500 series modular API style console...625CR Control Room Module Done Page 21!!
- Thread starter jsteiger
- Start date
Help Support GroupDIY Audio Forum:
boji
Well-known member
Babump!
Bada-bing, bada-boom... 
Anyhow, I have spent some time on this over the last few weeks but not enough! Every time I spend a few hours on it, it all seems to grow a little more and a little more. New ideas come out and so on.
I have talked with Skylar a little about him doing some nice 3D renderings using my CAD files. He seems to be hip to the idea. It will make much more sense for me to show everyone his renderings than my 2D mechanical drawings. To use Skylar's term, "think IKEA assembly instructions". 8)
Think modular console erector set. Just like being a kid again.
Cheers, Jeff
Anyhow, I have spent some time on this over the last few weeks but not enough! Every time I spend a few hours on it, it all seems to grow a little more and a little more. New ideas come out and so on.
I have talked with Skylar a little about him doing some nice 3D renderings using my CAD files. He seems to be hip to the idea. It will make much more sense for me to show everyone his renderings than my 2D mechanical drawings. To use Skylar's term, "think IKEA assembly instructions". 8)
Think modular console erector set. Just like being a kid again.
Cheers, Jeff
boji
Well-known member
'cept these lincoln logs are costing us 1/4 our paychecks. : ;D
;D
10-4 on that. What ever happened to the Whirly Bird? I loved that thing! http://www.scienceshareware.com/bird.htmboji said:'cept these lincoln logs are costing us 1/4 our paychecks. :
jeff : I love to see all in 3d . I'm trying to do my proyect , the one i've told you , But i can't put all the things i want in a 500 series pcb, So i think i'll need to expand it. Do you have a place to pick up Buttons and keys ? Remember that i live in argentina and there's no such DIGIKEY or any other vendors. So I trying to find some nice buttons for the solo and mute . Could you recommend some ? and if you could give the measures for those buttons , so i can put them in my draw .
When i've finished it , i will send it to you and post it here for every one look at it.
Always thanks for your time.
Best regards.
Pedro.
PS: I've received the answer from profile electronics and they're ready to ship.
When i've finished it , i will send it to you and post it here for every one look at it.
Always thanks for your time.
Best regards.
Pedro.
PS: I've received the answer from profile electronics and they're ready to ship.
This is what I use for the pushbutton switches. http://classicapi.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=51_52&products_id=88
There are many options. I just like being compatible with the rest of my desk. The PDF sheet at the bottom of the page has all the dimensional info as well as PCB layout.
I will still be surprised if anything ever transpires with Profile. Not to mention Ed's 2503 is nothing to shake a stick at. Those are too big for my input modules anyways since I have the 2 boards sandwiched with standoffs.
Cheers, Jeff
There are many options. I just like being compatible with the rest of my desk. The PDF sheet at the bottom of the page has all the dimensional info as well as PCB layout.
I will still be surprised if anything ever transpires with Profile. Not to mention Ed's 2503 is nothing to shake a stick at. Those are too big for my input modules anyways since I have the 2 boards sandwiched with standoffs.
Cheers, Jeff
jeff : thanks for your help.... i want to use the profile in a couples of VP 26. The xfmrs are the same fit as the 2503.I want to try the new xfmrs wounded with litz. Api used them in the 512 c and the news 550A and 550 B.
For my modular project i will use ED's ones .
I want to share something that paul wolff published in another forum. He owned Api for a while.
Some history about Xfmrs.
somebody ask this question :
Can anyone out there tell me what manufacture/model of input and output transformers API has used for the 550A's and 312/512's over the last 35 years? Have they pretty much stuck with the same ones or have they constantly shifted? Perhaps Mr. Wolff could help out with this one?
Paul answer:
This is true for many companies, most of which discovered the same results in the 90's, some actually had records of it and just needed to find a substitute.
