Allen and Heath GS 3000 anyone ?

[lukejs]

Hello. A local studio here in my hometown shut down 5 years ago, and has an Allen and Heath GS 3000 console for sale. It's in brand new condition still !! Was only used 3 months and then put in storage. It's cost new with meteboard was around $ 5,600 dollars, and I think I can get this for around $ 2,200 dollars !! Can anyone give me any advice on this recording console ? How are the mic pre's , eq's and summing ?? It's got all the bells and whistels ....midi machine control..... even two tube mic pre's !!!! And it sure looks pretty !!! Thanks, Luke

[Nevelicious]

I would buy it for 2 reasons.

A) It is a good board... not great, but good. EQ is a bit dry but it is a functional board.

B) The price.... I am assuming it is a 32x8 or something about that size. You could sell it on ebay for about 3-4K. So buy it... and if you hate it... sell it and put some $$ in your pocket.

OR you could turn it down and give me the guys number.

[Steffmo]

...or if Neve tanks let me know......

Allen and Heath is good sounding stuff.

[lukejs]

Hi....I forgot to tell ya....it's the 24 channel version. Looks brand new still. In my town, nobody's got the money to buy this thing....that's why it's been sitting there for almost 5 years !! I was thinking that if I can get it for $ 2,200 dollars, it would be a steal !! My other choice was to buy a new Soundcraft ghost, .....you think this board is better ? Seems like it's got a ton of stuff on it.....

Here's the brochure.....

http://www.allen-heath.com/veterans/...0_brochure.pdf

Please, can some fellow gearslut take a glance at this brochure and tell me what they think ? I'm just starting my studio, and a big console like this would look pretty nice for customers to see.... right now, I just have a 16 channel Mackie.... Thanks, Luke

[De chromium cob]

I used to own one- Its certainly a great deal at that price. Its right on par with the Ghost soundwise with a slightly better layout IMO. Its not a Neve or SSL by any means, but its at the top of that price class. Get it and see if you like it, if you dont make some money selling it. Hasnt that local studio heard of ebay?

[lukejs]

No. He hasn't heard of it..... he lives in a small town in southern mexico, and is about 75 years old and hasn't got the internet. ! And ...I hope nobody tells him about e-bay either !!! hahahah

[LittleDogAudio]

I recorded a high-power jump/swing band at a night club on a A&H GS3000. It was one of the better quality live shows I've done. Everyone loved the quality and at this price it would be hard to pass up.

Assuming that it's in perfect working condition- I can't think of any terrible things about the console that would have you regretting the choice.

Chris

[lukejs]

Fellow gearslutz ! Thanks for your advice and opinions on the pending purchase of the GS3000... I'm going over today to make an offer ! Wish me luck....I'm psyched !!! Thanks, Luke

[lukejs]

Damn ! I went over to check out the GS3000 console and channel 1 was not working. Hooked up mic, turned on phantom, gave it gain..... turned up channel fader.....and nothing.... All the other channels worked though. Another bummer..... even though channel 1 was blown, the owner maintains his same initial price of $ 2,500 !!! I figured he'd lower his price for sure..... He's asking half of what it costed, and was used for only 3 months......so I guess even at this price it's a good deal. But.......now I'm concerned that maybe some others will blow too, since this channel blew with very little use. Should I still buy it ?????? How much you think it will cost to fix a blown pre on this channel ???

[De chromium cob]

Probably not that much to fix- Make sure its not just the ribbon cable coming unseated from the channel. They are pretty easy to work on if your not frightened by stuff like that. Call A&H and ask them what a spare channel card would cost- You could replace the whole channel strip for not that much....(but I would bet its that ribbon cable)
Consoles like to keep working and can develop as many problems from lack of use as from over use..... Sounds like you should also spend some time checking ALL features on the board before you take ownership. A can of Miller Stephensons Contact Re-new would probably do wonders for it as well.

[lukejs]

thanks for the advice. I've got a buddy who's an electronics technician, so I'll probably have him take a look at it and see if he can fix it. I'm in southern mexico, so it would probably cost pretty much for shipping and taxes to buy a new channel module...hopefully a & h has some spares on this side of the world. Should I still buy the console then ? Yes ?

[LittleDogAudio]

Although buying a spare channel isn't a bad idea, the problem should be relatively easy to fix.

If you don't have trouble-shooting experiance, get it. Doing your own work (low voltage that is) will save you big money and is just a good thing to know.

The bad channel strip is probably caused by a very simple connection issue or maybe a bad IC chip on the mic pre.

You can handle it.

Chris

[mersisblue]

sounds good

check those tubes though if you didnt

Id get it . But I think A&H has groups of 8 channels . so you have to repalce the first 8 when any go kapoot

If poosiable Id move the first 8 channels , or if possiable the first channel by it self to the last channel possiable .

Id wait before you take it took get looked at , get to know it intimatly first .

Id say for 2,500 he can fix the first channel or take it off the price and you'll fix it .

[LittleDogAudio]

Tubes???

Chris

[mersisblue]

Yeah If Its the GS 3000 I believe it has 2 tubes above the master section

[De chromium cob]

Originally posted by mersisblue
But I think A&H has groups of 8 channels . so you have to repalce the first 8 when any go kapoot

That is not the case- Each channel is on a seperate vertical card and all are joined by a ribbon cable. And the tubes are a very minor concern and are very cheap- I think 12AX7s....and they arent in the master section- they have to be patched in so it wont effect the board even if they needed replacing.

