What do the songs “Come Together,” “Here Comes the Sun,” “Something,” and “Because” have in common? They were, as any music lover already knows, written by the Beatles. They were also recorded on the very same console.
On October 29, that console, the EMI TG12345, is going up for auction at Reverb, an online marketplace for new, used, and vintage musical equipment that frequently deals in instruments used by famed musicians. Installed at EMI Recording Studios on Abbey Road in London, the console was not only used by the Beatles to record their seminal 1969 album Abbey Road, but also various solo projects after the band split up, such as John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), Ringo Starr’s Sentimental Journey (1970), and George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass (1970).
The restored EMI TG12345 console. Photo courtesy of Reverb.
Made by EMI’s Central Research Laboratories, the TG12345 was advertised as the “most comprehensive sound mixing console in the world.” Marketing fluff aside, the Beatles were happy enough with its performance to use it for their entire album, which sounds crisper and cleaner than their other work.
At least that’s what historian Mark Lewisohn said when the machine first went up for auction in December 2023 at Bonhams as part of their “Sound of the Beatles” sale. Going under the hammer for an asking price of seven figures, the console failed to find a buyer.
The recording console inside Abbey Road’s Studio 1. Photo: Phil Dent/Redferns.
The TG12345 now up for sale has gone through substantial restoration efforts. Despite its alleged technical prowess, the console fell into disuse sometime during the 1970s, after which it was partly disassembled. Restoration efforts were headed by EMI engineer and former Beatles collaborator Brian Gibson, who managed to track down and restore 70 percent of the console’s original parts.
“This particular console is a one-off,” Dave Harries, a technical engineer who worked with The Beatles while they recorded Abbey Road, is quoted in the same article. “It sounds so good that it holds up against any modern console and, in many respects, it’s probably better. Because in those days, it was built to a different standard, cost no object.”
The restored EMI TG12345 console. Photo courtesy of Reverb.
Although Reverb has not announced an asking price, the TG12345 is bound to sell for a large amount, if it actually sells this time around. Demand for Beatles-related memorabilia has not waned since the band broke up in 1974, and items that have once belonged to the musicians continue to hit big at auction.
Some noteworthy examples include Ringo Starr’s copy of the band’s White Album (1968), designed by painter Richard Hamilton, which sold for $790,000 in 2015; and John Lennon’s hand-written lyrics for “All You Need is Love,” which brought in $1.25 million in 2005. More recently, in February, a painting jointly created by the band’s members exceeded estimates to sell for $1.7 million at auction.