What consoles have you worked on?

[Sigma]

electrodyne
mci 400, 500, 600 series
harrison
sphere c
mitsubishi superstar
ssl 4000, 6000, 9000
neve VR ,8038, 8078 , 8068
helios
trident A, C range

[Raw-Tracks]

Originally Posted by Sigma

trident A, C range

What's a Trident C Range? Never heard of that.

[Steamy Williams]

Originally Posted by Sigma

elecrodyne
mci 400, 500, 600 series
harrison
sphere c
mitsubishi superstar
ssl 4000, 9000
neve VR , 8078 , 8068
helios
trident A, C range

That's an interesting list. Would you care to comment on each of them?

[Sigma]

yeah ..but i got a session starting so in bet the 2 i have today

[ITJ]

Sphere Eclipse C
MCI 600
Massenburg Custom
Crystal Industries Custom
API (Frank Demedio)
Neve V, VR, 8028, 8078, 8068, 8088
SSL 4000, 6000, 8000, 9000
Trident A Range, 80B
Amek Einstein
Sound Workshop Series 30
Neotek
Euphonix (Original)
Sony DMX-R100
Soundcraft 6000
Soundcraft 600B
Mackie D8b

[Musiclab]

Harrison 3624, MR4
Trident Series 80b, 65
Neve 8068, 8078, VR
API, I don't remember the model, it was the one
in the Record Plant
AMR 1600
Otari Concept One

[LouD.]

Tascam Porta II
Mackie 8 buss, 16 VLZ, d8b
Sound Workshop something or other
MCI 600 (?)
Sony's version of said MCI board
Amek Big
Neve 8128
SSL G+, J series

still waiting for something really cool...

[Akoppenheffer]

Not as abundant as some of yours, but I worked on:
Neve VR
Neotek Elite
SSL 4000G
SSL 9000J - My favorite of my list...


Behringer Eurorack 16 channel WITH digital FX

[Mike Brown]

Some of this is live sound, but

Pretty much the entire Mackie, tapco, onyx line.
Yamaha PM1D, PM5D, PM5000
Digidesign Venue, Venue Profile
M7CL
Trident 80b
SSL 4040 G/G+
All the digidesign worksurfaces
Yamaha 3500M (I -love- this console)

My perfect recording situation - track on the Trident 80b or the Yamaha 3500 (it would be kind of a stretch but I love the sound) and mix ITB.

[Sigma]

Originally Posted by Steamy Williams

That's an interesting list. Would you care to comment on each of them?

the mci 's were workhorses.. decent solid boards all around in fact a large % of the sound of philly stuff was cut on the 400 series..i think they are vastly underated today

the electrodyne had a few langevin graphics they were sweet, the 3 band eq's in the rest of the board were pretty limited

the sphere had awesome parametrics..AND you could keep your food hot on the channel strips

the best thing to say about the superstar is we got it free for buying 3 x-850's and 2 x 86's i hated the automation as well as the touch panel channel/buss assigns

the tridents were eh

helios was very sweet, neve like but a little more bite

the 8078 was "soft and warm" great for tracking but a bit limited when mixing.. it's hard to get the pop edgy sound out of them [iron city]

i liked the vr more than the j eq wise .but loved the j automation

[Plush]

Neotek Series II
Neotek Elan and Neotek Elite
Mackies
Neve 5542
Neve 8068
Neve Capricorn
Neve 88R
Soundcraft 200B
Cooper 12 channel
SSL 4000
Amek 9098i
Audio Developments Pico range
Studer 089
Studer 169
Studer 961/962
Lawo
Barth
EMT
Yamaha digital range, 03D, DM1000, DM2000

[poncival]

Mackie 1202 VLZ

[TornadoTed]

Pretty much a whole bunch of low end boards,

Aces UK 24 channel board. A long time ago now, I can't remeber the model.
Seck 24-4-2
Mackie 16-4-2 VLZ
Mackie 12-4-2 VLZ
Mackie 8 Buss
Mackie D8b
Yamaha 01V
Soundcraft Ghost
Soundcraft Sapphyre. The board I have now and by far the best of the lot in all areas.

