First allow me to introduce myself.
I am Natalie, Tony's Wife
Tony (Arny) can see his Posts but no other member can, including myself.
It might also be interesting to know that Tony has written to the Moderators about this problem, but they are unable to see his Private Messages so Tony is completely blanked out to all at GS except himself.

I have joined as a member to enable me to write to the moderator hoping they might see my Private Messages.

Many thanks to all members who have endorsed Tony's work and a special thanks to those who are concerned about his absence.

Many thanks
Yours Faithfully

Natalie
Natalie Arnold
[email protected]

Thanks, Natalie...I'm starting to believe in conspiracies

Anyone have an explanation for this?

I think it has something to do with that Russian submarine everyone is talking about.

I can see Tony's posts again... hooray!

Woo Hoo! Power to the people! Free Arny!

Greetings,

I'm new here, and I'm just getting started doing recording at home. At this point, I'm only tracking guitars. I'm slowly starting to build a home studio, and I'm currently looking at mic pres. I'll most likely get the 500 series products.

To stay on topic for this particular thread...

Someone just recommended the Helios 69 pre/eq to me as his #1 choice for a mic pre to use with vintage AC30s. Can anyone else comment one way or another on that issue? Would I be smart to get a pair? I've just started using a Royer 121 on my AC30s, so I need a nice pre to go with it. I also am using a dynamic mic--Sennheiser e906 is sounding good to me at the moment, but would it also benefit from a nice pre like the Helios?

Any comments/info. help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jeff

Well,

If you are just getting started, the HELIOS units are quite pricey... they have a special sound and work great on guitars (IMHO)... actually they work great on just about everything... but you are getting not only the HELIOS pre's but the EQ section as well (it is the EQ that makes them special).

One real amazing thing about the Helios EQ is that you can really push them in any direction you want and they still sound musical... so real dramatic settings are sometimes where the magic comes from.

But, like I said, if you are just starting, you might want to start off with something less expensive but if you got the jing, then by all means, go for a couple of HELIOS.

Jim

Jim,

Thanks a lot. I don't want to hijack the thread, so I'll keep this short, and if you want to respond privately, that's cool.

I had been looking at the Great River and Phoenix mic pres on the recommendation of a few people, esp. the folks at Sound Pure. I'm also interested in the Chandler Little Devil, based on some reviews. I'm open to other suggestions. But, damn...the Helios sounds like it'd be great. Maybe I'll be able to spring for one to get started.

Jeff

This is the answer I'm waiting for myself.. I'm set to make the Helios sound a major part of my studio, and knowing the answer to this question would determine if I would purchase a bunch of the 1u rack units or a rack with original size Helios modules.

My heart resides with the original modules but my seller is advising against them due to reliability and power issues..
Which is a shame since I'd love to eventually get into the F670..

Can anyone confirm/deny that there is a risk involved in getting the original sized module in a rack ?

And can Arny confirm/deny that a Helios console will be coming at some point, or should i just buy the new Trident that's coming soon ?

Couldn't you get one of the Tree or other "500 series consoles" and load it with the Helios modules. To that, even an unloaded 1608 would work. I thought it would be cool to do that and call it the APIlios.

Yeah I've thought about that, but honestly I'm not a big fan of the 500 format with their tiny knobs. I feel they look silly and not very elegant as far as consoles go.

Plus I feel like the console itself is a big part of the sound and I really want a helios desk so it probably needs to be a helios desk- with the real signal path.

Not to mention if Arny built a small console I'm sure it would look the business.

Arny... where did you get to in relation to the desk idea?

Seems to be a bit of interest/market for them

Wiggy

Just like "Sonic Reducer" I felt that the 500 series modules are too small for my aging eyeballs, and fingers.
So I opted for the console sized Type 69 modules.

After searching for quite a few years for a reasonably priced vintage Helios desk,
(found that they are at a all time high right now!) not to mention the maintenance issues with buying vintage, I decided to purchase everything new, and design a small setup for tracking in my place and or while on location as a remote rig.
(funny enough I've also mixed thru this setup with AMAZING results!)

And at this point I think I might have gone overboard, cause I now own 30 Helios type 69 reissue modules...and two 760's (with more to come)

Not sure why, but I built 2 complete systems, basically double what's shown in the attached photo.
But, now I think, I only really need one setup, 24 channels. Can't really fit all 4 racks in a row at my new joint.
Who knew.

