Hall of Fame.

Teletronix LA-2A

Opto-electric leveling amplifier with an unmistakable character. Slow attack, natural release — the standard for vocals, bass, and broadcast. Still in production.

c. 1962

UREI 1176LN

FET-based limiting amplifier with ultra-fast attack. The "all-buttons-in" mode is one of the most recognizable sounds in rock history. On virtually every major record since 1967.

c. 1967

UA 175B

Variable-mu tube compressor from Universal Audio's original era. Transparent and musical. A favorite for stereo bus and mastering. Extremely rare in original form.

c. 1960s

From $2,199 new · Used available

New and Vintage

LA-2A Leveling Amp

From $1,849 new · Originals from $3,500

New and Vintage

UREI 1176LN

"The 1176 is on every rock record I have ever made. It has a character that no plugin has ever fully captured — and I have tried them all."

Butch Vig — Producer, Nirvana · Smashing Pumpkins

Category II

Mic Preamps

3 inductees

Neve 1073

The benchmark mic preamp and EQ module. Designed by Rupert Neve for the 8000-series console. Transformer-coupled, Class-A. The foundation of more hit records than any other single piece of electronics.

c. 1970

Neve 1081

Four-band EQ with the same Neve transformer character as the 1073, but with more flexible equalization. A favorite for drums, room mics, and full-band tracking sessions.

c. 1972

Originals from $4,500 · New reissues available

Telefunken V72 / V76

German broadcast amplifiers developed for the German broadcasting network. The preamps used at Abbey Road during the Beatles sessions. A silky, forward sound unlike anything else.

c. 1950s

Originals from $3,200 · Contact us

Vintage

Neve 1081

Vintage · Rare

Telefunken V72 / V76

"If there is one piece of outboard that I would never let leave my studio, it is the 1073. There is nothing else that sounds like it on a vocal — nothing."

Joe Chiccarelli — Producer, The White Stripes · Beck · Morrissey

Category III

Microphones

6 inductees

Neumann U 47 / U 48

The most iconic vocal microphone ever made. Frank Sinatra refused to record without one. Tube circuit, VF14 capsule, unmistakable warmth. Values exceed $15,000 for clean examples.

c. 1947

Neumann U 67

Multi-pattern tube condenser that bridged the gap between the U 47 and the U 87. Smooth high-end, musical midrange. Used extensively at EMI, Atlantic, and Columbia through the 1960s and 70s.

c. 1960

Neumann U 47 FET

Solid-state large-diaphragm cardioid built for high-SPL sources. The kick drum, snare, and guitar amp mic of choice. John Bonham's bass drum on Led Zeppelin IV. Reissued in 2015 to universal acclaim.

c. 1972

Telefunken ELA M 251

The rarest of the classic tube microphones — built by AKG for Telefunken. Three patterns. Extraordinarily detailed and open. Favored by engineers who find the U 47 too dark. Values exceed $20,000.

c. 1959

Coles 4038

BBC ribbon microphone. Figure-8 pattern. Lush, soft top-end that no other ribbon has matched. The standard for room mics, drum overheads, and guitar cabinets in British studios from the 1950s onward.

c. 1954

From $12,000 · Contact us

RCA 44-A

The ribbon microphone that defined broadcast and vocal recording in the 1930s and 40s. Figure-8. Warm, round, and completely unlike modern condensers. Bing Crosby. Sinatra. Miles Davis. Still coveted.

c. 1931

From $18,000 · Contact us

Vintage · Rare

Telefunken ELA M 251

"When I put a U 47 in front of a great singer, I stop thinking about the microphone. That is the whole point. The best gear disappears into the performance."

Al Schmitt — Recording Engineer, 23 Grammy Awards

Category IV

EQs and Filters

3 inductees

Pultec EQP-1A

The classic passive tube equalizer. Beloved for the simultaneous boost-and-cut trick on low frequencies that adds weight without muddiness. Found on nearly every major studio rack since the 1950s.

c. 1951

API 550A

Three-band discrete solid-state EQ with proportional-Q curves. The foundation of the API sound. On every major rock and soul recording from the late 1960s onward. Still in production. An inductee by consensus.

c. 1967

Originals from $3,500 · Reissues available

Neve 1084

Four-band transformer-coupled Class-A EQ module from the Neve 8000 series. Wide, musical curves that add presence and sheen without aggression. A staple at AIR, Abbey Road, and Electric Lady for decades.

c. 1973

Originals from $2,800 · Contact us

"The Pultec on the low end is not optional. There is no other way to get that weight without making everything heavy. It is the trick every engineer learns and never stops using."

Glyn Johns — Producer, The Rolling Stones · The Who · Eagles

Category V

Mixing Consoles

3 inductees

SSL 4000 E/G

The defining console of 1980s and 90s commercial recording. Built-in compressor and gate on every channel. Total recall. Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Def Leppard — essentially every major record of its era.

c. 1979

Neve 8078

The large-format Neve console at the heart of the warmest-sounding rock recordings ever made. Led Zeppelin at Headley Grange. The Rolling Stones at Stargroves. Thick, musical, irreplaceable.

c. 1972

API 1608

Modern API console that brought the classic 2520 op-amp sound into a full-format desk. Sixteen channels of pure API character. The choice of engineers who refuse to track without transformer-coupled hardware.

c. 2008

Vintage · Rare

Neve 8078