I just got an Allen and Heath System 8, 16 channel mixer... and for starters lots of rotary knobs, the mic/line switches, and some channel faders are scratchy when moved, should i find out what allen and heath recommend for this board for a cleaner? or is there just all around great stuff to clean the knobs and faders ?
the other thing is, which i thought it was just me doing it, but it turns out its the board. when just playing guitar or whatever, mic'ed up and hearing right off the board i got some faint scratchy distortion in a high freqeuncy range (almost like digital distortion when a gain is a tad up to high and it just distorts it rather badly, and sounds crappy) it does that on channels 1-8 so far that i checked, and the levels/gains are no where near the red at all. Also i tried recording it to tape ( DA-88 ) even at a lower level to see if it would go away at all, but it didnt, i play it back off the tape through the board, and its there, and when i mixed down its there... it seems clean guitar doesnt make it do it that much, but distorted guitars did, thats why i thought it was me at first, but i tried just all sorts of mics, all different channels, everything... and it just has that scratchiness in the mix.. and the levels on the Da-88 are rather low as well... so do i need to get a specialist clean the inside of the board or something? and who would do something like that?
maybe i should upload a clip of what it sounds like . to give a better idea hmm
Comments
The bad pots could be the source of your distortion. Some times
The bad pots could be the source of your distortion. Some times when a wiper in the pot or a switch contact is not making good contact it can cause distortion. I would suggest the following.
1. Clean all the pots and switches. Go to your local drug store and get a syringe that diabetics use for their insulin. (you have to be over 18 and will have to sign for the purchase) Clean each pot and switch with isopropyl alcohol (91% pure get it at the same drug store) buy inserting the needle into the pot or switch and flushing them with the alcohol then after all the pots and switches are cleaned - clean all the connectors with the same alcohol. After doing this apply the stabilant (mixed 20 to 1) to each connection, pot and switch. Make sure all the connectors are taken apart and cleaned and the stabilant is applied to both ends of the connector. (if you are using the Caig products they have a special spray for the pots deoxit is good for the switches and connectors)
I had a Neotek board that was completely useless because of all the pops and clicks in it and when I did what I am suggesting you do it never again had a problem.
This process takes time. Don't rush it. Make sure you do every pot, every switch and every connector. I used a felt tip pen to put a slash mark on every pot and switch I cleaned and then I made that slash mark into an "X" when I applied the stabilant.
Best of luck!
No! I have NOT tried this. http://www.stabilant.com/index.ht
No!
I have NOT tried this.
http://www.stabilant.com/index.html
Go to the site anyway, look around and see if YOU would???
TG
BTW: I WILL try it, as soon as I can... Sounds good. Very good.