pkennethk's forum posts 2051

Thanks for the clarification. As I said, pretty much all the items I requested are discontinued. Will more consider sweetwater too when looking for URLs. Let me know if you need me doing further research for things I posted.

Yes.

1. None of the Reverb image urls you posted work for me. When you copy the url from your own post, and paste it into your browser, do you get an image? I don't on these links.

2. The second Ludwig you requested and the Yamaha Sensitive both have Reverb "/p/" pages. I stopped checking after that. Can you please re-check your list and eliminate the ones you can add yourself?

Every time I tried to use the form it always came out with format issues in the URL 'Your Reverb link is not correctly formatted, see the tips below for correct formatting', whether it was a current or a sold product. Apart from the Ludwig black beauty (sorry about that, didn't see it at all), all the other are discontinued.

The Reverb links are tough, because the Add feature only works with links to Reverb landing pages, which have a "/p/" in the url. But Reverb landing pages and regular product listings look almost identical, and 90% of the time, Google takes you to a listing, not a landing page. I don't think I could tell you which was which at a click glance, I always have to just check the url to see if it has the "/p/". Sweetwater and GC links work more smoothly, thankfully.

Mods can you please add

Micparts T-25

https://microphone-parts.com/products/t-25-microphone-kit

It's a medium diaphragm condenser that comes in kit and assembled form.

https://equipboard.com/items/micparts-t-25

If you can spare a few moments, please flesh out this new entry with further specs and details. Looks like a cool kit!

Hi mods, Can you please add the Hofner model 172 vintage guitar? E.g. https://reverb.com/item/47708867-hofner-172-1962-vinyle-red

Thanks!

This one was actually already in the database, but the user that submitted had mistyped "Hofner". Fixed now. Please feel free to update the image or description as needed.

https://equipboard.com/items/hohner-172

Mods can you please add

Name: Ludwig LB416KT Black Beauty 5x14 Hammered Brass

Image: https://images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--cEzHFguL--/f_auto,t_supersize/v1598302821/alg1y7ukoncz7sceuzlh.jpg

LB416KT Hammered Black Beauty 5x14" 10-Lug Brass Snare Drum with Tube Lugs Finish: Black Nickel-Plated

This one is still for sale @Sweetwater. If it's a current product, you should be able to add it yourself using the range of links from Sweetwater and other retailers specified on the add page. Are any of the other products you asked for still for sale new? If so, please tell me which ones, and whether or not you were able to add yourself. It's only vintage/discontinued products and products not sold at Sweetwater, Amazon, etc that you need to request here on the forum.

https://equipboard.com/items/ludwig-black-beauty-snare-drum-5-x-14-inch-hammered-black-nickel-with-tube-lugs

Yes. It does not refer to the current (and past) Stage Custom models, nor to the glorious Absolute series (Maple, Birch, Beech models). As I am fairly new on this board, is it fine to post gear requests as I did for the Yamaha Birch and my Premier 13x7 Birch? I do own some other snares too not on this useful board.

Yes, it's totally fine to post gear requests as you've been doing. Please post away.

There are a few reasons new users are restricted in what they can add, and one of those reasons is so that the moderators can work directly with new users to help them craft gear entries that will be useful for multiple purposes, and get regular use for years to come.

This means you'll be stuck collaborating with me and the other mods to craft these entries, until you reach 500 GearIQ... but you're also helping me learn more about drums in the process, which I appreciate.

I'm a little short on time the next few days, and crafting drum entries is slow-going: every word in every name is incredibly significant, so we've gotta agree on exact wording before I add them in. I'll have these entries added ASAP. Thanks for your patience.

My thoughts are that this snare drum simply does not appear in the gear list. And I thought could be useful to appear. I own this snare drum too (antique sunburst finish but same specs).

Is "Yamaha Custom Birch Snare 14 x 6.5" specific enough for this new entry?

