Allen & Heath GS3 - Full Checkout

[@bassbob42]

Thanks for taking the mystery out of this fine board. I bought on a couple of years ago and this really helps a lot.

[@FarewellOldFriends]

Have just been looking at your KZbin & SoundCloud channels - all live sets from hardware instruments - sounds great and looks like great fun - there's nothing like doing a hands-on mix with real faders! BTW, I mixed a jazz quartet album from a live digital multitrack recording a few years ago, and the bassist/producer preferred the sound when mixed through the GS3 rather than 'in-the-box', so there's clearly some mileage in that 'rounding out' of the sound through the old console.

[@FarewellOldFriends]

Good to hear you fixed the GS3's intermittents! The DLX and GS3 seem similar in features. I always felt Soundcraft were more stage PA oriented, so the DLX may be more robust than the GS3. Nice DLX features - XLR outs, better jack sockets, more pre-fade options on auxes, But only 4 buses on DLX? JW mods sound pricey - it might be more cost-effective to just buy one good standalone mono or stereo mic preamp for critical tracking use.

[@FarewellOldFriends]

FYI I have looked at my old records and find that, just like you, I was reporting output bus intermittency ('especially 5/6 and 7/8') when I wrote to A&H in January 2002 suspecting a harness problem. They told me the harness was part AL0548, which cost me £33.83. Unfortunately, that reference doesn't tie up with the part number in the service manual, which - as I read it - is ZX000-112, so you'd better take advice from A&H, if they're still prepared to discuss this model - Good luck!

[@kankantandikaigorotan1496]

thanx for sharing

[@clemalford9768]

I had one I bought back in 1999 but the midi muting was a bit strange and the power supply got 'noisy'! Nice desk though with lots of inputs and outputs. Got married and sold it!!

[@FarewellOldFriends]

Hi Clem - When I finally started trying to use the MIDI muting a year after I had bought the console, I too found it strange, but finally discovered that the muting processor board was working erratically due to poor soldering in manufacture. A&H supplied a replacement board and that fixed the problem. It worked fine then, but I never seriously used the facility, as I was mostly recording live jazz bands, for whom playing to click was anathema!

[@CarroBelga]

I was given a GS3 today, where is the "main output" so I can plug the desk into my computer?

[@FarewellOldFriends]

If you are completely new to this mixer, or to the whole subject of mixers, you should go to Allen & Heath's website where, unlike most manufacturers, they still provide documentation for their discontinued products. You should download it all and and print out the manual for reference. Start here (link valid 16 April 2021): www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/gs3/ There are several ways of connecting this mixer to your computer, depending on what sort of audio interface you have. The manual takes you through that (although it pre-dates DAWs, so consider a 2-track sound card as a 2-track tape - or DAT - recorder, or a multi-track sound card as a 'multi-track recorder'). There are many tutorial videos on mixers on KZbin. Have fun!

[@Proletkultist]

GREAT VIDEO! I've got an issue with my mute buttons flashing on and off randomly which makes the board inoperable. Have you had any experience with this. A&H (audio technica) never called back :-( I have 2 gs3's (24 and 32ch) and both have issues of different sorts but the mute issue is on the 32ch and a real pain in the bum!!

[@FarewellOldFriends]

Thanks for the compliment! When I bought my GS3, MIDI muting seemed a good idea, but in practice I never used it for the first 12 months. When I did, I realised it was behaving erratically. It turned out to be a poorly soldered processor board. I was able to remove it and send it back to A&H for replacement, after which it worked fine. I was amazed that until I sold it (20 or so years later, as in the video), the NiCd battery on that board was still holding preset data! So I suspect you have a processor board problem of some sort. You would have to get the service manual and have a prod around with a scope. A job for a techie! At least you have a reference unit to compare it with... Good luck!

[@FarewellOldFriends]

Well a new ribbon cable certainly worked for me - your experience does sound rather similar... The GS3 is a crossover between the old 'electronics is unreliable - make it easy to swap cards' and the modern 'make it reliable and bung everything on one board' design philosophies. It seems to have been the worst of both worlds! Can you still get those IDC connectors? BTW, the MIDI board's double-sided PCB with its non-plated-through holes and hand-soldered wire vias was riddled with dry joints!

[@IHSisable]

17:38

[@FarewellOldFriends]

Pardon my rumbling stomach!