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Sound Spotlight: Waves EMI TG12345 Channel Strip

Waves EMI TG12345 Channel Strip

Welcome to our new audio series called Sound Spotlight. In this series, we’ll feature some audio plugins that you may not be so familiar with, especially if you come from the video world. A lot of these plugins have really interesting histories. We’ll give you a few of their stories and some fun facts, plus some tutorials on how to use the plugins!

Today, we’re featuring Waves EMI TG12345, a mixer plugin based on the legendary mixing console used by the Beatles and Pink Floyd. Waves Audio partnered with EMI to develop a Channel Strip plugin that is modeled on this famous desk. It is a favorite

The History: The EMI TG12345 Mixing Console

EMI TG12345
By Josephenus P. RileyFlickr: SAM_4386, CC BY 2.0, Link

The original EMI TG12345 was the mixing console designed by the British Music Company EMI for the world-famous Abbey Road Studios. Abbey Road is, of course, where The Beatles famously recorded. TG is an acronym for The Gramaphone Company if you’re wondering.

This iconic console was designed by EMI designer Mike Bachelor. It included a whopping 24 microphone inputs, coupled with 8 tape outputs.[1] The groundbreaking Sgt. Pepper album from the Beatles, recorded in 1967, could have used this number of inputs, but it was made just a few months too soon. In fact, the only Beatles album recorded on the first TG desk was Abbey Road.

It was used in the 70s at Abbey Road Studios and then donated to a school in Hampstead, North London. When the school was renovated, the console ended up in a dumpster. However, someone noticed it in the dumpster rescued it from the landfill. Moreover, it was restored with some spare parts from EMIs archives and it still lives on in the Waves plugin. Unbelievably, it’s the same desk that the plugin was modeled from![4]

The EMI TG12345 is extremely rare, as only three were ever made! The second, the EMI TG12345 MK IV was used between 1971 and 1983 and was used to record Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. It sold for $1,807,500 US in an auction in 2017[3]! The third is in Austria’s Prime Studios.

To give you an idea of how big this mixing desk is, watch the video below.

Learn more and see some great photos of the vintage EMI TG12345 consoles at Music Tech.


The Waves TG12345 Plugin

In 2014, Waves released a 2 channel emulator of the EMI TG12345. Waves partnered with EMI and Abbey Road to create this channel strip plugin to mimic the sound of the compressor. There are 3 sections to the plugin, Dynamics, EQ, and Master[2].

Below, a short overview video of the plugin.

Waves EMI TG12345 Channel StripWaves EMI TG12345 Channel Strip

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Based on the legendary TG12345, the first solid-state console from EMI

Waves and Abbey Road Studios bring to life the legendary TG12345, the first-ever solid-state console from EMI which epitomized the sound evolution of the late ’60s and early ’70s and helped shape groundbreaking recordings by the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and many others.

Learn More

The original channel compressor/limiters in the TG12345 were fixed at 2:1 and 8:1 ratio to simulate the compression characteristics of the Altec/EMI RS124 and Fairchild 660 respectively, the two dynamics processors used heavily by the engineers at Abbey Road. The plug-in features the same 2:1 compressor ratio and a 7:1 for the limiter, and it has a fixed attack, selectable release settings, the Hold feature that was on the RS124, and the useful additions of a sidechain high-pass filter and a Mix knob for parallel processing. If you are familiar with the records that came out of Abbey Road in that era, you will know the sound of this compressor. Its classic squish is addictive and very fun.

EMI TG12345 Channel Strip (V11) – Supported Hosts

Waves 14 Supported Hosts

Mac


Apple M1 Support

Windows

Pro Tools 2022.4 (AAX Native, Audiosuite)Pro Tools 2022.4 (AAX Native, Audiosuite)
Ableton Live 11.1 (VST3)
Ableton Live 11.1 (VST3)
Audition 22 (VST3)
Audition 22 (VST3)

Bitwig Studio 4 (VST3)Bitwig Studio 4 (VST3)
Cakewalk by BandLab 2021 (VST3)
Cubase 12 (VST3)
Cubase 12 (VST3)
Digital Performer 11 (Audio Units)
FL Studio 20 (VST3)
FL Studio 20 (VST3)
Garage Band 10.4.6 Audio Units)
Komplete Kontrol 2 (VST)Komplete Kontrol 2 (VST)
Nuendo 12 (VST3)
Nuendo 12 (VST3)
Logic Pro X 10.7.4 (Audio Units)
Nuendo 12 (VST3)
Premiere Pro 22 (VST3)
Premiere Pro 22 (VST3)
Maschine 2 (VST)
Main Stage 3 Audio Units)
Samplitude Pro X6 (VST3)
Luna 1.2.7 (VST3)Pyramix 14 (VST
REAPER 6 (VST3)
REAPER 6 (VST3)
Reason 12 (VST)
Reason 12 (VST)
Sequoia 15 (VST3)
Studio One Professional 5 (VST3)
Studio One Professional 5 (VST3)

