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Helios
Aug 23, 2013 20:36:12 GMT -6
Post by Johnkenn on Aug 23, 2013 20:36:12 GMT -6
nobtwiddler - how are those F760's? Never heard one...How would you describe them? Also, you hear anything about them appearing in 500 series?
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Post by nobtwiddler on Aug 23, 2013 21:42:50 GMT -6
Tony, John
Thanks guys for the kind words,
I really appreciate it...
Cause only people like us truly understand why we do these things.
Puttin this rig together was really a labor of love, and the final results have proven to be better then I ever expected!
John, the 760's (more coming) are GREAT. But they are very specific...
What I mean is they are very grabby, and vibey, A true COLOR piece.
I needed two more, not sure why, but I do...AS I usually use compressor instead of EQ's for color.......you can understand right?
Haha.
Anyhow, they work beautifully on bass, lead vocal, drum room, piano, and the stereo two mix, but again you really need to set them correctly.
Very, very vibey...
In the meantime, to further clarify, here's a list of what's in the previous photos:
Top Rack #1 Center
8 x channels of Helios Type 69's Mic Pre / Eq's
1 x API 8200A mixer used for summing (if needed) while printing tracks to the Radar.
1 x Neve 8816 - 16 channel Summing mixer, used to monitor playback while recording, and used as the mixer if mixing.
1 x Neve 8201 - 16 channel fader unit for the 8816.
1 x Soundcraft 96 input TT Patchbay for Helios, API and Neve connections
1 x Soundcraft 8 in 8 out XLR Bay for mic connections.
Top Rack #2 Right
6 x channels of Helios Type 69's Mic Pre / Eq's
4 x ShadowHills Mono Optograph Limiters
1 x ShadowHills Dual Vandegraph Stereo Limiter
2 x Helios (ADR) 760 Limiters (2 more on order)
2 x Retro Instruments Double wide Tube Limiters in Revolver Rack (1 shown in photo)
1 x Soundcraft 96 input TT Patchbay for Helios, & Shadowhills, connections.
1 x Soundcraft 8 in 8 out XLR Bay for mic connections.
Top Rack #3 Left
1 x 2 Space rack drawer, holds manuals, discs, drives, etc.
1 x Radar 6
1 x Radar 6 small remote control.
1 x Foldable (into rack) 19 inch screen.
1 x 24 in, 24 out REDCO DSUB connector panel to connect the recorder to the other two racks.
ALL THREE BOTTOM RACKS ACT AS STANDS FOR THE TOP RACKS AND STORE:
All the interconnects, DSUBS, TT Cables, the 2 Genelec speakers, The Mono Speaker, Extra drives for the Radar, the 2 Retro Compressors, Little lights, and lots of other small stuff~!
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Helios
Aug 24, 2013 0:11:45 GMT -6
Post by tonycamphd on Aug 24, 2013 0:11:45 GMT -6
put that set up in a truck=modern day stones mobile? I have a pair of AML ez f760 diy kits sitting here, i cant wait to build them! They break the bank before the levee though  |
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Post by nobtwiddler on Aug 24, 2013 5:06:10 GMT -6
Tony, That's basically my plan. But what's been happening more often then not is, I set up somewhere in the artists house, barn, garage, instead of being outside in a truck. And I have t tell ya, I love the instant communication with the musicians! It's really a very cool way to record, all together in one room, or maybe in the next room. Just not totally isolated. The main difference is I can't get sounds on the fly, I need to print a little snippet of said instrument, and then play it back, listen and then make any adjustments from playback. Repeat and adjust again if needed. It really takes no more time then if I was isolated, as I used to record a piece and play it back for each musician anyway? Since I rarely EQ anything while printing, the process of getting sounds usually happens quite quickly. We make sure we like the sound of what's being recorded, and go from there. It all starts at the other end of the mic...if that don't sound good, then NO mic, EQ, or compression, is gonna help ya.    |