Originally Posted by Plush

Neotek Series II
Neotek Elan and Neotek Elite
Neve 5542
Neve 8068
Neve Capricorn
Neve 88R
Soundcraft 200B
Cooper 12 channel
SSL 4000
Amek 9098i
Audio Developments Pico range
Studer 089
Studer 169
Studer 961
Lawo
Barth
EMT
Yamaha digital range, 03D, DM1000, DM2000

Which one is your favorite 9098i or 88R?

What is your opinion of the Capricorn?

[Jack P]

It would be a quite interesting read if people posted like 'sigma', what they also thought of the individual consoles.

Just a thought thumbsup

[vernier]

Trident's, Neve's, SSL's, Tapco, Biamp, Brent Averill, and best of all, my custom vintage tube desk.

[thethrillfactor]

Neve 8038,8048,8058,8068,8078,8108,8232,VR,Capricorn,5316,Melbourne

SSL 4000E.4000G,4000G+,9J & 9K, AWS900

Trident B range,80,80B,90,

API 1604,3288,Legacy

Focusrite console

Euphonix CS2000 & CS3000

Amek 2500,Angela,Big,Rembrandt,Mozart,9098,Media 5.1

MCI 500 series and 636

Sony MXP 3036 with and without API mic pres, Oxford. DMXR-100

Calrec

Harrison MR2,MR3 & MR4,Raven, Series 10

Otari Status

D&R

Neotek Series, Elan, Elite

Soundcraft

Analog Soundtracs, Soundtrac Virtua

Audient

Yamaha

Peavey AMR

Sphere

[Plush]

Originally Posted by High Fidelity

Which one is your favorite 9098i or 88R?

What is your opinion of the Capricorn?

My favorite by far was the Neve 8068. Because of the sound and the simplicity. Then the Amek 9098i. (very complex, very top top sound) The Amek/Neve is a beautiful console--probably the best ever made of the modern consoles. 88R has too many features that are not used by me.

The Neve Capricorn was a fickle beast. Its software was prone to crashing and the whole console then became not useable. Billed as a digital dream, it is discounted now on the used market to the price it should be. (from $1M to $60K now.)

Of super modern consoles, LAWO is mindblowing and, for the price, the Yamaha Deutsche Gramophon designed DM1000 DM2000 are good consoles with tremendous flexibility.

Best of vintage besides Neve was the Barth (1970's) console I used to use in Heidelberg. Excellent German console not known in the States.

I've made some very good recordings on a Mackie 1202 (original vintage!)

[ryanojohn]

Amek TAC/Matchless
SSL 4056G+
SSL 6000E
SSL 9000J
Neve VR
Neve 8068
Neve 5316-ish (Custom)
Soundcraft 800B
API no idea on the model
MCI JH636
Otari Concept Elite
Otari Series 54
Studer D900 Digital
Trident 80B
Trident Series 65

Do Icons and D-Commands count?
lol

[Sigma]

Originally Posted by thethrillfactor

Neve 8038,8048,8058,8068,8078,8108,8232,VR,Capricorn,5316,Melbourne

SSL 4000E.4000G,4000G+,9J & 9K, AWS900

Trident B range,80,80B,90,

API 1604,3288,Legacy

Focusrite console

Euphonix CS2000 & CS3000

Amek 2500,Angela,Big,Rembrandt,Mozart,9098,Media 5.1

MCI 500 series and 636

Sony MXP 3036 with and without API mic pres, Oxford. DMXR-100

Calrec

Harrison MR2,MR3 & MR4,Raven, Series 10

Otari Status

D&R

Neotek Series, Elan, Elite

Soundcraft

Analog Soundtracs, Soundtrac Virtua

Audient

Yamaha

Peavey AMR

Sphere

wish i got the chance to work on an API

[sleeps]

Originally Posted by vernier

Trident's, Neve's, SSL's, Tapco, Biamp, Brent Averill, and best of all, my custom vintage tube desk.

