Moving Neil Young's Studer mixing console
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- When Neil Young had an inspiration for music this was the go-to console in his home. This beautiful 40-channel analog Studer mixing console will now be the heart of PS Audio's latest foray into bringing great sound into the world, Octave Records. Octave's dedicated to nourishing and preserving the art of great recording and dedicated to helping musicians earn a living with their craft. Octave's studio is free to eligible artists and will feature some of the best recording equipment in the world. (music courtesy www.benesound.com)
I visited PS Audio today! Paul is a very nice and down to earth great gentleman, and his staff is super friendly. Special thanks to Scott for showing me around. The whole place has some very nice positive vibe to it! I’m still processing the amazing music I heard in the Music Room! That was the most realistic music I’ve ever heard. Until today I haven’t properly experienced the 3D imaging of the sound. I was blown away the very first second I listened to IRS 5’s.. they are gigantic but the sound stage wasn’t too huge..super awesome experience!!!
Damn, I'm jealous. But I love you anyway!!
Tharaka Mapalagama: FYI. Some smaller IRS speakers for sale. www.usaudiomart.com/details/649505210-arnie-nudell-genesis-technologies-model-2-sim-infinity-reference-irs-v-speakers/?USAudioMart+list&+featured+ad&
@@needlesswords Thanks but they are way out of my league :)
Its so fun to see a 70 year ild olus man act like a teanager wirh a new toy. Cool. PS audio is lucky to jave a guy like Paul
Congrats on the new console! Awesome stuff going on at PS Audio. Cheers!!
New toy day! And what a lovely bit of kit. Good luck with Octave.
What a B E A U T I F U L piece!!!!!!! & a great aim by PS Audio & Octave Records
Beautiful board sir what a great git I’m sure it will continue to make hits 👏🏽👏🏽
You were right, we would like to see that. Thanks for sharing it.
You hit the nail right over the head. That is a real piece of history. Don't ever sell it.
Awesome! Just plain awesome. Good luck with Octave, which I’m sure you will have anyway. 🙂
Paul it is wonderful, I love it ! :)
That is so cool. Paul you are the man. I hope to be able to visit sometime soon and also get my own DirectStream Dac. That is so cool how you are collecting memorable stuff such as this mixer and the Infinity IRS system. I didn't realize till just the other day that both you and Arnie started Genesis. I owned a pair of Genesis 300 and before that Infinity Gammas. I'm now for the first time ever putting together a bookshelf speaker system. I am extremely impressed by my little Buchardts. That I'm building this system around. Keep making these great videos sir.
What a good idea everything in house,so to speak,can control every aspect from beginning to end, being a sacd enthusiastic listener I can't wait.
I can't wait to hear a few tracks. The sure many artists will line up to record with you
I wouldn't even touch it....so much history in this mixer ...probably worth a lot as is
I love the analog boards. My old studio was also on the second floor in a warehouse district, no elevator. Never again!
Man that is so awesome, I hope to visit you one day at PS, and maybe, hopefully, mix some music ...
This is great! Cheers to you.
I am salivating!
All those equalization knobs will make a hardcore audiophile very woozy.
That's where the magic is, at least for me. Even Bob Clearmountain will "drop" to analog to run thru his Massey EQs before the final print. Call it phase shift/smear, added harmonics, whatever, I can almost always tell between an all digital process and one that involves analog gear.
Would be awesome if you filmed the upgrading process of the console.
THATS AWESOME....wow Paul
Very very cool
Anyone else had Fight Club vibes at 1:15?
I always wanted a studer reel to reel.
Interesting glitch in the edit around 1:15 like Paul had some entity stoping by to visit or he stepped out of his body.
I always loved the sound of the studer/revox mixer of the era. I have worked with an 8 channel. The tone controls were bypassed on four channels. I loved the sound of the pre amps. Neutral on the warm side. Like adding just a smidget of butter. Made an organ recording of an 16th century organ with a BK stereo pair which got an awesome review both musical as recording. Good luck! Do not take the heart out of the mixer by upgrading. It has happened. Did you get it at Larking?
