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Title: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Chuck Simon on May 28, 2012, 10:24:20 AM
What is the record here for the oldest piece of equipment still earning money for you?  Not counting mics and cables, for me it is my A&H GL-2 bought in 1995 and my Carver PM900 bought in 1993.  The GL-2 has been seviced once to re-solder loose connections and the Carver has never seen service.  Both are still going strong and earning me money on smaller jobs and are still as good or better than many new products. I thought it might be interesting to see what is the oldest piece of equipment being used by some of you?
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Ivan Beaver on May 28, 2012, 10:49:38 AM
What is the record here for the oldest piece of equipment still earning money for you?  Not counting mics and cables, for me it is my A&H GL-2 bought in 1995 and my Carver PM900 bought in 1993.  The GL-2 has been seviced once to re-solder loose connections and the Carver has never seen service.  Both are still going strong and earning me money on smaller jobs and are still as good or better than many new products. I thought it might be interesting to see what is the oldest piece of equipment being used by some of you?
I have a fair number of pieces of test gear that is from the 80's and 90's that still works.

Not exactly "earning me money-but still part of the job-so maybe that doesn't count
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Jordan Wolf on May 28, 2012, 11:06:15 AM
What is the record here for the oldest piece of equipment still earning money for you? ...I thought it might be interesting to see what is the oldest piece of equipment being used by some of you?
I have a Klark Teknik DN405 Parametric EQ from 1988 that I routinely use.  It was acting funky for a while, but I found out my wiring needed to be changed…since then, no issues.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: duane massey on May 28, 2012, 11:11:04 AM
Me....
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Nick Enright on May 28, 2012, 11:11:50 AM
What is the record here for the oldest piece of equipment still earning money for you?  Not counting mics and cables, for me it is my A&H GL-2 bought in 1995 and my Carver PM900 bought in 1993.  The GL-2 has been seviced once to re-solder loose connections and the Carver has never seen service.  Both are still going strong and earning me money on smaller jobs and are still as good or better than many new products. I thought it might be interesting to see what is the oldest piece of equipment being used by some of you?

AB Systems mono-three way amplifiers, 2 of em.. they routinely get used for bar gigs.

my big system has TAD drivers in it, I dont know how old they are but they are about the same age as the amps.
1984/5
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Lance Richens on May 28, 2012, 11:15:52 AM
I've got one of the very first 3rd rack space alesis microverb's. Still works like a champ.....
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Doug Maye on May 28, 2012, 02:01:21 PM
What is the record here for the oldest piece of equipment still earning money for you?  Not counting mics and cables, for me it is my A&H GL-2 bought in 1995 and my Carver PM900 bought in 1993.  The GL-2 has been seviced once to re-solder loose connections and the Carver has never seen service.  Both are still going strong and earning me money on smaller jobs and are still as good or better than many new products. I thought it might be interesting to see what is the oldest piece of equipment being used by some of you?

While they are not used on a regular basis.....when I do small street festival type work I've been known to throw a pair of Klipsch LaScala'a on stage as side fills. I sold them to a local bar back around 1980, and found them sitting in a warehouse. Paid $700 for the set and replaced the diaphrams in the mid horns. Run off a PLX 1202 they will scream with a whopping 200 WPC. They are something like 105 db at 1watt/1 meter. Funny you mention Carver, I used to run these off a M-500.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Kenny Deal on May 28, 2012, 02:08:05 PM
I've got one of the very first 3rd rack space alesis microverb's. Still works like a champ.....
I would have seconded that a month ago but mine gave up the ghost at a gig last month. Been just using the onboard FX with my mixwiz until I figure out what to replace it with.
Right now the oldest piece of gear I own that I still use regularly is my JBL Eon 15. I don't know what year it is but I bought it late 90's used. I had the horn rebuild once in all this time and that was due to some drunk asshole spilling something in it. I now use it for the drummer monitor. I used it last night.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: g'bye, Dick Rees on May 28, 2012, 02:27:59 PM
Me....

Me, too.

As far as gear goes, I have two AT Pro4 mics I bought new about 30 years ago.  Still work just fine.  A few random pre-amps which occasionally come out to boost the signal of some low-output pickup to a usable level.  Also from the '70's.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Lee Douglas on May 28, 2012, 02:37:47 PM
A couple of Hammonds and a Rhodes.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Douglas R. Allen on May 28, 2012, 04:24:17 PM
Peavey Ultraverb II. Had it so long not sure as to its age. I believe it was around 1992 or so. Just changed the battery out a few months ago. $10 fix after 20 or so years. Not too bad. Stills sounds and works fine for a 16bit machine.

