Long lost Auditronics console found!

[ofajen]

The Auditronics 110 console Harvey Gerst sold me has been found after all these years! I had sent it to a shop in Georgia some years ago. The guy I dealt with there was quite expert on Auditronics consoles. Unfortunately, he always lived close to the financial edge and kinda went "underground" a few years back and a lot of stuff belonging to several people, including me, went into hiding in various warehouses over the last few years.

Now another person who actually paid for the storage of this gear over the years is trying to clear up the whole mess and has moved all that gear to another location. It just so happened that a fellow 3M enthusiast who works now for Randy Blevins happened to go there to check out the stuff and happened to know from our discussions that this guy in Georgia still had my console somewhere in storage. The guy who now has all the gear is a straight up kinda guy and willing to return anything that wasn't rightfully there to its proper owner. So, now it's just a matter of figuring out how to get the console back up here from it's temporary home in Alabama! And another friend of mine is going to get some of his long lost tape recorders back, too! Very cool!

Of course, then I have to decide whether to complete the restoration of the whole console or perhaps use some of those excellent preamp/eq modules to make a sidecar of great mike preamps that could be used both in the studio and on location.

Just thought I'd mention it, since it seemed so unlikely that I would ever get the console back or even find out where it went or what happened. It's an amazing coincidence that one of the few people who knew about my console happened to show up at this warehouse where all this gear was moved. This just shows that some parts of the audio community are smaller and closer than we think!

Cheers,

Otto

 

[cjacek]

Great story but I'd call that divine intervention rather than a coincidence.

Speaking of Blevins, http://www.blevinsaudio.com/ , a broker really, is this a good place to buy an open reel recorder? I mean, sight-unseen and getting it shipped? One always gets the advice not to deal with brokers and always to see the gear being purchased but I always find good things spoken about blevins audio so I'm just wondering... ? Any thoughts?

 

[marshman]

Randy Blevins and Steve Sadler are great guys. Very knowledgeable and have been working on/selling MCI gear forever. I have purchased a console and a couple of tape decks from them and been very happy.

mm

 

[MCI2424]

Great story but I'd call that divine intervention rather than a coincidence.

Speaking of Blevins, http://www.blevinsaudio.com/ , a broker really, is this a good place to buy an open reel recorder? I mean, sight-unseen and getting it shipped? One always gets the advice not to deal with brokers and always to see the gear being purchased but I always find good things spoken about blevins audio so I'm just wondering... ? Any thoughts?

Blevins is the most trusted dealer of MCI mixing desks and recorders out there.

He caters to all the professional studios and has a Class A reputation.

 

[ofajen]

Great story but I'd call that divine intervention rather than a coincidence.

Speaking of Blevins, http://www.blevinsaudio.com/ , a broker really, is this a good place to buy an open reel recorder? I mean, sight-unseen and getting it shipped? One always gets the advice not to deal with brokers and always to see the gear being purchased but I always find good things spoken about blevins audio so I'm just wondering... ? Any thoughts?

Blevins has been around a while and is pretty much the main MCI parts and machines source. I would contact his shop if I were wanting an MCI machine or console. If I were starting from scratch, I'd probably get an MCI machine.

As it is now, I'd probably talk to Matt Allen, their new guy who is also a 3M enthusiast, partly because I've talked with him a lot more than I have Randy and partly because I'm a 3M user. Matt now has what is left of Bart Gass' 3M parts stock. That was part of why he went to this warehouse.

Cheers,

Otto

 

[cjacek]

Thanks guys. I really appreciate your comments.

 

[FALKEN]

Nice score on the console!!!!! That's awesome!!! I wish I had something like that!

 

[ofajen]

Nice score on the console!!!!! That's awesome!!! I wish I had something like that!

Thanks! The Auditronics stuff is pretty cool. It's akin to the Ward Beck stuff that the CBC used so much. All the preamps have Jensen input transformers and really good EQ and it's modular down to the functional level, so you can bypass to use just the EQ or just the preamp. In theory, I could do some mods on the modules to upgrade to newer, better performing components, but if it still sounds the way it used to, I won't bother. It's kinda like my M-79. Some people love to complain about the 741 series op amps in those machines, but the machine sounds awesome, so why change it?

Cheers,

Otto

 

[ofajen]

In case you're curious, this is not my particular console, but this is what an Auditronics 110 console typically looks like. The white balance is a bit off... the 110 is not quite so green.

It's supposed to show up embedded in the post. I'm not sure why it's showing up as a link on preview, but at least you should be able to see it.

The exact configuration of modules varies. Mine pretty much looks like this one with the 16 mono input modules and then it has two more stereo modules in positions 17 and 18. The stereo modules do not have preamps or EQ.

Basically, I'm gonna hafta find time for a two day road trip to go pick the thing up.

Cheers,

Otto

 

[SteveM]

Nice looking. Nice and compact. Probably weighs a ton though? How much is one of those worth.

 

[ofajen]

Nice looking. Nice and compact. Probably weighs a ton though? How much is one of those worth.

Yeah, it's surprisingly heavy! Lots of stuff inside, including a fair number of transformers and of course the structure for all the modules. Given that the modules are somewhat sought after now because they have the old, inductor-based EQ and a great sound, I think the prices have been going up as people figure out how good the Auditronics gear is. I would be surprised if a console like this couldn't fetch $2000 in today's market, if it's in good order, more if it's been upgraded with newer opamps (it's a hybrid with a few opamps and many discrete transistors) and new caps in the audio path.

I'm still trying to decide if I plan to keep it whole, pull out the modules and rack them or both (keep it whole, but also build a portable rack that a few modules can plug into).

Cheers,

Otto

 

[FALKEN]

racking the modules might be cool, especially if you get it done really well. but I think you should keep it whole. you probably don't need eq on location and it would probably cost you as much to rack it as it would to get a loaded api lunchbox. if you do rack it you'll have to keep the transformers in the rack and it will be very heavy for location recording. My only other thought would be to add direct outs to it.

 

[ofajen]

racking the modules might be cool, especially if you get it done really well. but I think you should keep it whole. you probably don't need eq on location and it would probably cost you as much to rack it as it would to get a loaded api lunchbox. if you do rack it you'll have to keep the transformers in the rack and it will be very heavy for location recording. My only other thought would be to add direct outs to it.

The I/O is all on Molex connectors on the back panel (other than the headphone jack on the front). It already has balanced direct outs for every input channel and of course the four busses and two sends. Each EQ also has a bypass, so that you can just use the preamp.

I'm thinking it would not be too hard for me to come up with edge connectors, a power supply, and a case for four modules. XLR panel jacks I have.

Thanks for the suggestions. You know, if I keep it whole, I may think seriously about setting up an 8-track machine again!

Cheers,

Otto

 

[FALKEN]

well hell man if it already has direct outs just get a flight case for it! I've seen people with flight cases for a neotek!! remember if you rack it you'll also have to rack all of the transformers AND build a power supply! better off getting an api lunchbox and calling it a day!

 

[ofajen]

Basically, I'm gonna hafta find time for a two day road trip to go pick the thing up.

I got the timing belt replaced on my car, so now I can plan the road trip without worrying that the car won't make it there and back! It was a ways past the 90K service interval and one of the idler pulleys had to be replaced, too. It was nearly frozen and about ready to lock up, strip the teeth off the timing belt and disable the motor. Sheesh!

Cheers,

Otto