Turtlerock Forum

Hey Guys,
Was gonna post this question on prodigy pro forum as well but its taking a while to register. This question is for anyone who knows a bit about those old helios mic pre's from around the olympic studio era. I've been trying to find out if anyone makes clones of the mic transformer: Lustraphone M10. I was speaking to Brian from Sowter, who is a really helpful guy btw. Hope he doesn't mind me quoting him, but I reckon this could generate a few orders for them:
"We supplied many hundreds of type 3374 to Helios during the '70s
until their closure."

"Spec. for 3374 is ..... 200ohm/ 5kohm, turns ratio 1:5, frequency
response +or- 0.5dB 20Hz - 20kHz with Electrostatic screens and
Mumetal can, size 34mm diam x 44mm high with fixing by 9mm
brass theaded bush in one end (could be done in a can 34mm
diam x 38mm high with two 3mm threaded holes for fixing).
Price is 44.36 pounds sterling."

"In the early '90s we made another using customers specification for
a Lustraphone/Helios replica console, our type No. 7490 for
200ohm primary with turns ratio 1:10.5 with secondary tap for
200ohm (ie:- 1:1). Frequency response +or- 0.5dB 30hz - 20kHz in
mumetal can 34mm diam x 24mm high fixing by two M3 threaded
holes.
Price 36.25 pounds sterling."

"Unfortunately we do not know if either of these were for the m10."

Does anyone know, I'm tempted to get both and give them a try?

the real helios stuff is pretty thin on the ground and its all stuff of myths and legends, there was only a hand full of boards all custom and all different and the olympic boards were the apparently the pick of the bunch

there was a pair of olympic modules kicking around melbourne for a while 5-6 years ago but i neaver actually laid my eyes on them

and a fellow in sydney had a small board he brought over from england and i believe he has now sold it ( and now he has a neve)

so my thoughts are really along the lines of get whatever you can that looks promising and see how they go
you are not going to get a black or white answer about any thing helios
but i am sure you will find more experts then there are modukes out there

the boys at vintage king will be your best source they seem to have bought and sold every real helios i have ever heard of

I have schematics for the Helios 69 pre they are remaking and photocopy pics of the pre/ line amp boards somewhere, from when i was thinking about cloning them!!! My old man brought his custom built desk with him when he moved to Aus in the 70's.

you have /had a helios?

I grew up with a really cool spaceship control surface as a kid (that i wasn't allowed to touch!!!), as i was not old enough to realise that it was being used to record the music. But then getting into music thought it was dads old desk that he built and could never be as cool as some of the ones around the studio's of Brissie that i was working in. But alas as i'm now quite a bit older and a muso with a VEH, that old desk of dads is actually 16 channels of killer 70's vintage gear. And for the record i cannot even pry a single channel out of the desk, hence the reason why i was thinking about cloning.

it's just as well you can't part out the desk, barney!

it's really worrying how many people think a single pre is better than the routing and bussing options of a console!!!

chris.

This is a fairly pointless link, but, in true young-fart style, it did let me see what the heck one of the Helios consoles actually look/ed/s like!

http://www.classicelectronics.com/Photo ... nsole.html

Well only one way to find out about them...know someone who's got one!
or buy one?
I agree a console does make a massive difference over pre...but who's got time to build one :wink:
Hey Barney, I'm going to atempt to build a clone pre/eq so I can see what its about....see if I like it, probably won't sound like the original- like most clones will probably sound mostly like it (if I get it right). Ordering trans (sistors & former) now.

mfdu wrote:it's just as well you can't part out the desk, barney!

it's really worrying how many people think a single pre is better than the routing and bussing options of a console!!!

chris.

Great comment.......a future generation of recordists will think out time was insane pulling all our consoles apart to keep the cash flow happening.

"Great comment.......a future generation of recordists will think out time was insane pulling all our consoles apart to keep the cash flow happening."

Especially since those future generations will have millions of busted b*er*ing*her stuff piling up around them....unless someone figures out a way to recycle them.

'Shoddy studio gear recycling plant' could be business plan? slogan could be - help protect our ears & the enviroment...ok back to work for me.