POLYGRAM DESK used / owned by HERBERT VON KARAJAN!!!

FOR SALE

SHIPPING IS AN ESTIMATE, actual price will be known to buyer before finalizing the deal, ITEMS PLUS CRATING WILL BE VERY HEAVY !

A 20 channel POLYGRAM Quadrophonic / stereo modular console!!! ( Deutsche Grammophon ) -

Made as a Quadrophonic desk but equally perfect as a stereo mixer with 4 subgroups.

Formerly used / owned by Herbert von Karajan!!!! ( one of the most famous / most respected conductors/ classical music producers in the world )

I purchased the desk from a german friend, who purchased it straight from the famous Emil Berliner Studio's

This desk , with modifications which were made on Karajan's ( and possibly other involved people ) request was used in the Emil Berliner Studio's , and was responsible for the sound / the recordings which were made in the Jesus Christ Kirche. ( and of course it was used for much more productions )

I left all stickers / comments on the desk, so it's full of history in that way too!!

BTW, the pictures in the advertisement are NOT of Karajan!! but of his colleagues in the Emil Berliner Studio's , i'm still looking for a picture of him with the desk which i thought i saw earlier.

READ THIS!!

the quadrophonic led-bars are not working, the cards for those meters were missing, and they are missing in almost any of these desks in existence.

I was preparing to put new "leather" on the desk, and this can still be done before the sale, but i liked the hammerite lacquer so much that i left it like this, buyer can decide how he / she wants it.

ABOUT THE DESK

This is an INCREDIBLE SOUNDING desk with preamps and EQ solidly lodged in “god territory”

Equal to / comparable to / surpassing vintage NEVE, API etc. quality, sound and build!

Originally made for Quadrophonic productions, but fully perfect for "normal" stereo mixes.

Fully discrete op-amps/ discrete desk. Built by Philips and Siemens engineers (Polygram was a joint venture of both companies)

The connection and routing options on these desks are absolutely fabulous! For instance you can just use one “block” as a standalone summing mixer with its own power supply, and much more genious touches.

It has 4 very cool VU meters for the AUX sends and as standerd no more metering, , but it also has VU METER OUTPUTS for the monitor section and the 4 groups, so its plug & play to have more metering!!

Believe it or not, these are the PORTABLE consoles Deutsche Grammophon made 😃😃😃 , they come with great wooden boxes for each section, see pics.

Next to the original PSU’s and power distribution bar (there is the following cabling included: all cables to connect the three mixer-blocks, 20 x line in / 20x mic in , 20x direct out, 20 x insert connectors ( to be wired to preferred cabling by buyer )

Multi connectors to connect the two 8 channel blocks to the master block (with 4 extra channels )

THIS DESK IS FULLY RECAPPED/ RESTORED, an inmens and perfectly executed job by my genious tech!!

SOME ONLINE INFO ABOUT KARAJAN USING THIS DESK

Herbert von Karajan utilized a PolyGram audio mixing console during his landmark recording sessions in the 1974–1992 era. [1]

Specifically, his recordings for Deutsche Grammophon (DG) relied heavily on the PolyGram Module Mixer, a specialized audio desk developed jointly by DG and Philips. Built in Baarn, Netherlands, this modular analog console featured quadraphonic capabilities and expansion channels that contributed significantly to the signature high-fidelity sound quality of his catalog. [1, 2]

A famous historical example of its use includes Von Karajan working alongside recording producer Hans Weber at the Jesus-Christ-Kirche in Berlin, where they utilized this specific PolyGram equipment. Because DG was a core part of the PolyGram group, the label's engineering teams—which later evolved into the renowned Emil Berliner Studios—routinely deployed these bespoke PolyGram desks for Von Karajan's major symphonic productions until digital consoles took over in 1992