U+1F39B · emoji since 2014
The control knobs are dials from a mixing console. It means audio, tweaking settings, and fine-tuning the sound.
It headlines music production and DJ booths, the row of dials for dialing in the perfect levels.
In texting, 🎛️ does not carry a widely used hidden or slang meaning, so you can usually take it at face value. People send it just as it looks, to add a little visual touch or set the mood of a message. Only a handful of emoji have a separate texting code, and 🎛️ is not really one of them.
Its official Unicode name is the Control Knobs emoji. In everyday chat most people just call it the control knobs emoji or describe what it shows. Copy and paste it from the button at the top of this page.
The 🎛️ leads off a short phrase, and the rest of the words are written in cipher, every letter disguised as another emoji. Tap decipher to reveal the whole line.
Or make your own cipher in the translator.