How bad is a TAC scorpion, exactly?

[Sammas]

I hear things. An array of things...


ranging from "boat anchor" to "beats the heck out of a mackie".

Granted it's no SSL, but is it capable of making decent quality mixes? Or am I
just better off staying digital and mixing in the box?

[no-fi]

Well first up, I don't have a scorpion (bought an allan and heath system8 a while ago, and I really really like it for electronic music) but I was seriously contemplating upgrading to a scorpion a while a go so read up a lot.... the scorpion gives you channels that can be removed from the chassis separately which is really nice if you ever need to repair anything or want to mod things without disassembling the whole mixer and messing up your whole studio. Also TAC gear is still supported by audiomaintenance in the UK.. so you can get parts for it if things die.

I think you'll find it's a decent project studio mixer. It will take its inputs, buss them down nicely, and add a bit of noise and distortion. The EQ will probably do something nice and usable most of the time, and you'll be able to mix just like people did in project studios in the 80s.

they seem to be worth about $1000 at the moment. (see the one for $1500 just sitting on ebay for the last few weeks with no buyers... for $1000 it would be well and truly sold by now)

the pro studio guys mixers seem to still be anything from 10k up... i'm sure they're way better, but if you don't have 10k+++++ to spend on one, then how great they are is a moot point...

Bottom line, I expect a scorpion will do alright at giving you a mixing desk experience.... but if all you care about here is just the finished sound, and you are happy with the finished sound you can get ITB, then you are probably better off staying in the box for mixing.... maybe spend $$$ on some sort of fancy control surface or something.

[NYMo]

Hi there,

I used to own a TAC Scorpion.

It was Ok at the time...I always enjoy mixing in a mixer
rather than ITB..but thats me..Eq was Ok.

Whatever happened to that nice IL 48 you had ?

Cheers
N
Y
MO

[Sammas]

Hi there,

I used to own a TAC Scorpion.

It was Ok at the time...I always enjoy mixing in a mixer
rather than ITB..but thats me..Eq was Ok.

Whatever happened to that nice IL 48 you had ?

Cheers
N
Y
MO

It was only an IL 36, but rather nice (well... I thought anyway. I know
rick has different thoughts :wink:). I sold it to fund a frolic through Europe.
I ended up spending almost 2 years living out of London, traveling, working
in mostly the live events industry, drinking, partying, etc.

It was a worthy sacrifice, but now I am mixerless... and have a whole bunch
of gear that continually requires repatching to track stuff. Namely, synths, drum
machines, etc. To be able to utilize the individual outputs on my TR-808 will
save a huge amount of time in itself.

The inline was bought by a guy named Andrew if I remember correctly. He
said it was his second IL3632 and that it was used to mix Gyroscopes late
single (that was in late 2007/early 2008). It would be nice to have it back.
heh. There is no replacing the memories/friends/experience that I gained
from selling it though.

[NYMo]

Hi there,

Nath, when I listen to my synth recordings over the years (30!) one of the punchiest sounds I had was when I
had 2 Roland M240 line mixers...linked (no eq model)

You could get those for a song and that gives you 48 inputs and a stereo out.
Compact at well !

Cheers
N
Y
M
O

[jkhuri44]

Hi there,
one of the punchiest sounds I had was when I
had 2 Roland M240 line mixers...linked (no eq model)

interesting...better than more expensive mixers? please tell me it sounds better than a neve :P

[rick]

there is a lot of love about from experienced tac users
i havent really used one since about 1988
and then only on a few sessions

jeez i think we all need to put this stuff into perspective
all these consoles kicking about were very expensive and very usable devices in their day
no matter what colour they are painted or what the current market price is

there was a 40 chn tac sitting in my foyer for months with full moving fader automation
it cost mega bucks new , but the guy that owned it eventually GAVE it away for $1000 !
because his free "storage " was up

the guys that have it now havent even installed it because its scares them !

my advice is take a punt on a big cheap desk if you want one
if you dont ...
leave em alone ..
the internet wont tell you what you need to know about a console

[Mickstape]

my advice is take a punt on a big cheap desk if you want one
if you dont ...
leave em alone ..
the internet wont tell you what you need to know about a console

thanks for that one Rick, it really put it into perspective for me in regards to my other post about mixers, i guess i'll have to hook it up and see how it sounds before handing over the flash.

[Sammas]

there is a lot of love about from experienced tac users
i havent really used one since about 1988
and then only on a few sessions

jeez i think we all need to put this stuff into perspective
all these consoles kicking about were very expensive and very usable devices in their day
no matter what colour they are painted or what the current market price is

there was a 40 chn tac sitting in my foyer for months with full moving fader automation
it cost mega bucks new , but the guy that owned it eventually GAVE it away for $1000 !
because his free "storage " was up

the guys that have it now havent even installed it because its scares them !

my advice is take a punt on a big cheap desk if you want one
if you dont ...
leave em alone ..
the internet wont tell you what you need to know about a console

Words of wisdom as usual, Rick. My original comment was tongue in cheek as
I am of the inevitable variables that make something a 'good buy'. Budget, purpose,
ears, etc, etc. Still, I find it useful to at least garner some user feedback, advice, etc.

If you end up with a pesky console just hanging around again, be sure to let me know... ;)

[rick]

there IS a 32 channel audiotronics !

[Ausrock]

there IS a 32 channel audiotronics !

$$$ ?

[mylesgm]

which model auditronics? The one from ebay a week or so ago?

M

[rick]

nah its the same one thats been here for ages
but my neotec trm auction kind of set a lowball price for large desks in sydney
so we havent made any attempt to sell it

i think its a 501 but it might be a 701
36 chn 24 buss 24 meters .. its a really really good board
but its not mine to sell
steves been looking for 10 -12k but none of us want to move it -next week when we move studios
so make him an offer he cannot understand and see what gives
even just so i dont have to move it !
*******steve@stevefrancis.com.au******