Exceptions & Notes:

General:

  • These specs are for software version 14.
  • V14 supports 64-bit only.
  • With the release of Waves V13 plugins, we announce full official Apple M1 support for host applications that are themselves Apple M1-compatible. We will work to provide official M1 support for more host applications as they become M1-compatible. We will update this page with new developments as they are available.
  • In certain scenarios, a mixture of multiple versions of Waves plugins installed on the same system may cause issues in Logic Pro X, even if all versions are supported on the system. This is under investigation and there is a workaround. If you encounter such behavior – please contact Tech Support for assistance.
  • MIDI Support: The following hosts do not offer MIDI support: Pyramix, Premiere, and Audition.
  • Mono to Stereo components are not supported in Cakewalk by BandLab, GarageBand and Luna.
  • Sidechaining is supported on the following hosts: Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Nuendo, Cubase, Cakewalk by BandLab, Audition, Ableton Live, FL Studio, REAPER, Bitwig Studio, Samplitude, Sequoia and Studio One.
  • Surround plugins are supported on the following hosts: Pro Tools HD, Logic Pro, Digital Performer, Nuendo, Cubase, Audition, Premiere, REAPER, and Pyramix.
  • GarageBand: The Preset Browser is not available on Intel Mac computers.
  • Adobe Premiere on M1 Macs: While loading plugins / changing parameters, you may experience a slow graphic refresh rate.
  • V14 plugins are Supported on StudioRack 13. See supported hosts for previous StudioRack versions.

Ableton Live:

  • As of Waves V12 – Waves plugins are supported only in the VST3 format.
  • Users are hereon advised to load plugins in the VST3 format only for future session compatibility.
  • Clicking the ‘About’ box in the plugin will display if plugin is loaded in the VST3 or VST (2.4) formats.
  • If you encounter issues with VST (2.4) plugins in current or older sessions, or wish to ‘future-proof’ your sessions, load VST3 instance/s of the plugin alongside the existing VST (2.4) ones, then use the WaveSystem toolbar to copy the preset/s from VST (2.4) and paste in the VST3.
  • Plugin parameters are not auto-populated in Ableton Live for some plugins with many (over 67) automatable parameters.
  • Ableton Live sessions created with previous versions (V10/V11) of the plugin components listed below, will not load in the sessions after the plugin version is updated:
    • C4 Multiband Compressor: Mono component
    • C6 Multiband Compressor: Mono component
    • L2 Ultramaximizer: Mono component
    • Q1-Q8 Equalizers: Mono component
    • F6 Floating-Band Dynamic EQ: Mono component
    • Nx – Virtual Mix Room over Headphones: 5.0, 5.1 and 7.1 components

Plugins:

