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racinoffrd
11-12-2013, 03:54 PM
I bought a Soundcraftsmen G2241 EQ a few months ago and would like to know if there is any up-grades that I could have done to it. I don't have the knowledge do it so, I will need to have someone do it but first I would like to know if there is any up-grades that can be done. And how much the up-grades would help. I'm not to knowledgable to work on electronics I just like too listen to them. BTW is there anyone that has any info. on it?

BMWCCA
11-12-2013, 06:41 PM
Don't know if this is worth the effort, or not: http://homerecording.com/bbs/equipment-forums/rack/soundcraftsmen-eq-replacing-opamps-263397/

racinoffrd
11-12-2013, 08:16 PM
Ya, I have read that thread and I thought it sounded like a lot of work. I was just wondering if it makes a big difference in sound. Have you heard of this model of EQ? How far behind technology is it? I'm hoping it's not too far. I mean that most of (if not all is out dated)my stuff is "80's equipment. I'm O.K. with at. I just don't want it to be too far.

BMWCCA
11-12-2013, 09:16 PM
It's a decent model albeit with limited range (12dB) and adjustment (octave bands). Just depends on what you're looking for. I've used a lot of Soundcraftsmen EQs over the years and my favorite is the Pro-EQ 44. The controls just work better, have better range (15dB) covers 1/3 octave ranges. :dont-know:

racinoffrd
11-13-2013, 12:45 PM
Does that last 3db make that much of a difference? I thought it was a 1/3 octave?.

BMWCCA
11-14-2013, 07:50 PM
Does that last 3db make that much of a difference? I thought it was a 1/3 octave?.

Depends on how much EQ you need.
How many slide controls on each channel? 21 on the third-octave EQs. 10 would be 2/3.

:dont-know:

racinoffrd
11-15-2013, 09:18 AM
I see! What do you think about the DC4415 EQ? It's another popular EQ. I haven't seen the Pro EQ44 on ebay.

BMWCCA
11-15-2013, 08:08 PM
Soundcraftsmen made many versions of very similar EQs with different names, in different colors, with different graphics to match each newer version of their pre-amps, etc. Some were intended as add-ons to other systems or installations and others were matched to other Soundcraftsmen components. It's hard to follow all the different model numbers. Some are tall, some are short, some model numbers were 17-inches wide and others were 19. I've used and have several of them. The Pro-EQ 44 is the best of all of those I own.

What are you trying to accomplish?

hjames
11-15-2013, 08:12 PM
I see! What do you think about the DC4415 EQ? It's another popular EQ. I haven't seen the Pro EQ44 on ebay.

Maybe you need to wait a few weeks or months until one appears again ... patience, grasshopper.

racinoffrd
11-17-2013, 12:40 PM
I'm just looking for a good quality Soundcraftmen EQ. I'm not sure the one I got is it (G2241). I also have a Pro EQ22. I'm thinking of going back to that one. My G2241 smells like smoke and I don't like that too much. I would really like an EQ with 21 bands but I have not been able to find that. Maybe hjames is right I just need more patience.

BMWCCA
11-17-2013, 03:08 PM
The Pro-EQ 44 was made to be paired with the Pro-Control-Four control center pre-amp. Buy the pair and you'll be eternally happy!

racinoffrd
11-17-2013, 03:39 PM
Well, I do have the Pro Control Four. So, I think I'll stick with my Pro EQ 22. Or, should I do that? You wouldn't what to sale me yours, would you? Lol. :) I'll just keep looking for a Pro EQ 44. I'm curious, how do they make an EQ go with a certain preamp?

BMWCCA
11-17-2013, 04:12 PM
I'm curious, how do they make an EQ go with a certain preamp?

Pretty obvious, actually. Same way Crown made the SL2, FM2, and amps to match. It lets people buy what they want or need and, usually, add to it later. Some folks like some aesthetic coordination. Some don't care. The Pro-EQ 44 (the number of slide pots?) was integrated to work with the loop circuitry in the Pro-Control-Four, and the tape/line application, yet it's own controls allow it to function equally well with any other brand or system.

I use the Soundcraftsmen Pro-Control-Four, Pro-EQ 44, Pro-Tuner-Four but I run my Crown amps with them because I just like the sound better than the Pro-Power-Four. FM isn't that important to me. Most of my "radio" listening is off a Squeezebox Touch so I only bought one Pro-Tuner-Four and my other Soundcraftsmen/Crown system uses a Crown FM3. :dont-know:

racinoffrd
11-18-2013, 01:05 PM
Thanks guys! I'll just keep looking. Maybe I will get lucky and find a Pro EQ-44 some day.

racinoffrd
11-18-2013, 01:32 PM
By the way BMWCCA. Do you have a good picture of the front of your Pro EQ-44? I was just wondering if it has the same buttons as mine. I'm always hitting them when I go to adjust the sliders. Then I turn the EQ off and wonder what happened to the music. I know it's not a bad thing (there is worse things) it's just an annoyance.

