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Instruments and Amplifiers of Friar Park Studios, Henley-on-Thames (F.P.S.H.O.T.)

Updated: 6 minutes ago

**Before I say anything else, I want to say this: F.P.S.H.O.T is located at a private residence. Please respect their privacy. Don't attempt to go there.**


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Instruments & Amps

Ampeg B15

Live room photos from the late '70s/early '80s show an Ampeg B15 bass amp in the live room. Hard to tell from the photos what versions of B15 it was, there were several with this same visual design.


The Ampeg B-15 is a legendary bass amplifier known for its distinctive tone and classic design. Originally produced in the 1960s, the B-15 delivers warm, rich low-end sounds favored by many bass players, especially in the studio. It features simple controls for volume, bass, and treble, along with a unique flip-top design that allows for easy transportation and storage. The B-15 remains a highly sought-after amplifier for its vintage charm and timeless sound.

Ampeg B15 - Photo: via via https://va-studiodesign.com
Arp Omni

In his book Al Kooper, Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Survivor, keyboardist Al Kooper tells the story of getting a call from George in 1980 about a recording session at F.P.S.H.O.T. for Somewhere In England: “The night before the sessions the phone rang about 9:30 p.m. ‘Is this Al?’ a voice asked. ‘This is George Harrison. I was just calling to see if you wanted any special keyboards for tomorrow. I’ve gotten you a Hammond B3 organ, a Fender Rhodes, and a Wurlitzer piano. We also have an Arp Omni. Will those be okay for you?’


I thought it was Herbie [Flowers] having me on. Something told me to answer normally though, just in case.


‘Uhhhhhh, yeah, that sounds like everything I need. Thank you and I guess I’ll see just see you tomorrow… Good night.’ […]"


All the other keyboards mentioned by George in this exchange were known house keyboards at F.P.S.H.O.T. so it would seem that George had an Arp Omni as well. Unfortunately I have been unable to locate any images of the Omni at F.P.S.H.O.T.


E-mu Systems Drumulator

A Mix magazine article on Cloud Nine tells a story about legendary drummer Jim Keltner using F.P.S.H.O.T's Drumulator for "Got My Mind Set On You." "Jim Keltner had flown in from New York and showed up at Friar Park with a cassette of some roomy, ambient drum sounds and patterns he’d worked up for that song over the course of three days at Power Station. “He said, ‘I’d like to get that sound for George,’” Dodd recalls. “I said, ‘That’s going to be difficult here. Other than the stairwell, there’s nothing I can think of that has the ambience of that room at Power Station.’” When Keltner saw a never-before-used E-mu Drumulator in Harrison’s studio, he and Dodd conspired to get the drum sounds from the cassette into the drum machine so they could show Harrison the sound they wanted.


“I think the maximum storage time in this Drumulator—which had 7-inch bendable floppy discs—was half-a-second per sound,” Dodd says. “I grabbed a kick and a snare from the tape and [the Drumulator] had an onboard generic hi-hat as a built-in sound so we used that.” In addition, Keltner played a four-bar loop of the drum part." (source)


E-mu Systems Emulator

In the 1980's, an E-mu Systems Emulator and an E-mu Systems Emulator II were in the control room in the space that was previously occupied by the MiniMoog and Oberheim Four Voice in the 1970's. Though I don't know for sure of any specific uses of the Emulator on George's recordings, he must have liked it because he also purchased a Emulator II as well. Based on photos I believe that the Emulators remained in the control room at F.P.S.H.O.T. for the remainder of George's life.


The Emulator was an 8-bit digital sampling synthesizer released by E-mu Systems in 1981. Though it wasn't the first digital sampling instrument, it was relatively compact and relatively "affordable" (about $10,000 USD in 1981) for its time which led to it being massively popular. The Emulator used 5 1⁄4" floppy disks to store samples that could then be played on the keyboard. The modular system of discs allowed users to purchase commercial sample libraries, and most importantly, to create their own samples and sounds. It used 8-bit sampling, had very basic controls, and no MIDI. E-mu Systems made four-voice and eight-voice models of the Emulator. Its impossible to tell which version George had from the photos.