Douglas R. Allen
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Bob Leonard on May 28, 2012, 04:48:03 PM
Me, too.

As far as gear goes, I have two AT Pro4 mics I bought new about 30 years ago.  Still work just fine.  A few random pre-amps which occasionally come out to boost the signal of some low-output pickup to a usable level.  Also from the '70's.

Me three. That and a 1964 Fender Deluxe Reverb.
Title: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: eric lenasbunt on May 28, 2012, 05:06:41 PM
1957 Hammond B3 w/Leslie. BB King's guy blew up the horn a few months back, but quick repair and still going out regularly.

Audio-wise I freelance sometimes with a company that still uses a pair of Soundcraft 400 consoles regularly. Those guys are from the mid 80s for sure and still go for $50/ea, which I am sure they were paid for since 1986. The same company uses a bunch of 80s EV stuff multiple times a week.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: thomas jones on May 28, 2012, 06:07:48 PM
Speakasaurus 80's (2) SR4735's & (2) SR4718 w/ some mods.  1) 2226 & (1) 2241 are original. Mangy rat-fur but they still crank.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Jay Barracato on May 28, 2012, 07:00:09 PM
What is the record here for the oldest piece of equipment still earning money for you?  Not counting mics and cables, for me it is my A&H GL-2 bought in 1995 and my Carver PM900 bought in 1993.  The GL-2 has been seviced once to re-solder loose connections and the Carver has never seen service.  Both are still going strong and earning me money on smaller jobs and are still as good or better than many new products. I thought it might be interesting to see what is the oldest piece of equipment being used by some of you?

Not mine, but I walked up to mix a band on a festival side stage last year and found a complete set of Shure Brothers Uniball microphones.

There does seem to be a lot of antique equipment around the bluegrass world still in use. I guess it makes sense if the musicians consider an 80's vintage instrument a baby, a 60's vintage a young adult, and 30's and 40's prime, then PA doesn't have to be much younger than that.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: John Woodfield on May 28, 2012, 07:50:21 PM
I have several Project 1 DBX compressors and a 268a DBX De-esser I still use.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Guy Luckert on May 28, 2012, 09:37:29 PM
sm 58s 30 25 and 20 years old-wish I still had my first one

micro-tech 1200 20 years+ still going strong

original cone jensens in my 54 super and 59 bassman (still in service but tfl) and my daily driver
57 deluxe (knock wood !!)

several guitars older than me that will probably survive

still got about 20 wound b strings in original packaging (marked wound b strings)
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Chris Clark on May 29, 2012, 12:28:01 AM
Just took a Peavey CS-400 Commercial Series (circa early 80's - The archived manual PDF on Peavey's website shows a copyright of '82, I could see it being from that time since I'm fairly certain it was one of the original amps in the old theater, which was built right around that time) out of regular service because it was taking up too much rack space and the speakers it was powering were upgraded, so it was underpowered for what the new spkrs needed. It may see occasional returns to service if I feel like lugging it around...

Although we haven't used them in a looong time, we also still have 3 Crown DC-300's, a Yamaha PC5002 (Two people needed to even attempt to move that beast! And we usually don't get too far with it), and a Yamaha M512 mixer sitting in storage. I've actually been semi-actively looking for an excuse to put the PC5002 back into a system but haven't yet found a valid enough reason to warrant hauling all that weight out of storage and taking up ~6 RU in a rack...
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Tim Perry on May 29, 2012, 01:01:09 AM
The Ramsa WR S208 goes out about once a year.  The wire recorder, alas, wont play MP3's.

