3
UM TGOP-120617
OFFICIAL
EQUIPMENT
INTRODUCTION
TG Opto
Thank you for purchasing the Chandler Limited TG Opto
compressor module, you now own a piece of EMI/Abbey
Road Studios official equipment.
The TG Opto, inherits from Chandler Limited’s TG Micro-
phone Cassette and TG1 and Zener Limiters, and draws its
heritage from the compressors found in the historic EMI/Ab-
bey Road Studios TG12345 recording consoles and TG12410
transfer desks of the late ‘60s and ‘70s.
The TG Opto 500 Series compressor module delivers leg-
endary TG sound to the 500 Series format, with greater flex-
ibility over the original equipment.
The TG Opto compressor, accompanied by the TG2-500
Pre Amp and TG12345 MKIV equalizer form a complete TG
channel strip for the 500 Series format.
Your Chandler Limited TG Opto has been carefully crafted
and built by hand at Chandler Limited’s factory in Shell Rock
IA, U.S.A., using through-hole components for, the ultimate
analog experience.
At Chandler Limited we are proud of our American made
products and we hope you like them!
Please feel free to call our shop anytime for help or ques-
tions.
Phone: (319) 885-4200.
History
Conceived from meetings in 1967 between Abbey Road
and EMI’s Central Research Laboratories teams, the EMI
TG12345 Mark I desk ushered in a sea of change in sound
and flexibility at Abbey Road Studios.
Installed in Abbey Road’s Studio Two in November 1968 and
making its debut on an 8-track recording by the Shadows, the
new transistorized desk marked a departure from the earlier
REDD valve consoles.
The EMI TG12345 desks were greatly expanded over their
REDD predecessors and the first of the large format con-
soles to feature a compressor/limiter on every microphone
and group cassette channel.
The EMI TG12345 desk helped shape the sound of the Bea-
tles’ final album, “Abbey Road,” which was markedly richer
sounding to that of the band’s earlier work. The sonic quali-
ties of classics like “Here Comes the Sun,” “Come Together”
and “Something” would have been very different without the
EMI TG12345.
The desk encountered many revisions throughout the ‘70s
and became the main recording console used throughout the
studios until 1983. The EMI TG12345 console Marks I–IV
were used on everything from Pink Floyd’s "The Dark Side
of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here" to John Lennon’s
"Plastic Ono Band," George Harrison’s "All Things Must Pass,"
to epic film scores including Raiders of the Lost Ark.
