Yeah, kudos to Ghost...Jeff I still don't know how you crank those out so quick. The funny thing is, guys, I uploaded the D-SLR pics to the web server dayyyyys ago and just haven't had time to post the current status until early this morning, but
Jeff started sending me renditions shortly after I uploaded the files several days ago! He was watching...annnnd waaaaiting....theyyyyyy're heeeeeeere!
It looks great Jeff...its not just the background but so much more and you do it so FAST! Its like a "Where's Waldo" to look for all the subtle touches...
So here are some other postlude thoughts/summations on this project...
It feels pretty stinkin' good to have it to this stage.
It really did clean up quite well. I feel that it was a pretty fortunate find for $300 because a lot of my good finds need a lot more help. Not that this one didn't call for some work, but I could have gotten away with a lot less than I did and the reason it feels like a good find is that it is solid. I think corrosion/oxidation is one of the most trying elements of a refurb process...switch and connector contacts and such, and the other thing that can make a project like this stretch out is "scunge"...dirt and filth buildup that isn't just dry/dusty but has some cling or adhesion to it...sticky filth. This mixer was mostly just afflicted with dusty buildup, and all the contacts are corrosion/oxidation free. It had been put out to pasture but it was a pretty clean pasture in a dry part of the state, and overall I really think this thing has seen low miles. Look at the channel card switches...these cleaned up so quick with a vacuum and a soft natural fiber paint brush:
A lot of times if gear has been in a smoking environment or had drinks spilled on it or have been loaded with contact cleaners and such it becomes nearly impossible to really get it to clean up nice.
And look at the channel card I/O pins and bussing pins...nice that they chose gold plated for the bussing connector...that kind of decision pops up frequently on this mixer with regard to the relative quality of the componentry (Philips electrolytic caps, TI branded opamps, glass fiber PCB's, etc.):
So the innards were really easy to clean up, and the metalwork didn't need polishing and such, just a wash-down with soap and water. And because the caps are a good quality make and the mixer is relatively late model I'm really not worried at all about needing to recap the audio cards at this point. I see it as something that will be really fun to get familiar with its sound and character and then recap a couple channel strips. Actually, I'll have to review what I decided to do in that area but I think I have like 3 or 4 flavors of recapping to try out and compare from just replacing the local power filter caps to replacing all the audio path electrolytics with modified value audio-grade non-polar caps and doing some selective bypassing. In all this my goal would be to AVOID making it a "transparent" element in the signal path. What I've heard of it so far leaves me feeling that this board has a nice character to it...not tons but really musical and pleasing sounding...a nice balance of enough but not too much. I want to keep that and just access more of the same. And as its come together I really appreciate that the channel strips are really straight-forward. It really is a simple console but replete with enough of a feature set that it can handily get the job done. I'll be able to handle 16 input sources and 16 tape returns all on full channel strips, and have at least 2 separate cue mixes and 4 channels of effects sends permenently setup with fexible pre/post eq and fade pickup points, and the 8 returns in the group section will be great for bringing effects back into the mix (4 stereo or 8 mono or a mix...) and each return has a 2-band eq on it...and furthermore the 8 x 4 matrix mixer in the groups section can be applied to each subgroup or to the return so I'll be able to setup supplementary monitor mixes off of those if needed...and a usable talkback mic and oscillator round out features that will be helpful in a recording application.
So to sum up with what's been done, its been deep cleaned, meter bridge and frame modified for 24 x 8 x 8 configuration vs. factory 32 x 8, side panels painted to match new custom structural underpinnings, frame and meter bridge housing strategically modified for improved grounding, all audio cards and jack PCB's and internal harnessing modified for improved grounding, repaired the meter bridge logo illumination, replaced/repaired about half a dozen broken pots, upgraded/modified the power supply (completely reworked the ground-scheme including new interface connectors on the PSU and mixer frame, completely recapped the supply with some strategic bypassing, designed and installed a completely new passive heat management solution, upgraded bridge rectifiers specs and custom mounted for better heat dissipation, upgraded all TO-220 packaged regulators and audio rail regulator circuit transistors).
Its ready.
So next up, as I indicated in my last post, I have about 34U of gear to rack up and then get everything cross-connected to the mixer which will require some snakes being made up, so there is a bit of work to do there, but it is really nice to have the hub ready to go, and it IS cross-connected with the Ampex MM-1000.