A few 500-series modules pics

[NathanEldred]

Originally Posted by ImJohn

I purchaced an OSA L3 late November 2005 and was a little disapointed as well regarding the soldering workmanship. Here are a couple pics from my unit ;

This is the first time this was pointed out, I don't recall you mentioning it to me. Would you like your MP1-L3 replaced? BTW, OSA has a lifetime warranty to the original owner. And FWIW, we haven't had one unit ever go down because of a cold solder joint (I have a hard time believing that this wouldn't manifest itself immediately at the factory, I've seen how fast a cold solder joint DOESN'T work at all).

Originally Posted by not_so_new

I just hate when things get blown out of proportion. Not sure this is the case here just hoping that people keep the conversation civil and take into account that most of the stuff we talk about here at GS is produced by small boutique companies that 9 times out of 10 really do care about their product and only have their reputation on this and other boards to go by for marketing.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by DaveH

This information
can be used by OSA to change something in the QA process or
they can ignore “picky” customers.

OSA is listening. You probably can attest to this Dave - good solid electronic help (in a person) is difficult to find. That's why OSA hired the new production manager (whose been there since just before Christmas). All I ask is that people understand that if there is some kind of problem don't keep it to yourself, please I urge you to contact me immediately. It would be my pleasure to crack the whip and make sure it's right.

[Tim Farrant]

Originally Posted by ImJohn

I purchaced an OSA L3 late November 2005 and was a little disapointed as well regarding the soldering workmanship. Here are a couple pics from my unit ;

Apart from one wire in your pics that could be a bit shy of solder, it looks OK to me. These are soldered by hand obviously and the flux has not been cleaned off.

To my mind, hand soldering is alot more reliable than flow soldering can be. I've fixed heaps of gear where the flow soldering has been too light and the joints have broken over time - especially on connectors and switches.

Leaving the flux on the board has no long term side effects. Cleaning the boards means the use of solvents which have to be disposed of and these are very environmentally unfriendly, plus, the ingress of the flux laden chemicals into non-sealed parts is a problem.

And, wait till the lead free flow wave soldering hits the streets, this is gonna be a real problem and you will learn to appreciate gear that has actually been soldered by hand!



Cheers
Tim.

[pan60]

Originally Posted by Tim Farrant

And, wait till the lead free flow wave soldering hits the streets, this is gonna be a real problem and you will learn to appreciate gear that has actually been soldered by hand!



Cheers
Tim.

Originally Posted by Tim Farrant

And, wait till the lead free flow wave soldering hits the streetsTim.

not listening, i am stocking up on solder, everyone else should do the same!

[ImJohn]

Originally Posted by NathanEldred

This is the first time this was pointed out, I don't recall you mentioning it to me. Would you like your MP1-L3 replaced? BTW, OSA has a lifetime warranty to the original owner. And FWIW, we haven't had one unit ever go down because of a cold solder joint (I have a hard time believing that this wouldn't manifest itself immediately at the factory, I've seen how fast a cold solder joint DOESN'T work at all).

That's correct, I haven't talked to you or OSA about it yet, mainly because it works. I have lots of gear and it all has varing degrees of perfection when it comes to design and build quality. It would be silly to send everything back that wasn't as good as my best piece of gear and request that the manufacturers make it to be as good as the best.

This discussion was about detailed pictures of various mic pres and their build quality. One person mentioned that he thought the soldering work on the OSA pres could be better. From the one module I've seen and IMHO I agree and I believe the photos justify my statements. Maybe I got one left over from the 'bad' employee, maybe not. I'm not saying that the quality is flakey or causing any problems etc, the unit works fine.

Originally Posted by NathanEldred

OSA is listening. - good solid electronic help (in a person) is difficult to find. That's why OSA hired the new production manager (whose been there since just before Christmas). All I ask is that people understand that if there is some kind of problem don't keep it to yourself, please I urge you to contact me immediately. It would be my pleasure to crack the whip and make sure it's right.

I understand that problems happen but OSA has been selling products for 3 or 4 years now. Even if you get a bad builder there should be someone QCing the stuff to make sure the products reflect the kind of quality they want to be known for. While some companies strive for excellence and being better than the best, some companies settle for being just good enough. Most companies fall somewhere in-between.

[Clive Banks]

I purchaced an OSA L3 late November 2005 and was a little disapointed as well regarding the soldering workmanship. Here are a couple pics from my unit ;

Thankyou for those pics. the solder is clearly lacking even distribution.

[Family Hoof]

A soldermask, aka "solder resist", is the protective coating applied to a printed circuit board during fabrication. This colored film, often green (but it also comes in blue, red, and black, as seen in the photos), electrically insulates the PCB traces, preventing solder from flowing where it shouldn't during assembly and accidental shorting during use (e.g. a screw falls into your lunchbox and happens to the touch the exposed power and ground traces simultaneously--damage occurs). The OSA PCBs appear to be lacking a soldermask, and last time I checked so are the BAE. This is why they look different.