Not sure of the year on the Ramsa... 70's i guess.  I have had it 21 years.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Jeff Bankston on May 29, 2012, 01:22:16 AM
QSC 3500 & 3800 amps. Several amps have an inspected by sticker inside with a november 1982 date stamped on it. My Tama superstar drums and stands made in 1986. AKG D12E mics 2 of which i bought around 1987. AKG C460B-CK61 mics i bought around 1987.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Mike Caldwell on May 29, 2012, 09:35:33 AM
Lexicon PCM 60, Symetrix SX201 parametric, Various mics from the 70's and 80's like EV RE's and PL's, Sennheiser 421, 441, 409.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Gary Weller on May 29, 2012, 02:47:24 PM
Peavey CS400 from 1981, still being used for 2 practice room wedges. Yamaha REV5 with remote. An 80's SM58. Two Carver PM1200's running 4 monitor mixes four to 8 times a month. And one of the old Yamaha boat anchor 27 band mono EQ's. Think it still works fine, but weighs a ton.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Greg_Cameron on May 29, 2012, 04:04:04 PM
The JBL 2" compression drivers in my Rat Trap 5 boxes are JBL 2440 & 2441s. I believe the 2440 dates back to the mid to late 70s with the 2441 back to the early 80s. Same drivers really that just shipped with a different stock diaphragm. I used the Radian replacements so it doesn't really matter.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: brian maddox on May 29, 2012, 11:43:55 PM
And one of the old Yamaha boat anchor 27 band mono EQ's. Think it still works fine, but weighs a ton.
that'd be the venerable Q1027.  it'll make sound forever.  but don't ever do any SMAART measurements on it.  it will make you very sad...
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Tim McCulloch on May 30, 2012, 12:58:44 AM
We have JBL E-series speakers in some Ohmbrew wedges.  They came from Charlie Daniels or Marshall Tucker as "ready to recone."  The "youngest" one is 30 years old.  I think we're soon selling the speakers and recycling the plywood.  We've got our "pSeudo-4" speakers that date back to the Garth Brooks era and they go out on the rodeos and lower budget gigs.  Lots of Crest *001 to power them, too.

Personally, in my old FX rack I have a PCM-60 (v1) and LXP-15 (v1.1), and an ADA Stereo Tapped Delay that I haven't listened to in years (it's analog!).

The oldest and most frequently used items, though, are in my microphone collection.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: eric wong on May 30, 2012, 11:47:52 AM
Ashly XR2001 analog crossover. It's been with me since my first PA system from 1995 or so when I was in high school. Of course it doesn't do the digital stuff of today's gear but for my needs it works great.

I also have a Crown MA5000VZ I got about 10 years ago, it's probably every bit of 20 years old but still kicking.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Chuck Fudge on May 30, 2012, 12:04:30 PM
BGW 250, 500, and 750's.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: John Onsrud on May 30, 2012, 07:26:58 PM
It took some head scratching, but I think I remember now:  A JBL 2441 driver in the top of my drum monitor.

I had a racked pair of dbx 160VUs that had a long run too, but they were quickly "retired" when a guy in Florida offered me $1200 cash for it.

Not used to make $ in many years, but the first "pro" amp I ever bought, a Crown DC300 (Bakelite knobs and the fusepanel-coverplate on front, s.n. A808) is in my son's bedroom driving a pair of Large Advent Walnuts.  I bought it (beat-up and not working) from Jack Bouchard, the "caretaker" of Dickey Betts' Love Valley, NC cabin, around 1980, for 150 bucks.  He said It had been pulled from a monitor rig when it died.  A trip back to Crown brought it back to life for another $145 or so, and it's still thumping strong.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Ned Ward on May 31, 2012, 07:27:05 AM
'65 Bandmaster and Showman Fender amps, although I bought them in this decade.
'57 and '58 I bought back in '86 for my college band, still working great. Still also have the sweet blue and green electrical tape on them to tell them apart.
I have a circa-1981 Rat Shack PZM mic that I used to use for recording drums on a 4-track cassette machine back in the 90's... hang it on the wall in the bar behind the drums, and mix the SM58 vocal mics to taste.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Russ Davis on May 31, 2012, 09:09:56 AM
QSC 3500 & 3800 amps. Several amps have an inspected by sticker inside with a november 1982 date stamped on it.

+1 on the QSC.  I have a 3500 I use for SOS gigs where I don't want any fan noise (passive cooling can be a good thing).  Previous owner: Jimmie Swaggart Ministries.

From 1980: Shure PE588, for when I need a good Hi-Z mic without messing with impedance transformers.  Sounds great after all these years.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Thomas Harkin on May 31, 2012, 09:37:47 AM
What is the record here for the oldest piece of equipment still earning money for you?  Not counting mics and cables, for me it is my A&H GL-2 bought in 1995 and my Carver PM900 bought in 1993.  The GL-2 has been seviced once to re-solder loose connections and the Carver has never seen service.  Both are still going strong and earning me money on smaller jobs and are still as good or better than many new products. I thought it might be interesting to see what is the oldest piece of equipment being used by some of you?

