trident s100 mixer at $2k?

[jsiyer]

has anybody tried the trident s100 8 ch/ 6 buss/ 5 aux mixer? looks like a great deal at $1995!! any comments on the pres and eqs?

http://www.tridentaudio.co.uk/s100rack.html

jsiyer.

[subspace]

I was wondering if I'd ever see one of those again. That's a Soundtech Panoramic board circa '94. From Oram's brief tenure designing for Crate amplifiers PA division, Soundtech. I only ever saw ads for it, the first appearance of the "father of british EQ" moniker were in those ads I think. Crate moves upscale. It seems he's chopped off the long throw faders and last two bus assignment switches, it was an 8 bus board. Otherwise, it's identical to the original, same channel strips, knobs (dbx Project 1 style), buttons, LEDs, and graphics. Oh, but now it says Trident on it...

[e-cue]

Hmmmm, 2 1/2 of these vs a Spider.....

[Duardo]

Does anyone know whether it's the same as the Sountech board on the inside? I don't really care if they use the same box and knobs, I care about how it sounds.

What I heard, though, is that you can't really get one for $1995 after shipping, taxes and everything...comes out closer to $2500, which still seems like a good deal if it sounds good...

-Duardo

[Steve Smith]

oram is the other guy I refuse to buy anymore gear from due to internet presence.

[Messiah]

Originally posted by Steve Smith
oram is the other guy I refuse to buy anymore gear from due to internet presence.

Can you expand this?

[paulrocker]

That Soundtech board info is total bullshit.

Did you open it up?

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

If its anything like his 'serious' console it will prolly be made like shit. Check out Kletts forum for an indepth reason as to why not to purchase anything from ORAM... the original smoke and mirrors dude. His outboard seems to be ok.. but his desks are another thing.

Wiggy

[groove guru]

I was interested in that new mixer also. Please tell more about the crap issue.

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

from what i have read @ Klett's forum they are just cheesy contruction, like a lot of serious issues sonically with RF, grounding, workmanship and earthing. Its been ages since i read it but it is WELL WORTH A SNIFF if you are seriosuly considering getting into an ORAM.

I hate to bag shit out, but this is all just glossy brochure stuff! and well u wouldnt find me using it. Just bacause its got 'trident' on it dont mean its good!... Neve had a few 'Dogs' as well !!!!grudge

IMHO there are a host of thing that would probably be better than that and more flexible/ for instance there is a little Soundwrokshop LOGEX console with 12 channels and they kik major ass for the $ and it's only $595 'buy now!'. Buy that and know you are at least buying something that a tech can work on and have a decent idea of how it sounds and work. And then spend the $$ u saved on a primo bit of outboard like any self respecting slut!

Hope it helps
Wiggy

[entropy]

I'm unsure of the details of the whole Toft vs Oram thing but my reading of it is that Malcolm was the original brains behind Trident (along with some talented techs) and that John Oram was bought in as a consultant to do work on a couple of projects. At some stage JO acquired the rights to the Trident name.

Maybe someone else can shed more detail on this, my understanding is that Malcolm was responsible for the cool stuff (A series, TSM, 80b) and that JO has traded off the sucess of those products. As i've said in an earlier thread, I wouldn't be buying any Oram rack gear if it were half the price, dfegad

HiDef EQ? tutt Not on my mix

[cajonezzz]

Ya know some months ago I contacted John wanting to at least see one of the boards (s 100)

He couldn't seem to find me ANYONE in So. Cal tha I could drive and see/hear one in action. He also heavily leaned on me for a deposit. Like right now!!! or the rice was going to go up due to AES demand.....

Bullshit if you ask me.

We got a Midas Venice 160 and really love it. I tracked drums through it today ad our primary pre's are gone with the mobile rig. Highly recommend you try one out.

I would have loved to actually heard the Trident....I tried REALLY hard to give 'em a chance but I just never felt confident dealing with them.

hope you have better luck.

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

CAJONJAZZ...

