Notable Work

Stories from the bench, and beyond it.

A few of the projects, places and people that have shaped Thermal Relief Design.

SSL 9080J console powered up, its meters and channel lights glowing in a darkened room
The 9080J, powered up.

Case study  ·  2016

SSL 9080J: Refurbish & Commission, 2016

In 2016, Thermal Relief Design took on its first large-format console since the 2015 takeover: a Solid State Logic 9080J, originally installed at Metalworks Studios in Canada. We refurbished the console and commissioned it, returning it to service.

Some consoles pass through the shop; this one stayed in the family. Today that same 9080J is set up as a 48-channel desk in our Chief Engineer’s own studio, and it is the console you see at the top of our home page.

SSL 9080J  ·  Originally installed at Metalworks Studios, Canada  ·  Refurbished & commissioned, 2016

SSL 9080J console laid out in the Thermal Relief Design warehouse
In the warehouse.
SSL 9080J centre section with talkback and communication controls and the master fader
Centre section: talkback, communications and the master fader.
Close-up of SSL 9080J channel strips with aux send pots
Channel strips and aux sends.
SSL 9080J channel strips with aux pots and channel faders
Channel strips and faders.
Full SSL 9080J console at the Thermal Relief Design shop
At the shop.
SSL 9080J console at the Thermal Relief Design shop, seen along its length
At the shop, end to end.
SSL 9080J centre section before refurbishment, with tape across the patch and keyboard area
Centre section before refurbishment.
Rear wiring harnesses and looms of the SSL 9080J laid out on the floor
Harnesses and looms out on the floor.
SSL 9080J channel cards fitted with THAT 2002 VCAs
Channel cards with THAT 2002 VCAs.
Nameplate reading Focusrite Studio Console No. 005, Designed & Built for Bop Recording Studios
Focusrite Studio Console No. 005, designed and built for Bop Recording Studios.

Case study  ·  2019

Focusrite Studio Console No. 005

Focusrite Studio Console No. 005, one of only ten ever built, was designed and built for Bop Recording Studios in South Africa. In September 2019, Thermal Relief Design traveled to South Africa to bring it to the USA. Its journey ran in three chapters: decommissioned in South Africa, received and begun in our Las Vegas warehouse, and finished on site in Mesa, Arizona.

The console is now the centerpiece of The Focusrite Room at The Platinum Underground. Its story has been covered by Mix and Focusrite, which note that the restoration was initially started by Joel Gette of Thermal Relief Design before the desk moved to Mesa.

Console #5  ·  Decommissioned in South Africa  ·  Work begun in Las Vegas  ·  Finished on site in Mesa, AZ

Chapter one  ·  September 2019

South Africa: decommission

In September 2019, our team traveled to Bop Recording Studios, the console’s home since it was built. We decommissioned the desk in its control room, and it was crated and shipped to the USA.

The dark brick buildings of Bop Recording Studios in South Africa, on dry grass beside a road under a blue sky
Bop Recording Studios, South Africa.
A concrete courtyard with a tree and dark brick walls at Bop Recording Studios in South Africa
At Bop Recording Studios, South Africa.
The Bop Recording Studios control room in South Africa, emptied after the console was removed
The control room, emptied.
Team members working around Focusrite Studio Console No. 005 in the Bop Recording Studios control room during decommissioning
Decommissioning in the control room.
Console looms and cables laid out across the Bop Recording Studios control room floor
Looms across the control room floor.
Labelled Focusrite power supply racks from Console No. 005
The power supply racks, labelled.
Wooden shipping crates holding the console, lined up outdoors in South Africa
Crated for shipping.
Wooden crates loaded on a flatbed truck in South Africa
Crates on the truck.

Chapter two

Las Vegas: received, and the work began

The crates were received at Thermal Relief Design’s warehouse in Las Vegas, where the frames were unpacked and set up and we started the work: caps, frame work and more.

Focusrite Studio Console No. 005 assembled in a long curve in the Thermal Relief Design warehouse, Las Vegas
Console No. 005 assembled in our Las Vegas warehouse.
Console frames unpacked among boxes in the Thermal Relief Design warehouse in Las Vegas
The frames arrive in the warehouse.
Console frames set up in a curve on the Las Vegas warehouse floor
Frames set up on the warehouse floor.
Rear of the console frames with looms and connectors spread across the floor
Frame rears, looms and connectors.
Rear of a console frame section with its wiring and looms
Inside a frame section.
Ribbon cables and wiring running along the back of the console frames
Ribbon cables and wiring.
New power supplies wired up on the bench
New power supplies wired on the bench.
A multipin connector being rewired
Rewiring a connector.
Main circuit board from the console's stereo bus compressor/gate on the bench
Stereo bus compressor/gate main board.
Stereo bus compressor/gate unit on the bench with test equipment
The stereo bus compressor/gate on the bench.
Focusrite ISA channel modules in the console, with an empty module slot
ISA channel modules.
Focusrite fader strips with channel faders and status buttons
Fader strips.
Moving-fader module pulled from the console, with a production label dated 1991
Moving-fader module, labelled 1991.
Lit VU meters in the console's meter bridge
The VU meters, lit.
Centre section of Focusrite Studio Console No. 005
The centre section.
Focusrite Studio Console No. 005 being assembled in the Las Vegas warehouse
Coming together in the warehouse.

