AMS NEVE LIBRA LIVE Consoles - Page 2

**Remoteness** · 6th October 2011

Yeah, that Neve Crapicorn (Belmont University) mobile unit was on eBay too.

fuzzy888 · 15th November 2011

HI there,
I can buy a 36 fader Libra Post for $2K and wondering if I should.
I know the Libra Live seems to have stability problems, and wondering if the Libra Post had the same issues.
We only have a very basic Yamaha 02R right now, which is a 40 bus console and actually works decently for our SMALL Video/Audio live and post studio.

Comments or thoughts? THanks

huub · 15th November 2011

If it works: yes, go ahead! It might be a bit unstable (It's the same platform as the libra live), and there's no way to get maintenance I fear..

But for the money, you'll get a fine sounding mixer

I never fully grasped the automation system, but I think it's a good system once you get the hang of it.. (altough I think in the box is waaaay easier for recall and exchange than an automated mixer is)

Dynodenny · 16th November 2011

Hi Fuzzy, I agree with Huub. For 2K you cant go wrong as long as you know what you are buying. You say you are using an 02r. Have you determined what I/O is on the libra and that it is suitable for your needs? Remember it is just a box of processing and ins and out, it is up to the user to allocate the processing to channels, EQ, Dynamics and so forth. If the thing only has a couple of SSP's, Don't expect to get 40 fully loaded channels out of it. On the other hand if its full of ESP's or even XSP's then you will have an easier time. You need to look at the processing cards, determine what they are and the quantity, How many madi cards, How much analogue and digital I/O and if there are any mic amps. Some had Combi racks and others DFC style separate racks for processing and analogue and digital I/O. There was no such thing as a stock Libra, they were all different depending on what they were to be used for. We had an early Libra Post which was a bit unstable and a later one that was rock solid. We also had 3 DFC's so we had lots of cards to swop out if things did go wrong. There is at least one post facility I deal with that is still using a Libra daily and happily here in London.

fuzzy888 · 16th November 2011

Thank you huub and dynodenny for your advice. I'll contact the seller
and see if I can get a breakdown of the cards.
The seller is not the owner nor knowledgeable about that mixer, neither am I!
If I direct him to look at the mixer for sound processing cards, where should
I direct him to look. Sometimes board model/part numbers are hidden, from certain brands's anyway...
best- Matt

DannyL · 16th November 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Remoteness

I'll tell you one thing; despite all the issues that board had, the EQ sounded absolutely fabulous. IMO, the best sounding digital EQ of that era.

+1 for certain! I mixed a lot of shows on a Libra Live, both in studio and in mobile units. This desk had problems, I can remember one particularly scary morning when the inputs all got scrambled, (did a cold reboot, including all the racks, problem solved) but by the time I was mixing on them, most of the bugs had been worked out. These desks sounded great: the summing buses were stupendous and the eq and dynamics were second to none. The Libra certainly sounded much better than the other British desk that replaced it. I also worked on most other digital TV desks of this era and NOTHING sounded as good as a Libra. And they ALL had issues, more or less equal in reliability and complexity.

My 6¢.

Danny

londonengineer · 16th November 2011

That price is a bargain, they are still supported by AMS Neve and you can still get any spares you might need.

There are plenty here in London still cranking out quite high-profile work, and as has been said they sound amazing.

Dynodenny · 17th November 2011

Fuzzy, All the cards have green extraction leavers on the front of them with ID numbers on them. These will tell you what cards they are if you have the index. Get the seller to write down every number (lots of digits) for each card in every rack that has these green leavers. Then, (because I am very rusty on my AMS stuff having spent the last 4 years under Euphonix System 5's), contact AMS-Neve here in the UK with the list and they will tell you what each card is.

Dynodenny · 17th November 2011

I should have mentioned that these leavers are right in front of you when you remove the front cover of the chassis'. When you are using the thing in anger you wont have the fronts on anyway!

**Remoteness** · 17th November 2011

:-)

kingwilliams · 26th December 2011

Hi,

I just built one rather large Libra Live system out of two "non working" systems for my little studio here in Nashville.

Neve will, indeed, support the system-I bought the basic annual service package and would not have likely been able to get the system running without their help.

It has been, in my situation, a very dependable system, once you've got everything tweaked in.

