MCI 538 RECORDING CONSOLE WITH 32 INPUT MODULES, 8 AUX. RETURNS, PLASMA METERS,
[PRICED PER UNIT - 1 AVAILABLE AT TIME OF LISTING]
Listing last update on April 10, 2007 - Viewed 146 times

MCI 538 RECORDING CONSOLE WITH 32 INPUT MODULES, 8 AUX. RETURNS, PLASMA METERS, AUDIO SPECTRUM ANALYZER, AUTOMATED, IN VERY GOOD CONDITION. PACKAGE INCLUDES CONSOLE, POWER SUPPLIES, AND 1 EXTENDER CARD. PATCH BAY HAS 134 TIE LINES.WAS BOUGHT NEW AND HAS ONLY BEEN IN ONE STUDIO.

EACH CHANNEL HAS A MIC INPUT AND A TAPE RETURN. THERE ARE 32 ROUTING SWITCHES ON EACH CHANNEL TO ROUTE THE CHANNEL UP TO THIRTY PLACES OR TAPE TRACKS. THERE IS A MONITOR LEVEL FOR LISTENING, AND A TAPE LEVEL FOR RECORDING. THIS IS A FOUR BAND EQ. THERE ARE 6 AUX SENDS FOR EFFECTS.THIS CONSOLE CAN MASTER IN STEREO OR QUAD, SO THERE IS A PAN FOR LEFT AND RIGHT, AND ONE FOR FRONT TO BACK. THERE IS ALSO A MULTI POINT PATCH BAY THAT ALL INPUT AND OUTPUTS CAN BE REROUTED.

THE PRICE LISTED IS IT. THIS CONSOLE SOLD FOR $115,000.00 WHEN IT WAS NEW.

THE AUTOMATION IS A PART OF THE MCI CONSOLE. IT REMEMBERS ALL LEVEL CHANGES WHEN MIXING. ALSO REMEMBERS ALL MUTES AND SOLOS. YOU CAN UPDATE THIS EACH TIME YOU REWIND YOUR MULTI TRACK RECORDER, COMPUTER, ETC. AND PLAY IT BACK.

CONSOLE COMES WITH ALL THE ORIGINAL MANUALS AND SCHEMATICS WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO SET UP AND RUN THE CONSOLE.

THE MASTER SECTION HAS EIGHT SUBGROUPS. THERE ARE EIGHT ADDITIONAL AUX RETURNS. THERE IS A FEATURE WHERE THE PLASMA LIGHT METERS BECOME A SPECTRUM ANALYZER FOR LOOKING AT WHAT EVER YOU WANT TO OF THE CONSOLE INPUT OR OUTPUT.

THE CONSOLE HAS FIVE SUPPLIES. FOUR OF THEM ARE THE ORIGINAL SUPPLIES AND ARE SWITCHABLE TO 230 VOLTS. THE FIFTH WAS ADDED TO POWER THE PHANTOM POWER AND I AM NOT SURE IF IT IS SWITCHABLE. THE INPUT TRANSFORMER MAY HAVE TO BE REPLACED TO CHANGE THE PHANTOM POWER SUPPLY. THE COST IS WHAT IT IS, NOT WILLING TO SELL FOR ANY LESS.

THE AUTOMATION IS SELF CONTAINED. THERE IS NO EXTERNAL COMPUTER. THERE ARE NO MOVING FADERS. DATA IS SENT OUT OF THE CONSOLE TO A TRACK OF WHAT EVER YOUR MUSIC SOURCE IS. FOR EXAMPLE, IF USING A 24 TRACK, YOU WOULD KEEP TWO TRACKS OPEN FOR DATA. USUALLY THE END TRACKS, 1 AND 24. AS YOU PLAY BACK THE RECORDING AND MIX, DATA IS PLACED TO ONE OF THE TRACKS, LET USE #1. WHEN YOU PLAY BACK YOUR MIX, THE DATA IS READ OFF OF TRACK ONE AND SENT BACK INTO THE CONSOLE AUTOMATION WHICH RECALLS ALL OF YOUR FADER CHANGES, MUTES AND SOLOS. YOU CAN UPDATE THIS INFORMATION USING THE FADERS AND LIGHT INDICATORS TO CHANGE THE MIX. ALL OF THIS DATA IS SENT TO TRACK 24. YOU KEEP BOUNCING THE DATA BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN TRACKS UNTIL YOU HAVE THE MIX YOU WANT. THIS IS MCI AUTOMATION.

THE PATCH BAY CONNECTS ARE TINY TELEPHONE. THE BACK OF THE CONSOLE USES A PUNCH BLOCK SYSTEM FOR WIRING THE MIC INPUTS, TAPE MACHINES, EFFECTS, ETC.

CONSOLE COMES WITH THREE HARD BOUND MANUALS. OPERATION, AUTOMATION, AND SCHEMATICS

THE CONSOLE HAS BEEN SITTING IN STORAGE COVERED UP. THERE IS A LOT OF ELECTRONICS IN THIS CONSOLE. ALL MODULES CAN BE REMOVED INDIVIDUALLY FOR REPAIR OR CLEANING. THERE ARE A LOT OF CONNECTIONS. THESE CONNECTIONS CAN BE OXIDIZED WITH TIME AND MAY HAVE TO BE CLEANED WITH AN ERASER FOR ALL MODULES TO OPERATE CORRECTLY. ONCE THE CONSOLE IS UP AND RUNNING, IT IS BEST TO LEAVE ON AT ALL TIMES BECAUSE CURRENT FLOWING THROUGH THRU UNIT KEEPS THE CONNECTIONS FROM OXIDIZING. OF COURSE THIS IS TRUE OF ANY BIG CONSOLE.

THE CONSOLE IS A C SERIES I BELIEVE. IT HAS A TELEPHONE STYLE PUNCH BLOCK IN THE BACK FOR ALL AUDIO CONNECTIONS. I DO NOT KNOW THE EXACT YEAR. I DO NOT HAVE OTHER PHOTOS BUT CAN GET SOME IF NEEDED.

THIS CONSOLE HAS A FOUR BAND EQ WITH TWO OVERLAPPING MID FREQUENCY SECTIONS AND A HIGH PASS FILTER. THERE ARE NO TRANSFORMERS ON THE INPUTS. THE CONSOLE USES 2002'S AND 2003'S.

I DO NOT HAVE ANYTHING THAT GIVES ME THE WEIGHT OF THIS CONSOLE AND HAVE NO WAY TO WEIGH IT. THE CONSOLE IS VERY HEAVY GUESSING 500 TO 600 POUNDS. I DO NOT HAVE EXACT DIMENSIONS, BUT CAN GO MEASURE THE CONSOLE IF NEEDED.