Mods can you please add

Name: Yamaha Birch Custom Snare Drum 14x6.5" 90's Cherry Wood

Image: https://images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--JKwmEIbp--/f_auto,t_supersize/v1567220024/tfymy1fpf0fg5zthudiy.jpg

Yamaha Birch Custom MIJ 90's Cherry Wood snare drum, 14 x 6.5" with triple flanged hoops.

Is this for your personal Equipboard, or are you trying to make an artist submission?

If the current Yamaha Birch Custom Snare entry is too generalized for you, we could consider having one for Birch Custom 14 x 6.5, because the size and wood type most definitely impact tone, and the whole "Tour Custom" and "Stage Custom" thing is a more recent change that doesn't apply to much earlier products -- but we'd have to stop short of details like MIJ, 90s, and Cherry Wood finish, specifically, as that's an entry that would only ever get used by you, once. What are your thoughts?

I'm really wondering how they're counting views because I may have driven it up with edits and the fact that I'm in my phone browser and every time I reopen chrome its probably reloading. I've basically left this page up for days with other tabs open so maybe its me.

Jim, are you... are you stalking this thread?...

(I kid, I bet my # of views matches yours)

That does sound like a lot of mustangs that are provably very similar.

What are you talking about dude?!? Some are white, and some are blue, and some are even RED!

(sarcasm)

Mods can you please add

Name: Fender DG-11 BLK

Image: https://reverb.com/item/47865682-fender-dg-11

Did you really think I was gonna use that reverb image of the guitar covered in stickers? C'mon now... :)

https://equipboard.com/items/fender-dg-11

Given the grainy videos and cameraperson-shooting-from-the-pit concert photos that serve as evidence here, it's unlikely most users would have enough visual evidence to make a distinction between an original run Mustang, vs a 90's MIJ, 10's MIM, etc.

But when the evidence is something like a vintage guitar magazine article they get really specific so it would be cool to be able to select the appropriate metadata.

agreed. I'm all for metadata, just not 45 separate Fender Mustang items in the database.

UPDATE: So I just counted the number of Fender Mustangs currently in the database.

NOT counting Mustang Basses, Mustang Amps, Mustang-branded midi controllers(?), Mustang clones, nor Jag-Stangs... I counted 92 separate Fender Mustang entries in the database... ::hangs head in silence::

Mods can you please add

Name: [ROLI LUMI Keys]

Image: [https://roli.com/products/blocks/lumi-keys-studio-edition]

item's category: [Keyboard controller] Please note: offering per-key pitchbend and polyphonic aftertouch, plus whole-key illumination that sparks new ideas for playing and composing

Isn't that the same thing as this existing entry?

https://equipboard.com/items/roli-lumi

Hi,

Mods can you please add

Name: Ixox - PreenFM3

Image

Description : Open source desktop FM synthetiser (successor of PreenFM2)

More info (differences with the preenfm2):

• More powerful MCU with more memory which allowed me to :

increase the number of voices to 16 with 6 operators FM

sample frequency is 48Khz vs 42Khz for the preenfm2

The selected effect is now applied per voice and not for the full instrument

6 independent instruments

• Unison mode (will be ported to the preenfm2 when i have free time).

• 240×320 pixels color TFT display for better UI and an oscilloscope.

• Midi filter and note shift per instrument.

• Scala scale per instrument.

• 3 dual channel 24 bits DAC to offer 6 independent audio outputs.

• Mixer section (Volume, pan, compressor per instrument)

• Sequencer section : real-time and step sequencer

Links :

• Official product page

• EU Shop

Thanks

https://equipboard.com/items/ixox-preenfm3

Thank you for the additional specs on what is new vs. FM2, but we also need to add the basic, foundational info about what kind of synth module this is, and what it does. I've created the entry, any time you can spare to flesh it out with edits and additions would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Another idea I've had floating around for a while: What about adding manufacture dates to items? aswell making options for discontinuation/revival timelines (e.g. Fender Mustang: 1964–1982, 1990–present).

