Got a pretty good one for y’all today… download the complete 12pp catalog for the Studer 169 Portable Audio Mixer:
DOWNLOAD:Studer_169
Oh Studer 169. How long you have taunted me on eBay. How little use I would probably find for you. Available in configurations varying from 8 to 11 inputs, 1 to 4 masters (each with integral limiter), the 169 was a 19″ rackmoutable mixer. Anyone using of these? Weigh in!
Download 10pp of period promo materials for the Harrison MR-2 and “Post Production Series” mixing consoles:
DOWNLOAD: Harrison_consoles
I have several other pieces of Harrison documentation; if there is enough demand + attention to this post, I’ll post those as well.
Download the complete 6pp Mullard “Made for Music / Valves For Audio Equipment” c. 1960 catalog:
DOWNLOAD: Mullard_Made_For_Music
Products covered, with text, specs, and photos, include: Mullard EF86 (6267) pentode, Mullard ECC83, ECC81, and ECC81 twin triodes (12AX7, 12AT7, 12AU7), EL84 (6BQ5), EL34 (6CA7), and EL37 (6L6) power tubes, and EZ80, EZ81, and GZ34 rectifier tubes (6V4, 6CA4, 5AR4).
There’s plenty of info here, operating points, some basic schematics, etc… good for any tube audio-maker to keep on hand. I stopped by the shop briefly today and was pleasantly surprised that to see that E.Lyon had found this for me… Thanks again! Enjoy…
Download ten pages of literature regarding the Quad/Eight model 248 mixing system:
DOWNLOAD:QuadEight_248
Anyone?
How are y’all doing today… we have a new video ready: “Build A Variable H-Pad.” If you’ve ever wanted an easy, controllable way of reducing level in the studio without losing signal balance or creating wild impedance variations (which can have undesirable consequences frequency-wise), this project is for you. I have a couple of these little boxes at Gold Coast Recorders and they get used pretty often; the most common use would be if I want to crank up a tube mic preamp to get some break-up on a drum kit or vocal mic. If this results in an excessive output level, I can just patch in one of these variable pads and dial in a safe level for the A/D convertors.
Check out the video, and here’s the schematic for anyone who wants to build one of these lil fellas. You’ll need two balanced jacks of your choosing, four 1% 1-watt 160-ohm resistors, one 200-ohm 1-watt resistor, a 1-watt 1-K linear taper pot, a terminal strip, and a small enclosure.
*************
*******
***
For my original article which describes the development of this device, click here.
Download the original product-sheets for the EMT 250 Digital Reverb and its baby bro the 244:
DOWNLOAD: EMT_244_250_reverb
That giant 99-lb star-wars-lookin thing above is an EMT 250. Ten years ago I was working on a session at Ocean Way Nashville and they still had one of these things right next to the console. Anyone out there still using a 250 in the studio? The 250 uses 12-bit, 24k convertors, which means that both input and output are low-passed at 11Khz.
This brings up a good point about reverb in general: you don’t need a lot of hi-end to create good-sounding reverb for most applications… I always keep some sort of low-pass filter active in my reverb returns to trim off anything that’s not contributing in a meaningful way. Luckily, even the most basic reverb plug-ins tend to have a low-pass adjustment built in. My $0.02: use it!
Very interesting to read this: so apparently the 250 uses 19 different taps, with feedback only on some of them.
The lesser-known 244 (i’ve personally never seen one, FWIW) uses 13 bit convertors; no sampling rate is specified, but given that the frequency response is stated between 30hz and 8khz, it’s likely around 20k.
To you veteran engineers out there: was the 250 the first high-quality digital reverb? Were there any earlier units that you have used? Let us know,,,
Download not one but two circa ’72 brochures for the EMT 240 ‘Gold Foil’ reverb system:
DOWNLOAD: EMT_240_reverb
The 240 was apparently intended not to replace the 140 so much as provide a smaller, portable (132 lbs haha) alternative. I’ve provided y’all with 10 pages of documentation here, it’s worth reading.. this thing really is an engineering marvel. Rather than a ‘plate,’ the reverberant surface is a tensioned sheet of gold-foil 18 microns thick. This gold-foil material, btw, was a completely in-house-made material… fkkn crazy. Anyhow, check it out… those of you who have had experience working with both a 140 and 240, pls weigh in on the relative merits thereof.
Got a pretty good one for y’all today… download the complete 8pp 1971 brochure for the EMT 140 TS reverb system:
DOWNLOAD: EMT_140_ts_1971
I was recently given a large collection of 1970s EMT documentation, so get ready for detailed info on pretty much every EMT reverberation product ever made.
I met a studio owner recently, it was a very nice place, some excellent gear and instruments, mentioned that he was in the market for a plate; he felt that a good plate reverb is a piece of kit that can actually be a significant factor in a producer or engineer choosing one facility over another for a project. Those of you who regularly hire facilities for projects: agree? As a studio owner, I’ve personally been planning on skipping the plate and going directly to building a chamber, but who fkkn knows when/if this will happen. Plate would sure be nice… here’s what EMT had to say about the 140 back in ’71:
*************
*******
***
For previous plate reverb coverage on PD dot com, click here…
Download the complete 12pp Fostex “Creative Sound Systems” 1981 (???) catalog:
DOWNLOAD: Fostex_1981_Catalog
Models covered in great detail include: Fostex A-8, A-4, A-2 1/4″ tape machines; Fostex 250 cassette four-track; and the Fostex 350 8x4x2 mixer.
Interesting feature on the 350 – and something that’s not at all obvious from the top surface – it has 2 stereo RIAA phono preamps which are patchable on the rear of the unit, presumably to whichever inputs or external gear you like.
I’ve uploaded a ton of information on these machines before (see here, here, and here), so dig back if you want more commentary… otherwise i’ll let the catalog speak for itself…
Download the 4pp 1980 catalog for the original Fostex “Regular Phase” microphone line:
DOWNLOAD: fostex_mics_1980
Models covered, with text, specs, and photos, include: Fostex M85RP, M88RP, M80RP, M77RP, and M55RP.
These mics, like the Fostex RP headphones, use a unique method of transduction that combines elements of dynamic, ribbon, and condenser-mic design. I’m not 100% sure why they are termed ‘regular phase,’ but I suspect that it might be because the design works without any driver suspension. You may not have realized before, but consider a generic woofer, and the acordian folds in the suspension: at any moment of driver excursion, portions of the suspension will necessarily be moving out-of-phase with the cone. This is a significant cause of transducer distortion. By eliminating the suspension, that particular distortion factor is eliminated. Here’s a cutaway of the Fostex design:
I’ve seen a few of these things on eBay from time to time, generally from ex-US sellers, and I’ve never seen one in the flesh, so I imagine that they are pretty rare in the US. The catalog that I’ve scanned above was actually printed in Canada, so I can’t even say for sure if these were sold in the US. I am super-curious, though, as I have always really loved the Fostex RP headphone line (I own a pair of T50, a pair of T40, and several pairs of T20s), and I’ve also had good luck with the classic Fostex full-range Banana Cone hi-fi drivers, so these mics seem like something I might dig. Anyone?
