Yamaha MQ1602 "Japa-Neve" Mixer - Fully recapped + Direct-Outs - Tamura transformers, fat Pres. 4 band EQ

At Herscheid & the Headbangers — Yamaha MQ1602 with Direct Outs in excellent condition.

A beautifully maintained, serviced and upgraded vintage mixer with lots of iron, personality and audio transformers!

These MQ-series mixers are loved for their musicality, routing flexibility, and that unmistakable Tamura transformer tone shared with classics like the Yamaha PM-1000 and several high-end TEAC consoles.

This unit was handled with great care during servicing, preserving originality while improving reliability and expanding studio usefulness.

Service & Maintenance Performed

• Direct outs added to all 16 channels (post-EQ, post-fader)
• All pots, faders, selectors, inputs, and outputs cleaned — smooth, noise-free operation
• Nichicon capacitors (same as the originals) replaced on every channels, power section and other boards. Nichicon Muse used where schematics calls for bipolar caps.
• Very good shape for it's age. I think it was properly stored which is very good for some parts like the faders. I very highly recommend to cover the faders on the MQ mixers when not in use because of the lack of proper dust covers.
• I'm still working on removing the glue residues below the pan pot bit by bit. That area should look better when I ship the mixer.

Features & Highlights of the MQ Mixers

• Tamura mic input transformers on every channel for a rich, musical, vintage colored character
• Tamura output transformer on the main program out
• 4-band cut/boost EQ per channel — highly flexible tone shaping
• Echo send/return (use with any external effect), switchable +4 dB / –20 dB
• Foldback channel for monitoring or creative routing
• Low noise floor
• Direct outs + Tamura transformers = excellent for multitrack recording with analog dimension

The MQ Series operating manual is widely available online for more specific specs.

This is a rare opportunity to own a professionally serviced MQ1602 with modern workflow upgrades while keeping the legendary vintage tone fully intact.

I’d love to ship the mixer in the roadcase shown, but I understand how unpredictable and expensive shipping can be. It will be fully insured no matter what and we can work out the details case by case. Feel free to reach out through my website with any questions or offers. Thanks!