Allen & Heath GS3000 vs. Toft ATB-32 vs. ?

[atavacron]

Fight! (somehow i'm envisioning these consoles decked out in sumo gear, squaring off)

No, seriously. Does anyone have direct experience on both of these consoles? The GS3K is a bit rarer, and of course a few years older. No one's really told me what it sounds like. The Toft, I've been told, does a rough approximation of the 80B pre and eq remarkably well. I haven't heard either myself, but the I/O, routing and general functionality seem to put them both in the same ballpark.

I do know that the GS3000 can be had for $2K-$3K, and the toft for twice that. I'm more concerned about the apples-to-apples aspects here...how their features affected your sessions and helped or hindered your mixes.

And while we're at it, what other boards should I be looking at that essentially do what these do, and are no more expensive than the Toft, and are not a royal pain in the arse to find in good functional condition?

Thanks!

PS - Yes, I'm referring to the balanced-outs-with meter-bridge ATB.

[atavacron]

Oh and one other thing...is that full-featured dual-mono stereo tube pre on the GS3K just almost-cool, or genuinely useful?

[capnreverb]

A used Soundcraft Ghost tweaked out by Creation Audio labs will cost less than a Toft. A lot of people are real happy with this set up. Also, a used Midas Venice is an option.

[stereopathetic_banjo]

I want to say Chris Garges here had one a while back- maybe ask him what he thinks.
As far as the ATB, there's many threads about em, some dissing construction issues and others praising sound. Personally I wouldn't dig one because it's not fully modular, but then again, it's new- for now anyhow. I'm locked in in the "vintage" world at the moment, but there certainly are a lot of options. Good luck!

[atavacron]

bump!