Brent Averill has a console? Could you give us some information on it?

[sleeps]

SSL 4000G+, 9000J, 4000E
Neotek Elite
DDA CS8
Neve VR
Inward Connections (custom tube console)
Yamaha PM1D

The standard list ... Control 24's, Mackie 8-Bus's, Midas's, Soundcraft's, Yamaha's, etc.

[squeeks555]

Trident A-Range
Neve 5315
Neve VR
SSL 4000
Neotek Elite
ACE Audio Engineering Customized German Analog Console - http://www.eaglerockstudios.us/
Control 24

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by Sigma

wish i got the chance to work on an API

I wish the API's that i had worked on weren't so tempermental and breaking down all the time. Really left a bad taste in the mouth so to speak.

One thing i can say about working on classic consoles in NYC studios during the
90's is that it wasn't fun at all. NYC was so SSL minded that alot of the classic consoles(Neve's and API's) were really broken down and not taken care of at all.

I mean its easy to understand since maintance was so expensive and SSL upkeep was even worse($200 an hour). So a lot of the major studios made choices on what to focus their funds on. Heck SSL brought in the business so it was an easy choice but still...

Things are way different now in that regard. Its like a "classic console preservation society" around.

And i agree with Plush, probably an 8068 would be my all time favorite. Working on a perfectly maintaned one is like driving a Rolls Royce.

[waxx]

not so impressive as others, but as amateur i've seen some nice consoles like

API Legacy: very nice punchy sound, top eq, good onboard dynamics , but limited in automation
SSL 4048E/G+: very flexibel, nice sounding, but i liked the API Sound more
AMEK Big: not like the big ones, but still nice. EQ is usable for a lot, no automation (on the one i used)
Digidesign Pro Control (if that count as console, i doubt ...): i hate it, not ergonomic and it works with PT, wich i don't like neihter...
Mackie 8 bus: usable, but nothing more
Mackie 16-4-2: like above, but very solid (i used one a lot for live stuff also)
Soundcraft 16-4-2 (wich model exact i don't remember): beter than mackie concerning sound, but nothing special neither.
TL Audio M4: to much distortion, to less headroom certainly not worth the price (i even like the mackie 8 bus more)

edit: i forgot the behringers i used ;-) and the live consoles (i did a lot of live stuff before start recording ...):

mackie vlz and others
soundcrafts: Europe, 8000, spirit 24, spirit live4, 324, series 2
Crest: don't remember the type
midas venice, Verona
Allan & Heath PA20, GL2000, GL2800, GL3000, ML4000, series 21

[Brent Hahn]

Lots of the usual suspects, plus:

Gates (tubes, no faders, Big Knobs)
RCA (ditto)
Aengus

[drBill]

SSL 4000, 9000J

Neve VR, V series

Trident 80B, also eh...

Trident 24 & 65 series (ugh)

D&R Triton, Orion, OrionX, Vision

API (OHenry's - the biggest API on the west coast, now gone......)

API/Demedio (sp?) custom console

Misc. Soundcrafts

Amek 9098 (in-line) sweet!

Amek Mozart (ouch...)

Old MCI's (can't remember model#'s)

[Jules]

Trident: TSM / A Range / 80B
Helios: (wrap around console, Ramport Studios, London)
Neve: V / VR / Neve Vintage consoles loaded with 10 series models including 1073's and 5116's (or whatever they are...)
Neve & Calrec hybrid console
SSL: B series (2nd ever 'prototype', the "Phil Collins drum sound" one from Townhouse) / E series / G series
Focusrite Forte (had to climb on it to reach the mic pre's)
MCI: 500 / 600
Harrison: MR3
Amek: Angela / Hendrix / 2500
Raindirk:
DDA: various
Soundtracks: various
Soundcraft: 500 / 600 + various
Mackie: various
Seck: various
TAC: Matchless / various
Digidesign ProControl
+ Various custom desks
+ a ton of others I have forgotten..

