Title: ‘Remastering and Audio Restoration at Abbey Road Studios’
Location: Royal Academy of Engineering, London
Description: Lecture by Simon Gibson of Abbey Road Studios
Start Time: 18:30 for 19:00
Date: Tuesday 11th May 2010
EMI has an archive going back to 1898 and, since Abbey Road Studios opened in 1931, there has been a gradual increase in the remastering of that back catalogue for new formats. Starting with a potted history of EMI, the early years of recording and the work of Alan Blumlein, we move on to the emergence of remastering at Abbey Road and the systems and techniques used today. The talk will then concentrate on the use made of CEDAR Audio’s Retouch software in the audio restoration of The Beatles album remasters as well as its more usual use in the creation of music for the video game The Beatles Rockband. Along the way we will hear rare audio extracts from EMI’s archive and clips from The Beatles’ recordings to demonstrate these remastering and restoration techniques.
Tuesday 23rd February at 11:00
Technical Visit to British Grove Studios, London
We’ve managed to squeeze in a visit to British Grove Studios that was built by Mark Knopfler as “a monument to past and future technology”. It has two studios. Alongside modern technology, the equipment includes two old EMI mixing consoles: a very rare tube desk from the 1960s like the ones used by George Martin and The Beatles and a later console on which the album Band on the Run was actually recorded. The large console in Studio One is a custom-made Neve 88R, while the console in Studio Two is an API Legacy.
In February 2009, British Grove Studio was the winner of the Music Producers Guild Award for ‘Best Studio’.
The visit is for AES members only and numbers limited. Please email/phone Heather Lane (or use the contact form here, select “membership and general enquiries” option) to reserve a space and confirm availability.
[Note: due to commercial pressures, there is a small, but finite chance, that this visit might get cancelled at the last minute - sorry, but we think the opportunity to visit this great facility is worth the chance! For this reason, it is imperative we get your contact details so, should the worst happen, we can let you know]