The original output transformers for just about all manufacturers in the "old days" had one thing that was done to them that was unknown by most of the the manufacturers because they never specified it and the winders just always did it.
This was a process that used ribbon like wire, where all the 4 windings were wound at the same time, to save money and time. This is why when you take apart an old transformer, it looks so orderly. The funny part is that the laquer used to glue them together turned to powder and no one could figure out why they old transformers sounded good and the new ones had an 80KHz peak.
Around 1976, it appears that the ribbon wire either got very expensive or just went away, and since most manufacturers had never specked this, the transformers were from then on wound with the 4 winding from 4 spools of wire. This cause inconsistant wrapping and hence the peak in the HF, which extends into the audio band, making the transformer sound a bit brighter.
Around 1997, it was discovered and identified, and the experimenting began, with the result being a type of wire called LITZ wire, which is a group of 4 wires twisted together at some interval and then wound around the bobbin. This created the same effect as the ribbon wire and identical results.
That is why some of the newer things out there now, finally, sound like the older ones.
Many companies discovered this, as LITZ wire has been around since WWII and was developed, like everything else, by the Germans.
Many mic transformers used the ribbon wire and a lot of them sounded different in the late 70's for the same reason.
Hope it provide some light on that subject .
cheers.
Pedro.
For my modular project i will use ED's ones .
I want to share something that paul wolff published in another forum. He owned Api for a while.
Some history about Xfmrs.
somebody ask this question :
Can anyone out there tell me what manufacture/model of input and output transformers API has used for the 550A's and 312/512's over the last 35 years? Have they pretty much stuck with the same ones or have they constantly shifted? Perhaps Mr. Wolff could help out with this one?
Paul answer:
This is true for many companies, most of which discovered the same results in the 90's, some actually had records of it and just needed to find a substitute.
The original output transformers for just about all manufacturers in the "old days" had one thing that was done to them that was unknown by most of the the manufacturers because they never specified it and the winders just always did it.
This was a process that used ribbon like wire, where all the 4 windings were wound at the same time, to save money and time. This is why when you take apart an old transformer, it looks so orderly. The funny part is that the laquer used to glue them together turned to powder and no one could figure out why they old transformers sounded good and the new ones had an 80KHz peak.
Around 1976, it appears that the ribbon wire either got very expensive or just went away, and since most manufacturers had never specked this, the transformers were from then on wound with the 4 winding from 4 spools of wire. This cause inconsistant wrapping and hence the peak in the HF, which extends into the audio band, making the transformer sound a bit brighter.
Around 1997, it was discovered and identified, and the experimenting began, with the result being a type of wire called LITZ wire, which is a group of 4 wires twisted together at some interval and then wound around the bobbin. This created the same effect as the ribbon wire and identical results.
That is why some of the newer things out there now, finally, sound like the older ones.
Many companies discovered this, as LITZ wire has been around since WWII and was developed, like everything else, by the Germans.
Many mic transformers used the ribbon wire and a lot of them sounded different in the late 70's for the same reason.
Hope it provide some light on that subject .
cheers.
Pedro.
Tubemooley
Well-known member
That's good info on the transformers. Thanks for posting that. I would not hold my breath waiting for Profile to produce. They don't have their act together yet and it's been over a year since that guy in Florida posted here about Profile coming back. DW.
boji
Well-known member
OMG
http://www.scienceshareware.com/bird.htm
Dood I wanted one of those SOOOOOO bad back in the day! I was a little too young when it came out, but I can remember watching the commercials.
I would have died for one of these in my bedroom in the 80's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon%27s_Lair
Patapeter very cool info, thanks for posting about the tx's.
As for space limitations, I'm in trouble as well with the input cards. Jeff's are going to come out perfect for the 51x format, however I have limited myself to a depth of 3" for some areas, and hence have to reinvent the wheel at some point when I finish metalwork and get to this problem. I'm saving up cash to bribe Jeff to one off me a design of his current modular idea, but who knows when he will find time for that, especially once people see his modular offerings, and classicapi takes off.
http://www.scienceshareware.com/bird.htm
Dood I wanted one of those SOOOOOO bad back in the day! I was a little too young when it came out, but I can remember watching the commercials.
