Daptone Records—known for bringing funk, soul, and R&B back to the mainstream with artists like Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley—is selling gear from its recording studio, Daptone's House of Soul, including the console and tape machine they used to record Amy Winehouse.
The Official Daptone Records Reverb Shop is now open.
Since the early 2000s, Daptone has been championing classic sound and recording techniques. As true analog lovers, the label has amassed a collection of gear that's been on dozens of records.
"Most of what I know about gear and sounds and recording, I learned at Daptone watching Gabe Roth," said seven-time Grammy-winning producer Mark Ronson. "From the Orban Spring Reverb to the RCA DX 77 to the Ampeg Gemini Amps, anything I could afford to buy that I saw there, I would get it. I would recommend you do the same."
Among the gear in the shop is a Trident Series 65 console used on almost every Daptone record from 2003 through 2020. Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley, Naomi Shelton, The Sugarman Three, The Menahan Street Band, and Antibalas have all been recorded with the console. The console was also used on many outside sessions for Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse, and more.
Other gear in the shop, according to Daptone, includes:
- A TEAC Tascam Series 85-16 that, in addition to a mountain of Daptone recordings, was used to record several hit tracks from Amy Winehouse, including "Back to Black," "You Know I'm No Good," "Rehab," "Valerie," "He Can Only Hold Her," and "Love Is a Losing Game." It was also used on recordings by The Roots, Michael Buble, Alicia Keys, Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, and by Mark Ronson for the horn session on "Uptown Funk".
- A Two-Track Ampex 440-B that was the main mixer for most of Daptone's existence, utilized by Sharon Jones and more. The gear was also used to mix portions of the soundtracks for the award-winning films The Wolf of Wall Street and American Gangster.
- A Tascam MS16 that recorded The Olympians' self-titled debut and several other releases.
- An Otari 50-50 1/2" 8-Track used while recording Sharon Jones, Sugarman 3, and Antibalas.