I'm from the early 50s!  Does that count?  ;)
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Craig Leerman on May 31, 2012, 01:51:09 PM

Backline:
Slingerland Radio King snare  early 50s
Hammond C3 from the late 50s

Sound:
Numerous JBL drivers from the 70s

Lighting:
Altman steel par cans from the 70s

Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Deric Craig on May 31, 2012, 02:36:43 PM
What is the record here for the oldest piece of equipment still earning money for you?  Not counting mics and cables, for me it is my A&H GL-2 bought in 1995 and my Carver PM900 bought in 1993.  The GL-2 has been seviced once to re-solder loose connections and the Carver has never seen service.  Both are still going strong and earning me money on smaller jobs and are still as good or better than many new products. I thought it might be interesting to see what is the oldest piece of equipment being used by some of you?

My sound rig does not consist of anything real old but my guitar rig has a few old items I cherish.

1979 Marshall 4140 100w all tube, removed from the 2x12 combo cab and mounted in a seperate home built box. I converted it from 6550 to EL34 outputs many years ago.

Old and unsure of year - Marshall slant bottom 4x12 with orig green back 25 watt drivers. Love the sound of that cab.

Guitar rack has an old RE 201 space echo, love that too. I make new tape loops every so often. Bought it used in 1983...

My pedal board still has the old Ross gtr compressor, gray case, I repaired it a couple times, and bought new in 1980. It went through a water backup in a basement about 1981. Took it apart, cleaned it and a good dry out, still going...

1975 Ibanez Custom Agent Les Paul copy, glued on neck, bought slightly used in 1978. Great instrument for me.

1985 Gibson Les Paul Custom, factory Kahler, PAFs, black with gold hardware, and orig Grover machines. Bought new in 85. Paint has worn off on back of neck...played a few shows with it....
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Steve Garris on May 31, 2012, 05:17:10 PM
SDE1000 - Likely from the 80's.  I just bought it used last year - still use it and it sounds great!
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Jason Phair on May 31, 2012, 10:03:40 PM
Not including microphones and backline, we've got hundreds of JBL drivers from the 70's that still work nearly every show, and several racks of Crown PSA-2's that are still going strong.  The McIntosh 2300's have pretty much been retired though  ;D
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Rob Spence on May 31, 2012, 11:04:05 PM
Backline:
Slingerland Radio King snare  early 50s
Neat!
There is a local band that comes through my house a couple of times a year with a vintage Slingerland Radio King kit though he leaves the second floor tom at home for this gig.
Mics in photo courtesy of Bob Leonard.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Jordan Wolf on June 01, 2012, 09:04:43 AM
Hey…where's the hole in the kick drum head?  ::) ;D
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: TJ (Tom) Cornish on June 01, 2012, 09:21:21 AM
Until recently, Century Fresnel lights from the '60s.  They have been replaced with LED Pars.  Now the oldest gear are Strand Century Lekos from the '80s.  Hopefully they'll be gone soon too.  On the audio side probably a PLX3402 from 2000.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Jay Barracato on June 01, 2012, 09:31:56 AM
Hey…where's the hole in the kick drum head?  ::) ;D

My initial thought is that guy is probably told over and over again he "has" to cut a hole in the head to get a good mic sound.

Just looking at that setup makes me think the dude can probably really rock a set of brushes.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Jordan Wolf on June 01, 2012, 09:37:47 AM
Just looking at that setup makes me think the dude can probably really rock a set of brushes.
My thoughts exactly.  When I see someone setting up a kit like that, I know that I'm in for a treat.  :D
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Dave Dermont on June 01, 2012, 03:52:33 PM
We have JBL E-series speakers in some Ohmbrew wedges.  They came from Charlie Daniels or Marshall Tucker as "ready to recone."  The "youngest" one is 30 years old.  I think we're soon selling the speakers and recycling the plywood.  We've got our "pSeudo-4" speakers that date back to the Garth Brooks era and they go out on the rodeos and lower budget gigs.  Lots of Crest *001 to power them, too.

Personally, in my old FX rack I have a PCM-60 (v1) and LXP-15 (v1.1), and an ADA Stereo Tapped Delay that I haven't listened to in years (it's analog!).

How much do you want for the PCM60?

The oldest and most frequently used items, though, are in my microphone collection.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: MARK PAVLETICH on June 02, 2012, 04:05:03 AM


1978 Marshall stack
PCM60
Roland Jupiter 8
Roland SRE555
Roland SDE3000
Yamaha SPX90
Roland SRV2000
Modular 3 way home brew horn loaded from early 80's ( DSP'd )
Still can't find anything that makes me want to sell that old stuff.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Bob Leonard on June 02, 2012, 08:49:08 AM
I forgot about my 55s from 1952 I think. Still works fine.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: David Kaiser on June 03, 2012, 01:43:28 AM
I have three pieces of Shure equipment. The first is an OLD Shure 520D Green Bullet microphone that my great Grandfather used to use for street preaching. When I got it 15 years ago , it still had the original screw on unbalanced connector on it. I also have the round connector mic cable for it somewhere. I had my local music shop put  a 1/4 inch plug on it shortly after I got it.