BMWCCA
11-18-2013, 07:50 PM
I suspect this may be one of mine purchased from Canuck Audio Mart from the original owner's listing:

http://img.canuckaudiomart.com/uploads/large/99281-soundcraftsm2n_system_4_pieces__amppreeqtuner_in_b oxes.jpg

racinoffrd
11-19-2013, 03:28 PM
It looks the same as mine, but it looks like it has the same layout bit with 21 bands. Does it have little square buttons below the sliders? If so, that is the ones I alway hit while I adjust the sliders. Do you seem to have the same problem?

BMWCCA
11-19-2013, 07:58 PM
It looks the same as mine, but it looks like it has the same layout bit with 21 bands. Does it have little square buttons below the sliders? If so, that is the ones I alway hit while I adjust the sliders. Do you seem to have the same problem?
Well, the CMOS digital electronic control switches on the Pro-Control and the Pro-EQ are very sensitive but they serve their purpose which is to shorten the signal path. They don't cause me any problem because I set the EQ to compensate at low-level listening and mostly run the Pro-Control in "direct" mode all other times. If I feel the need to make minor adjustments for deficient recordings, I usually bump the tone controls on the Pro-Control and leave the EQ alone. :dont-know:

racinoffrd
11-20-2013, 01:02 PM
Well, the CMOS digital electronic control switches on the Pro-Control and the Pro-EQ are very sensitive but they serve their purpose which is to shorten the signal path. :dont-know:
So it sounds like you don't always listen throw the EQ. Just at certain times? I always listen throw the EQ. I guess that that makes sense about the buttons but I wish they were in a different place. When I accidentally hit them it aggravates me.

LowPhreak
04-18-2014, 01:42 PM
Hey BMW, I have a RP2215-R I just got in yesterday from Audio Classics, but found the L ch. has no output, and the gain-adjusting lights don't respond when gain is raised or lowered, though all 4 do light up. :( Mike at AC said it checked out OK before he shipped it, but I can keep it and he'd refund my purchase price.

Will it likely cost more to repair than it's worth? I thought these would be decent EQs, since they sport hand-wound coils instead of op-amps and should have lower noise than run-of-the-mill 10-band graphics.

If anyone knows the S/N or other specs of these, I'd appreciate it.

Titanium Dome
04-18-2014, 09:21 PM
Hey BMW, I have a RP2215-R I just got in yesterday from Audio Classics, but found the L ch. has no output, and the gain-adjusting lights don't respond when gain is raised or lowered, though all 4 do light up. :( Mike at AC said it checked out OK before he shipped it, but I can keep it and he'd refund my purchase price.

Will it likely cost more to repair than it's worth? I thought these would be decent EQs, since they sport hand-wound coils instead of op-amps and should have lower noise than run-of-the-mill 10-band graphics.

If anyone knows the S/N or other specs of these, I'd appreciate it.


You can get a schematic here that any competent repair person should be able to use to diagnose and fix it.

http://diagramas.diagramasde.com/audio/Soundcraftsmen%20RP-2215R.pdf

LowPhreak
04-18-2014, 10:03 PM
Thanks, Dome. :) I'll copy it in case the tech I'm using doesn't have it.

Anyone know the specs? Probably lost to the mists of time...

racinoffrd
05-04-2014, 02:07 PM
Does anyone know the difference between the Soundcaftsmen Pro EQ44 and the DC4415. I believe they both have 21 octaves per channel and are + or - 15db, right? But the sliders on the DC4415 look longer. They do in pics. anyway. Does one have advantages over the other? If so, what are they?

LowPhreak
05-04-2014, 02:44 PM
Longer sliders, say 20mm vs. 40mm vs. 60mm at the same +/- 15dB, mean finer control over boost/cut levels.

BMWCCA
05-04-2014, 03:24 PM
I've never owned a DC4415 but in my Soundcraftsmen experience the longer pots are the ones that stick over time. The shorter sliders in the Pro-EQ 44 seem to be damped differently and remain more "fluid" and smooth. I've never had one stick. I do have several DC2215s, which in Soundcraftsmen's numbering system means similar item with half as many sliders, and they can be a bit tough to move smoothly. I find the smoother slider gives me more control over the adjustment, regardless of the length of the scale. :dont-know:

LowPhreak
05-04-2014, 03:50 PM
Yeah true. I think I read somewhere that some of their models (perhaps older ones) like the RP-2215 never had the smoothest sliders anyway. On other models they spec'ed different ones.

