Helios Olympic Mic Pre/3-Band EQ Module Pair #78/79 (Vintage)

The Helios Olympic Studios style mic pre/EQ is a very 'open' preamp. Operates on 36vdc. Very clear, open pre's with some nice color and lots of punch.


EQ controls are:

• Selectable 8 - 12 - 15 kHz high-shelf
• High pass filter points at 40 - 80 - 120 Hz
• Low pass filter points at 8 - 12 - 15 Hz
• Low EQ points: 40 - 50 - 60 - 100 - 200 - 700 Hz
• Hi-mid EQ points: 700 - 800 Hz; - 1 - 2 - 4 - 7 kHz
• High EQ points 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 12 - 15 - 17
• +/- 14 dB boost or cut on each EQ band
• Mic input attenuation from 16 to 76 dB of gain in 6 dB increments
• Line input (with LED indicator); attenuation from -10 to +10 dB in 5 dB increments
• Inserts 1 and 2
• -18 dB input pad
• Phase reverse with LED indicator
• Overload LED indicator
• EQ bypass

Unit will be recapped, with all pots, switches and card connector edges cleaned and any faulty components repaired. per module. Our servicing is regarded as the best in the industry worldwide!

Racking is available. VK Racks are expertly crafted, coming with 48v, output attenuation pots, XLR I/Os, internal and selectable 110v/220v PSU.

History

The original Helios electronics company was started by engineer Dick Swettenham, who had been recruited from EMI Studios at Abbey Road to work at London's Olympic Sound Studios. Swettenham built a custom console for Olympic that was hugely successful, with many major acts recording there, including Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones (Beggar's Banquet).

The producer Chris Blackwell thought so highly of the Helios console that he hired Swettenham away from Olympic and financed the design and build of several new consoles for Blackwell's Island Studios in Basing Street. The success of these consoles led to numerous orders for more Helios desks, including the Rolling Stones Mobile, the Who's Ramport Studios, and the Beatles' Apple Studios on Savile Row.

All Helios consoles were custom-built for a particular studio, with over a hundred desks commissioned and built in the period 1969-1979. Naturally, a huge part of the sound of these consoles was generated by the mic pre/EQ input channel, of which there were many variations, from fully discrete to IC based designs, including three- and four-band swept and parametric EQ's.

As the 80s approached, a number of console manufacturers got into the game, offering many off-the-shelf designs that featured build quality and price/performance that can only come from higher-volume, more mass-produced equipment. As a result, Swettenham shut down Helios in 1979, but a decade later, the producer Tony Arnold bought the rights to the company, with the intention of recreating the original input modules.

Arnold and Swettenham worked closely together to design an updated version of a mic pre/EQ that was true to the original. Having lost many of the circuit diagrams and specifications, it was a long process of reverse engineering, testing numerous vintage modules to discover those with the most 'musicality'. Eventually it was decided to recreate the classic "Type 69" three-band EQ/pre, with a couple of added features and highly improved build quality and reliability. Finally, decades after the last original Helios console was built, the Type 69 was available to producers and engineers the world over.

The list of studios that employed a Helios desk is quite impressive, including the personal studios of Eric Clapton, John Entwhistle, Leon Russell, Steve Marriott, Steve Miller, Alvin Lee, Ron Wood and Ronnie Lane. Commercial studios such as La Maison Rouge, Musicland Munich, the Manor (and Manor Mobile), the Townhouse, and of course Olympic Studios, where it all started. The number of classic albums recorded on a Helios desk is far too long to list, but include Deep Purple - Machine Head, Led Zeppelin - Presence, and the Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock & Roll. The 1970s were a 'golden age' of pop and rock music recording, and Helios played a huge role in the creation of dozens of great albums whose sound is considered timeless.

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Package contents:

• PSU (after-market)