Mod a Soundcraft Spirit Pro Tracker ?

[studio13]

Hi DIY'ers

I picked up a Soundcraft Spirit Pro Tracker for cheap. By design its setup to use with an 8 track recorder and has no EQ.

I've got the time, tools, service manual and a pro audio tech to bail me out if I get stuck. My goal is to try and swap out parts in an attempt to make it sound "better".

Anyone here had any experience with the Spirit line of stuff think this project is "worth it"? I can post a link to the service manual and schematic for download .. I'm just not sure if I'm allowed to re-distribute the soundcraft doc ..

Thanks

[roygbiv]

Hey

Good luck with your project - I've had a ProTracker for ~ 1 year, and really enjoy it simplicity, flexible routing and clean sound. Seems to be a pretty good deal - eight preamps from a respectable company in a small package, with the inclusion of some limited mixing abilities.

Great for tracking a band into the computer. You can then use the little built-in mixer for adjusting track volumes for later overdubs. Once we have a good setup, I just leave it alone - when we want to record a practice, I just turn it on, fire up the computer, check the levels, and go.

Anyway, enough about me - I'm very eager to hear what you find out, but unfortunately, I've not done any mods to mine, so I'm not much help to you (oops, sorry - that was more about me).

Where did you find the service manual, if I may ask? (doh - yet another me-centric question, I apologize again).

roy

[Brian]

I just had my spirit 24x8x2 recording inline board modded and it totally rocks. HUGE difference. Clearer, cleaner, tighter, thicker, way more headroom, sounds better than the Trident's I used to work on. Strength in the signal is awesome.
Do it.

[Jim Williams]

I did some when they came out and recently for a studio in Maryland. That one got all new opamps, I used a combination of National, LT and TI THS class A opamps with heat sinks. Coupling caps were large value Panasonic FM's with Wima polyprop bypasses. Mic pre transistors were Toshiba 2SA1316's.

The power supply is weak so I removed it and built a Power One linear outboard one with a 5 pin XLR cable to the mixer.

[Brian]

I did some when they came out and recently for a studio in Maryland. That one got all new opamps, I used a combination of National, LT and TI THS class A opamps with heat sinks. Coupling caps were large value Panasonic FM's with Wima polyprop bypasses. Mic pre transistors were Toshiba 2SA1316's.

The power supply is weak so I removed it and built a Power One linear outboard one with a 5 pin XLR cable to the mixer.

How did it sound?

I've seen the 2006 gsltz thread, nobody ever posted samples, I will as soon as i have something good to post, next week, maybe.
I could hear the "fog" in tracks recorded on the board with the old opamps etc.
You're right, I now have a HUGE power supply.

[pointillist]

OK, I know this is a really old topic. I'm looking to replace the PSU in my Spirit, and came across this thread. Do any folks on this have suggestions for power supplies? Was going to rebuild my old burnt out one, but am now leaning towards replacement.

Thanks!

[Scodiddly]

OK, I know this is a really old topic. I'm looking to replace the PSU in my Spirit, and came across this thread. Do any folks on this have suggestions for power supplies? Was going to rebuild my old burnt out one, but am now leaning towards replacement.

What model PSU do you have?

[pointillist]

Part number on the PSU box is:
etxcs023c1ee-2

[Scodiddly]

Part number on the PSU box is:
etxcs023c1ee-2

Oh, is it a line lump?

[pointillist]

Nah, that numbers is the PSU box inside of the main protracker box!

[The Scum]

Do you know the voltages/currents it's producing?

It might be marked on the board, or you might be able to lookup the regulators. Are there fuses on the internal rails?

I'd assume +/- 15 (or 17, being Soundcraft), and +48V. Anything else, like a 5V or 12V?

Power One linear units are still an obvious choice...as are Acopian gold boxes.

[winky dinglehoffer]

An internet photo search suggests that similar boards have an internal switching power supply--I didn't pursue it too vigorously.

Is this a late 90s-ish mixer? If so, there's a chance it could be brought back to life with a recap. There were a lot of counterfeit capacitors installed in equipment of that era, & a recap can often bring these things back to life. I've had success with this with certain rackmount synths.

[pointillist]

Voltages should be (according to the boxtop) +/- 17, as well as 55 (all dc). I'm thinking I might just recap it and see where I wind up- I kind of want to get a new beefier PSU, but given this one has worked since the 90s, maybe a recap is in order?

[Scodiddly]

Voltages should be (according to the boxtop) +/- 17, as well as 55 (all dc). I'm thinking I might just recap it and see where I wind up- I kind of want to get a new beefier PSU, but given this one has worked since the 90s, maybe a recap is in order?

"Fix what you know is broken", and by now those caps would definitely need to be replaced.

[digitaldrummer]

I'm a bit confused by this latest revival of this thread.

first, I'm pretty sure when Jim Williams and others started talking about mods, they were not referring to the same unit. Notice the conversation had already taken a left and they were talking about 24x8x2... in other words, larger boards and probably with external power supplies. so I don't see that they actually answered the OP's question. is it really worth it to mod this unit?

also you mentioned "rebuild my old burnt out one". What is burnt out? did it really burn/smoke? Is it no longer functioning? if so that may be more than caps and then you may need to find a new switching power supply. it may be tricky finding one to fit. sometimes you can get replacement parts from the manufacturer (or rebuilt/refurb parts). I see Harman owns this now. di you try contacting them?