Hi Paul!

Great set-up! That's my fear- that there never will be a new small-expandable Helios, in which case I might be better off just getting a few 1u rack modules. And there's NO way I'd ever get a vintage desk.

Similar to you, since there is no Helios console available, I'm going to be matching my future Helios preamp purchases with an X-Desk for a 'make-shift' Helios. But man I rather be putting everything into a real Helios console and be done with it.

If I may take a moment of your time, how is the console channel model in terms of reliability? Any power/headroom issues ? It's being strongly recommended to me to stick with the 1u 19" version and avoid the console strips. .. yet a part of me doesn't want to let the Helios console dream die and I want to accumulate the console cards to eventually drop them into a true desk. I'd also be missing out on the comps.

As for the compressors, are they suitable for mix bus duty ?

Thanks ! I've read all your Helios posts and it's always informative. Once I tried them myself I fell in love.

Hello Paul,

love your sound and equipment. Absolutely great !

You should try the Neumann KH310A.

Have also the Genelec 1031, but the Neumann are a total different dimension.

Only a hint,
R.

Sonic,
The Type 69 console modules are GREAT.
I've owned them since their introduction, and NEVER had a problem with any of them.
Not a one!
So I keep on buying more, and more...
Haha

If you read my early posts on the subject I did have a few problems originally with the racks that the modules went into,
#1 - incorrect power to the modules.
#2 - incorrect output pot values.

But both of those were eventually sorted out, and it had NOTHING to do with Tony's company as the racks were made by a third party.
So now, all's good.

The 760's are also fabulous, a bit tricky to initially figure out, but boy do they sound great.

Actually mixing today...
Very simple mix so I'm only using one of my racks, (the main mixer rack) along with one of Tony's custom made lunch boxes. The snare is going thru the 760. And it works a charm on that.
Now I do have another 2 x 760's in the second of my racks, and I want to use them for the stereo mix, but haven't yet been able to calibrate them close enough to do so.
But I have to say, Tony answered my email immediately and sent me the set up procedure to calibrate them, so sometime later this week I will give them a tweak, and let ya know what happens.
I can't wait to hear them on the two bus...
Especially using the Neve 8816 cause I can then use the INSERT Blend button to add a bit of that 760 compression into the stereo mix.
Ummmmmmm Good!

Wow that all sounds great Paul! Yeah I would absolutely love to know how those compressors work on the mix bus- might really settle the console channel vs 1u version for me.

Rolf,
I might give them a try soon, Not really big on the Genelecs but I really have my eye on the Geithans.
Too bad no place to hear or get a demo of them in the US?
Maybe I should become a distributor?
Haha

Looking at those lovely mobile Helios rigs never gets old.

That is one sweet rig, Paul!

Paulie,
Since you were one of the people that inspired me to get my Helios 69's a few years ago, I thought you might like to see my new "2nd of a kind, Vintage King Custom Rack". Tim Mead designed the mod:

Bypass:*output taken directly from the Type 69 (max output approx +19dBu)

Balanced +10:*output from added line amp, transformer balanced. (10dB pad inserted in line input for ‘unity’ when used on insert – mic input will be 10dB hotter than indicated on front panel – max output approx +28dBu)

Unbalanced +10:*output directly from added line amp. (10dB pad inserted in line input for ‘unity’ when used on insert *– mic input will be 10dB hotter than indicated on front panel – max output approx +22.5dBu)
*
The output transformer is the Cinemag CMOQ-1L.

Makes me want 4 more...

Best,
Tim Cochran

Just ordered myself a 1u rack unit to start

I can't wait to rack it up

Tim,
Now that's a beautiful thing!
Wow.
Very cool buddy.

love that mixer Paul!

Hey that's a sweet rig. Where did you get that frame that houses those Helios modules? It also seems you are using the Neve summing bus for your routing/summing. Seems like a nice solution. But please tell us more about the frame and how the system works together. (If of course you don't mind sharing)

Thanks Paulie ! I am interested in hearing your impressions of the 760's once you have them calibrated. I have the old two channel ADR Compex 760RX and am curious how the rack mounted modules sound.

Best,
Tim