Sound Craft Series 600....is it worth $600?

ott0bot · Post by **ott0bot** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 9:56 am

So I'm looking for an analog front end to my DAW and there's a craigslist add in my area for 16 channel 600 series w/o the patchbay. He's asking $600 and said everything works perfectly. He's going to let me test it when I go check it out tonight. It seems like a good deal, but I can't find much of a sales history or price guide with it listed.

So if it tests out fine should I pick it up or keep looking for another console?

He actually posted it on ebay too. check out the pics...
http://cgi.ebay.com/SOUNDCRAFT-600-SERI ... 7C294%3A50

dsw · Post by **dsw** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:19 am

How are you going to test it? Is it hooked up to anything? To really know what shape its in you'll have to run signal through every possible path and turn every single knob to see if they are noisy or functioning correctly. 600's are old enough now to be needing caps replaced or other things going bad maybe....If you are willing to put a little money into to it if it does have problems, those sound great and are respected in most circles as a high quality mixer.
Take a 58 with you and a hand held recorder if you have one. Plug the mic into every channel and plug the recorder into every output. Spend as much time as you can.
If he's cool and it has problems he'll tell you.
Happy shopping!

ott0bot · Post by **ott0bot** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:35 am

Well he has everything hooked up in his garage with mics cables and head phones. I do have a korg d888 I could bring to record into so that might be a good idea. He seems really nice and wasn't trying to pressure me into buying it. I'm ok with a soldering iron and it's all modules so I could pull them out one at a time to work on. How much work/money would it take to re-cap the board?

I was really wondering if the price is too high or lower than average and if I should offer him a bit less or if I'm getting a great deal already.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 1:50 pm

600 is a great board. If that's enough channels for you, and it works, $600 is cheap.
They need to be cleaned and lubed. Don't smoke around them.

norton · Post by **norton** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:04 pm

One thing to definitely check for:

Some of the soundcraft boards were wired pin 3 hot. Which isn't a fatal flaw or anything... it just means you're going to have to make some new cables to interface the desk with other gear etc.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:15 pm

cheaper to go in and rewire the inputs and outputs, you get to reflow the solder that way.

dsw · Post by **dsw** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:51 pm

I guess $600 is ok, I'd try to get it for $500.

Never pay asking price. Talk him down at least $50.

You know what I mean?

snatchman · Post by **snatchman** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:05 pm

As I was advised when I got my DDA ( 19 years old...

..).. check each channel for difference in level/ frequency differencies.. Such as, channels that need more/less gain with the same source, different frequency response from channel to channel.. ( ie... more/less highs and bass response without the EQ engaged.. Probably signs of bad/aged caps..Good luck..!

newfuturevintage · Post by **newfuturevintage** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:17 pm

$600 seems a little high for that in this market. Not unfair, just it's a buyers market now, and not that many folks are looking for 100lb consoles. Offer less...$500 wouldn't be an insult, but I wouldn't get excited until about $400.

ott0bot · Post by **ott0bot** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 3:34 pm

norton wrote:One thing to definitely check for:

Some of the soundcraft boards were wired pin 3 hot. Which isn't a fatal flaw or anything... it just means you're going to have to make some new cables to interface the desk with other gear etc.

Is there a way to tell via serial numbers or markings on the console?

Thanks for the input guys. I'll scope it out first and formost and then see if he will come down around 400 before I say yes.

norton · Post by **norton** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 4:58 pm

Download the manual at soundcraft's website... it'll be in there somewhere.

pk · Post by pk » Thu Feb 26, 2009 5:13 pm

I'm not sure how the 600 sounds but I had a Soundcraft 400B for a while and I can tell you it was a fine, fine board. That said, I had no prior experience with any other console other then a basic Mackie but the pres and eq's were quite a step up from the latter. I also bought it used and like others have said, check for scratchy faders and pots, as mine had quite a few. It didn't stop me from using it and certainly made a great front end to my DAW, but if anything, you could slash the price down to $500.

IMO, if audio passes through every channel then you're in good shape. Besides, it's modular so you can work on just one channel strip at a time if need be.

Good luck!

ott0bot · Post by **ott0bot** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:08 pm

Well it seems he won't come down on the price so that pretty much seals the deal. No can do at $600. If it had the patchbay it might be worth it, but alas it is not worth if for me right now.

So.....I've decided to buy RNC/RNLA racked combo and maybe a tube mic instead. Seems more useful than the board until I get a new space with a bit more room...which will happen someday!

thanks for all the input....great info about the board and what to look for.

bickle · Post by **bickle** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:21 pm

Sad to hear it - the 600 is a great board, and I actually think that's a pretty good price, if it's in good shape. The patchbay is awesome, too, though; BUT it's often a source of problems in these older boards, so skipping it might be a good thing.

Anyway, it sure won't give you any compression, but that's a bunch of good preamps and EQs for the price.

I don't think the wiring issue applies to 600s, by the way - I think that's just the 200 and 400.

ott0bot · Post by **ott0bot** » Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:29 pm

Ha! I just checked and the ebay auction is already at $660...so looks like he's getting more than expected. That is, if the bidder actually pays!

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Sound Craft Series 600....is it worth $600?

Sound Craft Series 600....is it worth $600?

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