In the 1980’s world of home recording there were some brands that owned the space. We look at three of the most popular that we really don’t talk about any more.

SECK

As the home recording revolution was gaining momentum in the UK, a British company, Bandive, brought a range of affordable and capable mixers to the market, the brand was SECK.

Depending on who you ask, SECK is described as either “amazing value for money” or “a terrible POS”. No one can doubt that the first quote was true at the time, the second was perhaps people who didn’t understand what they were buying.

The hero of the piece was the SECK 1882, often sold with the Fostex B16 or Tascam 38, two popular multitracks in the day. This from the ‘Home Studio Recording’ review at the time…

“The Seck 1882 is an 18 input channel mixer with 8 subgroups that may be switched between two sets of outputs which would normally be wired directly to a 16 track tape recorder such as the Fostex B-16, or equally so to an 8 track like the Tascam 38. A stereo master output is also provided which may be configured to act as two additional subgroup outputs, or when in a PA situation they can be used as the master output feeds to the PA stack.”

The mixer in 1985 cost just under £1,500 (£4,334.24 with inflation today). This may sound costly, but in 1985 the SECK 1882 was a bargain and sold like hotcakes. It offered a ton of features for the price.

This was the conclusion of that review;

“The Seck Model 1882 mixer is an excellent desk that makes recording with an 8 or 16 track machine simplicity itself. The clearly-written handbook contains some very useful diagrams and setting up procedures for both studio and live work plus a few tips on wiring cables.

The mixer is quiet in operation (input noise better than -124dBu) and has very low distortion figures and a wide frequency response. One surprising feature of the mixer is that its operational output level is +4dB - a little strange when you consider that this is primarily a semi-pro mixer that would no doubt be used with budget equipment running at the -10dB level. This could prove problematic and it would have been nice to see a switchable output level. However, simple level matching devices are available so there's nothing to worry about; incidentally, the Seck optional meter bridge includes a level matching circuit of its own as standard.”

Other mixers were made including the SECK 1282 and the SECK 122, both were equally popular.

TAC - Total Audio Concepts

After SECK, we move on to Total Audio Concepts, or TAC for short. Their take on the 80s mixer couldn’t have been more different than the SECK.

Take the TAC Scorpion, a hugely popular mixer at the time, was built like a tank, which meant heavy, and wasn’t aimed at the budget end of the market. The TAC Scorpion was a modular mixer, meaning that you could configure it in several different options. In 1985 a 16-8-2+16 version would set you back £4,443 (£12,838.03 with inflation today)

The Scorpion felt much more like a real console, for those coming from larger studios. It offered several different channels to fit into the chassis.

• S1000 - Mic/line input channel with an electronically balanced input stage

• S2000 - Auxiliary Master Modules

• S3000 - Monitor Mix Channel

• S3001 - Subgroup Matrix

• S3002 - Monitor Mix/Subgroup Channel

• S4000 - Master Output Module

TAC were regarded as solid consoles, more suited to the smaller commercial studio than the home, for one thing, the weight meant this was unlikely to find a home in a bedroom studio!

This is what Sound On Sound said about the TAC Scorpion in their July 1988 review;

“I had a great time working with this mixing desk. I've criticised some operational features - the fact that inserts send post-EQ signal, the direct output level being controlled by the fader, etc - but really they're the only criticisms. The pros for this desk certainly outweigh any cons and make quite a list:

• Beautifully clear, quiet sound.

• Great equalisation.

• Handsome appearance.

• Solid construction - all-steel chassis.

• Extremely flexible (with enough variations of input and output jacks to boggle your mind and dual operating levels for compatibility with any system).

• Fully modular - allowing you to carry on mixing in the event of a single module needing repair...

• Straightforward to install.

• Comprehensive and well-written manual.”

You can still buy these consoles today for under £2,000, and get parts too. For those looking for some British vintage console goodness, a TAC Scorpion is still a good buy.

Soundtracs

Sat somewhere between the SECK and TAC price points was a fantastic British brand Soundtracs.

Soundtracs produced some of the best sounding and most innovative mixing consoles during the 80s and early 90s. Starting with the 16-8-16, a solid yet compact serious mixer. Although not modular, the Soundtracs 16-8.18 offered a ton of stuff. Price for the 16-8-16 in 1984 was £1,836.35 (£5,578.83 with inflation today).

This is what Sound On Sound said about the 16-8-16 in the January 1984 edition;

“This is one of the best mixers around - I might even be tempted to say 'the' best, for its price. It sports a host of 'user friendly' features (as Soundout call them), that increase the ease with which the unit can be operated, and reduce the time required to come to grips with the beast. Overall construction is highly commendable as is performance. Tested with an MXR Drum Computer, the inherent noise of that machine was more evident than any contributing noise from the mixer itself. The semi-modular construction utilises PCB edge connectors making removal and replacement of problem boards a relatively simple task if a fault ever occurs.

The ability to inject 16 line inputs plus the 16 monitors makes 32 track mixing a reality. The fader reverse facility is obviously a good one, and makes me wonder why more manufacturers haven't adopted it yet.

All in all, a highly recommended package that is ideally suited to 8-track with the built-in capabilities to handle full 16-track recording if it is required.”

Not ones for sitting on their hands, Soundtracs then produced new consoles at steady pace for the next decade or so. All of which proved to be solid offers and culminating in the flagship modular JADE console. The success of the Soundtracs series was made possible partly due to the relentless efforts of Don Larking, a legend in audio gear sales. If you are interested in knowing more about the Soundtracs JADE then check out this one for sale on the Larking Audio site.

As to where they are now… this from Wikipedia.

DiGiCo was founded in 2002 with the purchase of Soundtracs, a British company known for early innovations in digital mixing consoles. In 2002 DiGiCo released their first console, the D5 Live, followed by the DS00 for the broadcast and post-production market, the D5T, specifically designed for the musical theatre market, and the D1 for the live sound market.

Now, DigiCo are part of the Audiotonix Group, one of the largest audio brands who own Allen & Heath, Calrec, DiGiCo, DiGiGrid, Group One Ltd, KLANG:technologies, Solid State Logic, Sound Devices, Slate Digital, Harrison Audio Consoles. As they say, from little acorns…

Summary

We hope you like this trip down memory lane. For many of our readers, these desks were central to their early studio setups. The prices in the 80s were eye watering compared to today, especially when you think that in 1983 the average annual salary in the UK was £8,528. Even taking that into account, we couldn’t get enough of this stuff and many of us look back with fondness of this gear.

Thanks to the wonderful Muzines for some of the archive review content