Abbey Road Studios and Google team up for a virtual tour

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Inside Abbey Road is an interactive online guide to the famous recording studios, featuring pictures, music, videos, interactive gadgets and more, for an unprecedented look inside the famous studios.

The Inside Abbey Road website is accessible for free on desktop, tablet and mobile and gives anyone with an Internet connection the chance to take an in-depth tour around the studio complex.

The site features more than 150 panoramic, 360-degree images, taking in Studio One, Studio Two, Studio Three and the Mastering suite.

Make your virtual way around the studios and you'll uncover historic pictures and videos, including Paul McCartney performing live in Studio Two, the London Symphony Orchestra recording Final Fantasy VII and the Beatles taking part in the world's first live satellite broadcast.

A map guides you around the Abbey Road complex, with colour-coded dots leading you to the content, which also includes plenty of information on the studio building, from the iconic red chairs (not just any chairs, you'll discover) to the acoustic treatments used to ensure the quality of the sound.

The site also gives you the chance to get your cursor on some vintage equipment in specially-designed interactive gadgets, including the J37 4-track recorder that was used to record the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

You can find your own way around Inside Abbey Road or be guided by producer Giles Martin, engineer Mirek Stiles, or BBC Radio 6 Music presenter Lauren Laverne, each of whom offers their own interactive tour.

The studios were opened in 1931 by Elgar and the LSO - there's footage of that on the site, too - but this is the first time the studio has been (virtually) opened to the public.

Head over to Inside Abbey Road site now to take a tour.

MORE: In-car audio concept puts Abbey Road Studios inside a Mini Cooper

Joe Cox
Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).