E-mu Systems Emulator in the control room - Photo: unknown
E-mu Systems Emulator II

In the 1980's, an E-mu Systems Emulator and an E-mu Systems Emulator II were in the control room in the space that was occupied by the MiniMoog and Oberheim Four Voice in the 1970's. Based on photos I believe that the Emulators remained in the control room at F.P.S.H.O.T. for the remainder of George's life. There is a specific reference to the Emulator II in this Mix magazine article about the song "Got My Mind Set On You": "In this case, the piano wasn’t in tune so I suggested putting on an [E-mu] Emulator II, which had a decent piano sound, as a guide, and so they went and did that." -Richard Dodd, Cloud Nine Recording Engineer


Released in 1984, the Emulator II was a massively upgraded version of original Emulator. Like the Emulator, the Emulator II was an eight-voice, 8-bit digital sampling synthesizer that used 5 1⁄4" floppy disks for storage. The II added greatly expanded editing abilities, controls for a VCF (with ADSR), a VCA (with ADSR), and a LFO, an 8-track sequencer, MIDI connectivity, SIMPTE connectivity, and the ability to be controlled by a computer amongst other features.

E-mu Systems Emulator II in the control room - Photo: unknown
Fender Champ

Given George's affinity for Fender Champ's in the '70's and the fact that he is known to have had several at F.P.S.H.O.T. my guess is that the amps in this photo (circa mid to late 1970's) are some version of a Champ. Its hard to tell much from this photo, but my money is on a silverface.


As detailed on my Ascot Sound Studios page, George played a silverface Vibro Champ on John Lennon's landmark 1971 album Imagine, though I believe that amp may have belonged to John. At the Concert For Bangladesh on 1 August 1971, George had a "wall" of four silverface Champs, and I think its probably fair to assume that these are two of the four.


In the book The Story of the Fender Stratocaster, George tells a story about giving famed comedian and friend Spike Milligan a (perhaps one of the pictured?) Fender Champ and the Concert For Bangladesh Strat at Friar Park: "He [Spike Milligan] was at my house one day with Peter Sellers - Peter was playing the drums, Spike was playing the piano, and I was playing guitar. Then Spike got off the piano and wanted to play the guitar, so I plugged him in to this Strat through a little Champ amplifier. He said, "Oh, I haven't played for 30 years", but he just picked it up and it sounded like Django Reinhardt or something. And I thought, well, that's good. So when he left I put it in the case, and put it and the Champ in Peter Sellers' boot and told him, "When you drop Spike off give him this." So he uses it in his show now. It's the Strat from the concert for Bangladesh." -George Harrison

Fender Champs in the live room - Photo: via https://va-studiodesign.com
Fender Vibratone/Leslie 16 speaker

A Fender Vibratone cabinet can be seen in this photo of the live room from the late 1970's. The Vibratone was originally branded the Leslie 16 and later manufactured under the Fender name as the Vibratone (Fender and Leslie were both owned by CBS by the mid 1960's). It's hard to tell from this photo, but I believe George's was a Fender version.


The Vibratone was a "rotating" speaker designed specifically for guitarists. The cabinet was passive and had to be powered by an external amplifier. The cabinet featured a front firing 10" speaker behind a side firing rotating drum similar to the bottom rotor of a traditional Leslie, but vertically mounted. Unlike most Leslie's, the Vibratone had no horn.

Fender Vibratone - Photo: via https://va-studiodesign.com
Groove Tubes Studio Tube Preamp

Recording with Jeff Lynne in the control room in the late '80s we can see a Groove Tubes Studio Tube Preamp. As evidenced by many of the guitar sounds on Cloud Nine and Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, recording guitars direct seemed to be George's preferred method. I wonder if the Studio Tube Preamp was responsible for a lot of those sounds.


Released in the mid '80s, the Studio Tube Preamp was preamp with a emulated speaker output created expressly for direct guitar recording. Of course, the output could be tapped before the speaker emulation so it could also be used as a preamp before a power amp and speaker cabinet for a standard setup. Lots of great info on the Studio Tube Preamp here. Thanks to reader Kenny Kazmir for identifying the Studio Tube Preamp to me.

