WANT TO TRADE: MAGNATONE CUSTOM 280 AMP FOR PAIR OF AMPEX 350 PREAMPS

pearson.me <[email protected]> wrote:
>Title says it all. I have a fully functional Magnatone Custom 280 that I
>want to trade for a pair of Ampex 350 preamps. Please let me know if you
>are interested. Thanks.

The Ampex 350 is a tape machine.

Some people are mutilating perfectly good tape machines in order to use
the electronics packages in them as preamps. This is not only a misguided
idea, but frankly they aren't very good preamps. When I used a 350 in the
field regularly, I used external preamps because the internal ones weren't
clean enough.

But there is no "Ampex 350 preamp." What you want is the electronic package
gutted out of a chopped up Ampex 350.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

You are clearly wrong. The Ampex 350 preamps are stand-alone monoblock
preamps and they are not physically attached to the Ampex 350 transport. I
know, my brother owns a pair along with the matching 350 transport.
"Scott Dorsey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:g3c1v7$lrs$1@panix2.panix.com...
> pearson.me <[email protected]> wrote:
>>Title says it all. I have a fully functional Magnatone Custom 280 that I
>>want to trade for a pair of Ampex 350 preamps. Please let me know if you
>>are interested. Thanks.
>
> The Ampex 350 is a tape machine.
>
> Some people are mutilating perfectly good tape machines in order to use
> the electronics packages in them as preamps. This is not only a misguided
> idea, but frankly they aren't very good preamps. When I used a 350 in the
> field regularly, I used external preamps because the internal ones weren't
> clean enough.
>
> But there is no "Ampex 350 preamp." What you want is the electronic
> package
> gutted out of a chopped up Ampex 350.
> --scott
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

pearson.me <[email protected]> wrote:
>You are clearly wrong. The Ampex 350 preamps are stand-alone monoblock
>preamps and they are not physically attached to the Ampex 350 transport. I
>know, my brother owns a pair along with the matching 350 transport.

They are not preamps. They are electronics packages. They have a mike
preamp in them, but they also have record amps, playback amps, a bias
oscillator, and everything else required to make the tape machine
function.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Well Scott, at least we now agree that the Ampex 350 "preamps" are stand
alone monoblocks, not something that you chop out of a tape deck. And you
are right with regards to the fact that they have playback and record preamp
sections as well as a mike section. Truly versatile PREAMPS.
"Scott Dorsey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:g3c2tr$p70$1@panix2.panix.com...
> pearson.me <[email protected]> wrote:
>>You are clearly wrong. The Ampex 350 preamps are stand-alone monoblock
>>preamps and they are not physically attached to the Ampex 350 transport.
>>I
>>know, my brother owns a pair along with the matching 350 transport.
>
> They are not preamps. They are electronics packages. They have a mike
> preamp in them, but they also have record amps, playback amps, a bias
> oscillator, and everything else required to make the tape machine
> function.
> --scott
>
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

pearson.me wrote:
> Well Scott, at least we now agree that the Ampex 350 "preamps" are stand
> alone monoblocks, not something that you chop out of a tape deck. And
> you are right with regards to the fact that they have playback and
> record preamp sections as well as a mike section. Truly versatile PREAMPS.

What's a "monoblock?" I've heard that term used to describe power
amplifiers, but not preamps. And to you they might be truly versatile
preamps. To anyone who ever connected a microphone to an Ampex 350,
they're truly mediocre preamps, something to be bypassed whenever
possible. That's why they have line inputs.

Sadly some studio got written up in a trade magazine several years ago
and said that they used Amepx 350 electronics for preamps and ever since
then the prices have gone up so much that people are cannibalizing
perfectly good recorders to make some bucks on the electronics. This is
not a good place to look for compardres, compadre.

By the way, Sowter now makes accurate replicas of the input and output
transformers, and the circuitry for the preamp and power supply is very
simple. Probably the next most expensive part is the big VU meter, which
you don't need other than to impress visitors. I'm surprised that there
isn't someone making these for sale with brand new better-than-original
parts and a warranty now.



