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Pro Audio Repair

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  • 01-10-2014 6:03pm
    #1
    Crimson125
    Registered Users Posts: 159 ✭✭


    Hi all,

    Are there any reputable repair houses active around Dublin area for high quality and competent pro-audio repair ?

    I've an old A&H desk i wanna get some work done on for starters.

    Cheers,

    Crim.


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    #2
    TroutMask
    Registered Users Posts: 743 ✭✭✭TroutMask


    A&H - which model? They can be problematic to work on


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    #3
    Crimson125
    Registered Users Posts: 159 ✭✭Crimson125


    TroutMask wrote: »
    A&H - which model? They can be problematic to work on

    S8 MKI. Do you know any reputable service places ?


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    #4
    TroutMask
    Registered Users Posts: 743 ✭✭✭TroutMask


    I usually do all my own tech and occasionally refurb consoles for other people. That A&H looks like a cool project, though it will be quite expensive to recondition as it takes many hours to rebuild a mixing console, esp. if you intend using it for recording. So unless it's something really special ............


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    #5
    Crimson125
    Registered Users Posts: 159 ✭✭Crimson125


    TroutMask wrote: »
    I usually do all my own tech and occasionally refurb consoles for other people. That A&H looks like a cool project, though it will be quite expensive to recondition as it takes many hours to rebuild a mixing console, esp. if you intend using it for recording. So unless it's something really special ............


    Has been fully functional since I got it - last year I fully recapped it so thats done - theres just a few buxs I need to iron out thats all - not a major job, but i need someone who can get it done with minimal fuss and get it back into its space quickly !


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    #6
    TroutMask
    Registered Users Posts: 743 ✭✭✭TroutMask


    Cool! What kind of caps did you use?


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    #7
    Crimson125
    Registered Users Posts: 159 ✭✭Crimson125


    TroutMask wrote: »
    Cool! What kind of caps did you use?

    All Nichicon :-D


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    #8
    TroutMask
    Registered Users Posts: 743 ✭✭✭TroutMask


    Yes, they sound great - rebuilt a Soundcraft Series One with the same caps! Doing a Neve right now. Would it not make more sense to finish off the desk yourself rather than hire in a tech - gotta be 60-80 an hour for a tech worth his/her salt?


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    #9
    Crimson125
    Registered Users Posts: 159 ✭✭Crimson125


    TroutMask wrote: »
    Yes, they sound great - rebuilt a Soundcraft Series One with the same caps! Doing a Neve right now. Would it not make more sense to finish off the desk yourself rather than hire in a tech - gotta be 60-80 an hour for a tech worth his/her salt?

    I'm stumped with it man and just wanna get it done amd working - im pretty sure its not.crazy stuff for.someone who knows what they are looking at. Ive spent too much time looking at it and the schematics and have a bunch of other things on the go aswell so at the point of desperation !

    "Doing a neve right now" - its a tough life :-p Which one ?


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    #10
    TroutMask
    Registered Users Posts: 743 ✭✭✭TroutMask


    Crimson125 wrote: »
    I'm stumped with it man and just wanna get it done amd working

    what is the problem? Noises? Bad ground structure maybe? Switches? If you have a dicky summing amp it can spread noise across the busses and make sadness
    Crimson125 wrote: »
    "Doing a neve right now" - its a tough life :-p Which one ?

    Its a 5432 broadcast console. Not in the pantheon of Neve-age but a pretty tasty front end all the same :) Marinair iron in and iron out everywhere!


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    #11
    Crimson125
    Registered Users Posts: 159 ✭✭Crimson125


    Good Stuff - the Neve sounds tasty !

    Well the two main issues are an intermittent master right channel, and problems passing signal over to 2 of the busses. That's what I can remember off the top of my head, but I wanted to do a full test and see if there's anything else.

    The 2 master channels were pulled out completely and double checked - as for the busses, hadn't properly looked at them after realising the master was dodgy. Had been using it as a mixing surface really with some inserts on the master and sending the 2bus back into the machine.