I've been cleaning them on my RP-2215 the past couple of days with CRC 2-26. I'd bet these have never been cleaned or lubed in 30+ years. Most are doing better, but still 6-8 of the 22 are a bit sticky, so I'll keep going until they smooth out, then maybe use some Faderlube. Not sure if that'll help much since I don't expect the smoothest response from them even when clean, but worth a try I reckon.

racinoffrd
05-04-2014, 04:40 PM
They also have different buttons. Would that make a difference?

BMWCCA
05-04-2014, 06:53 PM
They also have different buttons. Would that make a difference?

:confused: What do you mean?

racinoffrd
05-05-2014, 03:41 PM
I mean do the different buttons make more noise on one model than the other? While you push them or just listening to music? Just a thought I really don't know just wondering. I'm asking that because I have a Pro EQ22 and I just hate how sensitive the buttons are on that. I'm also wondering if I need 21 bands. I know you can be more detailed with a 21 octave over a 10 octave but is it worth the price? Just thinking. I'm home all day so you can tell I don't have much to do but think about different things.

BMWCCA
05-05-2014, 04:57 PM
We've discussed your C-moss button issue previously. They just need a single touch. The conventional selector switches on the DX-series units can cause static when they get dirty. To me the pots are more important than the switches.

Whether or not you need third-octave control depends on how you're using the EQ. If you're getting all you need out of the 2/3-octave Pro-EQ 22 then I wouldn't worry about it. Some need no EQ at all. I only use mine for Fletcher-Munson adjustments and only engage it at low volume. I never change settings for different material. I got over that craziness with my PE2217 thirty-years ago. :frantic:

racinoffrd
05-05-2014, 06:05 PM
Thanks for your input. I forgot what you said about the switches. I will have to remember that. Is there a way that you can tell if you need a 1/3 over a 2/3? Because I real don't know I just always had it in my system from Germany.

BMWCCA
05-05-2014, 07:35 PM
Thanks for your input. I forgot what you said about the switches. I will have to remember that. Is there a way that you can tell if you need a 1/3 over a 2/3? Because I real don't know I just always had it in my system from Germany.
Simply, if you're just using the EQ as a big tone control, you'll probably be fine with fewer bands. If you're battling room acoustics, you'll need the narrow bands to target specific frequencies. But you can "draw" the typical "smiley face" with any of them! :)

BMWCCA
10-02-2015, 08:56 AM
I've used the Pro-PT Two pre-amp/tuner in a couple of my systems for several years. Simple to operate and perfect for a system where critical listening is not the primary use. But I've been intrigued by the Pro-PT 5R for years with its better specs and the prospect of a TOTL vintage pre-amp with remote control. Hard to find one that hasn't been abused, or one with the remote present and in working condition.

I came across an Ebay item recently that included the Pro-PT 5R with remote and a Pro-Power-Four amp, both in original boxes with performance reports and manuals. I already have one of these amps and it's a real sleeper with some kick-ass bass output on appropriate speakers. I always figured having two and bridging them would make for an awesome solution for the 250tis, and then I fell into a Crown Studio Reference-II and forgot about the SC PP4. But the Pro-PT 5R still had my attention.

The seller was easy to work with. He took my second offer, after his counter, promised to double-box, charged me a reasonable amount for shipping in two boxes and promised he'd ship them in two days. It took him only one and he even refunded the shipping overcharge to me immediately. That's the rare honest eBay seller these days.

Well, they arrived yesterday via Fedex and USPS in good shape and very well boxed with protection between the original SC packaging and the sturdy outer box. Extra stuffing inside the originals to make sure they didn't shift or get crushed, too. A great job that took me nearly an hour to unpack and appropriately organize the material for re-cycling. The PT showed the typical SC tendency to lose paint on the top edge and I'll go over the seller's MagicMarker repair attempt with some enamel I have that matches SC's paint perfectly. The amp looks like it was never out of the box and shows not one speck of dust in the fan and vent on the rear panel. I'd call it perfect.

Hooked them up to one of my pair of L7s in the small speaker room and used my iPod classic with simply the headphone jack to RCA interconnect and the sound was fantastic, as expected. The Pro-Power-Four allows switching between or including two speaker pairs so I connected the L96s to the "B" output and enjoyed swapping back and forth while allowing the SC components to get fully warmed up and broken in. No problems after four-hours of playing. These were nothing I needed and won't replace the Pro-Control-Four, Pro-EQ-44, Pro-Tuner Four in my main system with the JBL 4345s and Crown PS400 and PS200 bi-amped. They will make a great system in a future room or in one of my kids' homes in the future. If nothing else, I'm preserving the legacy of another great USA manufacturer no longer with us. Just as today many of us are looking at our Greg Timbers' JBLs with the same thoughts!

So, for posterity, here they are in the original auction photos:

vytieubao
11-09-2015, 02:04 AM
Well, they arrived yesterday via Fedex

BMWCCA
11-09-2015, 04:39 AM
Well, they arrived yesterday via Fedex

:confused:

Spam of some kind?