I would have died for one of these in my bedroom in the 80's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon%27s_Lair
Patapeter very cool info, thanks for posting about the tx's.
As for space limitations, I'm in trouble as well with the input cards. Jeff's are going to come out perfect for the 51x format, however I have limited myself to a depth of 3" for some areas, and hence have to reinvent the wheel at some point when I finish metalwork and get to this problem. I'm saving up cash to bribe Jeff to one off me a design of his current modular idea, but who knows when he will find time for that, especially once people see his modular offerings, and classicapi takes off.
Boyzs.....I've found very cool what jeff is doing on the modular console, I have an API 2488.We want the same things,pretty much.But I want some mods. I mean for my setup i don't need a couple of things , and need others. Like the mic pre , it's very easy to add the mic pre in jeff design , you only need the ap 2622 and the mic/line and pad buttons. So for a couple of bucks you'll have API (like the VP26) mic pre !!!!!.Also I will add a rotary fader ,But I don't know if the T-pad could act as the Api fader ,what you think jeff ? Are they 600 oms or 10 k ?
A thing i don't need ,now, is the aux and cue sends, because i'm doing all the fx's and cue send in the protools console. So if you want to send to an external rev you will use an protools's send. That's better for Total recall.
Also you will need aca/booster for those aux/cue sends . More budget .I'm trying to keep it simply ,I only need mic's pre ans Stereo summing.And for Doing 16 ch's + aca st booster + an control room , my budget is very limited.
And if you really think you will need cue and aux sends , you can add it later in another module,like the busses send.
i agree with jeff to do the busses send in another module too. I 'll only put an st button in the main module so if you want to use the mic pre you an take it out of the st,set the fader out level and then monitor the return from tape in another channel as the old days.
I'm from the pre Protools and pre adat era, only 16 trks a couples of 1176 and LA-3a with U87 and sm-57's.And go and make a hit record. Later i've got involved with adat and midi automation , Later with PT.
But how much miss that time when everything was done in one take almost.Sniffffff
lololololololo......
Enough for memories from the past.
The future is right here !!!!!!
So boyzs I'm trying to make that design, When i have something about it , i will sent it to jeff to check it and see if he want to do it.
Best Regards.
Pedro
A thing i don't need ,now, is the aux and cue sends, because i'm doing all the fx's and cue send in the protools console. So if you want to send to an external rev you will use an protools's send. That's better for Total recall.
Also you will need aca/booster for those aux/cue sends . More budget .I'm trying to keep it simply ,I only need mic's pre ans Stereo summing.And for Doing 16 ch's + aca st booster + an control room , my budget is very limited.
And if you really think you will need cue and aux sends , you can add it later in another module,like the busses send.
i agree with jeff to do the busses send in another module too. I 'll only put an st button in the main module so if you want to use the mic pre you an take it out of the st,set the fader out level and then monitor the return from tape in another channel as the old days.
I'm from the pre Protools and pre adat era, only 16 trks a couples of 1176 and LA-3a with U87 and sm-57's.And go and make a hit record. Later i've got involved with adat and midi automation , Later with PT.
But how much miss that time when everything was done in one take almost.Sniffffff
lololololololo......
Enough for memories from the past.
The future is right here !!!!!!
So boyzs I'm trying to make that design, When i have something about it , i will sent it to jeff to check it and see if he want to do it.
Best Regards.
Pedro
mmmmmm.... I think a fixed Mic pre is not a good option. Thinking about flexibility. Maybe a 500 rack free slot is the way to add any type of preamp to this mixer. I used a lot of differents mic preamps in a recording session. Anyway, if in pcb board is free room, I will like to see this option.
