Refurb M3500 into an M3700, or M3700 into an M3500....?

Yeah the M3700 PSU is 3U tall and heavier than it looks...though the PSU for our MCI 1" machine definitely has it beat, what a tank!

Miroslav, you're killing me, an unused balancing kit! Actually I don't care about the tape monitors because I don't use them, but I have missed having balanced +4 group outs, especially now that the balanced +4 tape machine is going back in service. Not having balanced auxes has also been a pain as most of our outboard is balanced +4 gear. Anyway my M3700's days are numbered, I want to upgrade the console like crazy!
 
briank said:
Yeah the M3700 PSU is 3U tall and heavier than it looks...though the PSU for our MCI 1" machine definitely has it beat, what a tank!

Miroslav, you're killing me, an unused balancing kit! Actually I don't care about the tape monitors because I don't use them, but I have missed having balanced +4 group outs, especially now that the balanced +4 tape machine is going back in service. Not having balanced auxes has also been a pain as most of our outboard is balanced +4 gear. Anyway my M3700's days are numbered, I want to upgrade the console like crazy!
Click to expand...

I dunno...I mix balanced and unbalanced and -10/+4 gear quite a lot...and there's only occasional instances where I really needed to do any conversions, like when I use my Joe Meek SC 2.2...it needs balanced, otherwise the stereo image shifts funny when I send a stereo pair to it, like my stereo OH pair.
Besides that, occasionally I need to convert for the sake of level...but man, I run balanced +4 into my unbalanced -10 and it's not a problem. Same in the other direction.

I mean...it's really NOT that big a deal that I've ever noticed, at least not the balanced aspect. I just practiced good grounding throughout my racks and patchbay and kept the cabling clean and short.
AFA the levels...I send signals into my -10 stuff fairly hot, so going to a +4 piece afterwords isn't a problem...and in the other direction I just turn down the level from the any +4 gear hitting -10 stuff.

I have 16 channels of -10 and 16 of +4 conversion....and I rarely use more than 4 channels during a full mixdown...and that's really the only time I ever do use any conversion.
During tracking...never.
My outboard FX boxes are a mimx of balanced +4 and also unbalanced -10...all going from/to the 3500 Aux Send & Return...I just adjust my levels as needed.

But yeah..in a a perfect world..all the gear would be the same. :)
 
Hello Miroslav (or anyone out there). These are old posts, so I do not know if you even look at this website any more but you seem to know a great deal about the M-3500 and M-3700. I am wondering if you (or someone you know) knows answers to the following:

1) Are the channel strip "guts" vastly different in terms of quality of sound or noise between the M-3500 and M-3700 (assuming both in good working order, no faults)? - or are they basically the same "quality" but with different features?
2) I have a M-3500 with the full meter bridge-can I remove the large bridge and put it on an M-3700? (sounds like maybe "yes") - is that difficult?
3) I can't find a M-3700 manual, and am wondering: is the M-3700 (32 channel) the same dimensions as the M-3500 (32 channel)?
 
I used to own both, so here goes :)

1.) No. They are nearly identical. Some switches are different, because they were automate-able, but generally speaking, the two boards are the same with the M3700 having some automation features added.
2.) Yes. I did this as well. The only 'hiccup' is that there is an extra PCB between channel strip and fader on the M3700 that will need to be moved as well. The M3500's fader wires direct to the channel, and on the M3700 the channel wires to a small PCB, and the PCB to the fader. The faders between the two boards are also, obviously, not the same.
3.) Boards are the same size, yes. They are in the same chassis overall.

I do have a PDF of the manual. Send me a DM if you'd like a download of it.
 
I would love a pdf of the 3700 manual. I am revealing my stupidity but not sure what DM is? my email? I think I have a Gmail storage thing but let me check on it. Is that what you meant or like a BOX account?
 
No worries. I meant a 'Direct Message' here on the forum. You should have a little envelope icon toward the top right of the screen where you can look for them.

I'll send you a DM now.
 
One more thing, when you say, "the extra PCB will need to be moved" what does that mean? Hard? Where does it get moved to? Do you know if instructions exist for this process? My M-3500 bridge works perfectly, so...I don't want to screw it up if the process is really hard.
 
I'm sure there are no directions, but it's pretty easy. You'll see it in there when you pull a fader bank out of the M3700.

It has two small screws that you'll need to undo and then unplug the cables from both ends. Easy to do, just time consuming when you have 32+1+8 of them to do :)
 
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