The Abbey Road Sound - 75 Years in the Making

[Abbey Road]

121st AES Expo, San Francisco, – 6th October 2006, 11.30am to 1.00pm
Room 104, Moscone Convention Centre

In celebration of their 75th anniversary this November, Abbey Road Studios have assembled a distinguished panel to discuss the developments in recording technology and production techniques at the studios and the personalities involved, and how they came to create the “Abbey Road Sound”. This is a rare opportunity for visitors to hear personal accounts from studio engineers and ask them questions.

Managing Director of EMI Studios Group Dave Holley will introduce the session at the AES Expo which will share some of the secrets behind the Abbey Road Sound.

Legendary engineer and former Abbey Road Studios head Ken Townsend will talk about his time at Abbey Road and describe how he and his colleagues in the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s developed new equipment and recording techniques which contributed to the recognisable Abbey Road Sound of records made at the studio during that era.

Peter Cobbin, current senior recording engineer at Abbey Road Studios, will explain how he recreates the classic Abbey Road sound today and will discuss how he uses vintage equipment in a modern studio. Peter will also talk about products currently being developed – both hardware and software – to make the technology invented at Abbey Road, but never released outside of EMI Studios, more widely available.

The seminar will be moderated by Kevin Ryan, co-author of a new, definitive publication which details the studio equipment and techniques used by The Beatles to create their classic albums.

Biographies

Ken Townsend joined EMI in 1950, on the very same day as a certain George Martin. He joined the Abbey Road Studios staff in 1954, working initially in the the “Amp Room”, the department responsible for the maintenance of the studios’ equipment. Ken and his team were pioneers in the development of recording techniques at Abbey Road and many of his innovations were made in direct response to the needs of The Beatles’ sessions. His inventions include artificial double tracking (ADT) and direct injection (DI) recording. He was present at the original studio test of The Beatles and worked on many sessions with the group, including those for Rubber Soul, Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, as well as on significant records by Pink Floyd, Wings and Kate Bush. Ken was awarded the M.B.E. in 1992.

Peter Cobbin trained as a music engineer at EMI Sydney and worked for several years as a freelance engineer and producer throughout Australia. Peter joined Abbey Road Studios in 1995 and has a unique style that marries vintage equipment with the best digital technology available. Peter enjoys both pop and classical recording and has engineered for artists including Sir Paul McCartney, Air and Simply Red. He has also developed considerable skills in mixing for 5.1 surround sound and remixing from multi-track masters and live concerts. Notable recent projects include mixing the film score and soundtracks of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and remixing The Beatles’ Anthology for DVD release.

Kevin Ryan is an acclaimed musician, producer and arranger based in Houston, Texas. He has produced and arranged for Southern Backtones, Winter Wallace, Hurts to Purr and Sarah Sharp. Kevin and his writing partner, Brian Kehew, are the joint authors of ‘Recording The Beatles: The Studio Equipment and Techniques Used to Create Their Classic Albums’. The 540-page book is an accumulation of years of research and interviews and unveils the most detailed look ever at the studio gear used, as well as explanations of effects and recording processes used in The Beatles’ sessions.

Gee I wish you hadn't posted this - it might be too full to get in!

But I'm planing on being there. Thinking of bringing the book to get it signed, but not sure I want to carry it alll day...

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