Neve 80 series Console Build

[remsouille]

Amongst other things, I did a quick dry assembling of the frame, just for fun and to see the actual size of it in real life.

I hope it fits in the studio 8)

 

[zamproject]

I hope it fits in the studio 8)

Haha, I just imagine one second you don't check prior to the build...
That shouldn't be fun

Best
Zam

 

[Kid Squid]

GORGEOUS !!!

 

[remsouille]

Hi all!

I'm inches away from finishing the wiring of the 13 buss left hand section of the console and I've been doing lots of other stuff, I'll be posting stuff in no particular order!

I had to build the 13 busses for scratch, since it would be too complicated to source the original neve extrusions, and the veroboard strips were a weak link anyway.. I'm getting good at this, building one take me about 50minutes now

I'm almost done prewiring the routing module back connectors (they would actually be finished If I had not ran out of soldering wire yesterday night  : )

 

[remsouille]

Here is the (almost finished as well) studer A80 16 track arm remote control.
The empty holes are for red and green status LEDS (ready and record respectively). I'll wire them as soon as the postman brings me my soldering wire  8).
The red pushbuttons are for arming each track individually and the grey one is a Master Repro/Sync switch for switching between the playback head to the sync/record head for overdubbing. I chose to have a master switch feeding relays to switch all the tracks at the same time instead of having one repro/sync switch per track. Individual track switching can always be done at the tape machine if needed! Sasarist help me draw the pcb, I have a couple of them left if anyone's interested . I should get the front panels soon! Each track individual remote is wired to the tape machine via its own 6 conductor cable, soon to be installed!

I bought 15 empty 1272 cases to build the line amps. Buses 1>10 will be housed in the center section of the console, while Aux, Cue and solo busses will live in the frame, under the wooden top lid.

Buses 1/2, Aux 1/2, Cue 1/2 and Solo amps will just be regular 1272s, but Buses 3>8 and Buses 9/10 (aka the tape return buses, I didn't know what else to call them) will have modified front and sub-panels to accommodate Mute, solo and "To Buses 1/2" switches

I'll probably keep the additional 31267 transformers required for these modules somewhere in the frame to avoid crowding the line amp enclosures too much...

 

[remsouille]

I'm also about to start building the monitor / tape transport remote section. I should have the sub-panel this week.
I decided to have a very simple monitor section: an input selector, dim and mute switches and a volume attenuator, alongside a headphone amp and a Studio speaker volume control + follow monitor switch. For I am a man of very simple needs .
Elma switches and OEP pushbuttons will be used. It will look something like this:

Here are the massive OEP switches for the tape transport remote control:

 

[boji]

https://youtu.be/c6qUw8RhrCc

It's not much, but it means the world to me

Recently passed some audio through first few ch too, so I completely feel ya brother!

Love the frame, metalwork..keep the pictures coming!

 

[remsouille]

I'd like to discuss the matter of fader wiring again. In the time since I wired the monitor side of the console, I understood that the two leads going in and out of the fader should be two separately screened cables instead of a dual screened cable, to avoid a capacitance effect at lower volumes.
I also read on one of Ian's post that back in the 70's at Neve, there was a convention that it was ok to use dual screened wires for shorter fader connections.

This is how I wired my faders so far, and this was validated by Geoff Tanner, Blake Devitt as well as Ian and Winston over here.

Ever since I did it, I can't seem to understand why one would use the screen to carry the -inf back to B- (0v) and have a separate lead for the chassis connection, instead of the other way around. Can somebody please explain this to me?

 

[remsouille]

The side cheeks are ready.  ;D

Note how good a laundry drying rack the console makes. Pretty much the only use I can find for it right now 

 

[ruffrecords]

Ever since I did it, I can't seem to understand why one would use the screen to carry the -inf back to B- (0v) and have a separate lead for the chassis connection, instead of the other way around. Can somebody please explain this to me?

Probably because there is no need for the chassis connection to return to the sending module. I would think there is only a need to ensure there is a good LOCAL electrical bond between the metal body of the fader and the actual chassis.

Cheers

Ian

 

[Studiomotion]

Looks nice!!

Do you have a source for the panel mounting solution that neve (and many use)

The fast screw hookup.


Regards

Tommy

 

[remsouille]

Looks nice!!

Do you have a source for the panel mounting solution that neve (and many use)

The fast screw hookup.


Regards

Tommy

I think Dan Alexander has some, but I didn't use them, I just used isep bits with m3 strips!

 

[remsouille]

Some time ago I finished wiring the routing modules connectors! Quite a few wires!

Note the use of 2,5mm2 wire for the connector to B- copper bar connection. Neve used 1,5mm2 for this, but I went with a bigger gauge, following Blake Devitt's advice. Every millimeter counts to beat cross talk, and thus improve clarity, stereo image and so on...

Fitting the knee covers (3mm powder-coated steel, very heavy  )

 

[boji]

Looking good! How/where'd you get the scribble strips made? Are they melamine veneers?

 

[remsouille]

Looking good! How/where'd you get the scribble strips made? Are they melamine veneers?

Thanks! I got them made by a british company called Traffolyte, which I think is the company that made them for Neve back in the 70's, but I might be wrong.
Traffolyte is actually the name of the material itself, which is a 3 layer phenolic plastic sheet. Maybe that company just registered the name recently and didn't have anything to do with Neve, but the Neve labels were for sure made of the same material.
It was a bit tricky to get the markings right, they had to use the letter "l" instead of "1" to make them look right  ;D

 

[remsouille]

Hey all, quick fader question: should the fader kill switch inside a P&G fader just make a straight connection between the wiper and the bottom of the fader when you're on the bottom position? Or is it something else?
Thank you!

 

[boji]

Tying wiper to agnd was quietest for me, but using fader kill switches only made sense on the master fader, since group and ch mix switches are available, and direct outs can be muted by daw inputs

Edit: Are you going to add them across all channels?

 

[remsouille]

Tying wiper to agnd was quietest for me, but using fader kill switches only made sense on the master fader, since group and ch mix switches are available, and direct outs can be muted by daw inputs

Edit: Are you going to add them across all channels?

I don't exactly see what you mean, but yes, kill switches on all faders

 

[boji]

I don't exactly see what you mean

Just meant that incoming sig can be cut pre fader or post channel elsewhere.


Those remote tape switches in your pict connect at the base to a cherry mx style keyboard switch? If so that's neat!

 

[remsouille]

Just meant that incoming sig can be cut pre fader or post channel elsewhere.

Yes, but I work analog, remember ? And then the switches are in there anyway, so I might as well use them haha

Those remote tape switches in your pict connect at the base to a cherry mx style keyboard switch? If so that's neat!

No, they're actually heavy duty EAO switches on which you can connect up to 4 switching elements! Neat, but very big switches!