In my setup I will need aux and cue sends, I think this is a analog mixer, and I like all the features of analog mixers. I always use aux post sends. ie: vox>La2a>EQ> send to reverb. It´s imposible to send reverb directly from PT in my case.
So, aux and cue sends are indispensable to me.
Sorry Patapeter, but my setup is different from yours! :-\
Flexibility is the way, and everyone happy !
In my setup I will need aux and cue sends, I think this is a analog mixer, and I like all the features of analog mixers. I always use aux post sends. ie: vox>La2a>EQ> send to reverb. It´s imposible to send reverb directly from PT in my case.
So, aux and cue sends are indispensable to me.
Sorry Patapeter, but my setup is different from yours! :-\
Flexibility is the way, and everyone happy !
YES !!!!!.....And as I've said , That's what i need for my set up . And you could add it later in another module, if you really want that. Like the one with the send to busses, 16 busses for an 8 channels line mixer ? I don't see why so many busses, but someone maybe need them.
My modular desk will be , in the beginning , 16 ch's with 16 moving fader ,and control room. Later i will add sends and cues . But i have limited budget . This desk will be a part of the "B" studio, so i don't have any mic's pre there , so that's why i need that.
I want to clone my Api 2488 that is in the "A" studio.
I will have soon something to show here.
Regards
Pedro.
My modular desk will be , in the beginning , 16 ch's with 16 moving fader ,and control room. Later i will add sends and cues . But i have limited budget . This desk will be a part of the "B" studio, so i don't have any mic's pre there , so that's why i need that.
I want to clone my Api 2488 that is in the "A" studio.
I will have soon something to show here.
Regards
Pedro.
boji
Well-known member
Any news Jeff?
+1
Hey guys,
Sorry, I have had a ton of stuff going on and not much spare time to make any more headway on this. Life, the wife, the day job..blah, blah... My brother has been test driving the VP312DI (bass) and has requested a few changes which means nearly reinventing the wheel. I had thought that would be behind me long ago with nothing to get in the way of this console project.
On one high note, I have had to do a small plug-in relay board with the driver circuit to be used on the DI preamp project. I plan to use these all over the console as they are simple, cheap, very small and effective. This will also be the method I use on the eq backplane for my mic/line switching idea. Pretty cool little board that uses a 90 degree .1" header array.
Cheers, Jeff
Sorry, I have had a ton of stuff going on and not much spare time to make any more headway on this. Life, the wife, the day job..blah, blah... My brother has been test driving the VP312DI (bass) and has requested a few changes which means nearly reinventing the wheel. I had thought that would be behind me long ago with nothing to get in the way of this console project.
On one high note, I have had to do a small plug-in relay board with the driver circuit to be used on the DI preamp project. I plan to use these all over the console as they are simple, cheap, very small and effective. This will also be the method I use on the eq backplane for my mic/line switching idea. Pretty cool little board that uses a 90 degree .1" header array.
Cheers, Jeff
HI JEFF: How are you ? Hope everything is all right.
I've finished my 500 modular api line/mic pre project , But i want if you could look to my pdf to check it , i've got a doubt on the solo in place/mute relay circuit, i don't know if in the relay , the signal goes to the connected leg or to the open one.
And also i want to know if i could send my cad to the same guy that does your pcb design.
And later if you could quote me the pcb's ,i mean i want to make it in the same place that you do , yours are awesome.
This will be a big project and i will buy all the parts from you , to make those modules.
Best regards.
Pedro.
I've finished my 500 modular api line/mic pre project , But i want if you could look to my pdf to check it , i've got a doubt on the solo in place/mute relay circuit, i don't know if in the relay , the signal goes to the connected leg or to the open one.
And also i want to know if i could send my cad to the same guy that does your pcb design.
And later if you could quote me the pcb's ,i mean i want to make it in the same place that you do , yours are awesome.
This will be a big project and i will buy all the parts from you , to make those modules.
Best regards.
Pedro.
Similar threads