  • Abbey Road Studio 3:
    • Not supported under Audition, Premiere on Mac.
    • Surround is supported on Pro Tools (HD required), Logic Pro (no 7.1 support), Cubase, Nuendo, Digital Performer and REAPER. Surround is not supported on Ableton Live, GarageBand, Main Stage, Studio One, Samplitude, Sequoia and Cakewalk by BandLab.
  • Abbey Road TG Mastering Chain - Not supported under Garage Band.
  • Bass Fingers - Not supported under Pyramix on Windows.
  • B360 Ambisonics Encoder – 5.1 to 4.0 and 7.1 to 4.0 are not supported by Logic Pro X. In Pro Tools, B360 Ambisonics components are available on standard ‘QUAD’ tracks only, and not yet available on ‘1st order Ambisonics’ tracks.
  • CLA MixHub:
    • The insert slot is not supported under Bitwig Studio.
    • Some plug-ins may not be available when both V12 and V13 are installed.
    • Inserting a plugin in the insert slot while automation is in touch mode and all automation lanes enabled may result in a crash or unexpected behavior.
  • CLA Nx - Not supported under Audition, Premiere and FL Studio on Mac.
  • DeBreath - Not supported under Main Stage and Premiere on Mac.
  • Dorrough Stereo: Only the vertical version of Dorrough Stereo is available in MultiRack, SoundGrid Studio and StudioRack.
  • Dorrough Surround: Only the vertical version of Dorrough Surround is available in MultiRack.
  • DTS Neural Surround plugins are supported on the following hosts: Pro Tools HD, Logic Pro (7.1 surround not supported), Nuendo, Cubase (7.1 surround not supported), Audition, Premiere, and REAPER. 7.1 SDDS/Film is not supported in all DAWs.
  • eMo Generator:
    • When using eMo Generator in Logic or Digital Performer, make sure to enable the input monitor on the channel where the plugin is inserted.
    • Not supported under FL Studio on Mac
  • Grand Rhapsody Piano, Electric 200 Piano, Electric 88 Piano, Electric Grand 80 Piano, Clavinet and Bass Slapper are supported on the following hosts: Pro Tools (AAX Native), Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Digital Performer, Nuendo, Cubase, Main Stage, Studio One, Cakewalk by BandLab, Reason, Samplitude (VSTi), Sequoia (VSTi), FL Studio, REAPER, Garage Band (on i7), Maschine and Komplete Kontrol.
  • Lofi Space and Retro Fi: Tempo Sync is not available in Premiere Pro.
  • GTR3 / GTR Solo – Not supported under Audition, Premiere and FL Studio on Mac.
  • Kaleidoscopes - Not supported under Luna
  • Morphoder - Not supported under Garage Band
  • MultiMod Rack - Not supported under Garage Band
  • NLS Non-Linear Summer – Not supported under Audition, Premiere and FL Studio on Mac.
  • Nx Virtual Mix Room: Surround is supported on Pro Tools (HD required), Logic Pro (no 7.1 support), Cubase, Nuendo, Digital Performer and REAPER. Surround is not supported on Ableton Live, GarageBand, Main Stage, Studio One, Samplitude, Sequoia and Cakewalk by BandLab. In Pro Tools, Nx Ambisonics components are available on standard ‘QUAD’ tracks only, and not yet available on ‘1st order Ambisonics’ tracks.
  • Q-Clone is not supported on the following hosts: Main Stage, Garage Band, Audition, Premiere and FL Studio.
    Q-Capture component not supported on Main Stage.
  • Scheps Omni Channel:
    • The insert slot is not supported under Bitwig Studio and Garage Band.
    • Some plug-ins may not be available when both V12 and V13 are installed.
    • Inserting a plugin in the insert slot while automation is in touch mode and all automation lanes enabled may result in a crash or unexpected behavior.
  • SoundShifter: On Pro Tools, SoundShifter Graphic & Parametric support AudioSuite only.
    On all other hosts, only SoundShifter Pitch is supported.
  • UM225 & UM226 are supported on the following hosts: Pro Tools HD, Nuendo, Cubase, Audition, Premiere, REAPER, and Pyramix. UM226 is also supported on Logic Pro and Digital Performer.
  • Waves Virtual Instruments are not supported on Avid and Adobe Premier.
  • Waves Tune & Tune LT are fully supported on the following hosts: Pro Tools (AAX Native 64-bit & Audiosuite only), Logic Pro, Studio One, REAPER, Cakewalk by BandLab, Ableton Live 10.1 (Arrangement view only. Session view not supported). Waves Tune & Tune LT are also supported on the following hosts, but without ReWire support: Audition, Cubase, Nuendo, Digital Performer, Reason, Bitwig Studio, Garage Band, FL Studio, Premiere Pro, Samplitude, Seqouia, Komplete Kontrol, Maschine, Ableton Live 11 and Luna.
  • X-FDBK is not supported on Adobe Premiere and Pro Tools Audiosuite on Mac.
    In addition, it is not supported on Adobe Premiere and Pro Tools Audiosuite on Windows.

Waves EMI TG12345 Channel Strip Tutorials

How to Make Space in a Heavy Guitar Mix

Chris Lawson talks about how to create heavy crunch guitars to sit properly in the mix, while still allowing the vocals, drums, and bass to cut through? He uses EQ plus the EMI TG12345 channel strip plugin with its unique “Spread” feature.

This plugin captures every feature of the classic solid-state console from EMI which helped shape groundbreaking recordings by the Beatles and Pink Floyd. This tutorial is more Metalica than The Beatles!

Waves Abbey Road EMI TG12345 Channel Strip EXPLAINED

The manual is a bit technical so this little video by Andrei Martinez Agras quickly explains it all.

EMI TG12345 In-Depth Tutorial

Mixing engineer/educator Michael White gives you a detailed look at the features and controls of the Waves/Abbey Road EMI TG12345 plugin. He also shows what the plugin sounds like on vocals, guitar, drums and more.


References

  1. Vintage: EMI TG12345 Mixing Console, Music Tech Magazine, 29 July 2014.
  2. Waves: An “Abbey Road” Plug-In? G. Stanfield Reviews Waves Emulation of the EMI TG12345 Channel Strip, Geoff Stanfield, TapeOop Issue #105, Jan/Feb 2015.
  3. An Abbey Road Studios EMI TG12345 MK IV recording console used between 1971-1983, housed in Studio 2, the console which Pink Floyd used to record their landmark album, The Dark Side of the Moon, Bonhams, 27 March 2017.
  4. Behind Abbey Road Studios’ EMI TG12345 Consoles, Waves.com, 8 October 2014.
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