Although quite a few of these consoles still survive, their connections with Abbey Road sometimes give rise to some inaccurate claims regarding their origins.
One claim is that a console has a connection with the Beatles.
The fact is that only one Beatles recording – "Abbey Road" – was made using the TG console.
The console used was the Mk1 version, which was installed in Studio 2 at Abbey Road in December 1968 and used for the "Abbey Road" album sessions during 1969.
Unfortunately this console no longer exists complete, although many of it’s component parts are still around.
The only other TG desk with a direct link to the Beatles is the console formerly owned by ex-Abbey Road engineer/producer Jeff Jarratt. This console was used at Abbey Road for the mixing and re-mastering of the Beatles "Anthology" series of albums. This desk is now privately owned in the UK.
Another claim sometimes made is that a console is an ex-Abbey Road desk. This claim is made so often that Abbey Road must have had about ten of these desks!
The fact is that all the ex-Abbey Road consoles can be accounted for, and they are all in the UK, with the exception of one of the two custom built Mk4's, which is now in Los Angeles.
There is a unique modification to the microphone cassette, which was only done to the Abbey Road channels, which makes it easy to verify the origin of a cassette.