Although possibly more suited to the various tribute bands out there, fans of Pink Floyd will have a chance to own a slice of the band's legendary live performance history when the unique, hand built quadraphonic mixing consoles used on the Momentary Lapse of Reason and Division Bell world tours are auctioned at Bonhams in London's Knightsbridge on December 15, with a percentage of the proceeds going to concert industry charity Stage Hand, the new name for the PSA Welfare & Benevolent Fund.

The consoles are being sold by their owner, Britannia Row Productions (BRP), the sound company originally formed and owned by Pink Floyd, which has been independent for the last 26 years.

The picture to the left (by Mike Lethby) shows the Midas XL3 Quad Board being prepared for Pink Floyd's show at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in California in 1994 on the 'Division Bell' tour. The sound engineer is Dave Lohr, who mixed the quadraphonic effects from the special board.

Only six generations of quad mixing desks or external quad panning devices were made during the band’s performing history between 1969 and 1994, each using the best audio technology available at the time.

Britannia Row Productions Mike Lowe said: "We have kept these mixing desks on our stock and looked after them very carefully because of their historic place in the Pink Floyd performance legend."

Stage Hand (aka the PSA Welfare & Benevolent Fund) is a UK registered charity, supported by the Production Services Association (PSA), a trade body for concert and event crew. The Welfare & Benevolent Fund offers financial hardship support and retraining grants for those in the industry who are unable to work through illness or injury.

Bonhams Consultant Specialist Stephen Maycock said: "This is a unique and exciting opportunity for a Pink Floyd fan, collector or museum to own a piece of the band's technical heritage. The desks are hand built one-offs specifically designed for Pink Floyd's tours, and because the music world has adopted digital technology on a large scale, it's highly unlikely that anything similar will ever be made again."

More details of the auction can be found at www.bonhams.com/entertainment.