Pink Floyd Records/Legacy RecordingsThe Abbey Road Studios recording console used in the making of Pink Floyd‘s classic 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon has sold at a music memorabilia auction for $1.8 million, more than twice its pre-sale estimated price of $700,000. The sale was held Monday at Bonham’s auction house in New York City.
The console was installed in studio two at the famous London recording facility from 1971 to 1983, and is one of two custom-made consoles created by EMI engineers. Other artists whose albums were recorded using the console include Paul McCartney and Wings, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Kate Bush and The Cure.
Producer Mike Hedges bought the console from Abbey Road in 1983 and had used it in his home studio until deciding to auction it. It remains in full working order.
The console’s purchaser also received a letter of authenticity from former Abbey Road Studios manager Ken Townsend, as well as a copy of The Dark Side of the Moon.
Last Friday, Pink Floyd released six individual volumes of rare recordings and video footage that initially were issued together in November 2016 in the expansive box set The Early Years, 1967-1972.
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