Would you mind sharing the mods that you're going to perform on the Studer? It doesn't need to be exactly what you're going to change, the concepts would be good enough, like why are you changing this and that, etc.
Technisubs Yea, I kind of freaked when he said “we’re going to change the electronics and upgrade the thing”. Kind of like saying you’re going to drop a new Chevy LT1 engine into the classic Ferrari you just bought.
More than likely Paul & team will replace electrolytic PSU caps which dry out over time & cause all sorts of problems. If the desk uses op-amps I`d be tempted to change these for something from Burr-Brown, also go over resistors & make sure all were good
@@jdekong3945 Thought about the capacitors, so overall, no actual circuit modification, only components replacement.
I imagine it will be a restoration with the aim to keep the soul of that desk :o)
The Studer is based on the venerable 5532 op amp and we can do better. We'll start by upgrading the chips to a few of our favorites, like those from Analog Devices. They are drop in replacements and Studer has the 5532s on sockets so it's an easy mod. We will do this slowly by listening and making sure the changes are in the direction we want. Sometimes the synergy of the system demands what they had in the first place (with all the input transformers) but that can only be known through listening. We'll also replace all the electrolytics that are aging for fresh new ones.
Awesome story! Will be very interested in the sound you get out of her! Oh and what do you think about doing a voiceover instead of the text? I found it distracting and just want to see the board close up🤙
Watch out, this is gonna turn into the next oxfordshire manor studios, with Paul as Giorgio Golmesky
Paul, why not record through the Studer console diect to an A80 and thereby have a pristine analog master which you can then digitize to your heart’s content while preserving the beauty of the original recording?
Doug Sax would not approve - and I suspect neither would Mr Noodle.
The Mastering Lab was noted for its all-analog Class A chain which gave us many beautifully mastered hit albums.
“Stop Digital Madness!” - Doug Sax
Jim Blakely Paul, this is a very good idea.
That's a great suggestion but it has a flaw. If we went direct to tape then the dynamic range would forever be limited. While a great tape deck, it is still only analog tape and limited to about 70dB. By recording to the Sonoma system first we maintain forever the dynamics of the live event. And, remember, DSD is actually as close to analog as one can get yet without the dynamic limitations. This allows us to mix in analog on the Studer and then go back through the Sonoma system for the final master. From there we can make DSD, PCM, and even vinyl masters without any loss whatsoever.
The vinyl would then forever be compromised from a digital source.
*Eureka!* Record simultaneously to the A80 as Doug Sax did with The Moscow Sessions to preseve the analog from which you can then press half-speed mastered vinyl.
Do what you want with the digital recording.
In a marketing experiment you can sell vinyl in the AAA and DDA formats.See which way sells more discs.
@@Paulmcgowanpsaudio You could still go direct to an A80 when recording less dynamic folk or soft rock music.
Yes Revox Studer
Woah! How the hell did you score Neil's Studer (and the Record Plant)?! OMG! I recognized it the second I saw it! (It is on one of his LP covers, I forget which, I'll have to look).
Paul, I don't want to come off as harsh, I know you guys are all into digital, but PLEASE don't you dare try to digitize it!!!! Paul, I'm begging you! That piece belongs in the Smithsonian eventually! Please respect it! Analog to analog please! Mess it up and you will be answering to a lot of super pissed off people!
It is a piece of history as you stated! To me, original pressing vinyl records are also historical documents and some of them are indeed in the Smithsonian and other important preservation institutions. Some of the equipment is of the same caliber.
Eric Elliott by recording initially to DSD, the first master will be higher quality, higher fidelity than any other method currently possible. Therefore, the end result will be better. The best r2r ever manufactured pales compared to DSD.
