Earlier this year, I acquired a unique piece of audio history. Since the mid 1970’s, Midas has been making the world’s finest live sound mixing consoles. Their unmatched sound quality has earned the respect of the finest engineers and musicians worldwide.In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s Midas manufactured custom mixing consoles for artists such as Pink Floyd and Kansas. Midas also designed and built four consoles for the Broadway show Cats in 1981. However, there is one console that remains the most rare, and quite possibly the best sounding console Midas ever built. The Midas DA-01 was custom built for the band Supertramp in 1978. The desk began construction in winter of 1978 and was completed in early 1979. Only one was made. In 1981 Supertramp sold their touring equipment to a gentleman who then started Delicate Productions in Las Angles. For many years the DA-01 was considered to be the finest live sound console in existence. It saw some of the largest acts, and traveled around the world. In the early 1990’s the console was taken out of service and sold to a well respected live sound engineer until 2007 when I purchased it. I am in the process of restoring this console. When complete, it will be maintained and kept fully operational in a recording studio environment. The touring days for the DA-01 are over, but its history and legendary sound quality will live on forever. Midas continues to make the world’s finest mixing consoles, with a legendary sound and distinctive purple paint that harkens back to a well respected past. If you have a vintage Midas console and are interested in having it serviced, please feel free to contact me. I would be glad to help. These are great pieces of equipment that deserve to be kept in working order.

The Restoration
Here is picture of the master section. I have replaced all of the capacitors and op-amps. Its nice and quiet now!

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