Please forgive my english cause' it might sound totally broken.
Apparently, i'm a music producer in thailand(not a successful one though) who wants to buy a used analog console and now i found myself standing in between the ghost and Topaz 32, they're both the same price about 3,000$ and pretty same conditions I think.
which one should I buy?
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I've owned a 24-track Soundtracs Topaz Project 8 analog mixer fo
I've owned a 24-track Soundtracs Topaz Project 8 analog mixer for years and it supports both balanced and unbalanced, depending on the cabling. As for how it sounds... all I have to say is everything you record through it is always really clear, especially considering I have a very noisey guitar sound. It tends to even add a bit of warmth to my sound (with the right limiting/compression). So i'd say one of the best things about the Soundtracs is its extremely quiet and completely noise free in every aspect. The 5-band EQ section is the best feature and can't be touched with a ten foot pole. As for weaknesses, the only thing i've found 'bad' about the Topaz is probably it's built-in mic preamps, they're kinda weak micing hotter signals like electric guitars but that can always be fixed bypassing via an insert or line-in to another external pre or some kind of fancy DI transformer. However, the Topaz's preamps alone do sound very good for things like vocals or acoustics. Drums would also need an external pre though. Anyways, to sum it up, i'll probably own this thing until i'm dead. :P
:D I went out to buy a tascam m600 24 in 16 out 16 tape return(s
:D I went out to buy a tascam m600 24 in 16 out 16 tape return(super exellent con.) this late morning for about the same price as mx9000 in bangkok (1,300$).
I guess that i'm kinda addicted to those analog gear.
Thank you guys. I'll go messing round with my new toy for now/
Jp22 wrote: ... all I have to say is everything you record throu
Jp22 wrote: ... all I have to say is everything you record through it is always really clear, especially considering I have a very noisey guitar sound.
Yep, that makes sense
Jp22 wrote: It tends to even add a bit of warmth to my sound (with the right limiting/compression).
You may also want to try patching the phantom power to some aux bus and return it to the bus sends.
Jp22 wrote: So i'd say one of the best things about the Soundtracs is its extremely quiet and completely noise free in every aspect.
Another way to make the console even quieter is to remove the transformer from the power supply. Of course you'll lose about 6 dB in dynamics overall, but you can easily make up for that with an EQ in the master chain.
And abbout the noisey guitar... Try patching your guitar to several channels at the same time. Then mute those channles and do some A/B testing with only channel on/all channels on. You may find that the perceived S/N ratio improves with the one channel on only.
Jp22 wrote: I've owned a 24-track Soundtracs Topaz Project 8 ana
Jp22 wrote: I've owned a 24-track Soundtracs Topaz Project 8 analog mixer for years and it supports both balanced and unbalanced, depending on the cabling. As for how it sounds... all I have to say is everything you record through it is always really clear, especially considering I have a very noisey guitar sound. It tends to even add a bit of warmth to my sound (with the right limiting/compression). So i'd say one of the best things about the Soundtracs is its extremely quiet and completely noise free in every aspect. The 5-band EQ section is the best feature and can't be touched with a ten foot pole. As for weaknesses, the only thing i've found 'bad' about the Topaz is probably it's built-in mic preamps, they're kinda weak micing hotter signals like electric guitars but that can always be fixed bypassing via an insert or line-in to another external pre or some kind of fancy DI transformer. However, the Topaz's preamps alone do sound very good for things like vocals or acoustics. Drums would also need an external pre though. Anyways, to sum it up, i'll probably own this thing until i'm dead. :P
Balancing has absolutely nothing to do with the cabling, or the appearance of connectors like XLRs or TRSs. There were many consoles in this era, including Tascam (M3500s, 3700s) that were unbalanced throughout, running at -10. They converted to +4 on the in's and out's daughter board, sometimes as an option. Vintage consoles, like Neves. etc were unbalanced (not at -10 though). There are benefits and side effects to both.
I used to sell both. I used the Ghost a handful of times. Soundtracs analog consoles are supported by a former Soundtracs rep. Do a google. A friend of mine was a worship leader at a church with a large format Soundtracs console, and he said the guy knew his stuff, and had an abundance of spare parts, manuals, etc.
Here is what I recall from this comparison 10 years ago:
The Soundtracs EQ and the Ghost EQ are worlds apart IMO.
The Soundtracs is noisier than the Ghost.
The Soundtracs has more phase issues than the Ghost on the channel strip. The Soundtracs is right above the Mackie in this area.
MeLuvsLafs wrote: [quote=Jp22]... all I have to say is everythin
MeLuvsLafs wrote: [quote=Jp22]... all I have to say is everything you record through it is always really clear, especially considering I have a very noisey guitar sound.
Yep, that makes sense
Jp22 wrote: It tends to even add a bit of warmth to my sound (with the right limiting/compression).
You may also want to try patching the phantom power to some aux bus and return it to the bus sends.
Jp22 wrote: So i'd say one of the best things about the Soundtracs is its extremely quiet and completely noise free in every aspect.
Another way to make the console even quieter is to remove the transformer from the power supply. Of course you'll lose about 6 dB in dynamics overall, but you can easily make up for that with an EQ in the master chain.
And abbout the noisey guitar... Try patching your guitar to several channels at the same time. Then mute those channles and do some A/B testing with only channel on/all channels on. You may find that the perceived S/N ratio improves with the one channel on only.
Surely this guy is joking around. Patch phantom power? Please.
Any console would be more quiet, like completely quiet without it's power supply. But, with the console off, I wouldn't say that you have "increased dynamics".
"Perceived Signal to Noise"? What's that? And it improves by using one channel? Duh.
Guitarmok, welcome to the forum! Soundcraft is definitely the "b
Guitarmok, welcome to the forum!
Soundcraft is definitely the "better" manufacturer, for starters, and the Ghost is a great desk. According to their website, Soundtracs has been "all digital since 2000", and they don't list any support for the Topaz. My limited experience with a Soundtracs desk wasn't very good, in terms of overall performance, specifically headroom.
The Ghost is supported by several aftermarket service centers, and many offer upgrades as well. Others on this forum can give you the specifics. Good Luck!