Mixing the "Abbey Road" medley

At this late stage (the master tape of the “Abbey Road” album had been done the previous day), it was discovered that the orchestra on “The End” was slightly out of sync with The Beatles’ performance. So on this day, from 1 pm to 2 pm, in EMI Studios Room 4, engineer Phil McDonald was tasked to do some tape copying to extract the orchestra track on another tape.

A second session was then held in the control room of Studio Two, from 2:30 pm to 12 pm.

On August 14, eleven attempts at crossfading “You Never Give Me Your Money” into “Sun King / Mean Mr. Mustard” were made, using the tape loops assembled by Paul McCartney on August 5. On this day, another attempt was made, which would be the one released on the “Abbey Road” album.

“The End” was then remixed to fix the sync issue with the orchestra. Only one remix (named remix 4) was needed. This was the one released on the “Abbey Road” album, pending a last edit done on August 25.

To correct this, track three with the strings and brass was transferred to another tape and ‘flown in’ from another machine during mixing.

From “Abbey Road” Super Deluxe edition book (2019)

Those changes were then reinserted into the master reel for the album.

Session activities

1. The End

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Tape copying • Tape copying (take 7)

2. You Never Give Me Your Money

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Stereo crossfade remix 12, from sound effects take 5 of "You Never Give Me Your Money"

3. The End

   Written by Lennon - McCartney

   Mixing • Remix 4, from take 7

Staff

Production staff

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