Harrison Pro 790 VS. Soundtracs CM4400 - Help

groove merchant · 13th February 2005, 05:16 PM

Whats up Fellas.

First time posting here. I stumbled across this site a couple months of ago and finally got around to registering. Many of you have in-depth knowledge on vintage mixing consoles, so I figured this would be the best place to try and get some questions answered.

I've finally narrowed my desicion down to these two consoles.

The Soundtracs CM4400, and a Harrison Pro console. I belive the one that I was looking at was the *790? Theirs one around here that needs just a little tlc for $1000. I'm assuming thats a pretty good deal for a board of this calibre?

I use to own a Soundtracs in the early 90's. I enjoyed it very much. It was the 24:8:16. Great look, smooth faders, eq's were limited but good at what they did. Etc etc.

So, I stumbled across this guys website thats based out of the UK. He had a discography of like every Soundtracs console made from past to present (Or at least until DigiConsole took over). Well I noticed this CM4400 on his site. It looked frame wise, and style wise, almost identical to my old 24:8:16, but it had a huge VU based meter bridge, a patch bay built in, and it appeared to have 4 band EQ (My old one was 3 band). Well I scoured the search engines about this board but couldn't fine very much information on it. Other then, Radio Head cut an LP on it, and future sounds of london at one point used it. Oh and I think the Cars too. I respect all those artists so it says a lot if they at some point were relying on this board.

The thing is aside of some endorsements and very broad specs. (Next to nil) I know nothing of this board. It would be awsome if someone could provide me first hand information on it for those who have actually encoutered this board, and even better if anyone could provide my access to someone who may be selling one, or at least a general idea of what these boards typically go for these days.

I have not seen one for sale in the 2 months i've been looking, and i'm not connected to a big enough group of analog junkies like myself who would know where to even begin search for one.

With that said, the Harrison is at an audio Pawnshop here in town. Of course they don't have the means of plugging it all up. Though the guys at the shop were cool enough to let me pick it up and try before I buy. Before I even get to that, I'd like some impressions on that old Harrison. How are the pre's? Eq's? Stability of the board? Is it a maintainence monster?

An old aquaintance of mine had a Harrison (not sure what model though) and I swear it was a 16 ch. or perhaps a 20/24 ch. Is their any other Harrison series console that fall into that category, or only the 790..

I appreciate ANY help on this guys.

Peace.

adam_w · 13th February 2005, 08:58 PM

If it's the "Radiohead" one, it's originally from Courtyard, which they replaced with an MTA.

That particular Soundtracs desk model is old and IMO isn't particularly stunning sonically. But... no-ones going to run off with it due to it's sheer size and it'll probably keep going forever !

groove merchant · 14th February 2005, 03:48 PM

Adam: I think your right about it being replaced etc. If you do a search on the CM4400 through Google, you'll see the first link is a Soundtracs guy at www.studiosys.co.uk or something like that. Anyhow, he had compiled a little list of chaps that had used the board with great success. Sound wise, and getting on the music chart wise.

Anyhow, I've decided f*** the Harrison. I want the Tracs'. So if anyone can get me any information on where to obtain one, or at least find some old information on what MSRP was in 88' on it, or even better, what it might be fetching second hand these days, it would be much appreciated. I love the sound of my 24:8:16 and the CM4400 or even the CMX would be fine, look to be 24:8's on steriods with some much missed features on the board that I have. Ie. Patch bay, 4 band EQ and so on.

Thanks for the reply Adam.

Ps. I think your right about it being so huge AND stable, that, not many people are letting these things go. Ha. That thing is a behemoth. Have a good one.

Luke V · 14th February 2005, 10:05 PM

Is the Harrison in the states?

adam_w · 15th February 2005, 12:13 AM

That Soundtracs guy is probably THE Soundtracs guy, so he's a really good source. As far as the desk mentioned before, yep, it's a solid beast and if it's what you want - I'll keep my eyes open for ya in case. I know some of the Harrison stuff is really amazing, but I'm sure it's a bit like Trident is to us here - some was great, some not so great... Good luck in your search !

~ufo~ · 8th March 2005, 12:37 PM

THAT GUY (Tim Jones) is indeed THE soundtracs guy.
Soundtracs don't support their analogue desks anymore, so Tm's yer man.

I'm currently looking into buying a Cm4400 myself,to replace my Soundtracs IL3632 which is moving to my larger CR...
There's one for sale over here (holland) for €2450

anywho, the CM was the first large soundtracs me thinks, dunno what it sounds like.
it sure looks the part though.

