help me identify my desk!! Trident 24

M

miribilist

New member
My Band and I were recently given a Trident 36 channel mixing desk out of a studio in London which has been collecting dust for the last few years.

We want to give it a home in our studio, but being totally new to old analogue desks have some (probably very basic) questions....
Im going to try and attach images to this post... there should be 5 i think.

The desk I think is a Trident 65 series 24bus console. Any information on this at all will be gratefully received.

We have no power supply and the little badge that gives the model, serial and power requirement info is totally faded and unreadable. Can someone recommend where we might source a replacement or newer power supply that might be better for the job?

Also, there is a large patch bay on the right hand side of the desk. ***NOOB QUESTION ALERT*** What is this area of the desk for?

We obv will need to connect headphones to the desk, but labeled on the back is a 56 pin multi plug. How would we go about connecting regular cans to this type of connector ie, what is the device that bridges this gap???

I think that’s all for now. Essentially all we want to da at this point is clean the thing up and just see whether it works for now. More dumbass questions to follow no doubt!!

Thanks for your help and patience in advance ☺ Andy
 

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It's a Trident London 24.....basically same as a 65, but with 24-channel bus.

Almost picked one up myself last November....but decided it wasn't right for me.

These were middlin' Trident boards compared to the Big Boy Tridents, but certainly not shabby. They fetch aanywhere from $3k to $7k USD on the used market, depending on condition.
Looking at the amount of dust on that board, it probably hasn't been used in ages, plus it's got to be at least 20+ years old....so be prepared for recap work, and LOTS of cleaning.
Also, the stock PS on those were rather light if you wanted to run a lot of simultaneous channels (one of the reasons I didn't go for it)...so the PS may need to be upgraded....if you want to mix through it.
If you just plan tracking a few channels at a time, it will be OK, assuming all the channels are working etc..etc.


The patchbay.....is a patchbay. The various I/O are tied to it in some way....depends how it was set up.

Anyway....be prepared for a lot of work before you can get the most out of that console.
If you guys are using mostly an ITB setup....you won't have a lot of use for the board other than to pass some signals through it, and maybe use the board for cue mixes.

If you're running multichannel tape decks....then the board will marry up with it nicely....like a 2" 24-channel tape deck (that's why it has the 24 bus)


Just Google Trident 24, London or 65....and you'll be able to find lots of info and even manuals....etc.
 
Thanks Miroslav,
Really appreciate your help. And yes, I agree that its probably not been used for several years so gonna get at it with some Servisol!
Apparently it used to belong to the Eurythmics!
We use Logic at the moment, but didn't know whether there might be any benefits with using the desk to mix (or if thats even possible??).
You think there are benefits with running signal through the desk pre A/D converter?

Probably max 10 channels at a time max I would imagine, but with possibility for 16. Do you know where we might start looking for a more suitable power supply and how we might specify what we need?

Had a quick google and found the user manual which Id imagine might be helpful to someone supplying a PSU??

Thanks again
 
Good score!

Get the manuals first, either find them on line or get hard copies. In them you will find how to do the interfacing you want to do.

You also need to decide how you are going to use it. If you want to track through it to a computer, you will need an interface capable of the number of channels you want to record ITB simultaneously. There are other ways also. You could take the direct outputs on the back out to a stand alone 24 track digital (or analog for that matter) recorder and the line outs from that back to the line ins on the board, then mix down to stereo out going into a 2 channel interface and into your computer.

You are about to discover that the price for a large format analog console is only a small part of the expenditure overall. Recapping a board like that can run into the thousands of dollars if you have to have someone do it for you. The P/S (once you find the specs) should be 500 USD or less depending....

Cabling. I think a lot of people dont even think about this when thinking about integrating a big board. The big grey connectors are Elcos and the mates to those as well as the black Terchell connectors can run up to close to 100USD EACH. Then someone has to make the wiring harnesses with yet more ($$$) connectors at the other end.

