A tape recorder used at the iconic recording studio in Abbey Road has been discovered in the Surge Studio in Southampton University Student’s Union.
The BTR-3 (British Tape Recorder 3) was the main recording equipment used at Abbey Road during the 60s and was only used at Abbey Road. Most likely, the machine was involved in music production for artists such as The Beatles.
Toby Leveson, Surge Radio station manager commented on the discovery, saying: ‘When we first found the BTR-3 we had no idea what we had stumbled across, only after an online search did we realise it was a piece of recording history from Abbey Road Studios!’ He continued to admit, ‘It’s amazing to think that it had had been sitting there undisturbed for such a long time. It’s been great fun uncovering the mystery of it.’
Mirek Stiles, Head of Audio Products at Abbey Road Studios also expressed delight at the discovery, as ‘Until now only three BTR-3 units have been known to exist, none in full working order.’ Stiles added, ‘This discovery means four are now accounted for and hopefully the talented technical team at Abbey Road Studios can restore the machine to its former glory.’
To thank them for returning the machine, Surge Radio will host a special broadcast live from the brand new Front Room studio at Abbey Road Studios on Thursday 13th April.
Check out a brief tour of Abbey Road studios below:
