Return of the quadrant fader

[Hugh Robjohns]

Never thought I'd see quadrant faders again on a new product!

https://www.abbeyroad.com/news/chandler ... ystem-3543

[Drew Stephenson]

But do they go the right way with up for silence?

[Hugh Robjohns]

It's unclear... the publicity pics show all faders at the top (0 end of markings), but I'm guessing that's for neatness rather than accuracy.

The EMI TG consoles used the Painton quadrant faders with 0 being the loud end (open away from operator, as with standard flat faders).

The Beeb used them (correctly... ) with 30 being the loud end (open towards the operator), and 23 as the nominal unity point.

[Martin Walker]

Ooh - it's got a pitch bend on every channel

[ef37a]

Hmm, it says "but with a modern mechanism" Does that mean a continuous track or a proper stud fader with a zillion Painton's resistors in it?

If the former, won't sound right! (I jest)

You used the originals I guess Hugh, do you prefer them over a 100mm P&G or even motorised jobs?

Dave.

[Hugh Robjohns]

You used the originals I guess Hugh, do you prefer them over a 100mm P&G or even motorised jobs?

Depends what you're using them for.

For the kind of fast switching between channels for voice programmes — news, panel shows, drama, etc — quadrant faders opening towards the user are ergonomically far superior to flat faders. No doubt in my mind whatsoever.

But for music mixing, flat faders are fine, and arguably make more sense from a visual point of view if they open away from the user.

I've mixed all kinds of things over the last 45 years using both types — even both at the same time, once — and they all get the job done... but if I had a choice, I'd welcome quadrants back without hesitation (especially a modernised conductive plastic type).

[ken long]

https://www.abbeyroad.com/news/chandler ... ystem-3543

Looks fantastic! Am I the only one that feels like the wood frame doesn't work here though?

[Arpangel]

As always, the older technology will cost more, and this is more than more.

[ef37a]

https://www.abbeyroad.com/news/chandler ... ystem-3543

Looks fantastic! Am I the only one that feels like the wood frame doesn't work here though?

Are you of the hair shirt persuasion then Ken? Engineers of old were not mollycoddled, they had to rough it with cold, gunmetal grey tins! Surely we can have a bit of warm wood now?

Dave.

[Arpangel]

https://www.abbeyroad.com/news/chandler ... ystem-3543

Looks fantastic! Am I the only one that feels like the wood frame doesn't work here though?

No, it doesn’t work, it just doesn’t look right, the original much more utilitarian metal housing was more in keeping with the overall design, this wooden look seems like a token "vintage" tick box, it should speak for itself, it doesn’t need any wood just because it’s a vintage design.

[MarkOne]

Yes, grey utilitarian should be the way to go, and you of course have to wear a white lab coat to operate it correctly... Oh, and smoke a pipe.

[ken long]

I don't mind wood in general. I just think a dark cherry or walnut would have been nicer. At that price, I imagine anyone buying one could probably specify the finish!

[Arpangel]

Yes, grey utilitarian should be the way to go, and you of course have to wear a white lab coat to operate it correctly... Oh, and smoke a pipe.

A beard? and the obligatory slightly upper-middle-class BBC type accent.
How much are these?

[Hugh Robjohns]

Am I the only one that feels like the wood frame doesn't work here though?

They don't give you the wood frame. You only get the 12U high rack mount panel. Where you stick it is your concern!

And it is going to be scarily expensive!

Available around autumn/winter...

[RichardT]

Yes, grey utilitarian should be the way to go, and you of course have to wear a white lab coat to operate it correctly... Oh, and smoke a pipe.

The day of the boffin!

if you scroll down this page there's a lovely photo showing two men in lab coats operating grey utilitarian equipment at Abbey Road...

https://www.abbeyroad.com/our-story

[Hugh Robjohns]

Until his passing ten years ago, I was friends with Allen Stagg who was a very accomplished recording engineer through the 50s and 60s and became the general manager of Abbey Road in the 70s.

He came from the era of lab coats and sacrosanct audio engineering, and the days when record labels told the artists what to do, rather than the other way around! He had many amusing and often sheer mind-blowing stories to tell...

The one that sticks most in my mind was when Pink Floyd were working on one of their albums at AR in the evening. In those days, studio sessions were strictly time-tabled in 3 hour chunks. Morning sessions were 10am-1pm, and afternoons were 2 to 5pm, so a normal working day was typically 9am to 6pm. Occasionally they also did evening sessions (6 to 9pm), but the building was closed and locked up at 10pm, without fail.

On this occasion, the Floyd were getting into their groove working out some new material and wanted to carry on working into the night, but the building's commissionaire wanted to lock up and go home at 10 as normal. When the band and producer refused to leave the commissionaire phone Allen Stagg (as the general manager) at home. Stagg went in to the studio in a grump over these upstart musicians, went up to the studio, and just flipped off the studio power breakers!

He was just upholding 'the rules' as they were at the time, and protecting his staff as a good manager should... Not surprisingly, though, there was quite a backlash subsequently, and several leading EMI musicians of the time (including the Beatles) lobbied the company chairman to have a more musician-friendly approach at the studios with access allowable 24/7 — and that's what came to pass.

Allen Stagg told me many other stories from a fascinating time in the evolution of recording, including about arguing with EMI's R&D department about the TG console facilities and its planned successor (which was abandoned and they bought commercial rather than in-house consoles instead ever after). He also told of his trying desperately to keep the AR studios out of the headlines over police drug raids on the Beatles!

T'was a very different time!

[ef37a]

I shall always remember the story (true or not) that a recording engineer got so fed up with bands driving on into the wee smalls* that he rigged a "bomb" in a spare rack space. Bit of oily rag and a resistor. A secret switch sent some DC to the resistor and there was some smoke curling from the rack.
"OK then, that's the power supplies *****d! Have to pack up and fixed it in the morning."

*OK for the arteests, probably coked up. Engineer could not afford that or more likely had much better sense!

Dave.

[OneWorld]

With that curved shape, are they for mixing instruments you play with a bow?

[Wonks]

With that curved shape, are they for mixing instruments you play with a bow?

You can have any hair decoration you want when you play.

[Matt Houghton]

[Deleted, because the pun wasn't as clever as I thought ]

[Wonks]

Can I take a bough?

[ef37a]

Can I take a bough?

Wooden chuckle.

Dave.

[zenguitar]

I see Wonks has gone out on a limb again.

Andy

[Wonks]

Leaf it out, bud!

[ConcertinaChap]

Ah, just twigged what you're on about.

CC