Not trying to scare you away from it, but rather arm you with a dose of reality before you wade in.

There are people on this form who have integrated large format analog consoles into our home studios (me being one). Once you get into it, it might help to post your questions in the analog forum, lots of knowledgeable folks there.
 
miribilist said:
Thanks Miroslav,
Really appreciate your help. And yes, I agree that its probably not been used for several years so gonna get at it with some Servisol!
Apparently it used to belong to the Eurythmics!
We use Logic at the moment, but didn't know whether there might be any benefits with using the desk to mix (or if thats even possible??).
You think there are benefits with running signal through the desk pre A/D converter?

Probably max 10 channels at a time max I would imagine, but with possibility for 16. Do you know where we might start looking for a more suitable power supply and how we might specify what we need?

Had a quick google and found the user manual which Id imagine might be helpful to someone supplying a PSU??

Thanks again
Click to expand...

Hey....if it is from the Eurythmics....that alone does add some value to it...if you wanted to sell it, of course, when you advertise that kind of stuff, people want proof, etc.

Anyway...that aside, yes, you CAN use a console to mix from a DAW....I do it all the time, because I like to use a lot of my analog outboard gear for FX/Processing....but I still use the DAW for editing/comping and spot-processing.
The catch is...for every track you want to pass out of the DAW through the console, you need one D/A converter channel.
So, you take say, 24 tracks in the DAW...if you wanted to have them come up as 24 channels on the Trident...you would need 24 individual channels of D/A conversion.
That could get pricey and a bit more complicated.
I run three 8-channel converters (actually have a 4th I don't use much) so I can dump from my 24-track tape deck to the DAW, and then mix 24 tracks back out of the DAW through my console and outboard gear.

That's what almost got the Trident for last year...as I wanted really good EQs on all channels, and the Trident EQ's even on that board are quite nice...very R&R.
It's just as mdansd said, and I mentioned....the board of that age, to really get back the best sound out of it, needed to be recapped, plus a beefier PS.
It would have set me back another $3k to do that, on top of the cost of the board...so I decided to pass on it...but honestly, there's been days where I kinda wish I also went for it, as I always wanted a Trident console.

Good luck....and really, take the time to clean it and service it BEFORE you dive in and start to use it.
If you just dust it off and start using it, you will not want to stop at some later point...but chances are, as-is, it will have issues, and be in need of service.
If it was the Eurythmics board...they may have maintained it very well and maybe even done some more recent recap on it (see if you can find out from the studio)....so you may luck out and have to just do a good cleaning on it.
 
Stupid server database error


Every time I tried to post....it would give me a database error and show NO post....meanwhile now it shows all the attempts as completed posts.
:facepalm: :D
 
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Thanks guys,
So it looks like, although free, we could be looking at paying a fair chunk to get it up and running.
Can you recommend anywhere that supplies power supplies online that we could approach?
Obviously we would like to know whether the thing even accepts electricity before employing the services of an engineer, although would you recommend not powering it up until someone has looked at the thing first to eliminate the risk of totally wrecking the thing?
 
Soundtracs will make a supply for you....but then, so can other places.

Studio Systems - The Soundtracs of Your Life

Hey...if the place you got it from tells you that it WAS functional last time it was powered up....I would connect the power supply and flip the switch to see what you get....

....but keep your finger on the power button in case you see any sparks/smoke! ;)
 
I forgot that I had this documentation.....stuff I gathered last year when I was looking at a Trident.
You'll have to pull from them the info that applies to your console....it may not all pertain to your model.
Hope they help...



View attachment 65-75-16-24_2ch_monitor_schematic.pdf
View attachment Tri65Ad.pdf
View attachment Trident Manual.pdf
View attachment Trident Schematics1.pdf
View attachment Trident Schematics2.pdf
View attachment Trident_24_External_Connections.pdf
View attachment Trident_65_Manual.pdf
 
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