I've had it running for months without a crash or need to reboot.

It sounds tremendous; I, too, spend most of my time with System 5 desks and I find that the Libra I/O and DSP are top flight, indeed.

If you purchased the Libra and would like any help getting your system running, please feel free to pm me here.

Cheers and best to you all,

King

15th November 2011	#32
fuzzy888 Gear interested Joined: Nov 2011 Posts: 2	Libra Post - Purchase Advice? HI there, I can buy a 36 fader Libra Post for $2K and wondering if I should. I know the Libra Live seems to have stability problems, and wondering if the Libra Post had the same issues. We only have a very basic Yamaha 02R right now, which is a 40 bus console and actually works decently for our SMALL Video/Audio live and post studio. Comments or thoughts? THanks

16th November 2011	#34
Dynodenny Gear interested Joined: May 2008 Posts: 6	Libra Purchase Advice Hi Fuzzy, I agree with Huub. For 2K you cant go wrong as long as you know what you are buying. You say you are using an 02r. Have you determined what I/O is on the libra and that it is suitable for your needs? Remember it is just a box of processing and ins and out, it is up to the user to allocate the processing to channels, EQ, Dynamics and so forth. If the thing only has a couple of SSP's, Don't expect to get 40 fully loaded channels out of it. On the other hand if its full of ESP's or even XSP's then you will have an easier time. You need to look at the processing cards, determine what they are and the quantity, How many madi cards, How much analogue and digital I/O and if there are any mic amps. Some had Combi racks and others DFC style separate racks for processing and analogue and digital I/O. There was no such thing as a stock Libra, they were all different depending on what they were to be used for. We had an early Libra Post which was a bit unstable and a later one that was rock solid. We also had 3 DFC's so we had lots of cards to swop out if things did go wrong. There is at least one post facility I deal with that is still using a Libra daily and happily here in London.

16th November 2011	#35
fuzzy888 Gear interested Joined: Nov 2011 Posts: 2	Thank you for the Libra Post advice Thank you huub and dynodenny for your advice. I'll contact the seller and see if I can get a breakdown of the cards. The seller is not the owner nor knowledgeable about that mixer, neither am I! If I direct him to look at the mixer for sound processing cards, where should I direct him to look. Sometimes board model/part numbers are hidden, from certain brands's anyway... best- Matt

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6th October 2011	#31
Remoteness Super Moderator Joined: Aug 2002 Location: NYC Posts: 7,405	Yeah, that Neve Crapicorn (Belmont University) mobile unit was on eBay too.

15th November 2011	#33
huub Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2005 Location: amsterdam Posts: 1,208	If it works: yes, go ahead! It might be a bit unstable (It's the same platform as the libra live), and there's no way to get maintenance I fear.. But for the money, you'll get a fine sounding mixer I never fully grasped the automation system, but I think it's a good system once you get the hang of it.. (altough I think in the box is waaaay easier for recall and exchange than an automated mixer is)

16th November 2011	#37
londonengineer Gear nut Joined: Nov 2010 Location: London Posts: 105	That price is a bargain, they are still supported by AMS Neve and you can still get any spares you might need. There are plenty here in London still cranking out quite high-profile work, and as has been said they sound amazing.

17th November 2011	#38
Dynodenny Gear interested Joined: May 2008 Posts: 6	Fuzzy, All the cards have green extraction leavers on the front of them with ID numbers on them. These will tell you what cards they are if you have the index. Get the seller to write down every number (lots of digits) for each card in every rack that has these green leavers. Then, (because I am very rusty on my AMS stuff having spent the last 4 years under Euphonix System 5's), contact AMS-Neve here in the UK with the list and they will tell you what each card is.

26th December 2011	#41
kingwilliams Gear interested Joined: Jul 2011 Posts: 1	Hi, I just built one rather large Libra Live system out of two "non working" systems for my little studio here in Nashville. Neve will, indeed, support the system-I bought the basic annual service package and would not have likely been able to get the system running without their help. It has been, in my situation, a very dependable system, once you've got everything tweaked in. I've had it running for months without a crash or need to reboot. It sounds tremendous; I, too, spend most of my time with System 5 desks and I find that the Libra I/O and DSP are top flight, indeed. If you purchased the Libra and would like any help getting your system running, please feel free to pm me here. Cheers and best to you all, King