Part of an SSL 4000 G+ mixing console owned by producer Dr. Dre has sold at auction for $165,000, breaking a record for the most expensive hip-hop instrument or studio item sold at auction.

The auction was hosted by The Realest, an ​​authentication and marketplace platform, which describes the console as “one of the most important production tools in modern hip-hop history” that helped engineer “the signature Dre sound”.

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The 16-channel section of the console now belongs to collector Ryan Zurrer, who will be putting it on display at the Hip Hop Museum in New York when it opens in 2026. Zurrer took to social platform X after the auction to share his gratitude, and called the channel strip an “iconic part of hip-hop history”.

Still the same OG, but low key.

Grateful to pick up the signature instrument that Dre took the time to perfect the beat…brought the oldies, taught you to smoke trees…still DRE.
This iconic part of hip hop history will be available to the public @thhmuseum because it ain’t no… pic.twitter.com/PrLjbOvTNL

— Ryan Zurrer (@kukulabanze) July 25, 2025

The console was originally installed at Record One Studio in LA, and was used to produce Dre’s The Chronic album (1992), Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle (1993), and other records under Dr. Dre’s Aftermath label, which he founded in 1996.

The Realest states that “virtually every major artist who entered the studio between the early ’90s and mid-2000s passed through this board”. It was received by The Realest directly from legendary producer Che Pope, the former GM of Aftermath Entertainment and longtime Dre collaborator.

The console shows no damage, but its working condition is undetermined and it has not been tested since removal from the studio. The sale of it included a power supply unit and rack cabinet.

According to Variety, the sale broke the previous record held by RZA’s E-mu SP-1200 drum machine, which was used on Wu-Tang Clan’s 1993 debut album, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), and sold for $69,000 in 2023.

Of course, many producers out there could only dream of paying out such a vast amount of money on a historic piece of gear, but fear not – Solid State Logic has just released a channel strip plugin version of the classic SL 4000 G console, named SSL 4K G. The brand describes it as “the definitive” emulation of the original channel strip, and it has been created by its original designers.

To find out more about the SSL 4K G plugin, head over to Solid State Logic. You can also find out more about The Hip Hop Museum. 

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