Earlier this week, Vintage King listed two sets of vintage preamp/EQs that share a connection to the Trident A-Range design lineage. The A-Range preamp/EQs numbered #VK01452/#VK01453 were repainted gray from their original eggplant finish upon arriving in America in the mid-1970s. The other modules were built here to match, painted silver, and feature some subtle EQ differences.

But what made the A-Range console so special in the first place? There’s a fascinating story behind how the desk came to be, who designed and built it, and the legendary albums made on the original A-Ranges. Let’s get into it.

The landmark records made at Trident Studios in London are almost too plentiful to name: David Bowie's Hunky Dory, The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust, and Space Oddity, Elton John's self-titled record and Tumbleweed Connection, and the first three albums from a little band the studio managed called Queen. And that’s truly just the start.

Trident Studios opened its doors in 1967, and by 1970, the engineering team had already built a small console for the tape copy room. When it came time to find a larger desk that could fit the studio’s compact main control room, engineer Malcolm Toft and technician Barry Porter met with Neve, but walked away unconvinced the company could deliver exactly what they needed.

"We really were left with very few choices. So I thought about it, and I said to the management, 'Why don't we look at building our own console?'" Malcolm Toft told Tape Op in an interview. "We had all of the in-house knowledge, and I'd already done some electronics from a design on a little mixer for myself. I felt Barry Porter had the necessary technical ability to design a console. If they felt it was a good idea, I would oversee the systems design and management of the project. After a lot of discussion and heavy lunches, we decided that would be the route to go."

Malcolm and Barry began work on the console, gathering additional design input through listening tests with other team members, including Ken Scott, Roy Thomas Baker, and Barry Sheffield. The result was the Trident A-Range, which was formally completed in 1971. Word spread quickly, and in 1972 they built a smaller version, the B-Range, for musician and producer John Congas. When a second B-Range order came in, Trident Audio Developments officially became a company.

One of the original Trident A-Range consoles.
One of the original Trident A-Range consoles. Photo courtesy of Trident Audio Developments.

Note: Racked pair #VK01452 and #VK01453 are on the left in the photo above.

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