Console Install
A bit of fun..
We are often asked, How did you get the SSL into studio A's control room? People look at the size of the console and ponder 2 questions. How did it get in the room? and How did you get it up the stairs?
Well ponder no more as we reveal the secrets below;
Up, UP and AWAY
How did we get it up the stairs? Simple it took flight with a fork lift ride up to level 2 and into the side of the building.
Have we ever been so nervous? Nope, never!
Seen here is the unloaded frame (Meaning all the electronics are out of the console) being hoisted into place. You'll notice another doorway in the live room photos of Studio A, an extra door that doesn't open. Its a service access way designed to open up to the garage roller door on the outside of the factory, (after we remove a massive amount of heavy soundproofing that is) but it is possible to bring something else large up this way in the future,. However as the photos below show, we got the frame up before the Live room framing was even completed.
Touch Down
Once landed we had to get it into the control room and that was the harder part.
First up, you can see by the photos that studio A live room and lounge wasn't even built yet and was in various stages of construction. We built the control room first so we could get the console frame up before we came into any "surprises" It took 5 guys just to lift one end of the console over the floating floors. The lounge is just wide enough to turn the console. That part was by design, as are the doors. The doors as mentioned, (in the doors and windows page) are built to be just the right size. Literally.... down to the mm. However we didn't think about us getting in and out, did we?, So in the photo below you can see Jason (Our carpenter) having to commando crawl under it, Don't worry, at least we all got to try this. lol.
A few moments later...
After some colourful words the SSL landed in its new home. Over the next year the console was refurbished from the ground up. Leather work re-upholstered and wiring completed. Thousands of solder points and pins in multicore DL connectors to the loads of outboard racks, wiring runs in the floors to the machine room and heaps of cable fun. Then after further commissioning, Testing and upgrading (with new automation system and Atomic Power supply) it was finally here. Now we look back and smile knowing how much time, effort & money went into bringing "The Whispering Jack" console home.
The Console today! Beautiful, Just Beautiful.