Around the Shop

When talking about classic pieces of gear heard on hit records, the AMS RMX16 has easily earned its spot at the table. The reverb microprocessor became a must-use piece of gear in the 1980s and has gone on to become one of the most revered reverberation units ever. Just ahead of the 2020 NAMM Show, AMS has announced that they’re giving the classic unit the 500 series treatment with a new version of the RMX16. While the original units were coveted and sonically magical, they also carried a massive price tag and thus were fairly rare and unattainable. With this new offering in 500 series form from AMS, a new generation of engineers will be able to use this reverb classic in their 500 Series rack for much less. The RMX16 500 series module is set to carry a price tag of just $1295, making its cost almost as small as its new, compact footprint. Continue reading →

While walking around the Vintage King Audio Tech Shop, we saw microphone tech Tim Johnson (lovingly referred to as "Timmo" around these parts), working on something pretty special. It's not every day that we get a Neumann SM2 in for work, so we thought we'd shed a little light on the history of this fantastic mic. Let's go back in time. The 1950s were revolutionary in terms of recording technology and Neumann was at the forefront of the industry. The brand set out to create the first stereo condenser microphone and did so with the SM2 in 1956. Here's an excerpt from the original Neumann SM2 brochure Continue reading →

Justin Weiss, a technician at the Vintage King Tech Shop, has been hard at work restoring and modding 16 vintage Neve 31102 modules. These input modules were designed and intended for use in Neve's large-format recording and mixing consoles, including the 8058 and 8068. These were the first "in-line monitor" desks on the market and gave the engineer tracking and monitoring options at each channel. We'll let Justin explain his review:"Think of a quad summing mixer with a small fader and extended mixdown capabilities and a global Mic/Line input switching option. This is the main reason a 31102 is different from all other 10-series (1066, 1073, 1084, etc) modules. The module, on its own, was built with a 10468 Mic input transformer inside and sensitivity switch (gain) setup for only mic levels. The line input signal comes from a companion 32430 Mixdown Switching Module (Line or Tape Returns) located directly below the 31102 in the 8058/68 desk. The switching module gives the user a Line trim missing from the sensitivity of the 31102 gain switch. So, again, the 31102 module was designed around the 8058/68 signal flow. It is worth realizing the purpose of the BA106 board being a buffer between the output of the line input switching module and the EQ built within the 31102 circuits. Continue reading →

  At any time when you walk through the doors of the Vintage King Tech Shop, you're bound to find our team of technicians working on a number of vintage and used recording consoles. During our last visit, we were able to check out a vintage Neve console from the 1970s that was in for a premium servicing job.The Neve 5315 console was built in 12-channel and 24-channel configurations and originally equipped with 33114, 33115 and 33117 channel strips. Since each channel was interchangeable, users were able to select which strip they preferred and access different EQ selections based on the model number. Continue reading →

Things have been busy lately in the Vintage King Tech Shop and one of our first projects of 2019 has been this vintage Sontec MEP-250A. Technician Justin Weiss has been giving this beloved stereo 5-band equalizer some much-needed care, both internally and externally.  To call the Sontec MEP-250A a "classic" is an understatement. It's actually a descendant of the first parametric equalizer (ITI ME-230), which was designed by Burgess Macneal and George Massenburg. After ITI went out of business, Burgess Macneal bought the rights to the equalizer and formed a new brand, Sontec. Continue reading →

In the world of the recording studio, there may be no more recognizable console or mic pre than the Universal Audio 610. With its light green hue and large tactile knobs, Bill Putnam Sr.’s creation was known for adding warmth and harmonics to recordings while still keeping things sounding extremely musical. The 610 mic pre and recording console’s resumes are beyond stacked. Both were used predominantly on some of the top records of the 1960s and 1970s, including Neil Young’s Harvest, The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, The Doors’ L.A. Woman and several Frank Sinatra recordings. Continue reading →

In terms of ribbon microphones, there may be no more important or recognizable model than the RCA 44-BX. The microphone, which was made from 1932 through 1955, is a stylish icon that has often been imitated but rarely outdone in terms of musicality. Fortunately, we get to see a lot of RCA 44-BX microphones come through the Vintage King Tech Shop. Some come to the shop in pretty bad shape and others fair slightly better, which is pretty remarkable considering these mics have been at work for at least 60 years. Continue reading →

The Telefunken ELA-M 250 and 251 are two beloved microphones from recording history that came about after the end of the partnership between Telefunken and Neumann. Once Telefunken stopped making the VF14 tube for the Neumann U47 and U48, they began working with AKG and utilized the Austrian brand's C12 microphone as the basis for the ELA-M 250 and 251. In addition to stocking the current version of the ELA-M 251T and ELA-M 251E, we are lucky enough to have a stunning example of a Telefunken ELA-M 251 currently residing at the Vintage King Tech Shop. This model comes from the original 1960s run of microphones and was most recently owned by Kevin Augunas of Fairfax Recordings. Continue reading →

We recently had a pair of vintage Neve 2262 modules come into the Vintage King Tech Shop. These compressor modules are unique as they share many characteristics with a few Neve classics, but rarely do we see them come through the shop. "The Neve 2262, 2264 and 33609 compressors are all very similar," says Vintage King Technician Rick Schultz, who worked on these modules while they were in our tech shop. "These are the first Neve 2262s I've seen in the 10 years I've worked for Vintage King." Continue reading →

For the past few months, we've had the pleasure of watching our console team at the Vintage King Tech Shop breathe new life into a vintage Neve BCM10. This unique mixing console was released by Neve in 1970 and was primarily used for broadcast purposes at the time. "The intent of the BCM10 was to have a simple device to run multiple microphones for a mono or stereo output," says Senior Console Tech Rich Hunt. "Nowadays, the BCM10 is used as a sidecar and for things like running stereo stems out of your interface and using it as a small summing mixer." Continue reading →