cheapest analog board worth owning

[halfguard]

i was was thinking, is their a "cheaper" analog board/console worth owning for a home studio. when i say cheap, im saying 5000$-10,000 $$$$$

[octatonic]

Depends on how many channels you need.
For $10k you could pic up a s/h Neotek, D&R, Amek etc.
$10k would get you a lot.

Or you can get a s/h Ghost and spend $4k getting it modded.

JR

[halfguard]

i would think 16ch would be nice for a home studio

[Tibbon]

Originally Posted by halfguard

i would think 16ch would be nice for a home studio

Dude... some AMAZING albums have been recorded on FAR less than a 16 channel board!

I'd be happy with an 8 channel manley.

[DirtyMan]

8 channels i cant even track all the outs of my mpc .. i think 16 is more realistic

[octatonic]

The main thing to think about is "what do I want from a mixer"?

Is it analog EQ or summing or a workflow issue that you are after?

JR

[Tibbon]

Originally Posted by DirtyMan

8 channels i cant even track all the outs of my mpc .. i think 16 is more realistic

More timeless songs have been recorded on a 3 track tape deck, and a 8 (or less) channel mixer, than I can count...

I'm not convinced of exactly WHAT needs more than 8 tracks asides from movies....

[DirtyMan]

what if you say have a mp a synth .. a s950 and like to be able to tweek eq onm the fly .. what if you dont care to repatch or how about mixing with hands and knobs .. theres many reasons beyond film ..

[halfguard]

for me it would be for the sound. something nice before i go into the daw with some good workflow options. for example, the new toft board coming out looks nice and seems like a winner for the price. however, from what i gather, the sound will be the same as the other toft audio stuff. not what im looking for. i dont know, i guess im just thinking out loud.....

[Samplecraze]

In the UK it's a great time to buy second hand mixers.

That budget will get you some mad mixers.

DDAs are going for half that money. Second hand Audients are going for a little more but well worth it.

Amek blah blah, so many to choose from.

Have a look at Larking Audio (Larking's List) to get some ideas on mixers for that budget.

[demonfuzz]

Check out SoundWorkshop consoles.
Very under rated & slept on boards.
They can be had on the cheap (but I see prices have been rising little by little on the smaller size boards).
The Series 30 are excellent, EQ's are killer.
Pre's sound great, overall super warm sound.

Supposedly Soundworkshop was founded by original designers from API.
The EQ actually sounds something like an API 550.

You can also upgrade these boards easily.
Swap out op-amps, re-cap, bigger PS & you will end up with a really nice board.
For far less than a big name vintage board.

Seriously worth checking out.
For $5K you could buy a full size SW console, have it hot-rodded & still have plenty money left to buy some outboard gear.

[Tibbon]

The Toft board looks pretty sweet. Not sure if it's been released yet, as that thread dropped down the board a while ago... checking into that now.

[halfguard]

it does look very nice and price is right (3500 for 16ch) but i think the sound will be = to their etc and atc stuff. so, no really warm sound coming from the board,

[cuts]

The soundworkshop can do the job easy.the rest is up2u.

[KingDaddyO]

Originally Posted by halfguard

for me it would be for the sound. something nice before i go into the daw with some good workflow options. for example, the new toft board coming out looks nice and seems like a winner for the price. however, from what i gather, the sound will be the same as the other toft audio stuff. not what im looking for. i dont know, i guess im just thinking out loud.....

Probably get slammed for this but oh well...

If you don't mind doing occasional maintenance you might consider one of the old CAD MaxCon II boards. In good condition these boards sound very, very nice. Completely transparent but can be overdriven into a nice warm tone. They are usually dirt cheap and some of the specs are simply amazing. They use a servo circuit so there are almost no caps to replace in the signal chain. While they are known for having an issue with noisy pots and switches, it's not anything that can't be dealt with. The Quad modules have a very clean analog signal chain with one of the lowest phase shift figures on any board... ever, in addition to pretty decent signal routing options.

FYI - These can be large consoles, so you have to have the space available as well as the desire to fill it. If you're interested, there is a 32-ch. desk available on eBay right now, dirt cheap ($450) and with a ton of access. Here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=250018023190

By the way... I'm not just the president of the hair weave club... I'm also a customer (i.e., I actually own a CAD and am telling you all of this from my own experience)

[Tibbon]

Check out this custom manley board that a fellow GS is selling.