The other two pieces are Shure SR116 and SR112 speakers. One of them is an install version. I believe Buddy Rich used to use this model of speakers. My church got them straight from a quality control engineer who worked for Shure. We used them twice a year for 20? years. The speaker stands that we built for them were made of 2x4 and were 6+ feet tall. They were replaced by Nady MC8.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Bob Leonard on June 03, 2012, 09:44:08 PM
David,
The green bullet is a favorite of harp players the world over. Generally the best tones come from plugging the bullet into a small fender, Valco, or Gibson amp and micing the cabinet. If you have the real deal hold on to that mic.
 
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Mac Kerr on June 03, 2012, 09:48:28 PM
What is the record here for the oldest piece of equipment still earning money for you?  Not counting mics and cables, for me it is my A&H GL-2 bought in 1995 and my Carver PM900 bought in 1993.  The GL-2 has been seviced once to re-solder loose connections and the Carver has never seen service.  Both are still going strong and earning me money on smaller jobs and are still as good or better than many new products. I thought it might be interesting to see what is the oldest piece of equipment being used by some of you?

It's not mine, but on the executive gathering I'm working on this week we have a Shure M267 as a control in an overflow room.

Mac
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: David Kaiser on June 05, 2012, 02:03:01 PM
Now that I am thinking obout it, I have several pieces.

The Williams Hearing assistance system transmitters that I carry to conferences were made in the 90's. I just purchased a Shure FP42 for use in a translation system. It will replace a Crate CSX32 mixer. I also have a Marantz PMD460 portable cassette deck that gets used occasionally. And I have several Studiomaster 42DCXLR and 42DC mixers.

I definitely intend to keep that Green Bullet. The history of that mic is in full parallel with the work that I do. It has worked well for me doing voice recording. It also gives me a direct link with previous generations that I never met.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Tom Brandis on June 05, 2012, 02:58:32 PM
My early 80's PCM42 and MXR Pitch Transposer and Flanger Doubler (both blue faced).
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Mike Diack on June 05, 2012, 09:09:58 PM
Just rented out a pair of Vitavox horns/drivers (1970s) long term to a musical (they wanted Altec 511s but these are visually almost identical).
Regularly use Calrec 1050s for OH (1970s) and a D12 (1950s) for kick.
M
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Dave Bigelow on June 05, 2012, 09:36:11 PM
SDE1000 - Likely from the 80's.  I just bought it used last year - still use it and it sounds great!

Same here, had to put mine back in the touring rack recently, the input jack is a little funky but a piece of gaff took care of that.

At the shop there's some older carvins till kicking among other things. Actually just pulled out a Midas from 1977 and hooked it up today, still sounds pretty damn good too.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Dave Bigelow on June 05, 2012, 09:42:19 PM
Here's that Midas, not in service but was fun to knock the dust off it today. Anybody know the model # offhand?

Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Jonathan Johnson on June 06, 2012, 01:42:13 AM
Atlas round base mic stand from the late 50's or early 60's. Also a gooseneck adapter from the same era.

OK, so they aren't electronics, but they stand testament to the quality of Atlas products. The clutch on the stand is getting weak, but the gooseneck is silky smooth and quiet as velvet.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Robert "VOiD" Caprio on June 06, 2012, 09:18:45 AM
Roland Jupiter 8

How much you want for it?
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Casey McDonald on June 07, 2012, 04:24:06 PM
What is the record here for the oldest piece of equipment still earning money for you?  Not counting mics and cables, for me it is my A&H GL-2 bought in 1995 and my Carver PM900 bought in 1993.  The GL-2 has been seviced once to re-solder loose connections and the Carver has never seen service.  Both are still going strong and earning me money on smaller jobs and are still as good or better than many new products. I thought it might be interesting to see what is the oldest piece of equipment being used by some of you?

Got some used X-Array XCNs and XCBs (1998) a year ago, definitely were tour boxes.  Can't tell if reconed recently or ever, other than they still sound great.

Runner up is Tascam CDRW5000 (1999) which works okay but has no tolerance for scratched CDs or some older (late 90's early 2000's) burned ones that all my other players have no problem with.
 
