An EMI TG12345 console which was once used to produce the Beatles’ iconic Abbey Road album, and was later found in a skip, is now being auctioned off after a four-year restoration project. Malcolm Jackson and his son Hamish, both from Hertfordshire but members of a wider group working on the project, took up the challenge of restoring the rare EMI TG12345 console. It was the first of just 17 consoles worldwide made by EMI and helped capture the Beatles’ last album before they broke up in 1970. The console will be auctioned by online music marketplace Reverb on 29 October.
The console had been donated to a school in London, but was thrown away because staff didn’t know how to use it. It was then discovered by a musician who reportedly admired the knobs and switches on the console and decided to take it home. The Jacksons so far lead their own company, Malcolm Jackson Quipment, which deals in selling studio equipment and helping sell studio space. During the past four years, the team restored the console under the guidance of former EMI engineer and Beatles collaborator Brian Gibson, who also worked with the Beatles in the 1960s.
Approximately 31 British companies contributed their restoration skills during the project. Malcolm Jackson Snr has stated that the sound quality of the restored console is something special and unique. His son Malcom Jackson Jnr insisted it will satisfy collectors and could still easily be used in a studio environment. Jackson Jnr added that the sound quality is a rarity which cannot be properly described without listening to it in person.
Reverb is an online marketplace known for offering tough- to-find music gear. Reverb’s marketing director, Dan Orkin, confirmed that purchasing the console will not be an affordable outlay. However, he said it could offer audio engineers looking for a special piece of equipment and music industry collectors a genuine slice of history, as the console was among the first used in EMI’s studios after moving to Abbey Road
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