[LittleDogAudio]

Yep, you are correct. I've only used the GS3000 for a few remotes,
totally forgot about the tubes.
Thanks for pointing that out.

Chris

[Mario-C.]

Originally posted by lukejs
thanks for the advice. I've got a buddy who's an electronics technician, so I'll probably have him take a look at it and see if he can fix it. I'm in southern mexico, so it would probably cost pretty much for shipping and taxes to buy a new channel module...hopefully a & h has some spares on this side of the world. Should I still buy the console then ? Yes ?

Luke,
you should be able to get the parts you need via A&H's rep in Mexico City

[lukejs]

Thanks Mario ! Haven't heard from ya in a while, hope you're doin fine ! I called a guy from Gohner who distributes allen and heath, and he told me he'd have to order the part from the UK ! Then I called the USA distributor and they told me they luckily had some of those channels in stock , which kinda surprised me. They charge $ 200 a module, which I think is pretty reasonable. Tomorrow I'm buying the console, bad channel and all..... just can't pass this up.....it just will look really cool in the studio !! hahahha Hope it sounds as good as it looks !

[mersisblue]

I said above the mastersection

But to be more precise I think above the group faders

thats good about the circuit boards being individual though and I didnt know the tubes were that cheap

[lukejs]

I bought it !! Took it home... cleaned it up....the whole board using a solvent and cue-tips !! Took a whole day to to it....but it looks brand spankin new !!! I took off the left cover to see about the bad channel one, and I think De Chromium Cob may be right about the bad channel.... the ribbon cable came out very easily, and when I stuck it back in, it seemed like it is not a very snug fit. I put it back together , but channel one still doesn't work. I was thinking of removing the channel , but didn't know where to start. Anybody know how ? Under the first 8 channel modules, there's another PCB, and also, every channel is connected to the rear connectors( mic , line etc.) with a ribbon cable. If I where to disconnect all the ribbon cables by reaching my hand into the console, I don't think I could connect them again, so there must be a better idea... Any tips ?? Thanks, Luke

[progdrums]

I just bought a GS3000 and had the same problem on channel 1. I "worked" the xlr connector a few times and voila its working. Seems the xlr ins get sticky from non-use. The board sounds great and I hear a big difference between it and the mackie 24/8 bus i previously owned.
Anyone here real familiar with this board?. I am trying to understand the effects routing on this and am having a bit of difficulty. Also I would like to use the midi control to run the transport on my Otari MTR 12 via SMPTE. I just purchased a Motu Midi-express from Ebay which has SMPTE and hoping it will "translate" the MMC to smpte functions.
Anyone tried this?
ANy help would be great as I have limited time to piss around these days and some advice would save alot of head-scratchin

[progdrums]

Hey Guys
You dudes all go on vacation?
I could really use a few tips and feedback on this gs3000 board.My setup consists of 4 x 8 channel Edirol DA2496s patched directly to each channel via the individual tape ins/outs.I cannot seem to get any direct sound from the channels into the control room UNLESS i monitor through the "tape" return.Does occupying the tape in/outs bypass monitoring? Also trying to get my Digitech TSR24S working has been a chore.
I just recently purchased this to replace my Mackie 24/8 Bus and the Bussing is totally different to me and confusing. I must admit that I havent really spent alot of time on it as of yet but some tips would help me get productive quickly
.The Digitech TSR24 effects unit is only for the rehearsal room for live vocals. It would free up alot of resources on my DAW not to have to use realtime software effects(which works really well with latency even at 2ms).
Im guessing that somehow to monitor in the control room I must use the mixB bus and send the desired channels to this bus and then to the L+R Out?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[lukejs]

Originally Posted by progdrums

Hey Guys
You dudes all go on vacation?
I could really use a few tips and feedback on this gs3000 board.My setup consists of 4 x 8 channel Edirol DA2496s patched directly to each channel via the individual tape ins/outs.I cannot seem to get any direct sound from the channels into the control room UNLESS i monitor through the "tape" return.Does occupying the tape in/outs bypass monitoring? Also trying to get my Digitech TSR24S working has been a chore.
I just recently purchased this to replace my Mackie 24/8 Bus and the Bussing is totally different to me and confusing. I must admit that I havent really spent alot of time on it as of yet but some tips would help me get productive quickly
.The Digitech TSR24 effects unit is only for the rehearsal room for live vocals. It would free up alot of resources on my DAW not to have to use realtime software effects(which works really well with latency even at 2ms).
Im guessing that somehow to monitor in the control room I must use the mixB bus and send the desired channels to this bus and then to the L+R Out?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Hello. I´m the guy who started this thread.....way back when...... As for monitoring the live signal through the tape in jacks, I had some problems with that too, and I played around with the channel , monitor buttons , as I recall, if I sent the signal to LR I couldn´t hear it, but if I sent it to a bus, I could monitor it... I remember thinking that it was strange.... On another note...I was reading somewhere where a GS3000 owner said he loved how the line in´s sounded, and used those instead of the tape in´s for mixing down. He said the line in´s don´t pass through mic pre´s....which to me, sounded strange since you use the same mic pre potentiometer for adding gain to the line in...... Is this guy right ? have you ever tried this ? If not..can you do it, and report back ? hahahha Thanks !!!

[progdrums]

Lukejs,
Can we get a little more detailed? Maybe you use msn or icq?
My icq is 17101788 and msn is hardwarewiz@nexicom.net
Add me and lets rapp.
CHeers and thanks
Mike