[PhilE]

Audient
EMI Neve
8078
8068
8048
Kelso
Melbourn
5315
VR-L
Sony DMX
Raindirk 3
Harison
MTA 990
Trident 65
Trident 24
Trident 80b
Mackie 8 buss
Mackie d8B
DDA Profile
DDA DMR
DDA AMR
Soundcraft Ghost
Soundcrat 6000
Otari Elite Plus
Otari Status
TAC Scorpion
Allen and Heath GS3000
TCA S3
Yamaha O2R
Tascam TMD8000?

I feel like I'm forgetting some... Procontrol and Control 24 dont count though... hmmm... I'm sure there's others.

[John Moran]

ssl 6000E w/ black eq's.
that one was built to my spec in '84 and it had the sound that made ssl famous; the hex buss was originally for music/fx/dialog splits but in music applications it made instantaneous sub-mix busses. the g series eq's screwed up the ssl sound.

neve 5442
my first desk, used in lots of classical recording and in a pcm 1610/dae1100 edit suite; mobile fidelity sound lab took it to moscow on a rental and the ruskies banged it up, jerks. it survived but damn... xformers had the tone, eq just touched in did wonders to most anything

mci 636
souped up with cap changes that thing sang and had low end punch, the eq was not the greatest, don't track them unless necessary; mic pres were much better than people expected; trick on them was to patch out direct to the recorder and skip all the summing amps, big difference if handled that way

mci 500
it was ok. it sure was big and it didn't screw up sounds, in fact it could sound pretty darn musical in the right hands. worked on that in a room that was entirely mci and if the monitors hadn't been out to lunch, the facility could have turned out pretty good product. as it was, i made the mistake of not trusting my own monitors and listened on the theirs. never made that mistake again.

trident 80
meh, never got what the deal was with these desks, the eq never struck me as that special. worked on several different examples and they just never clicked for me. workable, sure, first choice, um, no.

trident a range
at norbert putnams bennet house in franklin, tn. this is what made the trident name, just natural and effortless to get good tone, if that makes sense. lift the fader, it's there.

mitsubishi soundstar
uh, kind of forgettable really. it passed signal. hooray. it probably doesn't today and it's no loss.

neve 8108
i don't know why people diss these boards, i worked on several of them with necam ("tape has reached TO position") and they were perfectly great boards. the routing was perhaps too spaceage for its own good but sonically it had tone and the eq was fine. at lionshare and at fantasy.

neve 8058
i think it was an 8058 at village A in santa monica. meaty, beefy big and bouncy. don't know if i would do everything thru it but to grab the color in one pass sure didn't hurt.

harrison wtf number it was
souped up console at frank zappas house. of course it worked, it wouldn't dare not! another example at pedernales years ago, also souped up by larry greenhill and perfectly grand. get the tlo74 out of the mix buss, crosstalk drops, s/n improves and they were good desks.

dda interface 24x4
an amazing little desk, quiet, fast and transparent, set this thing up for live houston symphony production; retired from that and currently residing in dusty hills home studio. it's a shame dda no longer produces desks, these were really great small consoles even if it did use a ribbon cable for the bussing connections. if you run across one in good shape, grab it.

soundcraft 200B
uhhhh, it passed signal. it wasn't horrible, it wasn't special either. pretty forgettable really.

tac scorpion
this was horrible. no wonder it was named for poisonous bug. made me want to skip amek entirely, and i did. oh well.

tascam
hahahahahahahahahahaha coff coff sputter.....
how the hell can they continue to make such mediocre mixers is beyond me. get a clue someday, pleeze?

quad-8 coronado (?)
good mic pres, rest of the desk was ok. i don't get why people want to rack these modules, it's nothing that damn special, it's just old.