soundcraft europa

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brian maddox

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Jan 13, 2011
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okay, this is a stupid, irrelevant question. which would by why i buried it in the basement... :)

for completely random coincidental reasons i've been seeing a lot of my old friend the Soundcraft Europa lately. so, do any of you insiders from across the pond [or stateside for that matter] know what soundcraft was thinking when they built this console? it always seemed so immensely stupid to me when it came out with it's 'too big to fit in the truck right' dimensions, and it's random 4 extra input slots way down at the end that no one seemed to ever fill. did i mention it was also way too big? 40 inputs in EIGHT feet of desk? what?

anyway, i've never been a soundcraft fan, but i certainly will acknowledge they've built some very nice, well engineered mixing solutions over the years. i'm not looking to bust on them or anything. i just genuinely would love to know the back story behind this thing.

[i also have always wondered what happened with the Ramsa SX-1, but that's another post...]
 
Re: soundcraft europa

brian maddox said:
it always seemed so immensely stupid to me when it came out with it's 'too big to fit in the truck right' dimensions, and it's random 4 extra input slots way down at the end that no one seemed to ever fill. did i mention it was also way too big? 40 inputs in EIGHT feet of desk? what?
Click to expand...

The extra slots were for 8 more matrix outs, 2 per slot. All the Europas I have used had the extra outputs. Yes, it was a huge console, but it was also pretty easy to use, and included some automation. The extra spacing between modules was similar to some larger studio consoles. I did a corporate show where I had 2 Europas side by side with a SC Venue 24ch sidecar. Good thing I had a chair with wheels.

Mac
 
Re: soundcraft europa

As Mac said it was huge because it was based around a current studio desk at the time, can't remember which one just now though. I always found it a good desk if a little flaky at times, the size thing well you got used to it its flightcase make a good bulkhead in the truck :) G
 
Re: soundcraft europa

Used it, moved it, mixed on it, packed it in trucks, actually still own it. Doesn't get much if any use lately, but I still think it was a nice desk. At the time it came out, it was pretty much the only real big boy option to a PM3000 unless you wanted to look at maybe TAC9000. It predates the XL3, if not by manufacture, at least be marketing in the US. Once the PSU's were swapped out for the Schubert designed ones, console was pretty reliable. We didn't get the automation package. I believe very few did. I am fairly sure that it was the same OEM manufacturer and basic package as the XL4 would use a little later. Yes, it is big and heavy and too long to go across the truck. But, not really that much bigger or heavier than a PM4k. Get an EZ tilt (well they didn't exist back when it first came out) and setting it up is the same effort as a PM4K. Never understood the big worry about length in the truck. Just have to change the mind set from rows to columns. If your boxes are all 1/4 truck pack, then the Europa is just 1 box in each of 4 rows, instead of 4 boxes in one row. Never a big deal here. The on board gates were pretty useful. It was nice having a gate available on every channel, something in this digital age that we are used to.

Raul Suarez
Third Ear Sound
 
Re: soundcraft europa

gordon mcgregor said:
As Mac said it was huge because it was based around a current studio desk at the time, can't remember which one just now though. I always found it a good desk if a little flaky at times, the size thing well you got used to it its flightcase make a good bulkhead in the truck :) G
Click to expand...

i had a feeling it was based on some studio desk. the dimensions were just so odd for a road console, even in those 'early days'. i didn't know/remember that it predated the PM4K. the shop i worked out of was a yamaha house, so i only saw the soundcrafts on other people's shows...

didn't know it had gates. that's kinda cool.
 
Re: soundcraft europa

gordon mcgregor said:
As Mac said it was huge because it was based around a current studio desk at the time, can't remember which one just now though. I always found it a good desk if a little flaky at times, the size thing well you got used to it its flightcase make a good bulkhead in the truck :) G
Click to expand...

Hello,

While some would argue that it was not in the same class... I think that the Europa was Soundcraft's answer to the Cadac....J (whatever) that was being used more and more at the time, on the Road for Concerts. The Cadac was, (and still may be in some cases) the go-to Theatre Console for the large production Theatre Shows.

Showco's Show-Console came out slightly later than the Europa...I think possibly two/three years. Both the Europa and the Show-Console came with or without Automation. Harrison made the Show-Console for Showco.

I used the Europa on a few festivals, a weekly Concert series, and a couple of White House/Presidential gigs for a Sound Provider I was working for at the time. It was big and heavy. On at least one occasion, I think it took a couple of years off of my life, as Bill Collins, Keith Jex, and I had lost our stagehands (they disappeared during load out) and we had to push the monster up a grassy hill and up the truck ramp. After that task, stacking EAW 850's in the truck was a breeze. ;o)

Hammer
 
Re: soundcraft europa

Definitely before the PM4k. At the price point it was either a PM3k or this. The Gamble was much more and we were unaware of the XL3 at the time. Yes before the invention of EZ tilts, I am sure I stand a few inches shorter and probably a little bent from moving Europas and 4K's. I always loved slowing unaware stage hands down to explain that, yes those casters will hang off the liftgate.

Raul
 
Re: soundcraft europa

The big-guy soundco here in town bought one in 1990, I think. They were dealers and I bought a little Spirit 10.2 from them about the same time. I wonder if the one order contained Soundcraft's largest and smallest (at the time) consoles?

According to the repair tech at the time, the trouble with the PSUs was that they had a line voltage meter on them. A well meaning system tech would take a Variac to the gig, and adjust the line voltage, as measured on the supply, to read 120 V. Trouble was, the meter was reading low, and he had actually boosted the voltage up to 130 or 140 V. Not a recipe for longevity for the power supplies.:(~:-(~:sad: I recall hearing from someone that if the end trim pieces were removed from the Europa, it could be shoehorned into a case that was 8 feet long, and fit across the inside of a truck. That may just have been a rumour however.

I think the contemporary studio console to the Europa was the 3200. It also had a gate on every channel, although being a split console instead of in-line, was even bigger. (And I still think that console in Kristian's thread looks like a 3200. :D~:-D~:grin:)

GTD
 
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