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WATCH: A Quietus Tour Of Abbey Road
The Quietus , March 27th, 2012 10:07

See some ancient bits of gear gizmos used by The Beatles and more

We must be frustrated astronauts or nuclear technicians here at The Quietus - we simply can't get enough of looking at chunky bits of old electronic equipment covered in knobs, switches and interesting-looking dials. So as a companion to Taylor Parkes' brilliant trip inside Abbey Road last week, we're chuffed that Recording The Beatles authors Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan have given us a filmed guided tour of the equipment used on some of studio's most famous sessions. The bewildering array of gear takes in anything from to EMI's self-built stereo tape machines, a 1930s microphone, 1970s mixing board that travelled around the world recording classical performances, compressors that acted as "secret weapons" for making pop. There's a 1905 piano kept purposefully out of tune, a 1950s Hammond organ used in many Beatles and Pink Floyd recordings, and a grand piano used by Emili Sande and Brian Wilson.