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Thorn PM (?)


Ken Coker

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Comrades

Does anyone have pictures of or a brochure for the three-preset desk with a pin matrix that Thorn produced? Possibly called the Thorn PM, but I can't really remember. There was one, a forty-way I think, at the ADC in Cambridge in the early 80s and a larger one in Bangor at about the same time.

I don't need to know about the Q-File, just this desk.

Thanks

KC

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Ken,

It may not be right, but it sounds like a console I used to use might be what you're looking for? It didn't have any manufacturer's markings on it at all, and I don't have any 'before' photos, but this is what it looked like after I did a bit of a 'refurb' on it- if I recall correctly, the main surface was originally black, and the first photo shows it originally had a leathery wrist rest:

 

http://www.irwdesign.com/br/lxdesk1.JPG

 

http://www.irwdesign.com/br/lxdesk2.JPG

 

I never did work out how the pin matrix thing actually worked...IIRC, we only had about 10 pins for it!

 

Ian

 

Edited to add:

Blimey, just noticed what an awful spray job I did...In my defence I was young and knew everything...!

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We had one at uni - I'm certain I must have taken a photo of it but I don't really rate my chances of finding it unfortunately. I'll have a dig around; would be interested to see any others you get.

 

Red, yellow and blue crescent faders with different length pins to assign them to the sub master faders if memory serves?

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There was one, a forty-way I think, at the ADC in Cambridge in the early 80s

 

Quite possible - our current oldest dimmers are 2x20 way Thorn racks in the workshop installed new, I think, in the early 70s. We've got another 2x20 Thorn racks upstairs of slightly later and secondhand vintage. I'm not aware of the history of our control consoles that far back unfortunately, though there are certainly people around who are. There's a Gemini control terminations box installed above the Thorn racks, then I think we went from Gemini to a 520, and we were very early converts to Ion.

 

If you want me to put you in touch with someone who's been around the ADC far longer than I feel free to PM me.

 

 

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It was the fake fur that bothered me more.... :)

 

At least he removed the knobs from the sliders before dowsing them with spray paint.

 

 

To be fair, I'm pretty sure I removed the faders, buttons and switches as well- I think the photo must have been an 'in progress' shot, as I have distant memories of sitting there for hours undoing all the screws!

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I'm pretty sure I used a 40 way Thorn pin matrix desk at the Midlands Arts Centre, Cannon Hill Park back in the mid-eighties. This was only a 2 preset desk with quadrant faders. There were two sets of coloured pins, red and blue and IIFC 10 submaster faders. You could set up channel levels on each of the two presets - red or blue - then the appropriate pin in the matrix gave you that level on one of the submasters. If you planned carefully you could do quite complicated shows without too much resetting of channel faders. We used it mainly for the puppet company shows twice daily but gave us enough flexibility to cope with touring shows in the evening and weekends.

 

I don't have any photos of it, unfortunately but I remember it fondly. It was replaced in about 1985/6 with a strand M24.

 

 

 

 

John

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