Anywho, Tim sells desks and services them as well, not a bad idea to get in touch w/ him, you can post him modules and he'll fix them and return them...

good luck

hculture · 8th October 2005, 07:15 AM

i owned a pro 790, i thought it was a really good board and recordings i have from the past hold up really well.

the mic pres are great for drums, very punchy, always accented the sound you wanted and mostly if you ever had a bad sound you needed to change the drum in some way. not the board.

eq has tons of "air". although without recapping, (which you may have to do) they can be a little noisy.

oh and be aware of the harrison/molex connectors in the back. i think all old harrisons are that way. they have tons of molex connectors that i believe are available from mouser or digikey. and kind of a pain to get prepped and ready. and you cant just take it home usually, unless youre lucky enough to find one with connected patchbays. which i doubt for the price. the one thing the soundtracs has is "plug and play". take it home , plug it in, record. with the harrison, there is a little more setup.

harrison was kind enough to email me a pinout, and give some basic info, like....
"that board listed for around 35,000 new" so for around a grand with some tlc i guarentee you will like the harrison more than a soundtracs.............my .02

hope this helps, gotta get back to mixing the happies.............

Mantra · 26th December 2005, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hculture

i owned a pro 790, i thought it was a really good board and recordings i have from the past hold up really well.

the mic pres are great for drums, very punchy, always accented the sound you wanted and mostly if you ever had a bad sound you needed to change the drum in some way. not the board.

eq has tons of "air". although without recapping, (which you may have to do) they can be a little noisy.

oh and be aware of the harrison/molex connectors in the back. i think all old harrisons are that way. they have tons of molex connectors that i believe are available from mouser or digikey. and kind of a pain to get prepped and ready. and you cant just take it home usually, unless youre lucky enough to find one with connected patchbays. which i doubt for the price. the one thing the soundtracs has is "plug and play". take it home , plug it in, record. with the harrison, there is a little more setup.

harrison was kind enough to email me a pinout, and give some basic info, like....
"that board listed for around 35,000 new" so for around a grand with some tlc i guarentee you will like the harrison more than a soundtracs.............my .02

hope this helps, gotta get back to mixing the happies.............

I have a Harrison Pro-7 sitting in my attic collecting dust. Can you give your opinion on the sonic aspects of the pre's, eq's? Is there a contemporary product you'd pinpoint as being 'similar' soundwise?

Thanks

Peter

belzeted · 9th December 2006, 12:03 PM

I have TWO Cm4400's, one for spare parts, I've used it for all kinds of music for many years and I find it very versatile. The pre's are a bit muddy but they work well for drums, bass and some guitar sounds, I use a LA audio MXL II (The really cheap one) preamp when I record vocals and distorted guitars, but for most things, I use the built-ins. I bought the first one for about €3000 and the second one for €1000, they're not easy to find, but they're great! I have never tried the Jade, but it seems like it's a bit better in the pre depatrment...the Jade also have comp on all channels. Good luck bro,
Teddy

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Harrison 3232	x.cerveau	So much gear, so little time!	5	25th May 2006 04:59 PM
HARRISON MR-4 OR SOUNDTRACS JADE	PRINCE JAMAL	Geekslutz forum	3	31st December 2003 06:50 PM
Harrison Pro-7	Mantra	High end	6	12th June 2003 01:32 AM

13th February 2005, 05:16 PM	#1
groove merchant Gear interested Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: planet jupiter Posts: 2	Harrison Pro 790 VS. Soundtracs CM4400 - Help Whats up Fellas. First time posting here. I stumbled across this site a couple months of ago and finally got around to registering. Many of you have in-depth knowledge on vintage mixing consoles, so I figured this would be the best place to try and get some questions answered. I've finally narrowed my desicion down to these two consoles. The Soundtracs CM4400, and a Harrison Pro console. I belive the one that I was looking at was the *790? Theirs one around here that needs just a little tlc for $1000. I'm assuming thats a pretty good deal for a board of this calibre? I use to own a Soundtracs in the early 90's. I enjoyed it very much. It was the 24:8:16. Great look, smooth faders, eq's were limited but good at what they did. Etc etc. So, I stumbled across this guys website thats based out of the UK. He had a discography of like every Soundtracs console made from past to present (Or at least until DigiConsole took over). Well I noticed this CM4400 on his site. It looked frame wise, and style wise, almost identical to my old 24:8:16, but it had a huge VU based meter bridge, a patch bay built in, and it appeared to have 4 band EQ (My old one was 3 band). Well I scoured the search engines about this board but couldn't fine very much information on it. Other then, Radio Head cut an LP on it, and future sounds of london at one point used it. Oh and I think the Cars too. I respect all those artists so it says a lot if they at some point were relying on this board. The thing is aside of some endorsements and very broad specs. (Next to nil) I know nothing of this board. It would be awsome if someone could provide me first hand information on it for those who have actually encoutered this board, and even better if anyone could provide my access to someone who may be selling one, or at least a general idea of what these boards typically go for these days. I have not seen one for sale in the 2 months i've been looking, and i'm not connected to a big enough group of analog junkies like myself who would know where to even begin search for one. With that said, the Harrison is at an audio Pawnshop here in town. Of course they don't have the means of plugging it all up. Though the guys at the shop were cool enough to let me pick it up and try before I buy. Before I even get to that, I'd like some impressions on that old Harrison. How are the pre's? Eq's? Stability of the board? Is it a maintainence monster? An old aquaintance of mine had a Harrison (not sure what model though) and I swear it was a 16 ch. or perhaps a 20/24 ch. Is their any other Harrison series console that fall into that category, or only the 790.. I appreciate ANY help on this guys. Peace.

