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Tech Tip- LA2a Problems

In this blog I want to talk about recording studio history, What is going
on at MSR Studios currently, and provide some tech tips.

Today’s Tip involves the classic LA2A.

 

First be warned. The LA2A CONTAINS LETHAL VOLTAGES.
DO NOT OPEN, MODIFY, OR ATTEMPT TO REPAIR.
SEND THIS UNIT TO A QUALIFIED SERVICE TECHNICIAN.

I have seen many LA2As with odd and hard to track down problems.
Blowing fuses, working with front panel open but not closed, and
internal snapping sounds are the most common.
We found two units in the shop left over from the Right Track days
that were gutted in an attempt to track down the problems.
My trusty sidekick Ian Kagey ( A tech at MSR Studios ) had the patience
and bravery to go at these units. Risking life and limb to get these
units operational. I’m sure the prior tech thought the problem
was a shorted power transformer or filter cap as I first did.

The problem turned out to be the most common issue with LA2A.
The LA2A contains point to point wiring. The terminal strip to which
the components are attached is screwed tightly to the metal chassis.
The chassis is grounded and is only insulated from the High Voltage
( 300V! ) terminal strip with a thin piece of insulation. This strip
deteriorates over the years and the high voltage shorts to ground
or arcs intermittently causing all kinds of symptoms.
Placing small insulated spacers under the terminal strip cured the issue.
Ian was happy he had one more LA2a to use when mixing his project that night.
Score Ian 1 – gear 0.
© 2009 Bradshaw Leigh

Career Choice? I Love music, I Love Gadgets, I Hate Going To Bed.

I started working in recording Studios more years ago then I am willing to admit. As a kid growing up in New York I had two loves. Taking apart anything electrical or mechanical to see how it worked, and Music. When I was little my four older sisters kept a constant flow of new records in the house. First The Monkees, then the Beatles, Stones, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Doors, and Tim Hardin to name a few. My mother and father loved 30’s and 40’s jazz  Pee Wee Russel, Ben Webster, Billy Holiday,and Sidney Bechet. At night I hated going to bed so I would stay up late listening to FM radio . Vin Scelsa, or Alison Steele the ” Night Bird ”  who would speak in a soft bedroom voice as she played the latest progressive music.

While in High School i got a job as an usher at Carnegie Hall. School days, and Music nights. Weekends were drinking beer and listening to music at a friends house. (Any friend whose parents were away). We drank and listened to music. That was it. No TV, internet, cell phones or video games. Most of my friends also played an instrument. I took trumpet in Junior high and tried guitar but was never very good at either. After graduating Brooklyn Technical High School I tried college. I Lasted one semester. I quit school and got my first job in a studio. Chelsea Sound studios on 14th street.  The first time I heard a kick drum coming through those  Big Red  Altec monitors I was in heaven.
I spent about a year at Chelsea Sound then moved to A&R recording. I was a tech for a year and that’s where I met Jim Boyer and Phil Ramone. I became Jim’s assistant engineer first then assisted Phil. After a year with Phil I became his recording / mix engineer. We spent about 8 amazing years together before I went off on my own.
I’ve been very lucky. I’ve worked on dozens of Gold and Platinum albums. I’ve engineered Rock, Pop, Film Scores, and Broadway soundtracks. About 12 years ago I became Chief Technical engineer at Dave Amlen’s Sound on Sound Recording which merged with Right Track Recording and became first Legacy Recording and now it’s  called MSR Studios. I am currently Chief Engineer and Director of Operations at MSR .
© 2009 Bradshaw Leigh