No Inserts!!!

Dear fellow CBers,

I am in somewhat of a self-created dilemma. I recently have come into some capital to invest in my favorite company (my own). Lately I have been shopping around for a compressor/limiter and an EQ. Other topics have helped me with the selection of these items, but any general advice is accepted.

This isn't my problem however, My main mixing console is rather old and doesn't have any insert jacks. I believe its an Audio Centron Eclipse ACM-24 from the 80s before Crate bought the company out. I got the console off of ebay a while back. I really love the board, its simplistic, but it gets the job done and you can drive it hard without any issues. It's lack of insert jacks becomes a problem when you start talking about compressors. So my question is what can I do to solve this dilemma.

I have come up with several options, and any others are greatly appreciated.

1) I try to open the board and install my own insert jacks, however I don't know if i posess the skills to attempt such a feat and in addition to that, the board is built like a tank and is very hard to get open if not impossible.

2) I buy a rackmount pre-amp to feed the mic signal to then out to the compressor then finally out to the line input on my console. This however is more costly and involves a lot of cabeling back and fourth.

3) I run the items that I need compressed or limited through my Yamaha MG 12/4 which does have insert jacks, and then out to my other mixer. This sounds pretty good however it means another mixer that I have to deal with and haul to gigs.

4) I sell my ACM-24 and try to make some money back on it then combine it with other income to buy a new board, however I would hate to see my console go away and in the end I don't think I would have money to buy a compressor. And besides I dont think I could get a mixer with the same kind of features for only ~$800.

Once again I have come back to you all for help, and I know I won't be let down because we have some very intelligent and clever people on here. Thanks ahead of time for all of your replies.

Inspector_Gizmo
 
You can look at the Mackie CFX20.
 
save up for the Allen & Heath Mixwizard series... definitely worth the wait!

(bonus is you will be familiar with their interface if you ever decide to upgrade to their GL small concert series)
 
Why would you do that? If you're doing overall system compression on the main outs, you can just do it inline. Running it through another mixer and inserting on the mains would not only be a waste of money, but would be detrimental to the signal since you're adding all that extra processing (additional gain stages, EQ even if set flat, etc.) to it unnecessarily.

That said, overall system compression isn't very common in theatrical mixing, whereas you'll see it on almost every rock system out there. This is part a matter of style, and part a matter of theatre mixes tending to run at lower levels than rock mixes, so there is less need for protection.

--A
 
Yes Andy and Andy you are correct, I do want channel inserts. I tried opening my board up today, but unfortuantely I don't think I can get it open without breaking some part of it, so #1 is not an option.

The compressor I was looking at buying (Alesis 3630) says that you can input Mic signals so I may just be able to route my mics to it then to my board, however it does not use balanced connections which could possibly pose a problem.

Just to Clearify, I don't want overall compression, I already have a limiter built into my EQ and thats good enough for now.

Unless somebody comes up with a better solution I think I'm going to just save up some cash for a better board and in the meantime i can just use the pre-amps in my Yamaha to feed the compressor even though I don't find them to have a ton of headroom.

Thanks for everything.
 
I have the same type of board as you the audio centron eclipse acm-24
My problem is I have no power supply and wondered if you could send me the specs of your power supply so I can find one compatible. This is a church board and we need it up as soon as possible so please respond direct to my e-mail. [email protected]
 
I have the same type of board as you the audio centron eclipse acm-24
My problem is I have no power supply and wondered if you could send me the specs of your power supply so I can find one compatible. This is a church board and we need it up as soon as possible so please respond direct to my e-mail. [email protected]

I would suggest you PM inspector_gizmo, he/she has not been active on the site in over a year, I doubt this post will get seen. Usually, if the thread has not been touched in a long time the odds of people actually being able to answer you question is very small, good luck though.
 

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