Unfortunately thats the sorts stuff i hear too... whichis a shame cos it realyl does not do much for reputation. Oh well each to their own but i would steer clear of him and his products.

again YMMV

Why not try a SPECK ultramix, i have not tried one but they seem to be cool and have lotsa features and people seem to dig em!
And vince is no sheister like MR O!

Helping sort the good from the bad
Wiggy

[entropy]

Ya know some months ago I contacted John wanting to at least see one of the boards (s 100)

He couldn't seem to find me ANYONE in So. Cal tha I could drive and see/hear one in action. He also heavily leaned on me for a deposit. Like right now!!! or the rice was going to go up due to AES demand.....

Bullshit if you ask me.

We got a Midas Venice 160 and really love it. I tracked drums through it today ad our primary pre's are gone with the mobile rig. Highly recommend you try one out.

I would have loved to actually heard the Trident....I tried REALLY hard to give 'em a chance but I just never felt confident dealing with them.

Cajonezz, did you get that english tv program called "minder"?. That's John Oram, the used car dealer.....

He prolly needed to get a deposit off you so he could pay for some pots and a psu from Tandy.

[subspace]

Originally posted by paulrocker
That Soundtech board info is total bullshit.

Did you open it up?

My mistake. Looking at it again, I can see they are most likely two completely different designs that only share identical appearances, and have their switches and pots in identical locations on the PCB performing identical functions. A case of mistaken identity I'm sure, apologies.

[heinz]

He is the stepfather of British EQ. It's always the kids who suffer in these palimony cases.

[paulrocker]

thanks for the pic.

Here's the situation. I'm sure people have had some issues with Oram. I met the guy at AES and I really liked his way. Very old school brit meets new money with shiny tie. Whatever. I wanted to know about the juice behind the product so I contacted the head technical guy over there and we talked for about an hour.

I'm not going to tell you all the ins and outs of the components. They'll be releasing that on their site soon, but it costs a lot of money to make these mixers.

Also, he mentioned that Fletcher really didn't like Oram and had some strange vendetta against him and his company. So, bad words spread like wildfire when it comes from Fletcher's mouth. Personally I don't know Fletcher. He seems quite knowledgeable and he's had a few really funny and insightful things to say over the years, but I've seen him really lean in hard on companies before, and whether or not they deserve it, he can be quite prejudicial.

So I'm not saying the s100 is good or bad. Just find out first for yourself before you post anything.

[tiger vomitt]

im in nyc. i tried to find an s100 to try out for almsot 2 weeks straight. i found a dealer in the area who was a cool guy but couldnt get one for me to check out.

the dealer fellow told me the s100's pres are the same preamps as in trident's (oram) s20 pre.

they've gotta be nuts tho thinking that someone is gonna drop 2 grand on an 8 channel mixer sight unseen.

btw, if anyone in the US does want to get one, having it shipped from UK isnt necessary. they want almost $250 to do that. there will be US dealers you can get it from eventually (i guess?)

personally, i ended up just getting something else. not worth the risk IMO.

[paulrocker]

yea, thats pretty hard laying down that cash for something you haven't heard.

Like I said, I had a nice conversation with a guy from Oram. He went on to say that a lot of the components in these mixers are whats in the s20, and the eqs. Aparently some big foleyFX studio in LA installed these mic pres. Again, I haven't tried it so I can't confirm or deny how good they are.

He did say the eq was the exact same as the s80 eqs minus the low midband.

PC

[Paul Turpin]

I have a problem with gear that looks like crap but someone tries to tell me that it sounds good despite that. Good sounding gear needs to look either solid & utilitarian or fancy or hi-tech. People who make truly good gear understand this and make their product look and feel like something they would want to own. This s100 inspires no lust whatsoever.

[paulrocker]

I have a problem w/ stinky sounding gear, in whatever clothing it takes.

[Duardo]

Looking at it again, I can see they are most likely two completely different designs that only share identical appearances, and have their switches and pots in identical locations on the PCB performing identical functions. A case of mistaken identity I'm sure, apologies.