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Steve Moore on June 08, 2012, 10:52:08 AM
Still use a BGW 250E, probably from late 70's/early 8o's in the home studio (love those lights). Just sold a pair of Yorkville SW1000s from the mid 90's. Those subs still worked like a champ!
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: AndyScotland on June 18, 2012, 11:21:58 PM
 Got a 24ch Allen Heath SR-series from around 1986; still fully functional, practically in mint condition, and it outperforms some modern 24x4s from brands I shall not name. 

 Got some dbx 160 comps, a BBE maximiser, and an Alesis midiverb 3 from the mid 80's; still fully functional.

Up until about 2004 we were using some LaScala's from the mid 70's, and some Altec cabs from 1968!
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Travis_Valois on August 28, 2012, 03:46:27 PM
In my personal stable:
Speakers:
A lot of JBL E and K series in homebrew boxes,
JBL 2425 on 2345 horns,
JBL 2118 used in homebrew compact stage monitors,
"modded" JBL Cabaret 4690B cabs with the E140's switched out for 2225 and the "potato masher" units replaces with 2426 drivers on Progressive Transition Waveguide,
a pair of K140 loaded 4560 cabs,
EV TL3512, used regularly as subs for my home theatre system,
EV SH1810H ER
Amps:
Harman Kardon Citation16,
Also have a 1963 Fender Bassman head clean enough to eat off of...

The club I tech at has 8 x Martin 115 "kick" bins under JBL SR4731X powered by QSC EX4000/RMX2450/MX1500a amps, and Yamaha 2404ii mixer.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Matthew Knischewsky on August 28, 2012, 04:19:50 PM
Here's that Midas, not in service but was fun to knock the dust off it today. Anybody know the model # offhand?

Dave, The strips looks a lot like the ones I have here loaded into a 16 channel frame. As far as I know that is a "Pro 3" or a "Pro03" or something along those lines. There's lots of transformers in the inputs and outputs, though I'm told that at that stage every midas was a custom order so there's many configurations out there.

Matt
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: paul bell on August 28, 2012, 10:28:05 PM
I have a very old McCauley stage monitor, it dates back to before Tom was making drivers. Not in use.

Not my gear (obviously) but I know Radio City Music Hall here in NYC has pre-VOTT Altec horns & drivers above the ceiling. Still in use for paging.

There's a theater in Jersey City that still rolls out three quad woofer Altec VOTT rigs for movies.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: paul bell on August 28, 2012, 10:29:26 PM
(I guess my monitor doesn't count, it's not "still in service")
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Vernon Alatorre on August 29, 2012, 03:42:05 PM
I am still using a Yamaha PM3K desk as FOH for shows that is from 1986.  Old and heavy but still sounds pretty sweet, although it is time to give the old girl a thorough cleaning :P

I love when people walk up and say things like "holy crap I haven't seen a 3K in years" Then they go into their stories about how they used one for 15 years as FOH and loved it.  Of course they usually follow that up with talk of the sexy new digital they just bought but those things are just not in my price range atm :P
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: john sanders on August 29, 2012, 07:22:23 PM
Several Carver PM1200's and (2) Carver PT1250's, circa 1993. A pair of EV1202's would estimate 1989.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Bob Leonard on August 31, 2012, 07:55:13 PM
Me, and a 55 from the 50's.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: g'bye, Dick Rees on August 31, 2012, 08:19:01 PM
Me, and a 55 from the 50's.

I've got a fiddle from 1885 and a banjo from 1898.....
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Branko Pucekovic on September 02, 2012, 02:29:28 AM
Yamaha REV7 from 1987, and of course 8 pcs. Apogee AE5 tops
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Tim McCulloch on September 02, 2012, 10:42:47 AM
I've got a fiddle from 1885 and a banjo from 1898.....

Good to see you kept some instruments from your childhood....
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Charlie Zureki on September 02, 2012, 01:17:14 PM
Good to see you kept some instruments from your childhood....

  Oh... wasn't prepared for that one...  ;D ;D

  Hammer
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: David Kaiser on March 10, 2014, 01:41:32 PM
[quote author=David Kaiser link=topic=138187.msg1287786#

I definitely intend to keep that Green Bullet. The history of that mic is in full parallel with the work that I do. It has worked well for me doing voice recording. It also gives me a direct link with previous generations that I never met.
[/quote]

I located the Shure 520 Green Bullet last week and spoke with Shure today. My microphone was manufactured between 1949 and 1956.
I also have a Hohner brand harmonica mic in the original box. The foam interiior has disintegrated. The instruction sheet is somewhat spotted with age, but is still readable in several languages.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Jason Lucas on March 10, 2014, 01:48:06 PM
The monitor wedges at my church might be older than me.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Rob Gow on March 10, 2014, 04:53:57 PM
The monitor wedges at my church might be older than me.