I'm all for it IF it doesn't create separate items in the database. As metadata to a single, generalized Fender Mustang entry, it's great.

Given the grainy videos and cameraperson-shooting-from-the-pit concert photos that serve as evidence here, it's unlikely most users would have enough visual evidence to make a distinction between an original run Mustang, vs a 90's MIJ, 10's MIM, etc.

Mods can you please add a general "Linux" tag

Name: Linux

Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Tux.svg/1200px-Tux.svg.png

catagory; OS / operating system / kernal

There's currently no product category here for operating systems, because operating systems are beyond the scope of what the Admins want us focused on.

3 options:

1. Start a thread in the General section of the forum, and make your case to the community for adding this category. I can't promise any specific outcomes or decisions, because it's not a Moderator-level decision, but I'm sure a well-worded post would get some views. I'm assuming this request is for your own Equipboard. If this is actually for an Artist submission, be sure to make that clear in your post.

2. Make a few more Artist submissions and get your Gear IQ over 500. This will unlock access to a little override link on the Add Gear page. You still won't be able to add new categories to the system, but all this business about asking for gear adds goes away. You can "@" my username in the comments section of your submission, and I'll know to review those submissions, specifically, to help you get those final 105 points.

3. Live without a generalized Linux entry.

EDIT: but the 200+ views on this thread

Say what Pken?! 200?!

Oops, 300 now.

But these are some very quiet people slipping in to read. Very quiet...

Yes to 1 and yes to 2.... and doesn't it bother you not knowing how your studio works on the n intimate, almost romantic level?

I think a little mystery helps the romance, lol.

If I'm going this deep on my studio, I'd have to start at the top: decompile my DAW :D

EDIT: but the 200+ views on this thread can't just be you and me. Where do the other folks checking in want this thread to go? ... anyone? Is there anyone out there? Hello?

Mods can you please add

Name: Maono AU-A03

Image: https://ae04.alicdn.com/kf/H2606a9809f2947ce83c8a5dc80f34712D/100-MAONO-AU-A03-Podcast.jpg

https://equipboard.com/items/maono-au-a03

That was fast, rebooked for presidents day weekend. Which is good as the band gets over a month of extra rehearsals in and I can duck down to check in. A little preproduction goes a long way! We can really build the enthusiasm up too. That really comes through on a band record. It does haul me I was schedules to be working this weekend and I'm not. I could do a trash godz but I'm just not that jazzed right now as their enthusiasm for my work hasn't been so hot... they seem to want more extreme dirt and nastiness like it's going to cover the loose jam format. I just think they should go back and edit the choice sections for me. The original drummer would do that and I had more fun doing those mixes... mixing continuously for 1 to 3 hours is really draining and quality suffers die to ear fatigue and why do that if theres a 50% nonsense ratio?

If the joy ain't there, the joy ain't there. It sounds like you've got plenty of alternate outlets for your talents.

On to linear power supplies! ...

Okay, any questions so far?

This info is great, but I'm not sure where you're headed with this lesson in linear power supply design. Is this the info those of us reading are going to use to repair any pro/vintage gear we may have that uses a linear power supply? Is this what we need to know in order to pop open a mixer and decide whether or not the power supply is a good one?

I have a soft spot for MI stuff that is flagrantly late-80s, that sorta Memphis Group aesthetic... but like actual Memphis-designed stuff, it's not nearly as ergonomic and functional as the best, chunky late-70s and early-80s stuff.

Here's my fave example:

https://imgur.com/Kmo9ZTL

Some of the late-80s stuff from Emu and Ensoniq have that Memphis/Pee-Wee's Playhouse kinda feel too.

https://imgur.com/azklfz5

OK, maybe they stuck with the 80s hangover all the way to the grave:

https://imgur.com/cSj1XeB

to be fair I own some broadcast gear that's literally hideous. It wasnt appealing even in the 60s!

exactly :D

Sony NY had a custom desk made from all GML amps with no corners cut. Then they closed the NY office and here it sits because no one can afford it!

