7 ms·

Auctioneer to sell off Pink Floyd recording console

59 points by teh_klev 10y ago

Neliquat 10y ago
A link to the auction with amazing pictures of the details. True nerdporn. http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23878/lot/35/?category=list&length=10&page=4 http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23878/lot/35/?category=list&...
- teh_klev 10y ago
  Yeah I know....and I'm usually so anal about getting or linking to original sources. Hopefully a mod will update.
Clubber 10y ago
It is certainly capable of making a good album.
m-i-l 10y ago
Don't have space for it, couldn't get it up the stairs, and got distracted reading the linked article "How to view 'The Wizard of Oz' with 'Dark Side of the Moon'... Urban legend claims that if you play Pink Floyd's classic album while watching 'The Wizard of Oz,' there's an incredible synchronicity. Well, we've tried it! Here are the results." http://www.goldminemag.com/features/how-to-view-the-wizard-of-oz-with-dark-side-of-the-moon http://www.goldminemag.com/features/how-to-view-the-wizard-o...
quakeguy 10y ago
All the console does can be done with a laptop nowadays, the nostalgic value is of course a big point in purchasing it. Still, who would aquire this monster, if not a museum? I can't see any modern recordings done with it, but solely for the goal of achieving said nostalgia. "It belongs in a museum".
- butterfi 10y ago
  My understanding is that consoles like this are really unique animals, each one having its own sound. Dave Grohl did a documentary called "Sound City" about his efforts to maintain a legendary console from another studio: https://www.fastcocreate.com/1682339/dave-grohl-explains-how-a-70s-era-recording-console-rocks-his-world-in-sound-city https://www.fastcocreate.com/1682339/dave-grohl-explains-how...
  - MrJagil 10y ago
    That documentary is hogwash, a marketing stunt, feeding off nostalgia and romanticism. There's a reason they never use actual data and measurements to prove their points. If you really want to try those famous consoles, i'd recommend Sound Toys' "decapitator" plugin.
    - efnx 10y ago
      It is true though, recording an album on tape is nothing like using a laptop and it shows in the final product. Not only is the path the sound takes different, but the recording, editing, mixing and mastering techniques required are different. You can do all the production on your laptop and then attempt to recreate an analog sound with effects but your end result is still very different.
    - riprowan 10y ago
      > There's a reason they never use actual data and measurements to prove their points Artists use the most advanced measurement devices in the world: a binaural listening device connected to the world's most advanced neural net. The neural net is the best part. Sorry. There is much more to sound than frequency response, dynamic range, phase shift, and total harmonic distortion -- and moreover, the "optimum" amount of each of these is not fixed, but depends entirely on the material and the taste of the engineer & producer. You can get great sound "in the box," don't get me wrong, but ultimately there is, as yet, no substitute for the real thing. A saturation plugin is nowhere close. To accurately simulate this device, you would have to practically simulate at the molecular level.
- 10y ago
jessaustin 10y ago
What a goofy headline; why emphasize auctioneers like that? "Pink Floyd recording console at auction" would be better.
danjambur 10y ago
Fun fact, my dad installed this.
- bogomipz 10y ago
  Can you elaborate on this fun fact? This sounds pretty cool.
- sofaofthedamned 10y ago
  Nice. My old boss Mike Grimwood worked for Neve in the 60's and 70's and told us loads of tales about making bespoke desks for the likes of Led Zeppelin etc. Would have loved to have been around then, but I suppose they say the same about the digital era.
  - bogomipz 10y ago
    It's pretty interesting how bespoke much of this gear was. It's also interesting that lots of the better known studios like EMI/Abbey had their own in house electrical/audio engineers designing and making the house gear rather that purchase off the shelf.
  - barryp 10y ago
    I really enjoyed Dave Grohl's documentary "Sound City", a large part of which revolves around his purchase of a Neve console, and bringing together many famous artists who recorded iconic albums on that very console, to relate their stories of recording at Sound City, and record new tracks with Dave and the rest of the Foo Fighters. Dave's enthusiasm for the Neve and analog recording in general really opened my eyes.