@Dave Micolichek I totally agree. Analog recordings, if done well, can elevate the soul to new levels, BUT, DSD if done well can do the job better. I think the reason is, as Paul explained in a video within the last week, is that DSD is almost analog. He stated that when you look at the output of a DSD recorder, It looks analog, not digital. I can't explain why, but I trust Paul. And, compared to the best analog recorders, DSD has far less noise, better frequency response, better distortion. Heck, it's better in every way. It's kind of ;like having a Corvette (a great car), and then upgrading to a Lamborghini. EVERYTHING improves. The major factor in how the final result sounds is not as much as in the medium used, but in the care taken in each and every step to faithfully reproduce what you are recording. But, at this date and time, the medium that allows you to do the best job (everything else the same) is DSD. And I am 100% sure Paul would agrees. Otherwise, he would not be doing it that way.
@@doowopper1951 You couldn't be more wrong. Digital is digital and analog is analog, period, end if story. Digital can sound great if done correctly and kept in the digital realm, but mix digital and analog and all you get is a hot mess that sounds like crap and is fatiguing within seconds.
Have you ever heard digital pressed to analog? I’d rather listen to nails on a chalkboard. DSD, MQA, PCM or whatever the latest acronyms are, it is all bs.
If I want an analog recording, I want as close to AAA (tape to analog master board and out the same way). If I want digital, then keep it in the digital realm. DSD is NOT analog, I don’t care what it looks like on some signal device.
Much of the music I listen to is before digital. The CD versions all sound like crap compared to the vinyl with very few exceptions. One example of digital and recording in general done correctly is Tori Amos. When she made albums (at least in her early part of her catalog), she recorded to both analog and digital and kept them separate. Analog got pressed to vinyl and digital went to CD. That is why her CDs sound fantastic as do the vinyl counterparts. The producer and engineers knew what they were doing.
I know most audiophiles don’t listen to vinyl and don’t like it, but they are not the rulers of everyone else. I’m not against digital as long as it is done right and kept in that realm.
That board is historically important, so could we not try to re-write history to some stinking agenda with music at least?! Please? It is bad enough we try to rewrite history to agenda in every other way, could we leave music alone?
If Paul is going to digitize or modernize that board to produce crap, I am buying it back right now! (I'm serious).If the studio is going to be digital then why pursue getting an analog board and more so, why that one?! Yes, analog boards are cheaper than digital boards, but he could have gotten any old board, why that one?
Eric Elliott well, Paul MGowan disagrees with you, and you do not know what you are talking about. And, I never said DSD was analog, just that a trace of its output is looks like an analog trace. And, yes, I have heard digital pressed/converted to analog. If it’s something originally recorded in PCM, it’s sounds crappy. If it was originally recorded DSD, or if PCM, recorded from an analog source then converted to analog, it can sound superb. MQA is a total joke, not even as good as 44.1/16 Redbook. Back in 1970, I has a reel to reel tape made from a master recorded on a Soundstream digital recorder. One of the best sounding recordings of any type I have ever heard. Too bad today’s digital recorders aren’t doing as good of a job as it did. Oh, well , (actually DSD does beat it, just as it beats any other form of recording ever)
@@doowopper1951 Well, I do know what I am talking about. I've had enough digital amps to know. Audio is a sticky subject and no two people will ever agree. It is all subjective except for the basics. I prefer analog and have room for digital, but keep them separate. Of course, Paul would not agree because he is a digital only guy, like most audiophiles. I am not an audiophile and would not want to be one.
I do agree fully about MQA! I was in early demos and all and it is a joke. That is to say it became a joke. It started out with good intent and no magic claims, but somehow got distorted and the inventors bought into that for some reason. MQA sounds exactly like CD, which is...or was, the whole point in the beginning. The point was to stream CD quality over the narrow US bandwidth and that is it. Some audiophiles and reviewers decided to make magic elixir (snake oil) out of it with wild claims and it snowballed from there.
