Rethinking the console

My Harrison console has V.C.A.s. on the faders. When Jim Wiliams modded the console,
he replaced the the V.C.A. output chips with LME49710s and changed the chip cap to 100pf.
On the V.C.A. audio in side he increased the cap from 22uf to 100uf and used a .01 bypass cap on the back side.
It really cleared up the sound and made the faders very useable. Maybe you can try this on one module and see if this works.
I can still mix through the monitor pots and bypass the V.C.A.s all together.

He replaced some resisters with 1% Dales?
Are those S.M. chips on a conversion socket with Heatsinks inplace of the DIP8 I.C.s?
Wow, Get out the Hakko.

I'll be the odd man out here. I say learn it and love it as it is.

The short version of my console life is that I spent considerable amount of time and money modding my console with all the "must have" mods, super-fast opamps, DC coupling stages, servos, film bypassing on series caps, etc.  That is until I decided to go back a number of steps.  I gained some things, but lost others that I couldn't live without.

Honestly, the sonics might have become more clear in the long run, but I found the change in sonic imprint on the mixes lost a lot of the gel that mixes need these days. Instead of a cohesive soundstage, everything was so clear and defined that it sounded like a bunch of super-clean instruments being played around the room, rather than a band playing together.

I removed the film bypassing on the signal coupling caps, and nothing changed. I removed the super-fast opamps, returned to AC coupling in the signal path and the sound began to gel again.

It may not be clean enough to hear mouse farts during the reprise on track 2, but it sounds like music again.  There are definitely places you need clean, and places you need mojo.  Let no one convince you that you only need one or the other.

I guess you could say that I'm a reverse-convert now.

If the device in question doesn't have these already, here are mods I like:

Opamp decoupling - small (10nF-100nF) caps on each V pin to ground and one between V pins, 100uF to 330uF on each pin within 3 inches of each opamp (max 3 opamps per bulk cap), 1000uF within 10 inches and on the power input to the channel.

AC coupling - Bipolar electrolytics to replace unipolar ones. I use Nichicon ES.


The rest after this is just changes to taste IMHO.

I know the Harrison Sound been a fan Owned a Raven that was beyond resonable cost to salvage for a shot time,
If the Otari Status sounded like a stock Harrison I would be happy! But she don't !

Otari is always going to sound Japanese, colored in a not so good way. DDA can be improved. Best to use a console design free of VCA's, M-DAC's or fet switches if you want a fuller sound, less plastic.

Less is more, more or less.

The funny thing is I keep seeing on the web an orban legend that The DDA FMR Composser was a discrete console ! Well some have Pics of modules full of your standard OpAmps.
What really made me laugh was the oldest reference to the idea that its discrete cones from a listing of a console that was posted by a former DDA rep, how can you tell a reps lying ? These days his fingers are typing ! They don't get the BS lives forever on the net .

IMO the chip mic pre's of mid class consoles are very underrated, there are several replacements available, from the slightly newer SSM2019 up to the latest greatest THAT chips (e.g. the 1510 is a direct drop-in replacement, as easy as it gets...don't know about if there is later follower chips similar to this).
Sure, you can also replace the TL072 with better spec'ed opamps of any kind if you take care of psu, decoupling, taming the bandwidth etc...
But i am with svart reg. opamp or topology changes, they *will* change the sound of the console significantly.
And honestly, i just revived an SSM2017/TL072 console, a cheaper Soundtracs, and really, it doesn't sound that bad at all from it's general sonic fingerprint and saturation color. Not sterile or metallic as the cheaper japanese consoles, but warm and really OK.
Sure, it can't hold the water to the half discrete i have in stock still...but definitely usable...

I have used them but with CAPI Dan Alexander 1272s with old Neve iron and the 24 Ramsa WZAD96M (Panasonic why didn't you put these in a console??) Yes DDA pre useable but seldom used here!
I have used them and if I didn't have the outboard I would use them, but a bunch of CAPI 8ch of Neve and 24 damn fine and well regarded clean they just are not going to see much use , unless they just seam to work on something !

I Agree the universal slagging of SSL Pres comes to mind !
I don't think people realize how often the Pres in a console get used on great recordings they love because
1 they are there in the moment
2 Until GS a great studio only had a handful of outboard pres
3 when tracking say drums and bass the ability to sit in the sweet spot and grab something quick made for a better take than reaching in the rack behind you !

I have always said you don't need 8 ch of Neve pres to make a great sounding record , but it sure don't hurt either.

The reason I bought the 8 ch of Dan Alexander was I was tired of walking into what was called a studio and not finding enough ch of any one kind of pre to record Drums with! Plus I was finding them at Sub $800 pair and I love them ! They are Huge and exciting sounding , They can make a TLM103 sound big. I describe them as doing what everybody said an exciter would do except these really do it!