This issue came to light during sessions for Hey Jude, recorded in 1968 at Trident’s eight-track studio (EMI was still four-track), and mixed through Tannoy Reds. Some engineers, including the Fab Four’s Geoff Emerick, found the Tannoys’ extended frequency response difficult to adjust to and continued to use the lo-fi Altecs whenever possible, knowing that if the mix sounded good on them, it would sound good everywhere. It was around this time that EMI’s Abbey Road Studios acquired several pairs of Golds, housed in Lockwood cabinets, replacing the Altec monitors that were used in Studio Two to monitor The Beatles’ recordings. 1967 saw the Reds replaced by the Monitor Golds – and while some audio aficionados insist that they’re an inferior product to their predecessors, the sonic signature remains unmistakably Tannoy. I also have the same-purpose speaker downstairs, so I can play my acetates and records through to make sure they’re cut properly and the standards are well up.”Īt this time, Tannoy manufactured the drive units only, allowing companies such as Lockwood to build the cabinets some users built their own DIY enclosures, too. Legendary independent producer Joe Meek used one in his mono-only home-built studio remarking in 1962: “The speaker is a Tannoy Dual Concentric in a Lockwood cabinet, the type they use in most studios today.

During the 1960s, almost all of the major British studios used Reds.

This design approach creates a point-source, which effectively eliminates the subtle phase shifts that occur when two or more drive units are placed along a monitor’s front baffle.ġ958 saw the introduction of the Monitor Red – the most revered (and now expensive) of all the big Tannoys. A coaxial design, the speaker featured a horn-loaded tweeter situated in the centre of the woofer. The original 15-inch Dual Concentric (and those caps are necessary – it’s a trademark) first appeared in 1947, and was named the Monitor Black. The superb sound they delivered was a revelation to my 17-year-old ears and during downtime, I’d play my favourite records to discover all manner of detail that my humble home-stereo speakers glossed over. A pair of Tannoy Ardens – the largest in the range at the time – driven by a Quad amplifier, dominated the control room.

My first experience of Tannoys came in 1985, when I landed my first studio job working as a tape-op.

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