Harrison has come out with a 3232c for the new millennium but feature set's a little weird

https://harrisonaudio.com/products/32-classic-console

So rather than dismantle Harrison after buying the company, SSL has overseen the release of a new, mid/large format analog console for MUSIC from one of their oldest US competitors...

This thing is a split/inline beast based on the 3232c famously used for Thriller. They added ADDA conversion over dante and 8 analog busses for subgrouping. It's got THE eq. There are transformers where you want them.... this thing is a direct competitor to the SSL Origin with very similar features and if true to the original Harrison formula, a sound most people will prefer to even a 4000E.

However, it costs a good 50k... but per Harrison's rep I spoke to, there's no automation package?! And no plans to offer one at this time? This makes complex mixes a multi-operator affair. It also makes the channel inserts useless for compression if you automate DAW faders. And no patchbay on a big console at this price point? I'm baffled by this one, just like the Origin that omits automation and the channel compressors, 2 of my favorite things about working on am SSL (it's not the sound or even the EQ). At least give me the vca fader automation if the originals, SSL/Harrison. These are huge investments. You can get a car for what one costs... ommiting automation on a large format mixer??? it's like if I paid for a new car with no cruise control. I may not use cruise control much, and I can live without it, but it should come as standard on a product that costs a year of average day job salary. It's not the early 80s. Some sort of automation and recall with daw integration should come with a studio centerpiece like this. At this price I don't want to be finding work around like I do on the old cheapo desks I usually use. Trident's new flagship 88 at least offers add on automation at an extra charge if not input transformers as standard...

I dunno. Is it just me? Would anyone else buy one of these if they had the space and funds? It does offer great conversion and all you need is a dante card and a daw for tracking.... but that just doesn't justify the cost to me. I was so excited when they teased this bad boy and was thinking if selling a kidney until the specs were released. Why couldn't they have gone back to the ideas in the series 10 and 12 that competed with euphonix before digital mixing killed digitally controlled analog.

The 32classic also does not seem to have analog tape returns to the monitor path which means that I'm not sure if you could route the main path post fader to the "small fader" (in this case a knob like my soundtracs, a ghost or the new trident 68s, 78s and 88s, not a visuallyappealing 60mm fader) to do parallel tricks at mixdown.

On the other hand it's got the harrison eq... including those filters!

However, it costs a good 50k... but per Harrison's rep I spoke to, there's no automation package?! And no plans to offer one at this time? This makes complex mixes a multi-operator affair. It also makes the channel inserts useless for compression if you automate DAW faders.

It IS disappointing that $50k doesn't get you automation nor the option to add it later. Who do you think they're targeting, specifically, with this price point and feature set?

I'm really not sure.

It's competitively priced with the SSL origin, Trident 88 and the Audient 8024. None of those double as a dante interface (though they gave other unique features), which is a really cool feature, especially since Harrison's converters are first rate having been developed for their digital film/broadcast desks that are still an industry standard (a rare achievement in audio).

The SSL origin makes no sense to me either. Its like a stripped down E series. None of the groundbreaking SSL features.

I will say that the big 100mm faders look to be mounted in standard panels so theoretically you could buy drop in Flying Faders now that AMS Neve no longer owns them... get a Tangerine DAW interface for them and your Harrison 32classic has automated faders if not recall. At that total cost you could buy a fully tricked out RND 5088 and use your own converters. Anyone looking at the harrison already has converters they really like that meet the needs of their business. Or do they?

Maybe the idea is that this desk would be the centerpiece of a scratch built studio that could grow around it. Now I'm thinking about how I can save up for one of these and redo my whole studio ground up.... its not like I'm not constantly fiddling with things.

You've said in the past that, for you personally, you feel like a lot of the value that you offer the artists you work with is access to higher-end/legit studio gear and your thorough working knowledge of that gear -- and that you feel the gear drives as much or more of your value prop as your ears and talents do. So I'm keeping that in mind as I ponder all this.

I totally get the dream of having a forever-console to cherish, lovingly maintain, and subtly wow people with, but if we're talking about investing in yourself and your business, is this really the best way to spend $50k? I'm not asking rhetorically, as I don't know what the better alternative investment would be, I'm just throwing it out there.

