The "Abbey Road Sound"

Has anyone found a way to get the great Abbey Road sound without actually recording in Abbey Road?

I can get the lousy Abbey Road sound on a regular basis.

The GOOD Abbey Road sound has been far more elusive.

I'll let you know when I do.

Cheers

I always get a little of the Abbey Road sound in my recordings ... unfortunately, it's the area behind the building where they keep the dumpsters!

Seriously, there should be a plug-in for that. Realistically, I'm not sure how that would work out. There are reverb plug-ins that use the reverb of different environments, and I don't know why this could (should, might) be done with Abbey Road. Is it Studio 2 that the Beatles worked in? How many ways was the room sonically modified during the Beatles' recordings? Which mics would be used to capture the sound and reflections? I also think there is a very nice echo chamber in the building.

In his amazing book, engineer Geoff Emerick said that the Beatles strove to have every song sound different, from a recording standpoint. He gives the example of the time Yer Blues had some tracks recorded in a closet, storeroom, or something like that.

I'm serious about the plug-in idea. I'm just not sure how practical it would be to make and market it.

I've read that a big part of the sound of "Abbey Road" was because they had switched from a tube to a solid-state console. The details are well documented in Emerick's book. Now wouldn't that be the ultimate irony--so many plug-ins are meant to emulate tube gear--if they came out with an "Abbey Road" plug-in meant to emulate the sound of that solid-state mixing console.

I know the actual console was for sale a few years ago--I don't know if anyone bought it.

Now wouldn't that be the ultimate irony

Hahaha! It would indeed!

http://www.abbeyroadplugins.com/
:shock:

Cheers,
Geoff

So they exist already! Learn something every day.

Native instruments has a bunch of 'abbey road' stuff.
http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/powered-by-kontakt/abbey-road-80s-drums/
And this ... http://www.musicradar.com/gear/all/computers-software/plug-in-fx/brilliance-pack-166787/review
There's also Fab Four 'instruments' ... http://www.soundsonline.com/Fab-Four

In my experience they sound good ... as long as you're playing beatle songs and exact beatle arrangements and exact beatle parts. Seriously. The instrument suite sounds kinda weird if you play anything other than beatle music.
And if you've actually used any of that gear and know how to implement it then yeah, it can sound sort of Abbey Road. If not, it's just another set of virtual verbs and pres and comps.

This might be me being a little naive, but surely there is no such thing as "Abbey Road Sound."

So much has been recorded there and so much has changed about the studio, could you ever say it had one particular sound?

Also when you look at all the stuff they have there, it would be cheaper to fly over and record there then recreate it somewhere else.

My point exactly.