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arny
Full Member
Posts: 39 
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 6:04:46 GMT -6
Post by arny on Jan 18, 2014 6:04:46 GMT -6
maybe he could fill us in on the nomenclature. From what I have been told, they never used the 69 or 78 as a model # or description until many years after the boards were out of print. Your dead right, as far as I can make out when RS and I discussed naming Helios consoles, Richard stated, because he never gave model names to any new design, he had decided to turn to the original schematics and name the models according to the Schematic Date, I had three Helios consoles in my large workshop area, two Helios Mobiles outside, and one Helios in my Studio, the one in my Studio was built in 1979 for Virgin's Townhouse Studio London, I named it affectionately as "Big Brownie' it was huge, but had the most versatile EQ I have ever experience and I had some very good outboard EQ's to compare it with. Richard had forgotten how good the EQ was and immediately asked if he could borrow it in order to clone it, after looking at the many Schematics and named it as a Type-79 due to the year it was built, he also informed me it was the last large console that Helios had built., at a cost of £96,000, I passed this invoice on to Joe at "Surefire Studios", who now owns "Big Brownie" this wonderful console, I still have all Richard's drawings from his clone work on the Type-69 Mic-Pre/EQ, which he gave me before his sad passing. Kind Regards, Tony, Helios Electronics Ltd & |
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arny
Full Member
Posts: 39
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 7:24:25 GMT -6
arny likes this
Post by arny on Jan 18, 2014 7:24:25 GMT -6
Could place a JPG into my last post so I've added another for "Big Brownie" pictures. One below is Big Brownie in Arnys Shack Type-79 Mic/Pre/EQ as what is in "Big Brownie". i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh241/Nipper99/image_zps0b3d1969.jpgType-79 That I have just completed making. (Excuse the missing Knob Cap) I left this off to prove its a "Prototype" i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh241/Nipper99/image_zpsfa03702b.jpgElma knobs will be used in the production model, which I'm not sure whether to release or not as the Type-69 seems the one everyone wants. so I might Hybrid the two into one unit using the Type-69 Lustraphone type Mic-Pre as the input and then give a choice switch for either EQ. be it T-69 or T-79. lustraphone as part You may ask why I made it,? I made it because I missed this EQ so much and I am putting together a second prototype, so I have two. Kind Regards, Tony Helios Electronics Ltd & Attachments:
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arny
Full Member
Posts: 39
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 7:36:25 GMT -6
Post by arny on Jan 18, 2014 7:36:25 GMT -6
.As you can see tried again
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 7:43:32 GMT -6
Post by mobeach on Jan 18, 2014 7:43:32 GMT -6
How much difference does it REALLY make using one of these as opposed to a Soundcraft Ghost or Allen & Heath Sigma? Consoles like this are way beyond me so it makes me curious how good they really are. And I'm sure it takes a very experienced engineer to fully utilize what it offers.
