500 series rack build coming together! Who else is on the 500 train?

[Kapo_Polenton]

500 gear is awesome but it is expensive like most gear. Picking up these old boat anchor consoles that used to cost over 10k in the 80's though? Cheapest way to get quality mic pre and EQ. I'm thinking of selling my audient ASP880 now after A/B'ing the audient pre vs the Ramsa pre. I have 20 mic pre now and 20 channels of eq. The board cost me 500 $ ...canadian. One API 550 EQ costs twice my whole board. But I too love shiney lights and awesome looking gear that sounds great. Hardware is making a come back.. quote me on it!

 

[SBlue]

500 series gear is very practical. And with all the options available today, from API to Neve and Avedis... and plenty of good sounding non expensive options too!
If I decide do, at some point, get rid of my console, but still do some recordings, I'll mostly like go for a full Avedis 500 rack. His EQ and mic pres, especially the MA-5 and E-27 are a work of art and my all time fave 500 units.
Until then, I still want to enjoy my API console and my Neve pres(I have four of them left from the pre-console era).
And you can tell I do love API and Neve by the pics! Lol...
Either an API 312 or Neve 1073 and a few UA 1176 and I would track an entire album with a smile on my face.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

And some more .... I love the pbr8 500 rack z the patch bay and mults are so awesome to have, saved me space on my main patchbay....

Love the integrated mini patch bay. I was just thinking of this yesterday and whether I want one. The radial racks are pretty comprehensive with the ins and outs so technically I just reach behind d my rack on wheels and swap stuff around . How are the lindells? Close enough to the pultec thing? I love the single space format where space is a premium.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

500 series gear is very practical. And with all the options available today, from API to Neve and Avedis... and plenty of good sounding non expensive options too!
If I decide do, at some point, get rid of my console, but still do some recordings, I'll mostly like go for a full Avedis 500 rack. His EQ and mic pres, especially the MA-5 and E-27 are a work of art and my all time fave 500 units.
Until then, I still want to enjoy my API console and my Neve pres(I have four of them left from the pre-console era).
And you can tell I do love API and Neve by the pics! Lol...
Either an API 312 or Neve 1073 and a few UA 1176 and I would track an entire album with a smile on my face.

DROOL Thanks for crapping all over us amateurs ..

 

[VESmedic]

500 series gear is very practical. And with all the options available today, from API to Neve and Avedis... and plenty of good sounding non expensive options too!
If I decide do, at some point, get rid of my console, but still do some recordings, I'll mostly like go for a full Avedis 500 rack. His EQ and mic pres, especially the MA-5 and E-27 are a work of art and my all time fave 500 units.
Until then, I still want to enjoy my API console and my Neve pres(I have four of them left from the pre-console era).
And you can tell I do love API and Neve by the pics! Lol...
Either an API 312 or Neve 1073 and a few UA 1176 and I would track an entire album with a smile on my face.

Tiago this rules! Tell me more about the avedis sfuff. I know people seem to love them, I just have never heard their eq’s and preamps in person.

 

[SBlue]

DROOL Thanks for crapping all over us amateurs ..

My bad... Lol

Tiago this rules! Tell me more about the avedis sfuff. I know people seem to love them, I just have never heard their eq’s and preamps in person.

They are incredibly built and sound amazing. His MA-5 is my all time fave 500 series mic preamp. It's tone is inspired by the 1072 Neve mic pre(old ones, not reissue). Its very reliable, looks good, not expensive, huge bandwidth, low noise floor and sounds insanely big!
Plus, it's built in California.

 

[thegame]

Always heard that the main recording desk in EVH’s private 5150 studio was an API console. Therefore 1984, etc was predominately API mic pres. I love how everything sounds on 1984. Of course back then those huge half ton analog multi track Studer and Otari reel to reel tape machines played a big role in those classic tones as well.

 

[VESmedic]

Always heard that the main recording desk in EVH’s private 5150 studio was an API console. Therefore 1984, etc was predominately API mic pres. I love how everything sounds on 1984. Of course back then those huge half ton analog multi track Studer and Otari reel to reel tape machines played a big role in those classic tones as well.

Couldn’t tell you about 1984, but the first 3 records were all done at sunset sound, with Ed’s guitars going through the original UA board there.i know for 100 percent fact Eddie had an SSL console at his place around the time 1984 was recorded as well, however the “Brent Avrill API” console was at Ed’s studio as well, so who knows.

 

[SBlue]

5150 had a ton of outboard API EQ and Mic Pres. There is a video or photo, can't remember, that shows Eddie working on the SSL, with a big rack completely filled with outboard APIs underneath the console.
I never heard of an album, at least from known artist, that was tracked using the SSL pres. They are great console, and they have great routing possibilities, and was great for mixing because of the routing, EQs and bus compressor. But when it comes down to tracking, its either API or Neve.
This picture is from Dec 78, when they were tracking their second album at SSS.

​

 

[VESmedic]

5150 had a ton of outboard API EQ and Mic Pres. There is a video or photo, can't remember, that shows Eddie working on the SSL, with a big rack completely filled with outboard APIs underneath the console.
I never heard of an album, at least from known artist, that was tracked using the SSL pres. They are great console, and they have great routing possibilities, and was great for mixing because of the routing, EQs and bus compressor. But when it comes down to tracking, its either API or Neve.
This picture is from Dec 78, when they were tracking their second album at SSS.

​

Killer pic! Yes, SSL preamps were never something completely great sounding for sure, I don’t think people who aren’t versed on the in’s and out’s of mixing on a console ( not that I am by any means) understand this, and why people did what they did, IE: often tracking on a neve or API, and mixing on an SSL, and why they did that.

 

[PurityS.L.G]

I miss my 500 rack! If you haven't already used one, check out the Shadow Hills Mono Gamma mic pre. Sounds absolutely huge and tons of saturation and character with anything you put it through. I'm a diehard Neve fan/user and this is the only thing that rivals it.

BONUS PRO TIP: For the ultimate guitar tones, just use the D.I. out on a 20W 6505 MH mini head. It smokes a mic'd up 120w version

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Where do you guys think the money is best spent these days? I think in tracking it is the mic pre no question. Then I'd say compressors. Eq I love but the emulations are so good now. But when the mic pre is right and you know how to capture the source, you don't need to get so extreme on the eq shaping.

 

[SBlue]

Here is a follow up to what I posted before.
It looks like an API sidecar in a rack, with mic pre+EQ+routing, right under the SSL.
Whenever I find the pic with the full rack I'll post it here.

 

[JerEvil]

Here’s me… chassis is the RND 10 space

 

[paulyc]

The API didn’t go into 5150 until just before FUCK was recorded, the original 5150 console was, I believe, an old UA that Don Landee completely re-wired, 5150 was built to mimic the gear that was used at Sunset Sound.