Altec 1220

Does anyone here have any info on the Altec 1220?

I've come across one close by that I can purchase for $200. It's in absolute MINT condition, still in the box and original plastic wrap. It even SMELLS new!

I'm trying to find out all I can....one thing that got me excited was that I saw something about "10 germanium preamps" on someones ebay (or elsewhere) ad. Is this true?

Any other info appreciated. Thanks!

Hey, funkdrmr.

I've got the manual and schematic here somewhere. Give me a few days and I'll scan it for ya. The inputs are discreet with peerless iron but I dno't know if the input xistors are Ge. The outputs are also peerless iron but driven by '380 power amp chips.

I scrapped mine due to noise and intermittent problems and made preamps with the iron and various opamps. Very nice.

Peace - Irv

Thanks, KingKai!

So would you recommend that i pick this up for $200? I'm really on the edge of 1 way or another. $200 could get me a bunch of parts for other projects, but I can't help but wonder if the comp and reverb with the 10 pres in the 1220 is something I should't pass up.

http://www.treehousemobile.com/AvailableVintageAudioPieces.htm

This guy is trying to sell one for $875, so $200 looks like a great deal, if you want one. I am usually dissapointed with odd vintage gear like this. although I have no idea if this is any good, the box contruction looks similar to low end gear. Hey they could have some great parts in there but with crappy pots and faders, the whole might lack "professional" results. again, what do I know? this guy says

"The ALTEC 1220 just sounds plain fat with bass, treble, and compression ......$875.00"

just that I am usually dissapointed in the end with stuff like this.[/quote]

[quote author="amorris"]http://www.treehousemobile.com/AvailableVintageAudioPieces.htm
[/quote]

That one is in my home town, and has been for sale for a long time.

I'd avoid these in general. But $200 isn't bad if you look at it as a pile of parts. Though a pile that will take a lot of labor to dissect and re-appropriate. I seriously doubt there's any germanium there; these things are 1970ish.

Unused condition means the pots and faders may well be frozen up or horribly noisy.

You may want to buy it to resell on ebay at a profit. Will probably do very well if it's really like new in the box. Then put the return where you want.

I don't think I would go there for $200.00. The compressor is on the output only and cannot be used for just one channel at mix time. Mine had switch problems in the channel on/off and couldn't find physical replacements so they got bridged into permanent "on" with jumpers. This is a live only board. It does have direct outs but no send/receive. It also had a built in crossover for biamping your pa.

The faders are not long throw, maybe 70 mm stroke, and with the weird wider than long caps are not conducive to good feel. Two channels per circuit board mounted flat under the knobs and faders.

When it was not making strange noises due to age, it did sound good.

Hope this helps some.

Peace - Irv

Used a 1220 for a while in the early '70s. Dumping it for a
pair of junk Tapco 6200s was a BIG upgrade!!
Stay away from that junk! :thumb:

GARY

Thanks, everyone.

I'm definitely going to pass on this.

I really appreciate all the input from everyone. I was really going to pull the trigger on this when I saw the unit, especially since I was under the impression that it had some really nice stuff on the inside.

I think I'm gonna spend the $200 towards my 2-1176 project instead. At least the soldering will keep me occupied for a short time, and I'll finally have a finished project that I can post some pics up of! (still haven't finished my night-eq!!)

The Comp is nice.... but it will be a lot of trouble to rack it, as is is stuck on the Master section.
It is a MONO Desk.
I have one and used it sometimes for sending single Tracks trough it, while mixdown. Because of the color and the lack of more good compression in your place.
But is is way too big for managing only 1 channel :green:
Now the Comp, Vu´s etc. are waiting for disassembling.
It will be some work.

:sam: