Midas Analog used consoles Is it worth it ?

[r2d2]

Hey to all

have a friend that think to buy a Midas used analog console (Heritage) to put in its private studio ,
for analog mixdown , and why not also for use mic pres for tracking ,

"dangerous" intention ?

Midas still give tech. support and spare parts in case of repairs are required ?
thanks in advance for any post about
cheers

 

[Tungstengruvsten]

Great idea - Daniel Lanois has a Midas H4000 in his Toronto studio as his main desk even though he has a few Neves around....Midas is (unfortunately) part of the bigger Music Group/Behringer companies now so I imagine parts and service are getting more difficult as the years go by but there were enough of these around that parts should be available for a good handful of years...

 

[r2d2]

Great idea - Daniel Lanois has a Midas H4000 in his Toronto studio as his main desk even though he has a few Neves around....Midas is (unfortunately) part of the bigger Music Group/Behringer companies now so I imagine parts and service are getting more difficult as the years go by but there were enough of these around that parts should be available for a good handful of years...

thanks for post,

it is better to get and store a good quantity of parts like pots, switches, Ics , and other more  before they go out of production?

 

[pucho812]

Great idea - Daniel Lanois has a Midas H4000 in his Toronto studio as his main desk even though he has a few Neves around....Midas is (unfortunately) part of the bigger Music Group/Behringer companies now so I imagine parts and service are getting more difficult as the years go by but there were enough of these around that parts should be available for a good handful of years...

Daniel is specific in what he uses in that each piece of gear performs a specific task. So for example his BCM-10's are for tracking purposes only. The Midas is specifically for mix down only.  In his L.A. studio he had a Neve 8068 which he recently unloaded. I do not know what he put in it's place, but up in canada he still has the Midas.  I was fortunate enough to record him some years back as part of a demo with IZ corp the makers of radar. Daniel played pedal steel and talked radar. He is such a gracious individual, We spend  a lot of time after the event listening to music,  including his black dub album. It was cool.

 

[r2d2]

Daniel is specific in what he uses in that each piece of gear performs a specific task. So for example his BCM-10's are for tracking purposes only. The Midas is specifically for mix down only.  In his L.A. studio he had a Neve 8068 which he recently unloaded. I do not know what he put in it's place, but up in canada he still has the Midas.  I was fortunate enough to record him some years back as part of a demo with IZ corp the makers of radar. Daniel played pedal steel and talked radar. He is such a gracious individual, We spend  a lot of time after the event listening to music,  including his black dub album. It was cool.

Nice !
thanks for infos "Pucho"
about spare parts can be a problem  get them ?
cheers

 

[sahib]

I had four new and unused matrix strips that I eventually parted out. I sold the LED  meter modules to two members here, but I still have a good number of potentiometers ( particularly dual concentric), knobs and switch caps if they would be of interest. Although removed, all new and unused.

 

[pucho812]

Nice !
thanks for infos "Pucho"
about spare parts can be a problem  get them ?
cheers

Hmmm I don't think there is any unobtainium in there

 

[Whoops]

it is better to get and store a good quantity of parts like pots, switches, Ics , and other more  before they go out of production?

Heritage consoles went out of production some years ago.

In my opinion Midas made the best analog live sound consoles, and nowadays makes the best sounding digital consoles in the world (Pro series)

The Heritage console will be a great console to track or to mix.
It sounds great.

Analog consoles can be had for pretty cheap nowadays and live sound consoles specifically can be bough for peanuts.
Some of these desks live sound boards are really good. All the Midas analog models were pretty good, even the Venice console (the cheapest one) was a really good sounding mixer.

I've seen the Yamaha PM3500, a great console also for sale at a really low price and also the Soundcraft Series Five


You should contact Midas to see if they still offer spare parts for the Heritage and if they do I would buy a nice stock of parts for it.
If Midas doesn't sell spares any longer, you have to contact Midas dealers trying to get a NOS of spares from them

 

[Timjag]

The H3000 was one of the most disappointing desk experiences I ever had.

Now if you can get an XL4 - well that's another story!

 

[Whoops]

The H3000 was one of the most disappointing desk experiences I ever had.

Did you have a bad lunch in that day? Or a bad night of sleep?

 

[Timjag]

No, not ten minutes after it was out of the crate, I press the mute switch and it popped off. Turned it on Left side 4 db louder than the right. From the company that had established themselves as the touring equivalent of neve it was extremely disappointing. It continued to go wrong through its entire career. Never liked the sound either - Eq was good pretty much like the XL4, but the mic amps were so boring.

Anyhow never liked the heritage range you can tell by the name - resting on the laurels of a once great product. Always felt they cheaped out.

As for the H4000, it was an XL4 in a new dress, but hardly anyone bought them sadly

You'll never beat a 4 in my opinion my buddy still takes one out for his as his main touring console. Luckily his artist is a perfectionist so the maintenance is still justified to the money men.


Treat yourself to a Cadillac ;-)
  http://www.sseaudiogroup.com/Used-Clearance/Midas-XL4/EHT-1260

 

[Andy Peters]

As for the H4000, it was an XL4 in a new dress, but hardly anyone bought them sadly

Because for 99.5% of the gigs out there, the H4000 is complete and utter overkill? Hell, the 3000 is overkill for most gigs.

 

[Whoops]

Used a lot of Heritage H3000 consoles over the years, It's an amazing console.
Great Mic preamps, Powefull EQ, great build quality and functionality

If it was not for the weight an analog console has, it would be my console for every gig

 

[Scodiddly]

I've only done repairs on the older Venice and Verona types, so take this with a grain of salt. 

The biggest age-related issue on the Venice is the EQ frequency pots. When they get a crunchy spot over time it can turn the EQ section into a very loud oscillator. I'd look for those bad pots by cranking the EQ band gain, playing with the frequency pot, and listening for the inevitable shrieking noises.  And yes, it's a very particular pot hopefully still available from Midas / Music Group.

Plus I'd like to meet whoever designed the overall construction of the Venice and punch him/her in the face. Major PITA to get those huge circuit boards in and out.

 

[Timjag]

Whoops,

Sorry, didn't mean to make that sound arrogant, challenge your opinion. I just had bad experiences with an early H3000 and it coloured my view of the company, then will the behringer take over. Disappointing. I guess it's how the Neve guys felt when AMS brought out the 88s - still a lovely well featured desk with lots of its own fans, but it's not a 8100.

It's not like another manufacturer made anything equivilent - I just suppose it was the start of a new era, like trying to compare a new KX8 with an E-type!

 

[j.frad]

I have to agree with the XL series sounding better than the heritage.


The eq in the heritage is brutal imo.
Still a nice desk.

I was told the automation part of these consoles is getting hard to fix.
That's all I can say!

 

[Whoops]

Whoops,

Sorry, didn't mean to make that sound arrogant, challenge your opinion.

Oh mate, no worries, everyone can have different opinions and we can challenge each other opinions at any time, and learning witht he shared experience.
It's just that there are better consoles,  but in terms of live sound most of them are much worse than any Heritage series.

Someone that never used the console and read your post might think it's a bad console, when most of the people that used them have the same opinion as myself that it's a great console and one of the best analog console in live sound.
I totally respect that you have a different opinion and I also agree that the XL8 is even better, but I don't think most of the people found the H3000 disappointing.