I have trained ears and I can't tell the difference between high-rez and CD. I can tell the difference between MP3 320kps and CD, that is easy, anyone can tell that one. Of course, that was all on different systems, I have not tested all that on mine, don't have time.
My bigger concern is preserving history.
Didn't The Beatles try the same concept with Abbey Road Studios? Keep up the good work boys!
Any guesses on the studio monitors they are going to use? I'm tossing out Dynaudio in the ring.
It looks more like a 24+16 mixer? A 40 channel console would mean 40 channel in with 40 mic pres. Still probably a very nice console though.
Studer, the Rolls Royce of mixers.
BTW those mixers are approx 30 years old but still expensive 2nd hand.
I'm suprised you're using such an old fashioned desk by today's high end digital standards. You must have got a good deal whilst looking for an "analogue" sound. Will you be upgrading the Mic preamps?
Fun to see but isn't that control room where you you have the mixer a kind of “not so proper” for good acoustics? You probably have a good reason for doing that.
Wasn't it supposed to go into the Basement? . Looks impressive.
Why am I only seeing 12 meters on that board?
I take it that Neil is further embracing digital.
I could tell that beast was not fun to move even with the cards removed. Neither was the mastering deck. Now 40,000 10ufd/63v caps later...
Which model is it?
Can you get somebody to make a computer program for record mastering discs..? all the great Masters are no longer around but the recordings are, I was thinking if you take the analytics from the great recordings in history master recordings for vinyl put it in a computer program shouldn't be too difficult to do you could have the Ultimate master disc on Modern vinyl recordings but on perspex not vinyl. Especially if you use laser cutting what somebody has done I think in Japan what do you think Paul.
You can have a great master recordings who made some fantastic albums back in the day making new albums what are better than they were then but with their technique skillful touch. If you are courageous enough do that I want the first copy alright. Could be onto a winner could be the best recording house for vinyl in the world. Once specification is needed no digital of Sound to analogue it's got to be analogue all the way through ASP might be used here just saying
No freight elevator ? huh
Carefuling, carefuling
So glad to see that you're using an analog mixing board. And not only that but you're using one of the world's best and most historic. I like the direction you're going with your record label
Please show us those Sony SS-M9ED's
bensound.com or bensound.com?
error correction -- b e n e s o u n d?
Why is Minnesota the hi end audio capital?
I bet Larry Niles could carry it like he carries the comment section every video.
😂😂😂😂😂
That's brutal 😆🤣😂
Neil isn't so Young anymore. hahaha
Neil young hates digital audio.
endrizo No he doesn’t. He started Pono hi bit audio, both source and a portable player. But then he took the money and ran, just like he abandoned his wife who recently died of cancer. He's pretty much worthless as a human being...
@@needlesswords didnt know that, thanks for the info...just saying he hates digital audio i have an interview in guitar player magazine he talked shit all over digital audio and recordings..he did that many years.
endrizo en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pono_(digital_music_service)
@@needlesswords yes he is, self absorbed piece of shite, but he made a few good albums.
hifi noob 2018: I'm not trying to detract from Paul's new toy. Neil has done some great art.
My hope is that since he has all of the parts available, Paul will try some three channel mixing on the new console and then some playback tests! :)
I hope your new facilities have a elevator. If not, your not thinking about the physically handicapped people in our world, which happens a lot. Thus the need for the federal mandate, ADA.
Why are you going to take out all the analog equipment isn’t that going to destroy all of it’s history that seems to be wrong to me. All that’s going to be original will be the cabinet 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
According to some audiophiles this is just a tool. It is not pleasant to listen to music through it. Bless.
👍👍👍 cannot wait to hear one of your new releases with wide dynamic range. I’ve made it my goal in life to never purchased compressed music ever again. And two in lightened those who do not know any better and let them hear the difference so they too can jump on the bandwagon of not giving money to recording company to record that music.