Groove Tubes Studio Tube Preamp in the control room - Photo: via https://www.travelingwilburys.com
Hammond B3

Photos show a Hammond B3 organ in the live room at FPHSOT since the very earliest days of the studio. This B belonged to none other than "fifth Beatle" Billy Preston! Olivia Harrison told a story in Billboard Magazine in 2017 about the B3: "He [Billy Preston] used to play with George a lot in his studio at home in England and he had Billy’s [Hammond] B3. We just called it “Billy’s B3.” Billy would sit and dance on that seat and on the pedals of that organ. He really did. His seat would just dance across there, he was just amazing. Such a sweet man. So gentle and what a talent. He had absolute fluidity on that organ and on any keyboard really."


Of course Preston played Hammond with the Beatles on "Let It Be" and a veritable who's who of Soul and Rock history including the Sam Cooke, Little Richard, Ike Turner, Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones, Sly and the Family Stone, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker and on and on...


A fun anecdote: Olivia wound up finding some music and other ephemera in the bench after George died: "No one had opened that bench in a long long time—years—and there were folders. So when I finally got around to opening the piano bench there were envelopes of depositions, lyrics and scores for strings going back to I don’t know when, probably All Things Must Pass. I used to just shut the lid on them because I didn’t want to take it out and disturb it. It’s like a time capsule. You don’t really want to disturb anything, but eventually I did find lyrics in there and lots of notes. The song “Wake Up My Love” was in there, that went into the book and it hadn’t been in there before this expanded edition [of George's 1980 memoir I Me Mine." -Olivia Harrison (source)

Hammond B3 - Photo: via George Harrison Facebook
Korg 01/Wfd

Control room photos from the early to mid 1990s show a Korg 01/Wfd synthesizer/rompler next to the console at F.P.S.H.O.T. I'm not exactly sure what George would have been working on in this specific period, but its possible the 01/Wfd could have found its way on to Brainwashed.


The 01/W was and updated/"improved" version of Korg's wildly popular M1. Though the 01/W was intended to replace the M1 upon its release in 1991, the M1 continued to be manufactured until 1995. The 'fd' version of the 01/W had a much larger internal sequencer memory capacity and also contained an internal floppy disk drive.

Korg 01/Wfd - Photo: via https://va-studiodesign.com
Leslie Speaker Cabinet (unknown model)

During the Chants of India sessions in the summer 1997, a Leslie speaker cabinet can be seen in the live room. It is a tall cabinet that is consistent with the size of a Leslie model 122 and 147. 122's and 147's are both classic 2-speed valve Leslie speaker cabinets with slightly different designs. They are probably the two most famous models of Leslie speaker cabinets and both are still highly sought after to this day.


Being that George had Billy Preston's Hammond at F.P.S.H.O.T., it's possible that this is a model 122 that went with the B3. Unlike the 147, the 122 has balanced inputs that were designed to directly connect with the balanced outputs of a Hammond organ's preamp. This made them an extremely common (the most?) Leslie to be paired with a B3. However, photos from the '70s/'80s show the B3 paired with a "decorator cabinet" style of Leslie speaker (see the Leslie 222/247/351 section below).


Another possibility is that this is the Leslie Model 147RV George used with The Beatles. Just prior to the Let It Be sessions in 1969 Eric Clapton gave George a 147RV with Leslie Combo Preamp which he so famously put to use on that album. George would go on to use the 147RV on Abbey Road and presumably its the Leslie heard on many solo releases as well. The 147RV was identical to the 147 with the addition of the reverb.

Leslie in the live room - Photo: screenshot HariSongs - Short Documentary on "Chants of India"/YouTube
Leslie 222/247/351

This image from the live room in the late 1970s shows a Leslie cabinet next to the Hammond Organ. This cabinet was one of Leslie's "decorator" cabinets which were furniture style versions of their popular two-speed valve speaker cabinets. The internals of the decorator style cabinets were identical to their larger more famous counterparts, though instead of the horn being above the woofer they were placed next to each other in the "decorators".