    It may be something simple, but I don't have the time any more to deal with it and have been working itb at the expense of dealing with it.


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    #12
    TroutMask
    Registered Users Posts: 743 ✭✭✭TroutMask


    I would try a methodical signal trace first - clean all of the inserts first then inject signal (a 1 kHz sine and a 10 kHz square) and work your way though the console stage-by-stage with a scope (any old scope will do - even a pocket scope!) until you find the fault. If there are socketed ICs - spray out the sockets. If there are trimpots or tweakers - spray those too. Check the rails everywhere for correct voltage and meter the input legs of every IC for DC voltage - the presence of DC on an input flags a blown IC, and one blown IC can send stray voltages around the place and cause a lot of strange problems


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    #13
    Crimson125
    Registered Users Posts: 159 ✭✭Crimson125


    TroutMask wrote: »
    I would try a methodical signal trace first - clean all of the inserts first then inject signal (a 1 kHz sine and a 10 kHz square) and work your way though the console stage-by-stage with a scope (any old scope will do - even a pocket scope!) until you find the fault. If there are socketed ICs - spray out the sockets. If there are trimpots or tweakers - spray those too. Check the rails everywhere for correct voltage and meter the input legs of every IC for DC voltage - the presence of DC on an input flags a blown IC, and one blown IC can send stray voltages around the place and cause a lot of strange problems


    And that there is beyond my skills allready - onw of a bunch of reasons thus i want a repair shop to.just get these sorted.as i have an album i want to mix on it very soon and im busy working on music ! Sound like something you would take on ?!!!


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    #14
    TroutMask
    Registered Users Posts: 743 ✭✭✭TroutMask


    Hmmm, getting a console like that back into spec is a time-consuming endeavour. I'd do it but I'm super busy with other projects and have a couple of albums coming up myself. And all this for a console which sells for €600 or so used in good condition. Have you considered a Midas Venice, seem to be a few of those floating around. Have one myself for live use and have multi tracked out of the direct outs with very good results. Quiet, clean channels with a musical EQ.


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    #15
    Crimson125
    Registered Users Posts: 159 ✭✭Crimson125


    TroutMask wrote: »
    Hmmm, getting a console like that back into spec is a time-consuming endeavour. I'd do it but I'm super busy with other projects and have a couple of albums coming up myself. And all this for a console which sells for €600 or so used in good condition. Have you considered a Midas Venice, seem to be a few of those floating around. Have one myself for live use and have multi tracked out of the direct outs with very good results. Quiet, clean channels with a musical EQ.

    Yeah - thing is, im in love with it - and have loved using it so its on no matter what lol i love the footprint of it, the look of it, the space on it -just how it happened !


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    #16
    TroutMask
    Registered Users Posts: 743 ✭✭✭TroutMask


    To give you an idea - my Soundcraft Series One refurb soaked up about 15-20 hours, it's working but still not right and needs more work. Thankfully the parts are cheap! The Neve I'm doing will be about 12 hours - and that's just getting the noise out of the channels - the direct out mods will be another few hours and big bucks for balancing traffos on every out. Realistically, the Series One was not really worth doing - a labour of love to resurrect a Lee Scratch Perry style console; the Neve on the other hand is totally worth it. I've done more modern A&Hs and I found them to be a complete PITA to work on and not really worth the sonic payoff in the end. Can't really comment on the vintage A&Hs like yours in fairness as I've no experience, but I don't think they're in the heavy hitter league. My advice would be to learn the basic electronics so that you can service it yourself, a tech will only fix what's wrong, they won't (well, usually) actually recondition each section so that it's in satisfactory state for recording. The electronics is pretty basic - there's not much beyond a bunch of gains stages, summing amps, EQs and routing in those. Even if you find a tech that will rebuild - it'll sit down in a year or so, and you'll end up sending some tech's kid to college over this desk :)


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