Quad Eight Ventura 36-Channel Console (Used)

Product Description

CONSOLE TECHNICAL DETAILS

Dimensions: 3'6" x 8'7" x 3'4"
Cosmetic Condition Rating: 8
List of Cosmetic Flaws:
Light wear consistent with age. No major flaws. Bumper clean with no tears.
Working Order Rating: 9
List of Major Working Faults:
Everything works; occasional failures consistent with age (switches, pots, etc.). CR module has been largely decommissioned; presently the console is in use with a Crane Song Avocet (included in this sale).
Does Console Have Direct Outs: Yes
Direct Outs Transformer Balanced: Yes
How Many Lines In at Mix: 36
List of Any Modifications:
Direct outs on channels 1 - 28 are switchable between fader + VCA stage (stock) and a Hardy 990 stage (modification), additional rail added to PSU to accommodate EQs rechipped with LME 49720s. Master module uses Hardy 990s, stock AM10 master module also included.

When Was It Last Serviced: Presently in use, constantly serviced.
List of Any Spare Parts:

• 14 module blanks
• Spare Power one + / - 15v rail
• Spare / alternate master module (good working order)
• Spare comm module (untested, likely good)
• Two spare foldback channels (one decent, one very picked over)
• Many misc spares (knobs, switches, etc)

CONSOLE FEATURES

Model # & Qty of Mic Pre/EQs:
40 qty. AM10 type: 28 w / switchable 990 direct out mod; 8 stock; 4 outboard AM10 type
36 qty. EQs
Model # & Qty of Compressors:
2 qty CL-22
# of Aux Sends: 4
# of Effect Sends: 4
# of Busses: 8
Phantom Power: Yes
Brand of Automation: None (6 VCA groups)
# of Speaker Selectors: 3 (Avocet)


ACCESSORIES

Brand & Type of Patchbay: Internal + 3 Audio Accessories 96 point TT 'mini-shorti' type
Qty of Patchbay(s): 1 factory + 3 Audio Accesories
Location of Patchbay: Right hand side
Brand & Length of Cabling: None
Brand & Type of Furniture: None
Is There a Stand: Yes
Is There a Producer's Desk: No


CONSOLE DOCUMENTATION

Original Manual: Yes; full operations manual, service manual, complete schematics
Includes Tech Report: Yes; extensive documentation:  modification documentation, etc.

Here's your chance to get an historic and well-restored Quad Eight.

Quad Eight consoles were among the best consoles made in the early 1970s, and were used in numerous film studios. The name 'Quad Eight' actually derives from this film heritage, referring to a process where four strips of consumer style 8mm film were printed on a standard 35mm film stock, then split apart into four individual film strips, thus garnering the name 'Quad Eight'.

Originally based on components made by Electrodyne, eventually Quad Eight manufactured their own consoles in house in their California facility. Electrodyne was the first to combine a mic preamp, line amp, EQ and routing into one module - the beginnings of  the modern 'channel strip'. These modules formed the basis for the development of  the Quad Eight consoles.

Well known as a 'secret weapon', the mic pre and EQ stages of a Quad Eight channel strip had plenty of punch  and musicality, holding their own against Neve, and later, API. The sound was also the inspiration for the modern line of Pacifica mic pre's, made by A-Designs and named after the Pacifica consoles from Quad Eight.

Film studios were not the only users of the Quad Eight consoles; in the rock world the QE is perhaps most famous for the sound of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" - one of the great albums of all time, mixed on three Quad eights wired together.

HISTORY

This Quad Eight Ventura was commissioned by the LA Philharmonic for the Hollywood Bowl in 1980 and installed new in 1981, under the direction of Master AV Manager Frank Supak. The LA Philharmonic inventory control tag is still on the right side of the meterbridge . The console served as the FOH console for about ten years
.
The console was rescued by and bought for John & Stu’s recording in Seattle in 1993. Throughout the 1990s, dozens — maybe hundreds — of records were recorded and mixed on the Ventura, mostly with John Goodmanson engineering and producing; Sleater-Kinney, Low, Harvey Danger, Blonde Redhead, Unwound, Satisfact, The Gossip, and The Wedding Present all made records on this Quad Eight. A few songs on Modest Mouse’s ‘The Lonesome Crowded West’ and Quasi’s ‘Field Studies’ were made on the console as well, with Phil Ek at the helm. The console is currently located in that same control room in Seattle.

'The Photo Album’ and ‘Transatlanticism’ by Death Cab for Cutie were recorded and mixed on the console, as well as albums for The Postal Service, The Decemberists, The Long Winters, Hot Hot Heat, The Velvet Teen, Nada Surf, and more than a few others.

In 2006 the desk was rebuilt and modernized, under the direction of Alan Garren: the hardwired snakes were chopped and connectorized with XLRs and DB25s; the patchbay was expanded; the power supply was rebuilt; the entire console was recapped; the EQs were re-chipped with LME 49720s; an incredibly useful direct out modification was made. The sparkly red bumper was added then as well.

Additional maintenance and upgrades have been done under the direction of Sam Winston and Alan Garren: switches in the audio path were replaced; the original meterbridge lights were replaced; a very useful buss mod has been made, the power supply has been further tweaked and refined.

This Quad Eight Ventura has been meticulously cared for. It has been painstakingly restored; we’ve been careful to preserve all the good stuff in the process of modernizing it. It’s as plugand- play as it gets in the vintage console world. It positively rules as a tracking console, and that’s what it begs for, particularly with the routing improvements and direct out upgrades. It does not flinch or crackle or fail.



CONSOLE INCLUDES:

• 36 input channel modules total:
• 28x standard mic / line channels. Each of these includes a custom, switchable Hardy 990 direct out modification, with a corresponding added rail in the power supply. This mod allows mic or line signal to bypass the fader AM10 gain stage and VCA when engaged; in factory operation, there was no way to avoid the VCA.
• A related buss modification was made as well: the buss sends can be driven by either the faders (factory spec) or independently of the fader level from the 990s (mod). All the EQ chips have been replaced with LME 49720s; the power supply has been expanded here as well to accommodate the additional current draw. The voltage regulators for the VCAs have all been updated / replaced, and the channels were all re-switched in 2012.
• 8x buss master mic / line channel modules. The EQ chips and voltage regulators have been replaced, and the channels were re-switched in 2012, as above. The buss amps are all original AM10s, unmodified.
• 4x foldback / reverb return channel modules. The EQ chips and voltage regulators have been replaced, and the channels were re-switched in 2012, as above.
• 2x master buss modules (interchangable). One is factory spec with AM-10s, one modified to accommodate Hardy 990s.
• 1x CR monitor / master source module. This routing and switching functionality is still in use, but the CR volume knob and talkback are not. The physical and electronic engineering challenges presented in updating this part of the console proved substantial, the rewards limited, and the expense prohibitive.
• 1x studio monitor module. Stock, but functional and usable.
• 1x  comm module. This channel is functional; the send masters and oscillators all work, but the bottom half (slate, talkback, etc) are not presently in use.
• 2 x CL-22 compressors.
• 4x auxiliary mic preamps (AM-10s).

CONNECTIVITY

• I/O for multitrack A and B is accessible via panel-mounted DB25s on the rear of the console, directly under the patch bay.
• Reverb and headphone sends / returns are also available via DB25s.
• Mix deck and stereo / mono monitor I/O are accessible via panel-mounted XLRs on the rear near the center.

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