14th February 2005, 10:05 PM	#4
Luke V Gear interested Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Toledo Posts: 21	Is the Harrison in the states? __________________ Use what you have, after all, it's all you've got. LV

8th March 2005, 12:37 PM	#6
~ufo~ Gear addict Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: tilburg NL Posts: 457	THAT GUY (Tim Jones) is indeed THE soundtracs guy. Soundtracs don't support their analogue desks anymore, so Tm's yer man. I'm currently looking into buying a Cm4400 myself,to replace my Soundtracs IL3632 which is moving to my larger CR... There's one for sale over here (holland) for €2450 anywho, the CM was the first large soundtracs me thinks, dunno what it sounds like. it sure looks the part though. Anywho, Tim sells desks and services them as well, not a bad idea to get in touch w/ him, you can post him modules and he'll fix them and return them... good luck __________________ Yvo van Gemert engineer/producer The Velvet Overlook music production facilities http://www.velvetoverlook.com http://www.myspace.com/thevelvetoverlook http://www.myspace.com/youmeandotherpeople http://www.sofatonic.com http://www.myspace.com/sofatonic "Ball Blistering Bugger Blizzards"

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread:

13th February 2005, 08:58 PM	#2
adam_w Gear maniac Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: England Posts: 249	If it's the "Radiohead" one, it's originally from Courtyard, which they replaced with an MTA. That particular Soundtracs desk model is old and IMO isn't particularly stunning sonically. But... no-ones going to run off with it due to it's sheer size and it'll probably keep going forever !

14th February 2005, 03:48 PM	#3
groove merchant Gear interested Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: planet jupiter Posts: 2	Adam: I think your right about it being replaced etc. If you do a search on the CM4400 through Google, you'll see the first link is a Soundtracs guy at www.studiosys.co.uk or something like that. Anyhow, he had compiled a little list of chaps that had used the board with great success. Sound wise, and getting on the music chart wise. Anyhow, I've decided f*** the Harrison. I want the Tracs'. So if anyone can get me any information on where to obtain one, or at least find some old information on what MSRP was in 88' on it, or even better, what it might be fetching second hand these days, it would be much appreciated. I love the sound of my 24:8:16 and the CM4400 or even the CMX would be fine, look to be 24:8's on steriods with some much missed features on the board that I have. Ie. Patch bay, 4 band EQ and so on. Thanks for the reply Adam. Ps. I think your right about it being so huge AND stable, that, not many people are letting these things go. Ha. That thing is a behemoth. Have a good one.

15th February 2005, 12:13 AM	#5
adam_w Gear maniac Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: England Posts: 249	That Soundtracs guy is probably THE Soundtracs guy, so he's a really good source. As far as the desk mentioned before, yep, it's a solid beast and if it's what you want - I'll keep my eyes open for ya in case. I know some of the Harrison stuff is really amazing, but I'm sure it's a bit like Trident is to us here - some was great, some not so great... Good luck in your search !

8th October 2005, 07:15 AM	#7
hculture Gear Head Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: salt lake city Posts: 54	i owned a pro 790, i thought it was a really good board and recordings i have from the past hold up really well. the mic pres are great for drums, very punchy, always accented the sound you wanted and mostly if you ever had a bad sound you needed to change the drum in some way. not the board. eq has tons of "air". although without recapping, (which you may have to do) they can be a little noisy. oh and be aware of the harrison/molex connectors in the back. i think all old harrisons are that way. they have tons of molex connectors that i believe are available from mouser or digikey. and kind of a pain to get prepped and ready. and you cant just take it home usually, unless youre lucky enough to find one with connected patchbays. which i doubt for the price. the one thing the soundtracs has is "plug and play". take it home , plug it in, record. with the harrison, there is a little more setup. harrison was kind enough to email me a pinout, and give some basic info, like.... "that board listed for around 35,000 new" so for around a grand with some tlc i guarentee you will like the harrison more than a soundtracs.............my .02 hope this helps, gotta get back to mixing the happies.............

9th December 2006, 12:03 PM	#9
belzeted Gear interested Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 2	I have TWO Cm4400's, one for spare parts, I've used it for all kinds of music for many years and I find it very versatile. The pre's are a bit muddy but they work well for drums, bass and some guitar sounds, I use a LA audio MXL II (The really cheap one) preamp when I record vocals and distorted guitars, but for most things, I use the built-ins. I bought the first one for about €3000 and the second one for €1000, they're not easy to find, but they're great! I have never tried the Jade, but it seems like it's a bit better in the pre depatrment...the Jade also have comp on all channels. Good luck bro, Teddy