59 points by teh_klev 10y ago

A link to the auction with amazing pictures of the details. True nerdporn. http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23878/lot/35/?category=list&length=10&page=4 http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23878/lot/35/?category=list&...

teh_klev 10y ago
Yeah I know....and I'm usually so anal about getting or linking to original sources. Hopefully a mod will update.

Clubber 10y ago

It is certainly capable of making a good album.

m-i-l 10y ago

Don't have space for it, couldn't get it up the stairs, and got distracted reading the linked article "How to view 'The Wizard of Oz' with 'Dark Side of the Moon'... Urban legend claims that if you play Pink Floyd's classic album while watching 'The Wizard of Oz,' there's an incredible synchronicity. Well, we've tried it! Here are the results." http://www.goldminemag.com/features/how-to-view-the-wizard-of-oz-with-dark-side-of-the-moon http://www.goldminemag.com/features/how-to-view-the-wizard-o...

quakeguy 10y ago

All the console does can be done with a laptop nowadays, the nostalgic value is of course a big point in purchasing it. Still, who would aquire this monster, if not a museum? I can't see any modern recordings done with it, but solely for the goal of achieving said nostalgia. "It belongs in a museum".

butterfi 10y ago
My understanding is that consoles like this are really unique animals, each one having its own sound. Dave Grohl did a documentary called "Sound City" about his efforts to maintain a legendary console from another studio: https://www.fastcocreate.com/1682339/dave-grohl-explains-how-a-70s-era-recording-console-rocks-his-world-in-sound-city https://www.fastcocreate.com/1682339/dave-grohl-explains-how...
- MrJagil 10y ago
  That documentary is hogwash, a marketing stunt, feeding off nostalgia and romanticism. There's a reason they never use actual data and measurements to prove their points. If you really want to try those famous consoles, i'd recommend Sound Toys' "decapitator" plugin.
  - efnx 10y ago
    It is true though, recording an album on tape is nothing like using a laptop and it shows in the final product. Not only is the path the sound takes different, but the recording, editing, mixing and mastering techniques required are different. You can do all the production on your laptop and then attempt to recreate an analog sound with effects but your end result is still very different.
  - riprowan 10y ago
    > There's a reason they never use actual data and measurements to prove their points Artists use the most advanced measurement devices in the world: a binaural listening device connected to the world's most advanced neural net. The neural net is the best part. Sorry. There is much more to sound than frequency response, dynamic range, phase shift, and total harmonic distortion -- and moreover, the "optimum" amount of each of these is not fixed, but depends entirely on the material and the taste of the engineer & producer. You can get great sound "in the box," don't get me wrong, but ultimately there is, as yet, no substitute for the real thing. A saturation plugin is nowhere close. To accurately simulate this device, you would have to practically simulate at the molecular level.
10y ago

jessaustin 10y ago

What a goofy headline; why emphasize auctioneers like that? "Pink Floyd recording console at auction" would be better.

danjambur 10y ago

Fun fact, my dad installed this.

bogomipz 10y ago
Can you elaborate on this fun fact? This sounds pretty cool.
sofaofthedamned 10y ago
Nice. My old boss Mike Grimwood worked for Neve in the 60's and 70's and told us loads of tales about making bespoke desks for the likes of Led Zeppelin etc. Would have loved to have been around then, but I suppose they say the same about the digital era.
- bogomipz 10y ago
  It's pretty interesting how bespoke much of this gear was. It's also interesting that lots of the better known studios like EMI/Abbey had their own in house electrical/audio engineers designing and making the house gear rather that purchase off the shelf.
- barryp 10y ago
  I really enjoyed Dave Grohl's documentary "Sound City", a large part of which revolves around his purchase of a Neve console, and bringing together many famous artists who recorded iconic albums on that very console, to relate their stories of recording at Sound City, and record new tracks with Dave and the rest of the Foo Fighters. Dave's enthusiasm for the Neve and analog recording in general really opened my eyes.