This vintage Helios mixing console is selling for $2.5 million — here’s whyFancy yourself a piece of music history for a cool $2.5 million? Well, you’re in luck. The Helios mixing desk famously used to record Bob Marley’s timeless classic No Woman, No Cry, is now up for sale.

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According to vintage gear marketplace Retro Gear Shop, where the Helios is currently listed, the unit was only recently pulled from its previous owner’s home recording studio: “We went to Jamaica in person to acquire this desk,” states the listing.
Believed to have been manufactured in 1973 and still in full working order, this 20-input, 16-output Helios console spent years at the Harry J Studio in Kingston, Jamaica. Its storied past includes contributions to Bob Marley’s first four studio albums (Soul Rebels, Catch a Fire, Burnin’, Natty Dread) and collaborations with reggae legends like Burning Spear, Bunny Wailer, Augustus Pablo, King Tubby, and Dennis Brown.
Nicknamed the ‘Dub Station’, the console comes in a striking teal finish, and will be sold with a pair of matching colour Yamaha NS10 speakers.
Image: Retro Gear Shop
“Helios consoles are very rare to come by, who knows many other complete Helios consoles are still left available in the world,” Retro Gear says. “Rough estimates put it at only a couple dozen. Most have been parted out for their amazing analog preamp/ equaliser channels.”
“The Helios sound is absolutely legendary, with artists including Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, Roxy Music and many more having recorded through Helios consoles.”
Priced at a staggering $2.5 million, if sold, the Helios will eclipse the EMI TG12345 MK IV – the iconic mixing desk that recorded Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon and sold for $1.8 million in 2017 — as the most expensive console ever sold.
Learn more at Retro Gear Shop.
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