The desk is only worth what people are willing to pay, and no more. What are they asking?

The Tron Legacy look has been way in for awhile now, when it comes to gaming/Twitch streaming workstations. Some of that is gonna bleed over into pro audio. I see a fair bit of it in the community gear photos. It's not my personal aesthetic, but I think the industry is big enough now to accommodate more than the vintage avionics/radio broadcast/medical tech look that has dominated gear up to this point, right?

Hello, Mods.

Can you please add this?

Name: ESI MoCo

Image: https://forum.esi-audio.com/banner/moco.jpg

It's a monitor controller: https://www.esi-audio.com/products/moco/

Thank you!

https://equipboard.com/items/esi-moco

Isn't any compact non-powered mixer of BiG SiX's size, at least one made in the last 20-30 years, going to have a switching power supply?

Anyway I'm pretty sure SSL would give me a linear supply for 3k, right?

It's an external supply like a bigger desk. Or at least part of the supply like mu topaz. They imply it right in the sound on sound article, "It also does a good job of protecting the on/off switch and external PSU connector from accidentally being knocked."

Good catch

And now that I'm not tired I'll work up an explanation of linear power supplies that makes sense. My tracking sessions got cancelled due to omicron infections and bad weather and being home with my son can be pretty exhausting... lil bugger never sleeps.

Sorry to hear about the cancellations, that's rough. This thread goes at whatever pace is enjoyable for ya, and no faster.

Isn't any compact non-powered mixer of BiG SiX's size, at least one made in the last 20-30 years, going to have a switching power supply?

Anyway I'm pretty sure SSL would give me a linear supply for 3k, right?

Given how much they're talking up the technical minuteau that differentiates it from cheaper desktop mixers, I think they'd be crowing about it from the rooftops if it had a linear power supply @$3k. Right? And I can't find much when I Google "SSL BiG SiX linear".

All this talk about parts had me reading John Hardy's application notes on the 990 DOA pdf and man does he have a great looking summing amp design he just gives away to the world...

Nice!

Thinking about this junk always lures me back in the box to fiddle with projects I already did analig but as I pile up the plugins starting to get disillusioned... on paper a good 32bit float dsp summing engine should be perfect but it's not what we're used to. To quote my best friend 'as soon as you bring the tracks up on a desk it sounds more like a record.'

If doing it in the box brings you no joy, and you don't like the outcomes as much, @#$% it. Do what works, obviously.

https://www.hairballaudio.com/blog/resources/diy-resources/yes-you-can-read-a-schematic

https://www.instructables.com/HOW-TO-READ-CIRCUIT-DIAGRAMS/

Had enough of my questions, eh?

All of these cheaper mixers are probably using switch mode supplies which have gotten a lot better for audio vis a vis noise but I'm still a proponent of the less efficient linear supply for something like a mixer.

Isn't any compact non-powered mixer of BiG SiX's size, at least one made in the last 20-30 years, going to have a switching power supply?

Are there any safe generalizations to make about the design/spec of a power supply in a $600 12-channel mixer vs. a mixer of equal channel count retailing for several thousand?

What power supply specs would I be hoping to find in the more expensive mixer?

What important things might not show un the power supply spec? E.g. I have no idea if there's a specific spec that denotes the amount of trace impedance consistency/control they've been able to achieve.

tINY can be pretty insightful on gearslutz with all things mixer... basically when it comes to cheapies the guy to look for is Jim Williams. If Jim posts then it's a practical idea to modify the the thing. He doesn't get involved in discussions about gear that it would be less trouble to just replace. It's not that the gear cant be improved but depending on the construction method, pcb quality and trace durability Jim will just stay out of it because he knows it's too big a hassle. He also believes in IC swaps that I'm not sure about.... but if he's not chiming in it's a project he would decline from a prospective client.