From what I can tell, the three models that share this cabinets distinctive design were the 222, the 247, and the 351. The 222 was the decorator version of the famous 122, the 247 was the decorator version of the 147, and the 351 was the decorator version of the 251.

Leslie "decorator cabinet" - Photo: via https://va-studiodesign.com
Ludwig Chrome over Drum Set

Though this image quality is quite poor, I'm almost certain that this is a blue and olive badge Ludwig Chrome Over Wood kit. Its hard to identify anything about the cymbals, but at least one seems to have the large red mark of Paiste 2002's.


Its hard to tell anything for sure about the sizes of the drums. but it seems that most of the Chrome Over Wood kicks were 24" The toms seem like standard sizes, 12", 13", and 16". Ludwig catalogs mention the chrome wrap as early as 1973, but they were probably being made even earlier than that.

Ludwig Chrome over Wood drums - Photo: unknown
Maestro PS-1A Phase Shifter

Sitting on the Wurlitzer in this early 1970s live room photo of George and Spike Milligan is a Maestro PS-1A Phase Shifter pedal. In addition to keyboards, there are photos of George playing guitar through the PS-1A (see https://www.instagram.com/p/CFKPgsgKJPZ/).


The PS-1A has a pretty interesting history as far as pedals go. It was originally designed by Tom Oberheim, the legendary electronics designer. In fact, Oberheim originally formed Oberheim Electronics to supply designs to Chicago Musical Instruments Company who released them under the Maestro brand name. The PS-1A was designed to be a portable replacement for a Leslie speaker cabinet for the band Bryndle who were friends of Oberheim's.


The PS-1A was actually designed to be a table-top unit and had an optional foot pedal, the PSFS-2, which I don't see in this photo. The PS-1A has an on/off switch, and "slow", "medium", and "fast" rocker switches to control the speed of the phasing. Oddly, the 1/4" jacks are on the front of the pedal with the input on the left and the output on the right. That said, the early '70s were the wild west as far as pedal design goes, so there weren't really standard conventions yet.

Maestro PS-1A Phase Shifter on the Wurlitzer - Photo: unknown/© Harrison Family
Marimba (unknown make/model)

Below we can see George playing a vibraphone in the live room at F.P.S.H.O.T. during the Chants of India sessions in 1996. On that album George is credited with playing three mallet percussion instruments; Vibraphone, Marimba, and Glockenspiel. The instrument behind George here is presumably that marimba. I'm not sure if it was owned by George or just brought in for these sessions. I haven't seen it any other photos, but George would have had plenty of space at Friar Park to such large instrument.

Marimba - Photo: screenshot HariSongs - Short Documentary on "Chants of India"/YouTube
Mark Tree (unknown make/model)

We can see a Mark Tree (sometimes known as bar chimes) in the live room in this image from the 1996 sessions for Chants of India. Mark Trees are a common percussion instrument comprised of 3/8" metal cylinders hanging from a bar that are tuned to inharmonic pitches. The player drags their hands or a stick through the bars to to create glissandos.

Mark Tree - Photo: screenshot HariSongs - Short Documentary on "Chants of India"/YouTube
Moog IIIP

In this 1973 photo from the control room at F.P.S.H.O.T. we can see George's Moog IIIp modular synthesizer. The IIIp was the "portable" version of the Moog III Synthesizer and was first manufactured in 1967. Although the IIIp was a modular synthesizer, it shipped with a standard "instrument compliment" of modules which George's seems to be pretty consistent with. In addition to the standard instrument complement of modules and 956 ribbon controller, George also had two 950/951 keyboards as well as the Sequencer Complement B (in a portable case like the rest of the IIIp).


Note: It's hard to tell much about the IIIp from the FPSHOT photo, but using photos of it at EMI Studios and Kinfauns I was able to determine most of the relevant details about it's composition.

The Moog IIIp at F.P.S.H.O.T. in 1973. Photo: unknown

George's fascination with Moog Synthesizers goes back to the first time he saw one in Los Angeles in October 1968 while producing an album for Jackie Lomax. George immediately ordered a Moog IIIp modular synthesizer and (in)famously put it to use on his 1969 album Electronic Sound and then later that year on The Beatle's Abbey Road.