PCBs in most vintage gear (API 312 cards being a prime example) did not have a soldermask because the technology was not yet available or practical. Also, the circuit artwork (what I've been referring to as traces) would've been hand drawn, (usually) on one side only, and etched via photo exposure. You start with a layer of copper on a piece of plexiglass or fiberboard and the inverse image is removed by chemicals. This entire copper "printed circuit" was then tinned (this is called reflow) with a layer of "solder-like" mixture and left exposed. Care was taken during assembly to solder only around the component connections and not across traces.

Today PCBs are much more sophisticated. They're drawn using CAD software, which generates code that tells machines how to mill, drill, and fabricate the board from start to finish. PCBs now have traces on at least two layers, the holes that components go into are tinned around the top, bottom, and inside (plated through), and there is soldermask, of course.

While some are lacking a soldermask, none of the PCBs pictured in this thread look particularly old school. The perfect geometry of the angled traces was obviously generated by CAD, NOT hand drawn. The holes are all plated through and the artwork is double sided. This is modern technique. Also, it should be known that the lack of a soldermask does not make a piece of gear sound better, or any different at all.

[Tone Laborer]

Sorry to turn from the OSA build quality slant , but getting back to infinite's 500 rack.

I was wondering, infiniteposse, if there were any sizing issues fitting the various pres into the OSA lunch box. I've read about some not fitting as well, not goiing all the way in the pin slots, etc. Like the new 512c being a bit longer, or something?

Somewhere there's a gearsltuz thread about a new 512c not fitting so great in a BAE lunch box.

And when will BUZZ Audio come out with their 500 pre? That's been talked about for awhile. I would think it would be highly desirable as a uniquely uncolored 500 style pre.

Anyway, it's a great rack of pres, congrats.

[ImJohn]

hi Tone,

I have a 6 space BAE rack and API 512c, BAE 312, OSA L3 and A-Designs P-1, Red, Silver and Blue modules and they all seemed to fit without a problem. (not all at once though! )

I seem to remember that on one of them the edge of the card didn't seem to go very deep into the connector but there were no connection problems. I'm pretty sure it wasn't one of the A-Designs card but one of the others. Not a big deal though.

[AdamJay]

I've got an OSA 11-space Power Rack
it contains an MP1-A, MP1-C, MP1-L, MP1-L3, and A-Designs P-1, Red, Silver and Blue.
no problems fitting them whatsoever.
the last 3 pre's to fill it out will be a 512C, Biz, and Mono Gama. i don't see why they wouldn't fit just as well as the rest.

and also, FWIW,
the soldering workmanship on my OSA Pre's is excellent. nothing at all like the pics posted with excess solder. if i can find some time to snap a picture of it, i will.

and an aside, i really REALLY dig the MP1-L. perhaps my favorite of the OSA pre's. great top end with a pronounced low-mid thing going on. that ones gonna get LOTS of room mic duties!

[s.d.finley]

Today, FINALLY I ordered an 8 space OSA a rack w/ 2 of the MP1-C's and a Shadow Hills mono Gamma....and I cant freekin wait to get those sexy pre's

I will be banging my head against my console for the next 2 weeks...waiting..

Anyways I love this forum and the fact that these very talented manufacturing guys and gearheads hang out and share a wealth of information...

I love you guys...ooohh.... now I'm getting all vechlempt, talk amongst ya selves, topic: mic pres...

rock

sdf

[Tim Farrant]

Originally Posted by Tone Laborer

And when will BUZZ Audio come out with their 500 pre? That's been talked about for awhile. I would think it would be highly desirable as a uniquely uncolored 500 style pre.

Well here is the production prototype on the test bench, just to prove it's real! (The level meter sub board is not in place in this pix).

All going to plan, they will be available in 8 weeks.

Cheers
Tim.

[madstrat]

..oh yes..that is some good porn there, brutha...

[infiniteposse]

Agreed. Thanks for adding that shot Tim. That looks lovely. Looking forward to hearing how it comes out!

[AdamJay]

yummy.

[pan60]

nice tim!

[octatonic]

Any idea of cost, Tim?

JR

[Tim Farrant]

Originally Posted by richmondjames

Any idea of cost, Tim?

JR

Should come in at around US$695 street.

Tim.

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by Tim Farrant

Should come in at around US$695 street.

Tim.

Killer!

[ImJohn]

Hi all,

I just wanted to give a quick update on my complaints about the soldering on my OSA L3 pre.

Nathan at Atlas Pro Audio and the folks at OSA contacted me shortly after my post and took care of me on it. After I sent back the original one they sent one back that has significantly improved soldering workmanship. Thanks Nathan!

Unfortunately work and life has gotten in the way of my studio time the last few weeks so I haveen't even plugged it in yet!

When I get a chance I'll try it out and post a couple pics of the soldering so you can compare.