--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me here:
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
([email protected])

Mike,
There is no cannibalization going on. I want to use the Ampex 350s straight
up. I don't care if you like them or not. I am just looking for someone
who wants a trade. As far as "monoblocks" go, yes, that term is normally
applied to power amps. These are mono preamps. And nobody is cannibalizing
350 preamps. Again, they are separate units built into their own chassis.
I feel like I am dealing with people who don't know or don't understand what
the Ampex 350 preamps really are. Again, my brother owns a pair with the
outboard tube power supplies that he is using with a tape transport and they
sound fantastic which is why I want a pair of them. I am never going to
plug a mic into them and I could care less what they sound like with a mic.
I only care what they sound like reproducing what comes off a tape head.
Mark
"Mike Rivers" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:gPh6k.21281$3j2.19825@trnddc03...
> pearson.me wrote:
>> Well Scott, at least we now agree that the Ampex 350 "preamps" are stand
>> alone monoblocks, not something that you chop out of a tape deck. And
>> you are right with regards to the fact that they have playback and record
>> preamp sections as well as a mike section. Truly versatile PREAMPS.
>
> What's a "monoblock?" I've heard that term used to describe power
> amplifiers, but not preamps. And to you they might be truly versatile
> preamps. To anyone who ever connected a microphone to an Ampex 350,
> they're truly mediocre preamps, something to be bypassed whenever
> possible. That's why they have line inputs.
>
> Sadly some studio got written up in a trade magazine several years ago and
> said that they used Amepx 350 electronics for preamps and ever since then
> the prices have gone up so much that people are cannibalizing perfectly
> good recorders to make some bucks on the electronics. This is not a good
> place to look for compardres, compadre.
>
> By the way, Sowter now makes accurate replicas of the input and output
> transformers, and the circuitry for the preamp and power supply is very
> simple. Probably the next most expensive part is the big VU meter, which
> you don't need other than to impress visitors. I'm surprised that there
> isn't someone making these for sale with brand new better-than-original
> parts and a warranty now.
>
>
>
> --
> If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach me
> here:
> double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
> ([email protected])

On Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:42:29 -0400, "pearson.me"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Mike,
>There is no cannibalization going on. I want to use the Ampex 350s straight
>up. I don't care if you like them or not. I am just looking for someone
>who wants a trade. As far as "monoblocks" go, yes, that term is normally
>applied to power amps. These are mono preamps. And nobody is cannibalizing
>350 preamps. Again, they are separate units built into their own chassis.
>I feel like I am dealing with people who don't know or don't understand what
>the Ampex 350 preamps really are. Again, my brother owns a pair with the
>outboard tube power supplies that he is using with a tape transport and they
>sound fantastic which is why I want a pair of them. I am never going to
>plug a mic into them and I could care less what they sound like with a mic.
>I only care what they sound like reproducing what comes off a tape head.

What tape head? WTF are you talking about?

Put down de pipe, Mon.

pearson.me wrote:

> There is no cannibalization going on. I want to use the Ampex 350s
> straight up.

So you want to trade your Magnatone Custom 280 for an Ampex 350 recorder?

> nobody is cannibalizing 350 preamps. Again, they are separate units
> built into their own chassis. I feel like I am dealing with people who
> don't know or don't understand what the Ampex 350 preamps really are.

You're the one who doesn't understand what they are. An Ampex 350
electronics chassis is a component of a recorder. While you may not be
looking to modify the electronics chassis, but just plug a mic into it,
switch the monitor switch to Input, and connect the line output to the
next thing in your recording chain, what you're doing is taking a good
recorder out of service because it no longer has its electronics. It's
sort of like removing the transmission from a perfectly good car and
using it just in one gear as part of the drive train in a powered
wheelchair.

> Again, my brother owns a pair with the outboard tube power supplies that
> he is using with a tape transport and they sound fantastic which is why
> I want a pair of them.

So borrow your brother's. Or listen to some other preamps. There are
lots of fantastic sounding preamps out there.

> I am never going to plug a mic into them and I
> could care less what they sound like with a mic. I only care what they
> sound like reproducing what comes off a tape head.

Duh!!!! Well, that's a very different story, but you probably don't
know that the head-to-preamp interface is a very important part of the
design of a recorder. The 350 electronics are designed to work with the
heads used on a 350. What tape deck are you planning to use them with?
Do you have a 350 chassis and heads? You might think your brother's TEAC
sounds fantastic when connected to 350 head preamps, but it doesn't
sound right. There are all sorts of ways that you can make a tape deck
sound inaccurate in an appealing way.




--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me here:
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
([email protected])