Pink Floyd made a ton of records before DSOTM, with far less recording gear. I'm not saying that you have to be stuck with a low track count, but if you make decisions early, bounce a lot, and are a great musician then you can stay low on the track count. Also, few of us here are as talented as Pink Floyd and few of us will ever make anything on the level of DSOTM.

[blakbeltjonez]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tibbon
More timeless songs have been recorded on a 3 track tape deck, and a 8 (or less) channel mixer, than I can count...

I'm not convinced of exactly WHAT needs more than 8 tracks asides from movies....


Man, I could post quite a list. Let's start with DSOTM

Originally Posted by Sounds Great

Man, I could post quite a list. Let's start with DSOTM

--

you'd be way over your track/channel count if you used DSOTM as an example..... it was recorded at Abbey Road from June '72 - January '73 on a 2" 16 track and on the EMI/Abbey Road Mk. 4 console which was at that time 24 channel, 16 sub outs, 16 tape returns and ability to use the 24 input channels at mixdown for a total of up to 40 inputs.

there's even a picture of the very console used, in that time period

http://www.tgmixers.co.uk/Website%20.../St2-1971.html

and of course, it didn't hurt to have Alan Parsons twiddling the knobs.... his role in DSOTM has been played up and down by various members of Pink Floyd but if you listen to some of the other stuff he produced during the 70's you can hear a similar sonic stamp.

[ShaneFontane]

How's the TL Audio stuff? Looks real nice man...

http://www.tlaudio.co.uk/tlaudio/docs/products/m1.shtml

[Dor]

Why does every thread about consoles have to regress to Floyd or the Beatles?

[t.dizzle]

Originally Posted by blakbeltjonez

you'd be way over your track/channel count if you used DSOTM as an example..... it was recorded at Abbey Road from June '72 - January '73 on a 2" 16 track and on the EMI/Abbey Road Mk. 4 console which was at that time 24 channel, 16 sub outs, 16 tape returns and ability to use the 24 input channels at mixdown for a total of up to 40 inputs.

there's even a picture of the very console used, in that time period

http://www.tgmixers.co.uk/Website%20.../St2-1971.html

and of course, it didn't hurt to have Alan Parsons twiddling the knobs.... his role in DSOTM has been played up and down by various members of Pink Floyd but if you listen to some of the other stuff he produced during the 70's you can hear a similar sonic stamp.

DUDE - THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS!!! I swear, the misinformation on this board gets really lame.

Let me tell you, in the year 2000 and f'in 6, ESPECIALLY IN HIP-HOP AND POP MUSIC, nobody wants to hear bullshiz like "if you're talented and blah, blah, blah, then you can do blah, blah, blah with only blah, blah". Gimme a f'in break!!!!!

I think that I'm gonna get (sometime in '07) either a TL Audio M4 or an Allen&Heath GS3k to complement the PT rig. I have extensive experience with the Ghost, and it definitely sounds warm and fat. Probably won't go with that, but it is highly recommended. Like someone mentioned earlier, D&R makes really nice boards (with VCA automation even) that are really cheap now compared to the original retail price.

[halfguard]

t dizzle, ive seen the tl audio boards. ther look nice. i believe thats what dj quick uses.

[cynic one]

Originally Posted by Dor

Why does every thread about consoles have to regress to Floyd or the Beatles?

because that's the last time they were used successfully?

[t.dizzle]

Originally Posted by halfguard

t dizzle, ive seen the tl audio boards. ther look nice. i believe thats what dj quick uses.

Really - that's tight. Wanna hear a good Quick story?

I spent a year in the studio with Quick back in '98 - '99 (including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve....rr ) and I learned a lot from him during that time. This dude is not only a badass producer/musician, but he's also a killer engineer (I've seen him destroy the turntables, too). One day, he comes in with his O2R, sets it up right in front of the 4kG+ and doesn't touch the SSL for the rest of the album sessions! Just standing back and looking at that scenario for the first time was so obnoxious, yet so brilliant at the same time that I couldn't help but laugh out loud. He's a classic piece of work.