As utilitarian as they are in practice, recording consoles can also be a great source of inspiration. When working at a professional studio, the board looms over all, turning music into a lasting work of art.
What are some of the finest that have ever sold on Reverb? Take a look below.
This 1975 API 3224 was originally owned by none other than Herb Alpert, the famous Tijuana Brass bandleader and co-founder of A&M Records. He had the console powder-coated mint green to match the couch in his studio.
The Band's Robbie Robertson parted with the Neve 8014 that was behind much of his own music—and his history of film work with Martin Scorsese. From his self-titled solo debut to the soundtracks he compiled for Casino, The Departed, and more, Robertson used this Neve for decades, before its sale on Reverb last year.
This custom API console was originally built by Bill Bushnell for Los Angeles' Sunset Sound studio, where it was used for Janis Joplin's Pearl, the finishing touches of the Stones' Exile on Main Street, and many other classic records. Its second and third lives were impressive as well, having been sold to Tommy Boy Records (De La Soul, Queen Latifah) and later producer T Bone Burnett (Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, and many film soundtracks), before its sale on Reverb in 2020.
This Gates Gateway tube console was built in the 1960s and exudes a whole different kind of retro cool than the other consoles on this list. These Gates machines began their lives as radio broadcast mixers, but producers and engineers have since repurposed them for recording.
If there's a sharper-looking desk on this planet, we're not sure we've seen it. Originally built in 1973 for the Wrecking Crew keyboardist Larry Knechtel, this Opamp Labs creation sold on Reverb back in 2016.
From the namesake company of Carl Langevin, this 1968 AM-4 console features rotary faders and has a total of 10 channels, four busses, and one delightful gooseneck mic. More often than you'll find full consoles, you'll come across Langevin preamps that have been parted out and racked, along with other outboard gear.
Trident's desks were an outgrowth of London's Trident Studio, where folks like Marc Bolan, Queen, David Bowie, and others made records in the '60s and '70s. The engineers and producers there at the time—like Malcolm Toft, Ken Scott, and others—were integral to the console design process, which gives Tridents a reputation for being real engineer's desks. This '70s Trident B Range is one of two to have sold on Reverb.
AMEK may not have the pedigree name of other brands on this list, but the company produced a lot of cool consoles from the '70s through the early aughts. These included not just the half-million-dollar 9098i inline console (designed by Rupert Neve and AMEK company founder Graham Langley), but the M2000 series, Angela Is, and Angela IIs like the one seen here.