Oh, my friend, you are in for a treat -

http://www.creationaudiolabs.com

Ex-Soundcraft jockeys in the old U.S. Soundcraft plant that perform miracles on the Ghost preamps and master sections. Just send them a couple channels at a time (or the master section) and you won't believe the potential tucked away in that desk.

Not being a modular board, I'm not sure how easy it would be to mod the EQ and pre's on a Ghost. The thing would have to be pretty well disassembled to get at the channel modules - a major and nasty undertaking I've heard. I've not used more expensive boards to compare it with, but I'm quite satisfied with the EQ on my Ghost. To get better EQ you'd probably have to spend considerably more money on a higher end board - or perhaps use some high end outboard EQ's.

I've heard tell of a mod that can be done relatively easily to the Ghost's PSU that will open up its pre's a bit (make em more "creamy" I believe was the term). Davedog would probably be the one to hit up for that info.

It's not modular on the outside, but it comes apart pretty easy from the rear - The mods are worth every penny - I mean five times worth every penny. It's pretty impressive.

It's funny - The old Ghost from my old studio is now owned by an associate FROM the old studio. He got half the strips and the master section done. The thing is a completely different board. Open, airy... Dare I say "warm" sounding... It's sumthin' else.

Hey guys, I thought this would be interesting to know. I was surfing the net and came across this from AMEK's web site. NEWS - As of July 2004 Amek and Mr. Rupert Neve partnership ends

After 15 years of a mutually beneficial and fruitful relationship, the Consultancy Agreement between Amek and Mr. Rupert Neve has come to an end. Amek is one of the group of Harman brands that is managed from the Potters Bar headquarters in the UK.

Mr. Neve has been closely involved in the design and development of several key Amek analog mixing consoles and signal processing products such as the esteemed 9098i desk and PurePath signal processing units. So I guess this won't have an impact on their products.

Massive Mastering wrote: It's not modular on the outside, but it comes apart pretty easy from the rear - The mods are worth every penny - I mean five times worth every penny. It's pretty impressive.

Most intriguing, John. I had never heard of CAL. I contacted them this afternoon and talked with "Sarge." He's quite a character and it was a most enlightening chat indeed. I don't have budget at present for their full refurb and upcapping of the board (wish I did dammit) but there are other options (as I mentioned earlier and confirmed by Sarge) that will yield sonic improvements which are far less costly. Now I just have to figure out when I can be down for about a week while it gets done. I may hang on to this board longer than I originally thought.

The beauty of it (except for the master section) is that you can do a couple preamps at a time while the board remains functional. If you never record more than 8 tracks or so, only do 8 preamps and leave the rest stock.

I'd thought of that too. Problem is, I'm right in the middle of tracking and mixing sessions that often use upwards of 20 tracks (as well as using a few of the sub buses). So my choices are

1. have a few channels done at a time and live with reduced functionality while the strips are in the shop (no can do right now with the sessions I'm doing). Plus I'd have to pull the desk apart to get at the strips. I'm technically capable of it, but a lack of time and over abundance of laziness conspire against this option.

2. Shut down for about a week and half while the PSU gets hot rodded. Puts the projects behind a bit, but nothing I can't deal with. This is the most likely option at present.

3. Shut down for at least 3 to 4 weeks while the whole board gets the full meal deal - cleaned, Burr Brown'd, etc. This is my preferred option but I haven't got the budget for it so it's kind of a moot point.

There may be some slow time coming up later in the summer/early fall where I might be able to do a few channels and the master section, but I think the PSU mod will definitely happen soon.

The two things there are just never enough of in this life: time and money. :x