Marc Girard
Well-known member
Hello all,
Two or three years ago, I started this project. Me and a friend bought an old MIDAS PRO40 Console from a local audio shop... The legend says it used to be the board for the Electric Light Orchestra when they toured in Canada. None of the less, I examined this board and I realized that it was all top quality parts in there. Sowter transformers, Penny & Gilles faders, C+K pots, etc... All hand assembled, this stuff was great.
Here's a picture of the board when we just bought it. It's a little roughed up, but it was in working condition.
After running around to get me a copy of the schematics, I bought a power supply from JLM Audio. Joe Malone is second to none, great support! He helped me to find the correct PSU I needed for my two strips that I wanted to rack up. I was completely green, the only thing that I constructed back then was my very first GSSL. Thanks again Joe.
Here's the section I wanted to keep. I didn't have any use for the AUX sends, panning and bussing. While building my GSSL, I stumbled on a post about a guy who racked two Yamaha PM1000s strips. Those photos inspired me as they looked good and were fonctionnal. (And they were contained in a 2U.)
After testing my PSU with my strips, I loaded Photoshop and mocked up a quick look for my rack...
M'yeah! That could work! Now, I needed to learn the ways of the jedi and use Front Panel Designer to make this happen. The cuts were to close to the sides needed precision. Here's the final results in FPP:
Sent this design to FPP and waited a month. Here's what arrived thru the mail to my great surprise:
Here's a quick test to figure how the thing would look!
A few days later, I finished assembling the front panel, it looked exactly like I wanted, boy was I excited!
After a good start the project got on hold (end of 2006). I did some tests with the Par-metal box that I ordered and I haven't thought about the box height. The front panel takes a full 2U but NOT the box that's bolted at the back, it's a little smaller to accomodate the various screws and such. So, my original MIDAS strips were too close to the side for me to be able to close correctly the box! Damn was I bummed out. After a while I thought to myself: let's just build it up in a SKB case with the front face bolted on. The problem with that solution was that I couldn't access easily my electronics... So it stayed that way to a few months, if not a few years...
Time passed by and I got back into DIY with another GSSL build. My neighboor next door was interested in doing some DIY too so he gave me a hand. The GSSL looked awesome ( You can take a look here-> http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=32324.0 ). Now, armed with my experience we decided to check out the MIDAS again. We tried assembling the box in reverse (back plate for front) and it worked! It was tight but it did work!
I thought-> If it worked reverse side up, that means that I just have to get rid of that lame quarter inch metal border like I did for my meter in my GSSL! So, I reassembled everything up once again this time, we cut the sides and there it was, a functional box for my MIDAS! (Some 3 years later!)
So, the last weeks were like a marathon! I worked on that thing all day to get it finished... Here's the final shots:
In the end, I used the transformers from the output strips to balance my signal on the output and it sounds glorious! That box as no less than *5* transformers... (2 Sowter inputs, 2 Sowter outputs, 1 Amveco power). It's heavy like a mofo but we don't care, as long as it sounds good! I'll post some inside shot soon, I need to troubleshoot the strip at the top, I've got a ground buzz when the output pot is in the middle position and it goes away when I'm at the max!?!? Maybe just a bad pot, ah those surplus stores!
So, it's a happy end for a project that took way too long! Flames and comments welcome!
Marc Girard
www.marcgirard.com
Two or three years ago, I started this project. Me and a friend bought an old MIDAS PRO40 Console from a local audio shop... The legend says it used to be the board for the Electric Light Orchestra when they toured in Canada. None of the less, I examined this board and I realized that it was all top quality parts in there. Sowter transformers, Penny & Gilles faders, C+K pots, etc... All hand assembled, this stuff was great.
Here's a picture of the board when we just bought it. It's a little roughed up, but it was in working condition.
After running around to get me a copy of the schematics, I bought a power supply from JLM Audio. Joe Malone is second to none, great support! He helped me to find the correct PSU I needed for my two strips that I wanted to rack up. I was completely green, the only thing that I constructed back then was my very first GSSL. Thanks again Joe.
Here's the section I wanted to keep. I didn't have any use for the AUX sends, panning and bussing. While building my GSSL, I stumbled on a post about a guy who racked two Yamaha PM1000s strips. Those photos inspired me as they looked good and were fonctionnal. (And they were contained in a 2U.)
After testing my PSU with my strips, I loaded Photoshop and mocked up a quick look for my rack...
M'yeah! That could work! Now, I needed to learn the ways of the jedi and use Front Panel Designer to make this happen. The cuts were to close to the sides needed precision. Here's the final results in FPP:
Sent this design to FPP and waited a month. Here's what arrived thru the mail to my great surprise:
Here's a quick test to figure how the thing would look!
A few days later, I finished assembling the front panel, it looked exactly like I wanted, boy was I excited!
After a good start the project got on hold (end of 2006). I did some tests with the Par-metal box that I ordered and I haven't thought about the box height. The front panel takes a full 2U but NOT the box that's bolted at the back, it's a little smaller to accomodate the various screws and such. So, my original MIDAS strips were too close to the side for me to be able to close correctly the box! Damn was I bummed out. After a while I thought to myself: let's just build it up in a SKB case with the front face bolted on. The problem with that solution was that I couldn't access easily my electronics... So it stayed that way to a few months, if not a few years...
Time passed by and I got back into DIY with another GSSL build. My neighboor next door was interested in doing some DIY too so he gave me a hand. The GSSL looked awesome ( You can take a look here-> http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=32324.0 ). Now, armed with my experience we decided to check out the MIDAS again. We tried assembling the box in reverse (back plate for front) and it worked! It was tight but it did work!
I thought-> If it worked reverse side up, that means that I just have to get rid of that lame quarter inch metal border like I did for my meter in my GSSL! So, I reassembled everything up once again this time, we cut the sides and there it was, a functional box for my MIDAS! (Some 3 years later!)
So, the last weeks were like a marathon! I worked on that thing all day to get it finished... Here's the final shots:
In the end, I used the transformers from the output strips to balance my signal on the output and it sounds glorious! That box as no less than *5* transformers... (2 Sowter inputs, 2 Sowter outputs, 1 Amveco power). It's heavy like a mofo but we don't care, as long as it sounds good! I'll post some inside shot soon, I need to troubleshoot the strip at the top, I've got a ground buzz when the output pot is in the middle position and it goes away when I'm at the max!?!? Maybe just a bad pot, ah those surplus stores!
So, it's a happy end for a project that took way too long! Flames and comments welcome!
Marc Girard
www.marcgirard.com