The Beatles with George's Moog IIIp at EMI Studios' Room 43 on 5 August 1969 (Photos by Mal Evans):


About the IIIp, George said "I first heard about the Moog synthesizer in America. I had to have mine made specially, because Mr. Moog had only just invented it. It was enormous, with hundreds of jackplugs and two keyboards.


But it was one thing having one, and another trying to make it work. There wasn’t an instruction manual, and even if there had been it would probably have been a couple of thousand pages long. I don’t think even Mr. Moog knew how to get music out of it; it was more of a technical thing. When you listen to the sounds on songs like ‘Here Comes The Sun’, it does do some good things, but they’re all very kind of infant sounds." (The Beatles Anthology)

For a lot more information on the Moog IIIp, view the 1971 Moog catalog here: https://moogfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/1971-Moog-Music-Catalog.pdf


A Moog Minimoog Model D synthesizer can be seen in the control room in the mid/late 1970's. Just two years after George received his large Moog IIIp modular synthesizer, Moog introduced the Minimoog Model D in 1970. The Model D was a vastly easier to use, compact, more affordable take on large modular synthesizers like the IIIp. The Mini Moog fast became popular and is almost inarguably the most famous synthesizer of all time having been used on countless classic hit recordings.


Given George's love of Moog synthesizers and his desire for more immediate musical functionality it makes complete sense that he would buy one for F.P.S.H.O.T. Amongst other albums, the Mini Moog saw extensive use on George's album George Harrison which was recorded at F.P.S.H.O.T. in 1978.

Moog Minimoog Model D - Photo: via https://va-studiodesign.com
Oberheim Four Voice

Along with the Moog Minimoog Model D, an Oberheim Four Voice synthesizer can be seen in the control room in the 1970's. As it's name suggests, the Four Voice offered four voices of polyphony, which was a big deal in 1975 when it was released. Oberheim calls the Four Voice (and Eight Voice) "...the world’s first commercially available polyphonic synths — and the first with digital patch memory storage" (source).


The Four Voice was essentially four monophonic synthesizers each with individual controls but with the outputs combined into one (each also has a dedicated output available). This meant that each of the four voices had to be programed separately. This could could be a double edged sword. Though programing each voice separately could lead to rich, interesting sounds, it was also required time and patience to achieve those sounds.


The liner notes for 1979's George Harrison specifically mention the Oberheim being played by Gary Wright on the song "If You Believe".

Oberheim Four Voice - Photo: via https://va-studiodesign.com
Pignose 7-100

In this photo of George and Eric Clapton jamming at Friar Park, and again in the guitar room photo from the late '80s/early '90s, we can see a Pignose 7-100 guitar amp. The 7-100 is a 5-watt battery-powered practice amplifier, often considered the first of its kind. Pignose purportedly gave away the first 65 prototypes they made to various rock and rollers in hopes of drumming up some publicity, which seemed to have worked. Makes me wonder if George received one of those original 65.

George Harrison, a Pignose 7-100, and Eric Clapton - Photo: unknown
Pump Organ/Harmonium (unknown make/model)

A white pump organ can be seen at F.P.S.H.O.T. in the 1970s sometimes in the iso room and sometimes in the main live room. There were seemingly countless manufactures making countless models of harmoniums in the late 1800s and early 1900s, so without a good internal photo its nearly impossible to determine the make and model.

Gary Wright? and George at the Pump Organ, 1973 - Photo: screenshot from Living In the Material World

As I wrote on the the Ascot Sound Studios page, I believe that this pump organ had a bit of a Beatles history before arriving at Ascot and then F.P.S.H.O.T. Musician/poet Ivor Cutler played the character Buster Bloodvessel in The Beatles 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour. In a scene that was eventually cut from the final movie, Cutler played his song "I'm Going in a Field" on what was almost surely this very instrument. Thanks to Facebook follower Stephen Evans for bringing this to my attention!

