Selling my long beloved MCI 416A. It’s been modified (long ago) to include Midrange cut, like a 416B. Still running at +/- 24volt with the original and very characterful 2001 and 911 opamps. Beyer mic transformers on all the channels and classic inductor EQs
These consoles are sleepers, and there is iron everywhere in this thing. Transformers all over, the sound is thick, chesty, colorful. It is truly the sound of the 1970s, and that’s why I love it. They rarely come up for sale, and since they have a quad mix buss, you can use it in very creative ways. These are rock and roll desks, known for being high headroom and great for drums and guitars.
Known as the desk used on so many hit records… Pink Floyd Animals, The Wall… Elton John… The Eagles… Back In Black so many more
I’ve loved this console for a long time, and have done work when needed. Added some Bova opamps to the master and monitor section, which helped immensely. All the channels have remained stock, with the exception of the EQ mod.
I love the sound of the mic preamps especially. Have used them on everything, and records with Bob Weir, Kevin Morby, The National, Goose, The Hold Steady, Craig Finn and hundreds more. I used to mix on the desk, but haven’t in some time. I changed my mixing workflow a few years ago, and have used the desk mainly for tracking preamps and EQ. The EQ is limited and broad, but certainly musical and useful.
Some info:
All power supplies were recapped about 8 years ago. 16 channels recapped between 3-4 years ago ELCO connections for patchbay XLRs installed on 16 mic inputs 2 channels have a channel mute mod, and different mic gain location than the rest (unknown why-maybe from another console at some point years ago)�
Issues: 6 line inputs currently down 5 mic preamps down A handful of EQs are dirty, need pot cleaning Only 6 of the fader lights work. They are very difficult to replace, so I didn’t ever bother
Some faders are dirty and noisy. Nature of the beast, to a degree. They can be cleaned.
A few bulbs are out here and there. They go randomly, and cost about .16 each, so it’s good to have a bunch of spares around
I’ve pulled all the meter bulbs, but have a batch of them. The bulbs actually introduce noise, so I ditched them in favor of a quieter console. It’s apparently a very cheap mod to buffer them to remove noise, but I never cared to do it
I haven’t diagnosed the issues with the preamps or line inputs. Often, an opamp goes bad, and that’s all it is. They last a good long while but occasionally one goes out, which is why I have a lot of spares. Other times, it’s just a broken wire or a bad cap.
Basically, I used it most often like it was a 16 channel desk, so I never freaked out about anything going down. And as with any desk of this age, things happen. Sometimes EQs get funky, sometimes a fader gets weird, a light goes out, etc… it’s just the nature of the beast.
Cosmetically it’s pretty good. A few chips on the wood legs. The padded armrest could use a refresh at this point. Some knobs aren’t original. Although I have recently seen very close reproductions available. For years, you were out of luck. The pan knobs are the easiest to break. They’re brittle. But I think there is now a replacement, or close at least. All of the proper push switches are intact, which is nice.
Local pickup in the Hudson Valley, NY - or shipping at the buyers expense. I’ll assist where I can with shipping, but most of it will have to be handled by the buyer.
