon became an important fixture in the legendary “Amp Room”, which gave rise to some of our most revered technical staff including our current microphone custodian Lester Smith and the legendary Ken Townsend ...