Credit: Alamy

Dr Dre‘s longtime mixing console sold for $165,000 at auction last week. The equipment was used for albums by himself, Eminem, Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Mary J Blige, Anderson Paak, and others.

The SSL 4000 G+ mixing console, purchased by popular collector Ryan Zurrer, will be shown at The Hip Hop Museum in New York.

“Still the same OG, but low key,” Zurrer wrote to his 27,000 followers. “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 fun if the homies can’t have none.”

Classic rap albums such as The Chronic, 2001, Doggystyle and many Aftermath projects were mixed using the console.

The console breaks the record for the highest-selling hip-hop instrument or item. Wu-Tang Clan de facto leader RZA’s E-mu SP-1200 drum machine, used on Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), was previously sold for $69,000 in 2023.

Dre’s longtime collaborator, Focus, once said about the SSL, “The difference between me and a lot of young producers, the reason that I have staying power, is because of my past. I still implement my past and my present. A lot of the kids are not going to sound like me, because I’m going to mix outside of the box.

“I want to give you a feeling, but I want to get a feeling as well. So we need the things that give us that inspiration, that motivation, and SSL equipment has been one of the biggest and best for my entire career.” 

The item was sold as part of a West Coast hip-hop auction on Realest’s website on July 24th. It included items from other rappers, such as Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and DJ Yella.