McCurdy PE2600 Console
| March 10th, 2010
This small mixer from the late-1960s is one of our favourite pieces of equipment. The workmanship and wiring is impeccable; the circuitry is simple; and the components are top notch. We’re particularly enamored with the sound of the PE2600’s preamps (we suspect the custom MRI–McCurdy Radio Industries–transformers contribute to the sonic heft) and its use of virtually indestructible (and noiseless) stepped attenuators.
McCurdy preamp card; we’ve since replaced the electrolytic capacitors
The late Howard M. Tremaine, a titan of professional audio equipment design and the author of the venerable Audio Cyclopedia, worked for McCurdy during the 1960s, but we’re not sure if he contributed to the design of this mixer.
We performed one small modification to this unit, removing redundant microphone inputs and replacing them with direct outputs for each channel.
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Hi,
I am also the owner of a PE2600. I bought it modded with direct outs already, and I, too, think it’s a great piece of gear. Do you have any details/pics of how you modded it? I’m trying to dig up as much info on the mixer as I can as I am looking to sell it. Thanks!
-Sean
Hi Sean,
It was a very simple mod. No drilling required because I had a broken Shure M68 microphone mixer to salvage those old-style round male Cannon XLR jacks.
I’m not near the mixer right now, but if I recall correctly, you just:
1) Remove the (pointless) duplicate microphone inputs
2) Replace them their female xlr jacks with male.
3) Solder the XLR pin 1 and pin 2 to the appropriate points on each channels card connector (Note the direct outs will be unbalanced and the gain is a bit low when connected to a nominal +4dBu input but quite OK when connected to a nominal -10dBV input)
You should be able to confirm that your board was modded in the same way by just following the wires from the direct outs. T
Good luck!
hello there, I am very happy to see(understatement) that someone else has this exact console And as well in Montreal(wow) like myself.
I am wondering if we can get this thing to do stereo with a mod because at the P.A. Selector at bottom left there’s the PGM1 And PGM2 setting but is it possible to get both pgm one and two to run the sametime in your opinion seeing as you have experience with this unit. Or am I missing something and stereo can be done as is?
Any added insight or ideas would be nice on the subject!
I am looking for them older cannon xlr’s to do your direct out mod right away..have any spares to sell?
hi, could I find out where exact on the preamp strips do I put the wires(photo if possible)..I am doing the direct out mod and have no schematic. Thank you