You've said in the past that, for you personally, you feel like a lot of the value that you offer the artists you work with is access to higher-end/legit studio gear and your thorough working knowledge of that gear -- and that you feel the gear drives as much or more of your value prop as your ears and talents do. So I'm keeping that in mind as I ponder all this.

Percieved value. It never hurts to let the artist think they're only a couple racks of gear and a little patience away from being able to do without you. Honesty hurts feelings. You just let people figure things out on their own. Someone I'm currently working for has flipped script completely as I repair recording faux pas just to get to the mix phase. He went from"im sure my friends with scarlet interfaces could do what you do if you swapped gear, I'm renting your studio," to, "damn, why did I think that hum was okay? Thanks for removing it and declicking my bad edits! Did I accidentally record a stereo source in mono? You made it work okay?! Wow that's so much better when you do those little gain rides before a compressor, I actually sound like a singer. How can you tell you need to change that just by watching the meters? Aren'tthey just to avoid clipping?"

So percieved value. Sometimes you just let people come around. No one thinks there's anything to this anymore, but doing it well ain't that easy. And I'm just a journeyman, learning every project. A lot if it is gear advertising. They're selling the idea that their products are the whole solution regardless of the designer's intent. Ya gotta sell thenew doodad regardless of the real world use case scenario. Its been going on since I've been in audio. That said, just using my modest cobsole, the routing facilities have really been making my life easier this week so there's something to a good centerpiece. I mean, try reamping with a reversed passive DI without a big fader to attenuate the recorded signal. You dam sorta do it but fir this project I have channels 31 and 32 permanently setup for guitar and bass reamping as needed. Everything is gain staged and routed where it needs to be and I can tweak a little gain or use channel eq into an amp without having to stress it screw with the parts of the mix I like so far. Or I can get clever with inserts and auxes to add studio fx that far outclass any stomp the client has. Just easier. Holy rambling diatribe, batman!

I totally get the dream of having a forever-console to cherish, lovingly maintain, and subtly wow people with, but if we're talking about investing in yourself and your business, is this really the best way to spend $50k?

Not for me. The temptation passes quickly. See, it would require financing and a lot of faith that I will do enough business to pay it back while turning a profit. It's unlikely that a fancy desk will attract enough viable new business to justify the risk. If I were to go in for a desk like this it would be based on some windfall and would be more for more own personal satisfaction.

Wow, for 24k could buy one of Sony Picture's smaller LaFont desks. It's got the short faders, vca automation. Caps still have life in em... includes all the cabling and TT patchbays. Probably no transformer ins or outs and definitely no adda conversion but with the savings you could buy a decent car or a fully decked out burl mothership or something. Harrison is in for a tough time with this new mixer in a world where a 90s cobsole that probably cost a quarter to half a million bucks can be had for the cost if a Honda accord.

How much life is really in those caps though, realistically?

I dunno. My desk is from the same time period and is still going strong, knock on wood. It's not like I can swing a $20k post console so it's all just whistling Dixie. If I were going to spend that kind of money on a single purchase it wouldn't be on audio gear if any kind. Wish it could be, but it wouldn't be responsible.

EDIT: that said, I've still been on a 1man campaign to get harrison to make an automated 32classic. I've prodded their reps every time they post about this new mixer on a social media platform and had some private email discussions... on the off chance I could justify buying something like that I want a version that meets all my needs.

EDIT: that said, I've still been on a 1man campaign to get harrison to make an automated 32classic. I've prodded their reps every time they post about this new mixer on a social media platform and had some private email discussions... on the off chance I could justify buying something like that I want a version that meets all my needs.

How have they handled your prodding? Are they at least cool about it?

Oh yeah. I know some people over there because I use mixbus32c for in the box mixing. Harrison is very service oriented. They still support the vintage desks you know.

Oh yeah. I know some people over there because I use mixbus32c for in the box mixing. Harrison is very service oriented. They still support the vintage desks you know.

I'm glad to hear that.