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arny
Full Member
Posts: 39
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 8:19:29 GMT -6
Post by arny on Jan 18, 2014 8:19:29 GMT -6
How much difference does it REALLY make using one of these as opposed to a Soundcraft Ghost or Allen & Heath Sigma? Consoles like this are way beyond me so it makes me curious how good they really are. And I'm sure it takes a very experienced engineer to fully utilize what it offers. Just before I retired I used which I still own a Calrec console, while owning this lovely console I remixed over 20 albums for a World Class Artist. There is a Forum for this Artist with a huge amount of fans, who all sung praises for the new mixes done for CD release, yet some had been released on CD before. His record company was very keen for some new unreleased tapes to be mixed for release, trouble was my Calrec was in my workshop as I was converting the Patchbays from Standard to Bantam. So the Record company offered to purchase a console just for the one mix, it could be sold afterwards Having read some very good reviews on Mackie consoles plus I was looking for a budget desk, I suggested it to the record company and within two days it turned up at my Studio. After setting it up I had to do something, I had never had to do with before, my Past Raindorks, Helios or Calrec console 's. I had to use a Klark Technick Graphic in order to get my Monitors to sound right because while running a couple of known multitrack's through the Mackie things did not sound right, I put it down to the Mackie being a hell of a lot smaller than the Calrec. I gave the record company the mixes because they insisted, but told them I was not happy, I was told not to be so fussy, the punters won't know the difference BUTWhen released all hell went crazy on the Forum and the Album was immediately withdrawn which later I mixed on the Calrec, and afterwards receiving a lot of relieve from the Forum Fans Never underestimate the ears of the fans is what I say The Mackie is still here, if anyone wishes to collect, its very useful as a general mixer but not quite up to Formula 1 class. I went to add a picture but all the Forum wants to do is show "Big Brownie" again. Kind Regards Tony Helios Electronics Ltd & Calrec
i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh241/Nipper99/image_zps2ffd351d.jpg
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 8:38:40 GMT -6
Post by Johnkenn on Jan 18, 2014 8:38:40 GMT -6
Original Type-79 MicPre/EQ (Brown and the new Clone T-79 (Black) I picked three pictures in my last post but it only featured one I'm now trying to add the other two picture here but insists on feature the picture that's in my last post, again here twice. I have tried again but no luck Hey Tony - It's probably because they're too big to attach...I don't pay the extra money for attachments over 1MB...might change that eventually. Email them to info@realgearonline.com and I'll put them up. Love to see them! BTW - you should be able to right click (control click) any image on the internet and save/copy the URL, past it into the message and it will appear automatically... |
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 8:46:53 GMT -6
Post by Johnkenn on Jan 18, 2014 8:46:53 GMT -6
Try it now, arny - I upgraded the attachments to 3mb...bet it will work. |
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 8:55:13 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by tonycamphd on Jan 18, 2014 8:55:13 GMT -6
Tony! This is great reading, and very interesting stuff you're posting, thanx so much for sharing!
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 8:58:12 GMT -6
Post by henge on Jan 18, 2014 8:58:12 GMT -6
Here's a better shot of the racks nobtwiddler this is amazing. A dream rig come true. The construction is ingenious! Great thread. |
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 9:01:24 GMT -6
Post by Johnkenn on Jan 18, 2014 9:01:24 GMT -6
Hey Tony -
So, I remember a while back on TSTSNBN (The Site That Shall Not Be Named) you posted some mock-ups of some of the ideas you had - one being a pre only Type 69, and EQ only 69 and then maybe a Type 79? Had the 4 band sweepable EQ? So is that one now coming with the pre too? In one 500 space?
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 9:04:50 GMT -6
Post by henge on Jan 18, 2014 9:04:50 GMT -6
How much difference does it REALLY make using one of these as opposed to a Soundcraft Ghost or Allen & Heath Sigma? Consoles like this are way beyond me so it makes me curious how good they really are. And I'm sure it takes a very experienced engineer to fully utilize what it offers. Just before I retired I used which I still own a Calrec console, while owning this lovely console I remixed over 20 albums for a World Class Artist. There is a Forum for this Artist with a huge amount of fans, who all sung praises for the new mixes done for CD release, yet some had been released on CD before. His record company was very keen for some new unreleased tapes to be mixed for release, trouble was my Calrec was in my workshop as I was converting the Patchbays from Standard to Bantam. So the Record company offered to purchase a console just for the one mix, it could be sold afterwards Having read some very good reviews on Mackie consoles plus I was looking for a budget desk, I suggested it to the record company and within two days it turned up at my Studio. After setting it up I had to do something, I had never had to do with before, my Past Raindorks, Helios or Calrec console 's. I had to use a Klark Technick Graphic in order to get my Monitors to sound right because while running a couple of known multitrack's through the Mackie things did not sound right, I put it down to the Mackie being a hell of a lot smaller than the Calrec. I gave the record company the mixes because they insisted, but told them I was not happy, I was told not to be so fussy, the punters won't know the difference BUTWhen released all hell went crazy on the Forum and the Album was immediately withdrawn which later I mixed on the Calrec, and afterwards receiving a lot of relieve from the Forum Fans Never underestimate the ears of the fans is what I say The Mackie is still here, if anyone wishes to collect, its very useful as a general mixer but not quite up to Formula 1 class. I went to add a picture but all the Forum wants to do is show "Big Brownie" again. Kind Regards Tony Helios Electronics Ltd & I'll be telling this story when discussion comes up on high end consoles vs low end. Excellent view point. Thank you. |
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 10:12:38 GMT -6
Post by mobeach on Jan 18, 2014 10:12:38 GMT -6
So basically the Home Studio guy doesn't have a chance when it comes to comparative quality, despite all the guys that decided to go the Home Studio route. Unless of course they invest in the proper gear and a competent engineer. I remember reading Tom Petty tracked one of his highest grossing albums on a Korg D-1600 Multitracker in a garage, but of course it was Mastered elsewhere.