Why couldn't it be that way? He did design the Soundtech board, and if he already had a chassis designed, why not rework the guts but keep the exterior as is (ugly as it may be)? Especially if they're going to sell it so cheap...which, apparently, they aren't, at least not in the US (despite the ads claiming a price of $1995).

Also, he mentioned that Fletcher really didn't like Oram and had some strange vendetta against him and his company.

Do a quick search on RAP, it's not just Fletcher...apparenty there have been quite a few quality control issues with various pieces of gear from the various Oram companies over the past few years.

-Duardo

[paulrocker]

Interesting points.

I'm going to end with this. Oram and company if you're out there...

Defend thyself.
stike

[paulrocker]

Yea, thats pretty sucky. Quality control seems to be a running thread.

Although it is interesting they liked the console enough to build a new master section on it. They also liked the eq and preamps.

but I get your point.

Oram and company, if you're out there, you may want to jump in and talk a little about the s100.

[subspace]

Originally posted by paulrocker
yea, thats pretty hard laying down that cash for something you haven't heard.

Like I said, I had a nice conversation with a guy from Oram. He went on to say that a lot of the components in these mixers are whats in the s20, and the eqs. Aparently some big foleyFX studio in LA installed these mic pres. Again, I haven't tried it so I can't confirm or deny how good they are.

He did say the eq was the exact same as the s80 eqs minus the low midband.

PC

What's exactly the same? The fixed high and low bands are the same as the 8k/12k switchable highs and 60/120Hz switchable lows on the S80? Is the 100Hz - 10k mid sweep identical to the S80's 100Hz - 1.5k low mid or the 1k - 15k high mid? Is the 5 - 200Hz sweepable low cut the same as the S80's fixed 50Hz low cut? Am I missing something?
As to if it's possible to re-design the channels while the exact same controls do the exact same functions, sure, it's possible...
What exactly was wrong with his original design, other than saying SoundTech on the front?

[Neddy Seagoon]

Originally posted by cajonezzz
Ya know some months ago I contacted John wanting to at least see one of the boards (s 100)

He couldn't seem to find me ANYONE in So. Cal tha I could drive and see/hear one in action. He also heavily leaned on me for a deposit. Like right now!!! or the rice was going to go up due to AES demand.....

Bullshit if you ask me.

....

I know of at least 2 in So. Cal. (Tustin & Capistrano). They sound great but at least one of them has serious overheating issues with the power supply. John O is supposedly "working on it" but as of right now it can only be run with a portable AC unit blowing directly into it. His outboard EQ's sound amazing though and seem to be pretty solidly built.

YMMV

[Aearth]

I've been looking for a small analog desk for months after getting rid of my DA7. But the field is very limited as far as features for studio use. I swore I would never go back to digital boards but there is nothing out there that has good sound quality and routing features (other than spending $10K).
I've end up getting the Yamaha 01V96. The pre are very usefull, routing great and I get contol surface (16 faders at a time). I have a great collection of high end pres and I mix in the box so a small mixer is all I need.
The other thing I've found is that u should get a product that everyone knows incase u need to off-load it later and not lose too much $.


Nick

[paulrocker]

thats true about name recognition. But whenever I get something, anything digital from converters to software I have to assume its going to drop tremendously in value. Usually the opposite with good analog gear.

Not always the case. Some Lexicon stuff retains its value, and, well thats all I can think of...

PC

[Aearth]

PC
You're absolutely correct there. I lost a bundle on the Ramsa DA7 especially when Panasonic dropped it, that's why I went for a Yamaha which seem to hold better value than most. I would have love to get the DM1000 but really the 01V96 will do me and who knows what's around the corner.
There's rumor coming from Malcolm Toft camp that there maybe a small mixer coming out, but when who knows, ...it maybe worth the wait, but I couldn't hold off any longer. With Mal involved it'll be good.
I have a couple of his Trident MTA Series 80B outboard pres and they sing. (a bit of a collectors item according to Fletcher)


Nick

[paulrocker]

for me, I'll forgo most of the features for a good sounding board/mixer. Don't know if the s100 is that.