Chapter three

Mesa, Arizona: finished on site

From Las Vegas, the console moved to The Platinum Underground in Mesa, Arizona, where Orphan Audio took over and finished it on site. Today it is the centerpiece of The Focusrite Room, and its story has been told by Mix and Focusrite.

Consoles we’ve worked on

Consoles we’ve worked on

Large-format consoles we’ve worked on since 2016. See our console repair and restoration services.

Neve 88R console
Neve 88R
SSL Duality SE console
SSL Duality SE
Solid State Logic large-format console
Solid State Logic
AMS Neve console in a control room
AMS Neve
Euphonix console
Euphonix
SSL Duality SE opened up on the bench with its cards exposed
SSL Duality SE, opened up on the bench
Console opened up on the bench with its cards exposed
Opened up, cards exposed
Large-format analog console
Large-format console
Large-format console on the bench
Large-format console restoration
Vintage large-format console in the workshop
Large-format console restoration
Large-format console in the workshop
Large-format console in the workshop
Large-format console in the workshop
Large-format console in the workshop
Large-format console in a control room
Large-format console
Large-format digital console in a control room
Large-format console
Large-format console center section
Large-format console
Large-format console master section
Large-format console
Large-format console sections staged for work
Console sections staged for work
Console with its side panel open and wiring exposed
Opened up for service
Large-format console with a touchscreen in a control room
Large-format console
Console with a touchscreen and fader bank
Large-format console
The Thermal Relief Design tech bench with test equipment and circuit boards
The tech bench

Restoration

Focusrite ISA: rewired the way the factory would

On older ISA 110, 115, 130 and 131 units, the original wiring is harnessed into the switches with no slack, so replacement switches can’t simply be wired in. Rather than extend the wires, we build new switch looms with original-specification British wire, and use rubber Hellermann sleeves instead of heat-shrink to keep the look of the factory wiring. More on our Focusrite ISA, Red and Blue Series service.

Original Focusrite ISA 115 filter switch wiring
Before: original filter switch PCB wiring.
Thermal Relief Design rewiring of the ISA 115 filter switch
After: Thermal Relief Design wiring.
Old versus new switch
Old versus new switch.
New mic switch harness
New mic switch harness, original-spec wire.

Studios

Studio wiring & console installs

  • Studio ALas Vegas
  • No Interference Recording StudiosLas Vegas
  • Full Circle StudiosLas Vegas
  • The Studio at the PalmsPalms Casino Resort, Las Vegas

Thermal Relief Design has also designed and built custom large-format speaker systems for Studio A, Las Vegas, and Broken Dog Studios, Rhode Island.

Console interface wiring

Early years of Thermal Relief Design

In the early years of Thermal Relief Design, we designed console interface wiring for music recording and TV broadcast facilities across the country, including:

  • AMS Neve 55 Series console for CBS-TV, Winter Olympics coverage
  • AMS Neve Capricorn consoles for Chung King Studios, The Hit Factory and Right Track Recording, NYC, and the Effanel Music remote truck
  • AMS Neve 55 Series consoles for KIRO TV-7 (Seattle), KTTV and WBNS TV-10 (Columbus)
  • AMS Neve BTC consoles for KWGN TV-2 (Englewood, CO), WLVI-TV (Boston) and WXIN-TV
  • AMS Neve Libra console for the University of Memphis
  • Amek Rembrandt console for Untouchables Ent. Group, Closter, NJ
  • PlayGround / MiniMansion Recording Studios

In the industry

Press & training

In the press

Press  ·  August 2008

FOH Magazine

In the early years of Thermal Relief Design, our crew was profiled in the August 2008 issue of FOH Magazine.

Read the FOH profile

Training  ·  February 2008

Linea Research

Linea Research’s service manager, Lee Basham, spent a week at Thermal Relief Design training our staff on Class D (PWM) amplifiers and switch-mode power supplies, to service the X-Pod amplifiers used in Turbosound powered speakers.

Next step

Start a Repair

Tell us about your gear and what it’s doing. We’ll take it from there.

Start a Repair
Contact Us

(702) 395-7005  ·  support@thermalrelief.com