API 3288 Classic Console #2229 (Vintage)

Product Description

This stunning vintage API 3288 was last owned by the artist and producer Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, who has utilized the desk for over five years in his New Jersey-based studio. Most recently, Q-Tip used the API console during the production of the group’s last album, We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service. Additionally, Q-Tip did production work using the console for Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey and Pusha T. Prior to Q-Tip owning the desk, the API 3288 was used on many other classic records, including several Ramones and Blondie records.

Of the API 3288, Q-Tip states, “The circuitry, the way it was designed, the EQs are very concise and exact. You get a real sharpness and there is a clarity to it. You can hear the difference. I’m not trying to brag or nothing, but when you hear this album and you compare to all the other popular music out there, there’s a certain warmth to it. It has a certain declaration of sharpness.

I think the thing about that board is the high mids, the mid thing on that board is really, really great. We dealt with a lot of guitars, a lot of keyboards and a lot of vocals on this record, I just love how it honed in on those frequencies. It has a nice punch to it. It really kicks you in the face. Guitars sound fucking great on it. Keys sound amazing. Drums have a real attack on that thing. That’s my secret weapon, it’s the board.”