My oldest piece of kit is my FOH, Yorkville Unity15's over LS800p's. my rig is pretty current which is nice for insurance reasons. I can find the replacement values online, and if I were to lose it all due to some event covered by insurance, I could walk into a couple stores with a cheque for $xx,xxxx and come out with exactly what I have now.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Edgar Hernandez on March 10, 2014, 08:17:31 PM
What is the record here for the oldest piece of equipment still earning money for you?  Not counting mics and cables, for me it is my A&H GL-2 bought in 1995 and my Carver PM900 bought in 1993.  The GL-2 has been seviced once to re-solder loose connections and the Carver has never seen service.  Both are still going strong and earning me money on smaller jobs and are still as good or better than many new products. I thought it might be interesting to see what is the oldest piece of equipment being used by some of you?

A solid Yamaha P2200, I don’t think I will ever die, its built like a tank.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Travis_Valois on March 10, 2014, 08:54:21 PM
A few more that I acquired last year:

Yamaha MC2404II mixer
8x unloaded Martin 115 bins
2x JBL SR 4731X cabs

Not functional atm, but various amps such as BGW250 & 750, 2x Crown PSA2, 2x Crown D150a, Yamaha P2200, Peavey 1.2K, 2x EV 7600

Pair of large format Altec Lansing Mantaray horns and pair of large format Altec Lansing  2x5 Multicell horns, all with HF drivers, that we had decommissioned from the old arena here

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Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Rob Spence on March 11, 2014, 02:17:31 AM
I just sold my oldest electronic gear. A Crown DC300A. Might be 50 years old.

I was picking on an intern recently (ok, last summer - recent in my book) about treatment of cables... I pointed out to him that the XLR cable he was coiling was made by me in 1967 :-)


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Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Bob Leonard on March 11, 2014, 02:38:27 AM
Oldest piece of gear still working? Either my 1949 Craftsman sabre saw, or my wife.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Rob Spence on March 11, 2014, 02:55:58 AM
Thanks Bob, I forgot the Craftsman drill press my grandfather had and I now do (though not strictly part of my sound gear).


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Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Jonathan Johnson on March 11, 2014, 11:59:21 AM
The OP was asking about equipment still used to make you money. There are already several posts here about stuff that probably falls more into the "hobby" category; the following certainly falls there.

At my brother's place (where I grew up) there are a few hand-crank telephones: two oak wall phones, a bakelite wall phone, and a bakelite desk phone. My dad rescued these in the mid 60's when the phone company he worked for in ND converted to rotary dial. I have no idea how old they are. In the 90s, I refurbed them and connected them up between the house and shop and sauna as an intercom. They still work. The crank powers the ringer, and an internal battery powers the voice circuit on each phone. The bakelite phones get by on 1.5V (D cell), but one of the oak wall phones requires 12V. The other oak wall phone has the guts from a "newer" bakelite phone so only requires 1.5V.

The battery is only required for the "source" telephone. That is, if the battery in "your" phone is dead, you can hear the other person talk but they can't hear you.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Art Welter on March 11, 2014, 01:45:22 PM
The OP was asking about equipment still used to make you money. There are already several posts here about stuff that probably falls more into the "hobby" category; the following certainly falls there.

At my brother's place (where I grew up) there are a few hand-crank telephones: two oak wall phones, a bakelite wall phone, and a bakelite desk phone. My dad rescued these in the mid 60's when the phone company he worked for in ND converted to rotary dial.
Jonathan,

Your post made me remember my intercom between FOH and stage uses handsets from 1970's era phones. The original carbon microphones have been replaced with another pair of ear speakers, which work OK as dynamic microphones. I use a 1990's era Radio Shack "mini amp" as the driver, they get louder than Clear Com units, and with a push to talk switch cut through stage noise surprisingly well.

Also still use a Rauland amp with a repair date of 1953 and a Nordmende Isabella stereo receiver (circa 1961) reworked as a guitar amp for studio sessions.

Many of the speaker cabinets I sell were built using inherited tools, some dating back to the 1930s.

