The EMI REDD .17, .37 and .51 were

vacuum-tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied. The type known as a ...

-based mixing consoles designed by EMI for their Abbey Road Studios. They were used to mix several influential albums, including most of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

' albums and the first two

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...

albums.

History

Abbey Road Studios’ technical engineer Lenn Page established the Record Engineering Development Department (REDD) in 1955 to develop equipment that would facilitate stereo recordings. At the time, mass-produced recording studio equipment was not available, and EMI/Abbey Road custom-built equipment in-house. The first REDD console, the REDD.17, was developed in 1958 by Peter Burkotwitz at EMI Electrola in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, and was Abbey Road Studios' first dedicated stereo mixing system. Employing a modular design still used in large-format consoles today, the REDD.17 was one of the first modern-style mixing consoles. The REDD.37 and its successor, the REDD.51, had a similar design with added outputs needed to accommodate Abbey Road Studios' new four-track tape machines. Both models featured 14 Painton quadrant faders to control the level of eight microphone input channels, two auxiliary channels, and four master outputs. The REDD.51 featured new amps that offered more headroom and lower distortion; Abbey Road installed the first REDD.51 in Studio 2 in 1964. Only three REDD.37s and four REDD.51 consoles were ever built. Abbey Road Studios was forced to retire their 4-track REDD consoles in November 1968, replacing them with the

EMI TG12345 The EMI TG12345 was a mixing console designed by EMI for their Abbey Road Studios, which was used to mix several influential albums, including The Beatles' '' Abbey Road'' and Pink Floyd's '' The Dark Side of the Moon''. Overview The TG12345 wa ...

, which featured the eight outputs necessary for the studios' new 3M 8-track recorder.

Legacy

Most of the Beatles' albums, including ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...

'' were produced with the REDD consoles at Abbey Road Studios. Pink Floyd's 1967 debut album, ''

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn ''The Piper at the Gates of Dawn'' is the debut studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 5 August 1967 by EMI Columbia. It is the only Pink Floyd album made under the leadership of founding member Syd Barrett (lead vocals, gu ...

'' and its follow-up, '' A Saucerful of Secrets'', were also produced on the studios' REDD consoles. One REDD.17 console is currently in use at

Toe Rag Studios Toe Rag Studios is an analogue recording studio located in Hackney, London, England. History The studio was founded in 1991 by Liam Watson and Josh Collins in the Shoreditch area of London. In 1997, the business relocated to Hackney due to ...

in London. One REDD.37 console, purchased by Lenny Kravitz in 1992 and used at his own Gregory Town Sound studio in The Bahamas. The only remaining REDD.51 in existence, originally employed in the EMI studio in Milan, Italy, is located at British Grove Studios in London.

Software emulations

In 2013,

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released a

plug-in Plug-in, plug in or plugin may refer to: * Plug-in (computing) is a software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program. ** Audio plug-in, adds audio signal processing features ** Photoshop plugin, a piece of softwar ...

that emulates the REDD.17, REDD.37 and REDD.51 mixing consoles. Chandler Limited established a partnership with Abbey Road Studios to develop and produce several plug-in emulations of the studios' classic recording gear, including a plug-in that emulates the REDD.47 microphone amplifier circuit from the REDD.51 mixing console.

References

Mixing consoles EMI {{music-stub