When new gear gets splashed across the pages of DJWORX, it always comes with a narrative of how life-changing it is and how you positively and absolutely must buy it today. But little thought is given to the back story and the route that the latest slice of nextlevelness has taken to end up on your screen and in your life. The above slab of history has a story to tell, and one of you could be the author of the perfect ending.
Say hello to the Allen & Heath Xone:DB4 mixer. Not just any DB4 you understand — this is the original development unit that saw all the poking, prodding and fondling by not only A&H’s finest minds, but also by some of the world’s greatest — nay legendary DJs. For this reason, this prototype was codenamed the “famous8”, and with good reason.
As you might expect, this unit has been through the wars. While R&D types might treat their new babies with love and tenderness, DJs are brutal, and I suspect were told to be especially mean to this helpless unit too so that it could be rigorously tested.
With the DB4 now being an established product, the question of what to do with this slice of history arises. I’m sure many dark and dusty basement rooms archive barely working bits of dev kit, but this one is 100% working, and has been lovingly repaired, restored, and otherwise transformed into a truly unique piece of DJ gear.
But rather than stick it on a shelf in reception for posterity, A&H has decided to offer the famous8 up for auction on eBay, the proceeds from which will go to a charity close to the hearts of the design team. From the CLIC Sargent website:
“CLIC Sargent is the UK’s leading cancer charity for children, young people and their families. Our care teams have been providing specialist support across the UK for years.”
A very worthy cause indeed.
Just in case you’re trying to make out the signatures:
Artists:
- Armin van Buuren
- Paul Van Dyk
- John Digweed
- Mat Playford
- Ralph Lawson
- Speedy J
- Simian Mobile Disco (James Ford)
- Mix Architekt
Design Team:
- Andy Rigby Jones
- Rob White
- Rob Clark
- Mike Williamson
- Jim Wrigley
- Sam Farnell
UPDATE: When is the auction?
The ebay auction runs from 6-10th June. And here’s the link:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263724717139
It’s rare for such an item to be made available to the general public. Such things are usually kept for reference. And I know that given the attachment that the design team at A&H have for the DB4, parting with this will be tough. But it’s a truly amazing charity that will benefit, so please dig as deep as you can. Whether you use the fully working and unique famous8 or not doesn’t matter — it’s having this piece of history in your mixer collection that counts, but of considerably greater importance is the great work that can be done by CLIC Sargent with your generous bid.
GALLERY
