A little bit of Beatles-era magic – in the form of one of a mixing desk from London’s Abbey Road studios – is now the centrepiece of a new museum exhibit at Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA).

Built in 1958, the REDD.17 recording, mixing and mastering console was developed by EMI’s in-house Record Engineering Development Department. Only a handful of these all-vacuum tube consoles were built. This unit was installed at the Abbey Road Studios and operated from the late 1950s to the early ‘60s as a recording and mixing desk. It was later moved to the studio’s Transfer Room, where it was used in the mastering process.

Chris Townsend and the REDD.17 recording, mixing and mastering console. Photo supplied

This particular machine was used on numerous Beatles and early Pink Floyd recordings, and supplied the special tape effects on the Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows – a track often cited as one of the pioneering recordings of rock as a mature art form.

After its stint at Abbey Road, the desk went to Toe Rag Studios in Hackney, London, where it was used to record albums including The White Stripes’ Elephant and...