'56 Welter

Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: lionel rodrigues on March 11, 2014, 02:22:57 PM
1979 peavey XR1200, not much to look at, had the amp section removed a while back, still works fine, used for band practise and sos ..
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Duncan McLennan on March 11, 2014, 06:26:03 PM
BGW 750  8)

It is, at the very least, ten years older than me.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Tim Perry on March 11, 2014, 06:52:21 PM
Everything is 2 years older then when this thread started. 

Anyone want to guess the vintage on this? Been running 7-24 for me except for moving and power failures for about 20 years, and ran continuous duty before I got it. No failures or problems of any sort.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Brian Jojade on March 12, 2014, 12:03:21 PM
Everything is 2 years older then when this thread started. 

Anyone want to guess the vintage on this? Been running 7-24 for me except for moving and power failures for about 20 years, and ran continuous duty before I got it. No failures or problems of any sort.

The McIntosh 250 solid state was sold between '67 and '79.  New they were under $400, but now a good working unit in mint condition can fetch around $1000.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Dave Scarlett on March 12, 2014, 05:47:59 PM
Two Traynor YPM-1 power amps on the practice PA. I use to work there and put the trim on the cases around 1973
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Mike Caldwell on March 12, 2014, 08:07:07 PM
For public address jobs when I need some real long throw I'll take out a pair of Altec 203 horns that date back to the late 60's. With the big Selenium D405 phenolic drivers bolted to those horns (with a 1.4 to 2 inch adapter) you can put some voice downrange.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Michael A. Yates on March 13, 2014, 12:42:38 AM
I have 3 of them old Peavey Mark V power amps from the late 80s early 90s that I still use sometime as back ups. Still work like charm but heavy as a son....


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Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: sam saponaro on March 13, 2014, 01:24:40 AM
1980's EAW PM215 cabinets.Rerolled in truckbed liner,1 15 reconed and setup for bi-amp with upgraded RCF horn drivers.I run um as crosswash monitors for my bar system.
I have a set of old JBL 4520 double 15 scoops in the shed I'm considering epoxy coating and putting back to use on occasion.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Jeff Bankston on March 13, 2014, 04:27:18 AM
me !
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Russ Davis on March 13, 2014, 03:39:32 PM
Adding to my post almost 2 years ago on this same thread - Peavey 115 BW Internationals (with the "Flight Case" styling and optional front covers).  Bought one pair new in '82 and a second set (used) a few years later.  Other than removing the logos (due to gear snobs) they've required zero work, even though I bought spare crossovers and drivers to have on-hand decades ago.  They still look good, and sound a lot better than you'd think.  They're total cash cows that still get compliments when they go out a few times a year for SOS gigs, thus qualifying them as "still in service" (one's shown here demonstrating home-built monitor "stands" from another thread).
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Ola Brekken on March 13, 2014, 06:27:36 PM
My oldest piece must be my dad's old Shure 545S. It's probably 10-12 years older than myself.
A couple of years ago I bought a new capsule for it, the old one still works, though.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Rob Spence on March 13, 2014, 07:47:54 PM
I was going through my mic drawer and found a EV635 I bought back in the late 60s.


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Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Craig Alan on March 14, 2014, 12:08:52 PM
Rs100 clear com belt packs. All metal. They have out lived newer plastic packs.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Jerome Malsack on March 14, 2014, 07:37:52 PM
1957  Shure  556s. 

556S - supercardioid; add impedance selection switch (Low-Medium-High); shock mount in lower portion of the mic; "S" designation meant "Small"

Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Mike Reigh on March 16, 2014, 09:46:48 PM
Last summer I used a gold EV 664 as a period mic for a run of Hairspray. It sounded great. There is also a pair of BFI fuzzy monitors, circa '82 that get used once or twice a year. They 12s have been replaced with EV, but the horns are still original.
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Conrad Muzoora on March 17, 2014, 02:13:29 AM
I have a 1980 peavey xr600b amp mixer still making money on regular basis. Inherited this from a friend no issues. Also have a qsc ex4000 and Jbl Mpa 1100 amps made in 1991 still pounding bass no issues there
Conrad
www.kooleventug.com


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Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Lester Seidenberg on March 17, 2014, 01:37:54 PM
1981 Crown PSA-2x
1981 Biamp 1642
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Paul Tollini on March 18, 2014, 08:08:27 AM
Yamaha P2100
Title: Re: Oldest Piece of Equipment Still in Service?
Post by: Frank DeWitt on March 18, 2014, 05:18:35 PM
Yamaha P2100

I recently installed a new PC based carillon and an amp in a church and connected them to 4 University Sound ID40A drivers and 30 inch horns that are at least 50 years old.