Big diff between the TAC and the 2600. And if you get the TAC you can expect maintenance wows just like any other real decent analog board. Such as life when you want to achieve good sound.

Is there any mixer that won't require huge amounts of maintenance but will also have a quality build ?

I didn't say there was going to be a HUGE amount of maintenance, but there will certainly be some for any upper end console and for anything used in audio as a tool. Nature of the beast.

The Scorpion is a pretty reliable board. I have know several people who have had them and I don't recall any of them requiring maintenace at any point. However you should keep in mind that the TAC is an old board and as such has probably seen better days. Also these consoles were originally intended as FOH and monitor boards in live venue situations so it will more likely than not have some "road miles" on it.

But it shouldn't be considered a "maintenance pig" like say an older MCI ... which btw, sound great and are worth every penny spent to keep them running if your facillity has the cash flow. !

Ok, i'm going to look at the TAC and probably end up going that route. It's what I originally had in mind anyway and the price is right. I'm very techinical and can do solder work so I should be ok. I think my ears might blow off my head once I hear the difference between the berry and the TAC however.

maestro7879 wrote: I think my ears might blow off my head once I hear the difference between the berry and the TAC however.

I envy you ... You're in for a treat, if you have never heard the difference between a real console and the table top stuff available.

The first large console I ever got to work on was a Trident. As we were setting up for the session I started to dial in levels and eqs for the drum tracks and the first second I heard the kick drum was an epiphany for me ... it was like ... "Ohhhh, now I get it!" The whole session was such a joy for me ... I'll never forget it!

I started out my recoring life with a MX3282a and very quickly realised my mistake.
Nowadays I have a rack of outboard pres and everything else is done in the box. I went right away from consoles all together. My theory was "if I can't afford something decent, then I'm better off not having one at all."
I do miss the "hands on" at times, but now I'm quite comfortable mixing with the mouse :wink:

Hi
We use a TAC Scorpion (40X12) for monitors and it's fine for live but would be much too noisy for recording. Perhaps their recording desks are different.
I suggest that you do some research on the TAC desks before buying.
cheers
Roly

I still have the option of mixing hands on using a Steinberg Houston. I really can't get away from that board since I put so much time into learning it and learning Nuendo.

Not having a console is an option but I have at least 16 inputs at a time. Is there a similar cost option with just using outboard pre's ? Is there 16 worthwhile pre's for $500 - $1000 ?

Is there 16 worthwhile pre's for $500 - $1000 ?

No. It takes about $300 per channel for even a decent mic pre.

So what is the best way to go ?

A Seck or a TAC and a few outboard preamps. OR a lower end board with many outboard preamps. I still need to get 16 tracks at a time but may not need quality outboard pre's on each channel.
Did I just answer my own question or is there something i'm missing.

I have used the Scorpion for tracking before and I did not find it to be too noisey at all ... my 2 cents on that ..

The very best pre amp value available that I know of is the JLM Audio TMP8. AudioGaff has not had a cance to hear one yet although I am trying to get one for him to hear. This is 8 channels of transformer balanced, op amp type pre (like the Focusrite Redd and API) that sounds great.

Check the [="http://recording.org/forum35.html"]reviews page[/]="http://recording.or…"]reviews page[/] for some examples recorded with the TMP8 as well as a full review of the JLM TMP8.

The TMP8 sells direct from [[url=http://="www.jlmaudio.com"]JLM[/]="www.jlmaudio.com"]JLM[/] for $2250 (last time I checked). That breaks down to $281.25 per channel .... but they sound like they cost $1000 per channel.

Ok well looks like going the preamp route is out unfortunately ; mainly because of cost.

Here are the two consoles offered to me so far.
Seck 1882 MKii
TAC Scorpion 24-8

Is there a clear winner there ?

I made one mistake with the behringer and I do not want to relive that sadness. :)

I use a TAC Scorpion 32x16x2 and I love it. I used preamps before, but I was having a problem hitting tape hard enough. I am sure that for DAWs they are nice but now that I have the tac I love it. I record all analog, then dump it to nuendo, do some editing there and then bring it back out to the tac to mix analog. As far as noise, it can get prety noisy but the trick it to have your gains right, and also what I do is crop out all silences in nuendo and that also helps. But I mainly record rock so I'm not too worried about the noise. If there is not much going on, I subgroup instrumens (I have 16 subs) and manually automate it. I know it's ghetto but that's what makes mixing an art!!! Not cropping and pasting, flying faders and whatnot.

http://www.og7recording.com

Here is the new toy !!

Here it is my Amek / Tac Scorpion 24 channels in 32 channel console. I'm going to make a plate and use the empty space as a mouse pad because I lost a lot of desk space on this one.

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://pg.photos.ya…"] Picture[/]="http://pg.photos.ya…"] Picture[/]

Ya! Now that is what I call a real console or desk...

And now the Tac in it's new home.

I did some testing with it last night and tonight and I can already tell the difference. The preamps don't give up and that horrible behringer harshness is gone. Now it's time to redo every recording with the Tac.

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://pg.photos.ya…"]another picture[/]="http://pg.photos.ya…"]another picture[/]

Congratulations on your desicion and subsequent purchase. I am sure you will enjoy this desk for many years to come. You've made a great investment...