Studiomaster 16 x 4 Console

[bensrokosz]

Hi everyone, I have purchased a Studiomaster 16 x 4 console on ebay and it is on the way in the courier as we speak.

I selected this board because I heard it has great EQs, solid Pre's and it is easy to service and mod.

I do have some soldering skills so with the right help I could handle the duties myself. Here is a pic of the specific console I purchased. The ebay seller says it is in full working order....however you never know.



I have signed up to this forum in order to:

1. see if anyone on here owns a studio master 16x4 and has had to repair or mod it
2. connect with someone who I could consult with. I will be testing out the board when it arrives, and deciding what works and what needs to be cleaned, replaced, etc.

Let me know if you have experience with this....Thanks!

[ds23man]

Ah, the good old noisegenerator. Full with these nice 741 opamps. Worked with them and repaired them.

Regards Gerhard

[bensrokosz]

Originally Posted by ds23man

Ah, the good old noisegenerator. Full with these nice 741 opamps. Worked with them and repaired them.

Regards Gerhard

see....theres a start already. 741 opamps. I read that replacing the opamps with some burr browns will really improve the noise situation. found a site with burr browns as low as $5 a piece. I'm thinking of starting with one channel and socketing the opamps.....then putting in new ones and seeing what I get.

[ds23man]

The PCB's inside are a disaster, if they see a soldering iron, the copper tracks pack their suitcases to take a long vacation! A complete disaster to work on these "babies".

Regards Gerhard

[ds23man]

And they are famous for putting a lot DC on their outputs, have seen a lot of burning Floormonitors in combination with Crown DC300a amps!

Gerhard

[bensrokosz]

Hi Gerhard,

I must say, your post kind of scared me but now that I've received the board and tested it out. (and sprayed the hell out of it with contact cleaner)....I'm actually quite pleased. It does have the 741's but I don't find it to be overly noisy. It also works like a dream now that it is cleaned. Well, other than subgroup 2 cutting out a bit. Theres a loose connection inside somewhere because when I tap on the top of the board right by the fader for the subgroup, it kicks back in.

I think I'll try removing one channel and using it as a guinea pig for replacing op amps, etc.

Will it be ok if I message you if I ever need advice? I'm not thinking it will be often, but I might try to mod it by adding in a 1/4 inch input on one channel for example.

I still appreciate the advice. I'll be super careful when soldering.

[bensrokosz]

I'm also wondering what ICs are directly compatible as a substitute for the 741s.

I've read NE 5532s, and I can get 20 for 8 bucks on ebay

[ds23man]

NE5532 is not pincompatible!

Regards Gerhard

[bensrokosz]

gerhard, I appreciate the quick reply. First off, I'm not doing anything right away. I'll be spending some time first just using the board as is to get used to its characteristics. during that time I'll be researching all the different upgrades that are possible....pots, opamps, caps, etc.

It would be great if rather than just saying the ne5532 is no good......rather suggesting which ARE pin compatible, if you know this information. I'm looking to reduce the noise as much as possible while keeping "character" to the sound. I'm not looking for clean, if that was what I wanted I would just go straight into the computer.

I just read this morning that TL-072 is a common upgrade.

[bensrokosz]

Actually, I found the data sheets.......so I see that the tl-071 IS pin compatible. the tl-072 is not.

Looks like thats what I need to do, read the data sheets.