Ivor Cutler the pump organ 1967 - Photo: screenshot "Magical Mystery Tour"

I believe that it was used at Ascot during the sessions for John Lennon's Imagine album in 1971. Specifically it was played by John Barham on early takes of the song "Imagine" which were eventually scrapped, as well as the album take of "Jealous Guy". The below left photo is a (reversed) image of the profile of the pump organ at Ascot in 1971 (sorry, its the best I could do). The below right photo is the pump organ at F.P.S.H.O.T. in 1973. The shape is pretty distinctive.


Rhodes Mark I Suitcase

This photo from the late 1970s shows a Rhodes Mark I Suitcase in the live room at F.P.S.H.O.T. Without a clearer picture of the name plate on the speaker cabinet it's difficult to tell if this was branded as a "Fender Rhodes", or just "Rhodes" piano. From 1969 to 1975 the Mark I was branded under the Fender name and after 1975 the Fender branding was dropped. Regardless, it was mostly a branding and marketing decision and nothing about the piano's design changed with name change.

Rhodes Suitcase in the live room - Photo: via https://va-studiodesign.com
RotoToms (unknown makes/models)

This photo from the live room shows what look to be several RotoToms. The tom in the foreground looks like it is quite large - the largest size Remo made was an 18".


RotoToms were original invented in 1968 by Al Payson, a Chicago Symphony Orchestra percussionist and were manufactured Remo. Several other brands eventual made their own version of the drums. RotoToms are drums without shells that can be quickly and easily tuned by rotating a metal rim that holds the heads, allowing the drum to be quickly tensioned or de-tensioned. RotoToms produce a more definitive pitch than traditional toms.

RotoToms in the live room - Photo: unknown
Steinway & Sons Grand Piano

Photos from the very earliest days of F.P.S.H.O.T. show a grand piano with a deep wood-stain finish in the live room. It can't be seen it in the below photos, but there are other photos that clearly show the Steinway & Sons logo on the fallboard. Though its impossible to tell its exact model based on photos, it seems fairly large. It doesn't seem large enough to be a Model D Concert Grand at 8'11 & 3/4" or even a Model B Classic Grand at 6'11", but perhaps something more like a Model A Salon Grand at 6'2".


I believe that some time in the '80s perhaps, the piano was moved out of the live room and into the guitar storage room. Below left we see George playing the piano in the live room with Spike Milligan circa 1973, bottom right we see the piano in the guitar room with DJ Fontana, Scotty Moore, and Alvin Lee 1999.


Temple Blocks (unknown make/model)

What recording studio isn't complete without a set of temple blocks? Temple Blocks are a wooden percussion instrument that most typically come in a set of five and are tuned to a pentatonic scale. George's temple blocks are of the older more rounded/bulbus style whereas modern temple blocks tend to be rectangular.

Temple Blocks in the live room circa late '70s - Photo: via https://va-studiodesign.com
Timpani (unknown make/model)

This photo from the late 1970s shows a pair of timpani in the live room at FPHSOT. Though its hard to tell much about them from this photo, the tension rods, feet, and lack of wheels seem consistent with the type of Timpani being made by Ludwig in the 1920s and '30s.

Timpani in the live room - Photo: via https://va-studiodesign.com
Upright Piano (unknown make/model)

In the corner of the live room in the 1990s, we can see an upright piano in ebony finish. To me this piano looks like its probably on the smaller end of what would be considered a full upright, in the 45" to 50" range maybe. It could be something like a Yamaha U1 or Steinway 4510 perhaps. Unfortunately most of it is obscured in this photo so its impossible to see almost any details.

Upright piano in the live room. Photo: via George Harrison Facebook
Vibraphone (unknown make/model)

Below left we can see George playing a vibraphone in the live room at F.P.S.H.O.T. during the Chants of India sessions in 1996. It would seem that the vibraphone at F.P.S.H.O.T. dates back to the 1970s. The photo on the right shows what is presumably that same vibraphone covered up in the corner of the live room in the late 1970s or early 1980s.

Below is a gif from the same Chants of India session in which we can see the rotating disks, or fans, at the top of the resonators. The rotating fans, which are powered by an electric motor, create a tremolo effect and also slight vibrato.

