MCI owners take note!!! This is awesome....

[joel hamilton]

http://www.sageelectronics.com/images/S ... opamp2.pdf

One of my favorite companies on the planet just put up a new product on their website...

A discrete replacement for the IC's in MCI 4xx series consoles!!! I am hoping that this discrete opamp could be modified to live in other vintage consoles as well, much like the mods done by Purple audio on my old Auditronics console that now lives at the bunker studio here in Brooklyn.

Check this out, and email the company... if you own a 400 series MCI, you can completely hot rod the thing with minimal effort now!!! Amazing. I bet those consoles will start selling like crazy because of this.

And as always, I have to add that this company is totally worth supporting. Great people, great gear, great attitudes and ethics, great sounds....

[stereopathetic_banjo]

Hmmmm...I just bought a '76 MCI 528B last december. Hmmmmm....

[ladewd]

Maybe you'll get lucky and the company will release a dual version of the IC. The 500 series used 2002 IC's not 2001's

Cary

[stereopathetic_banjo]

Cary, yeah I know they're diff specimens. Steve built up this 500 for me, actually. He mentions you quite a bit!

[joel hamilton]

Maybe Mr. Bova himself can explain the implementation.
I will email and ask if he can post here in this thread.

Paging Mr. Bova !!!!

[soundmasterg]

I wonder if those will work for the MCI tape decks too?

Greg

[Phillip Victor Bova]

Maybe Mr. Bova himself can explain the implementation.
I will email and ask if he can post here in this thread.

Paging Mr. Bova !!!!

Thank you so much for doing what you do here on Gear Talk Joel - and for your interest in our discrete opamp upgrades for MCI 400 series consoles.

We?ve always cherished our JH-416 for its big iron sound and elegant functionality ... and the grittiness of MCI 2001 opamps sure are great for rock and roll ... but I have long felt that these ICs limit the sonic potential of these consoles. It was this feeling that led me to develop our two new discrete opamps - the SE-DOT5s

All sage ELECTRONICS products begin life to fulfil a need in our busy little studio <http>. This is where all of our designs get beaten up for at least a year before being offered up publicly. Having now lived with our SE-DOT5 opamp replacements through many sessions ~ we are now making them available to anyone wishing to upgrade their MCI 400 series console.

The SE-DOT5 ?RED? (pure class A) and SE-DOT5 ?BLUE? (class AB) are uniquely designed to replace the MCI 2001 metal can IC opamps found in MCI 400 series consoles.

Any MCI 2001 or 2003 opamp in any stock 400 series console can be replaced with the RED (class A) or the BLUE (class AB) SE-DOT5 opamp specifically as below.

channel strip (total of 7 opamp replacements)

• the RED pure class A opamp replaces the four 2001s in the mic preamp, fader buffer, hi/lo eq and mid eq positions

• the BLUE class AB opamp features a robust output stage and is used to replace the three 2001s in the channel summing amp, monitor inverter and pan buffer positions due to their heavier current-driving requirements

master section (total of 4 or 8 opamp replacements ? depending on whether you mix in stereo or quad)
If you are using your console for stereo mixing only (ie: left and right front ? vs. quad mixing with left and right front and back) you will only require

• two RED class A opamps to replace each of the front left and right summing amps

and

• two BLUE class AB opamps to replace each of the front left and right post fader output stages

If you mix in quad you will require;

• four RED class A opamps for the pre-fader summing amps and

• four BLUE class AB opamps for the post fader output stages

A good initial replacement strategy might include a total of 20 SE-DOT5s (10 RED and 10 BLUE) to allow replacement of all 2001s in

• two channel strips (total of 8 RED + 6 BLUE)

• the master section (front left and right only ~ for stereo mixers) (total of 2 RED + 2 BLUE) - and

• the left and right front output amps in the control room monitor strip (2 BLUE)

This strategy will provide two excellent mic pres, two desirable eqs and an upgraded master section which will improve the sonics of all channels in the board ~ whether upgraded or not.

SE-DOT5 RED and BLUE opamps are painless to install. They run on the same +/- 24 Volts as the 2001s (and 2003s) and feature gold pins to match the premium gold contact octal sockets on the console circuit boards.

You don?t have to add messy, instability-prone long legged DIP sockets, nor do you have to lower your PSU supply voltage as some other upgrade approaches demand.

I know many MCI 400 series owners will be intrigued by the sonic possibilities of these new discrete opamps ? while some may worry about losing the mojo of the stock MCI 2001 signal path.

Luckily we can all have our cake and eat it too ... because now after 35+ years these quad buss consoles once again offer intriguing new possibilities. On our 416B, we have upgraded 16 channel strips plus front left and right master busses. We?ve left 8 channels with stock MCI 2001s in place as well as the rear left and right rear busses. Those handy little Front / Back knobs (assuming they?re not rusted in place due to disuse) now give us choice to mix and match old and new circuit topologies to our heart?s content.

In my opinion upgrading with these discrete opamps can move the sound of our consoles directly into the company of desks such as api, spectra sonics, sphere and quad 8, et cetera.

Thanks for your interest Gear Talk Folks !
Don?t hesitate to give me a call or message us if we can be of any assistance.
Cheers
Phillip Victor Bova

[Phillip Victor Bova]

Maybe you'll get lucky and the company will release a dual version of the IC. The 500 series used 2002 IC's not 2001's

Cary

No plans as yet but if someone could lend me a 500 series for a while I'll sure have a go at it ! javascript:emoticon(':D')

[nick_a]

so cool.