soundcraft 200b vs. soundtracs topaz macro

[creature.of.habit]

hey guys,

i need to make a decision real soon about this matter. i won the 200B a while ago, and im thinking about paying for it or not, as i dont think i got a very good deal with it - 8 channels, 260 bucks, and the guy takes a month responding to the emails.

this topaz macro came up, and i always read about how good they sound, it's gonna go cheaper im sure, but its the 14 channel version, wich i clearly dont need. still, itll be more cost effective im sure.

what i wanna know is, based on my needs (old analog board, with great sounding eq and pres that will impart a good colour to my mixes), what should i go for? i dont really care about number of channels, 8 is the commitment i made and im sticking to it, but the macro is much cheaper. the macro is also much more recent, so that might kind of kill the analog vibe im trying to get and impart with this.

what do you guys think i should do? just cough up the money for the 200B? i think so, but i need confirmation, and to be sure that the pres and eq will really sound different for the better, in relation to the macro.

also, do the pres in the 200b have high headroom? i really have no idea, but i need them to handle ribbons..in case my 12ay7 cant..

thanks in advance!

[creature.of.habit]

oorr...

i could drop the analog board idea altogether, save money for a decent clean pre with a ton of gain, to get along with my 12ay7, and keep my signal intact into the soundcard's conversion, without any more noise or unecessary circuit.

im pretty divided...any ideas guys? if i dont go with the mixer, ill have more money for mics and good pres, not to mention instruments...but i wont have knobs and an analog sound...what to do what to do..

i need to make this call in two hours..

thanks!

[creature.of.habit]

bump...

any views fellas? i really need to make this call...

[love_tempo]

Go with a Soundcraft 200B. They are nice modular desks with very pleasant sounding EQs and solid pres. The only problem I have with mine is that they are not the quietest compared to the newer desks I've had. But for tone it is really much much better.

The equivalent in the Soundtracs range would probably be a PC MIDI and they are much larger and quite a bit more expensive.

[trashy]

yeah, I'm pretty into the "b" series, so I'd say the same. The vibe is crazy with those things.

[marc]

Is that right? $260 for a 200b not a deal? I'm not up on their prices, but this dude is seriously asking $700 for one. $260 doesn't seem like that awful much to me if it's in good condition.

[creature.of.habit]

hey guys..

thanks for the reassurance...thing is, i initially thought it wasnt such a great deal cause a week earlier i saw the 12 channel version with a 280 bucks buy it now option...it disapeared quickly of course...

thanks for this link..i had no idea that the damned thing was this large! lol i dont have it still (in transit as we speak i think and hope!) but i had only seen top pics of it..so i had no idea..

you guys have any sugestions to handle this? maybe a rack like the one that auction fella has? are this just those racks that handle amps as well? ..i really doubt it, but those are avaliabe here..this will make me rethink the whole desk thing :/ dang..

(thanks!)

[love_tempo]

I've noticed that the prices for these older Soundcrafts vary massively. For example, I payed $800 for my 28:4:2 Delta in very good condition. I've seen similar units go for $2000.

I've seen a couple like yours go for an average of $300 but as low as $200 and as high as $600.

I think the fact that they are old and big means that at any given time there aren't that many interested potential buyers. I suppose that means they can be a good buy but a bad sell!