George's vibraphone. Gif made from: HariSongs - Short Documentary on "Chants of India"/YouTube
Vox AC30

Photos from the guitar room in the late 80s/early '90s show a Vox AC30. Due to the poor image quality its hard to tell anything specific about this AC30 like what era it may be from. It is possible that it is one of George's Beatle-era AC30s, but its impossible to know for sure.


Thanks to sources such as Andy Babiuk's Beatles Gear we know George had at least two AC30s during the Beatles years, possibly more. George gave away his first black AC30 around 1963 to Chas McDevett. There is a great story about that particular amp here. Unlike that first AC30 which had leather handles, his second had handles with a checkerboard pattern and the Vox logo, which would seemingly make it consistent with the one pictured below. As far as I can tell it was probably that second AC30 that George played on and off from 1963 through 1966.

As far as I can tell, the whereabouts of that second AC30 are currently unknown. There is an AC30 out there that occasionally pops up at museums that claims to be one of George's, but its provenance is dubious at best. So all of that is to say, it is possible this amp at F.P.S.H.O.T. is George's second AC30, but given how many of The Beatles amp's seem to disappeared into the ether it is far from a sure thing.

Vox AC30 in the guitar room - Photo: unknown
Wurlitzer 200

Amongst the keyboards at F.P.S.H.O.T. is a red Wurlitzer 200. As I uncovered last year on the Ascot Studios page, this Wurlitzer has quite the history.


We first see the red Wurli in previously unpublished photos of some of the final Beatles recording sessions at EMI (Abbey Road) Studios on 3 & 4 January 1970 have started floating around. On the 3rd, The Beatles sans Lennon (who was out of the country) recorded "I Me Mine", and on the 4th they overdubbed onto the previously recorded "Let It Be". Both tracks featured Wurlitzer played by Paul McCartney which is visible in the photos:


We then see the Wurlitzer turn up at John Lennon's studio Ascot Sound Studios during recording sessions for Imagine in 1971 being played by Nicky Hopkins.


The Wurli is pictured below top left on 3 January, and below top right on 4 January during The Beatles sessions at EMI (Abbey Road) Studios. Bottom in the collage is a picture of Nicky Hopkins playing the Wurli on at Ascot on 26 May 1971. As we can see from my A Beautiful Mind-style illustrations, the Wurli has the same two red "Fragile" stickers on top, the same blue embossed label on the faceplate, and what looks like a large round sticker on the left.


I believe that this Wurlitzer may have belonged to George the whole time or was at the very least purchased by him at some point. The top photo in the below collage is of George and Spike Milligan at F.P.S.H.O.T. circa 1973. As we can see, the Wurli has the same large round sticker as the Wurli in 1970 Beatles/EMI (Abbey Road) Studios photo on the bottom. Also visible in the 1970 photo is George's Fender Twin Reverb with what looks to be the same sticker.


I think this sticker may be a Delaney & Bonnie sticker, with whom George had preformed with three weeks before the January 1970 Beatles sessions on 10 December 1969 in Copenhagen. Billy Preston was also on that gig playing a, you guessed it, red Wurlitzer 200. From all of this info, I'm surmising that this Wurli was George's and was used for Delaney & Bonnie, The Beatles, John Lennon, and then obviously George Harrison records, Traveling Wilburys and probably many others!

Billy Preston playing a (the?) red Wurli with Delaney & Bonnie on 01 January 1969. Photo: Jan Persson/Getty Images

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Unknown Instruments and Amps

Guitar Amp (unknown make/model)

This little box pops up in the 70s and 80s in the control room at F.P.S.H.O.T. It looks like its is could be a '50s or '60s hi-fi component, but I think its possible it was converted into a guitar amp. If anyone has information on what this is, please contact me at solobeatlesstudios@gmail.com. Thanks!

Unknown amp in the control room - Photo: via https://www.travelingwilburys.com
Snare Drum (unknown make/model)

In this photo from the live room we can see a pink or red snare drum. Unfortunately the resolution of the photo doesn't allow for any real detail to be seen. If anyone has information on what this is, please contact me at solobeatlesstudios@gmail.com. Thanks!

Unknown snare drum - Photo: unknown

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