I would NOT attempt any mods on something like the 1640i unless it was a popular and time-tested mod that didn't increase the risk of me burning down my apartment... the whole unit, now with an external PSU mind you, gets hotter than it used to? huh? no thank you... anyway, the part about his tech being disgusted with the 1640i power supply was the interesting/relevant part.

Jim Williams is great. He was very helpful years back in walking me through how I need to go about fixing the #$%^ed pots on my LXP-1 & 5.

I think this merits a blind head-to-head between the Model12 and the BigSix. Someone needs to be bold enough to do it.

You know, I think @michael needs to get ahold of SSL and propose thisshoit out. If their product is 3k worth if sound quality then everyone should be allowed to hear it and SSL should put their money where their mouth us with a demo unit so we can put it up against an onyx, tascam and the soundcraft equivalent...

This is true, it can't sit atop Equipboard's list of recommended mixer-faces if they don't have a review unit.

Something in the Tascam Model12 range would probably get the "great for most of us" nod, but this is EB, gotta have a "high-end alternative", right?

So you've got me reading stuff like this re: my current mixer:

https://gearspace.com/board/low-end-theory/697256-anyone-interested-seeing-modification-done-mackie-onyx-1640i.html

I don't suspect SSL is going to let a service manual for the BiG SiX leak, and actually, I'd be surprised if a service manual existed for a device at this price range... so how do we find someone willing to open up a BiG SiX so you and the rest of the internet can render your judgements?

Yup... but he included exceptions and Neve would fall in there as would the Jensen 990 and GML discrete opamps. I mean it's like 60 bucks an amp for a 990. Purpose made specialty items designed to outperformed an IC in a handful of very specific audio applications.

10-4

Discrete is a godsend for long term serviceability, sure, but that article you linked earlier was pretty much a "discrete sounds better" myth busting piece, no?

... It's not like a (SSL) 4000 is airy like a neve though. I think they sound harsh.... the mixes are very 'forward.'...

Any ideas as to what is different in the Neve designs that leads to this "airy" sound?

All of the above will sound the same assuming the motu is converting. We have equivalent opamps at 18v in dead similar designs. The SSL may have lower self noise but we're still really negligible in the budget products. If you're a dolphin there's a bit more bandwidth above 20k you can hear from a 5534 on the channels vs tl071s however its circumstantial to a degree and there's there's other factors like signal impedance that are literally preferential.

Well is there anything you find sonically pleasing about your Soudtracs and your Soundcraft 400b, or are they both just routing and mixing utilities because you prefer the ergonomics of mixing outside the box? I thought you were using consoles both for the ergonomic utility AND for the pleasing coloration they provide?

So let's say one records a nice analog synth through your Soundtracs console, into your MOTU interface, and the same synth, same part through a Tascam Model 12 using its internal USB interface. In technical terms, what do you think explains the sonic disparities between the recording made on the Soundtracs vs. the Tascam/Motu combo?

And since you're proposing the SSL Big Six wouldn't sound much better than a Tascam Model12, you could swap the Model12 for a Big Six in that question if you want.

Does it all come down to the strength of the power supply in your Soundtracs & the better-spec'd ADC in your MOTU?

What pro-audio publication do you, personally, trust?

Tape Op... Andy Hong Hong don't pull no punches

That's a relief. I was afraid you were gonna say you'd lost faith in every last publication.

I'm a TapeOp fan myself.

To me the main point the reviewer makes is balanced insert points which are hard to come by under 5 figures! But also unimportant unless you're a big facility doing commercial projects and gave huge wire runs. And these are not transformer balanced outs and ins, electronic balancing is not adding sonic benefits. Theres a lot of unspecific gushing because he's listening to the logo and the big advertising payment SSL gave his boss!

What pro-audio publication do you, personally, trust?