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 10:50:09 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by tonycamphd on Jan 18, 2014 10:50:09 GMT -6
No way tom petty recorded on cheap digital multi track, he's an analog freak, I do believe he used a Soundcraft console on last dance for Mary Jane, ( not positive)
I'm banking that my heavily modded Soundcraft delta, with a bunch of flavored mics, pres, eq's, compressors, real plate and spring verbs will get me where I want to go.
My board has the Jim Williams mods, and in a blind shoot out, it crushed the unmodded strips in a wholey laughable way.
Helios 69 is a must have in my future
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 11:12:16 GMT -6
via mobile
henge likes this
Post by Johnkenn on Jan 18, 2014 11:12:16 GMT -6
Yeah - let's not get in a pissing match. Great music can be made on anything. Great gear just gets you there quicker. I'd take Marvin Gaye, Keith Moon, Brian May and John Entwistle with a couple of 57's and a SM7 over me and a Neve any day.
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 11:41:43 GMT -6
Post by henge on Jan 18, 2014 11:41:43 GMT -6
Yeah - let's not get in a pissing match. Great music can be made on anything. Great gear just gets you there quicker. I'd take Marvin Gaye, Keith Moon, Brian May and John Entwistle with a couple of 57's and a SM7 over me and a Neve any day. Well said. Actually I'd prefer Ian Paice over Moon. ;-) |
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 11:45:45 GMT -6
Post by Johnkenn on Jan 18, 2014 11:45:45 GMT -6
Yeah - let's not get in a pissing match. Great music can be made on anything. Great gear just gets you there quicker. I'd take Marvin Gaye, Keith Moon, Brian May and John Entwistle with a couple of 57's and a SM7 over me and a Neve any day. Well said. Actually I'd prefer Ian Paice over Moon. ;-) Good Lord, man...sacrilege! |
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 11:47:57 GMT -6
Post by Johnkenn on Jan 18, 2014 11:47:57 GMT -6
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Post by tonycamphd on Jan 18, 2014 11:56:00 GMT -6
Wasn't trying to start a pissing match, I just watched Sound City documentary, Petty REALLY hated digital was my point.
Now for pissing, I'll see your Moon, Paicey, and raise you a Bonzo! 8)
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 12:12:56 GMT -6
Post by mobeach on Jan 18, 2014 12:12:56 GMT -6
The info is out there, Full Moon Fever was started in Mike Campbells garage, Petty wanted to lay the tracks down before Jeff Lynne headed back to the UK. It was then finished at Devonshire and a couple other studios. However that album was born on a multitracker and the original tracks were retained.
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Helios
Jan 18, 2014 13:21:58 GMT -6
Post by mobeach on Jan 18, 2014 13:21:58 GMT -6
The original article was in a Sound on Sound magazine, it makes sense that it wasn't a D-1600 since they didn't exist at the time the album was recorded.
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Post by jsteiger on Jan 18, 2014 14:57:30 GMT -6
Albums 2 and 3 were tracked and mixed on the Helios. The JI record was before he bought it. |
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