tapco 6200A mixer - any info

[Unknown soldier]

Just picked up one of these for $20. The mic pre's are actually very useable. Any info on these? I think they were made in the early 70's...just trying to find out if they were considered good equipment back then, or run of the mill...

[vernier]

I had one ..sounded nice ..we used it live and for four-track recording.
'

[midigod]

They were definitely run-of-the-mill. Tapco was Greg Mackie's company before he started Mackie. I had a 6200A as well as the expander, which IIRC was the 6200B. They strapped together using that multipin in the back. After a few years, every single pot in mine froze solid. And I mean SOLID. On the plus side, there isn't much inside, so it's easy to modify it for putting in a rack - putting the XLRs on the back instead of the side panel, for example.

Here's a snippet from the current Tapco site: "Designed by audio guru Greg Mackie, the first TAPCO mixer was priced just right for starving musicians and durable enough to withstand mammoth-levels of on the road wear and tear. " TAPCO - Audio Gear with Vibe

I believe I would disagree with that last part, though I'll admit you could probably drop it off the top of a building and not damage the case.

Craig

[Steffmo]

I do remember that freezing solid thing....but I only found that in old mixers I found in tag sales.

There weren't may choices then for a working band. The mixers the really changed things were the Allen and Heath Minimixer and the Tapco 6000 series.

The Tapcos sounded great, were reliable, had some eq and a send. They sold a bazillion of them and had the field to themselves for a couple of years before BiAmp, Sunn, Tangent, and a few others I can't remember jumped in.

The peripherals were popular as well. There was a spring reverb, and a stereo graphic EQ. Really an amazingly cool system in its day.

Curious to hear how it stands up today.

[Unknown soldier]

I'm using it for mic pre's - they have that dark, full sound and are suprising accurate. A bit noisy though - pretend tape hiss.

The mixer definitely has that sound from the era. Which is cool because that's what I like....

And the pot were tight....I had to give it a WD40 bath and now it's useable.

[Smaug]

Shit man, don't use WD-40 on your pots! You will kill them.
Get some Calilube.

[rodreb]

The TAPCO stuff and the Heil stuff by Bob Heil were the first units to cater to an emerging "band" market.

It was priced right, built like an army tank, loud, and sounded good. Both of these product lines helped fuel the whole "band scene".

ROD
Imaginary Friend Recording

[Unknown soldier]

Originally Posted by Smaug

Shit man, don't use WD-40 on your pots! You will kill them.
Get some Calilube.

eh, ended up getting the mixer for free. It if I can get some use out of it before I have to lay it to rest, I'm good.