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Thread: Had to share

  1. #1

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    Default Had to share

    Ok
    As a a lot of you guys know I am a bit of recording geek and I am fueled by my brother who is a studio engineer. Well, A little background about what has been going on for the past year. My father in law owned and ran a business in Detroit MI conducting nondestructive testing of parts for the big 3 as well as other companies. He would design circuits and create different ways to test parts without destroying them using industrial ultrasound, resistence, etc. Well with the economy taking a huge dump and Detroit sitting at about 45% unemployment he is being forced to close his shop and his livelyhood. SO one day my brother and I were sitting around discussing high end analog gear. (again another refresher). In the the late 80's early 90's everything was going digital and everyone thought this was the panacea of audio. Well what has been learned over the years is the digital world creates a very sterile sound which is brittle and thin. one way to combat this is to send the track through analog outboard gear with tubes and transformers which imparts the warm analog sound that humans like (i.e. third order harmonics). IT hit me like a ton of bricks my father in law grew up learning how to design circuits and create gear back in the 60's in analog communications. So I gave him a call and discussed some of the gear and asked if he was game for building analog gear. I sent him some schematics and he said " I have no idea what this stuff does but yes I can build it." Now at this point my brother and I started researching. We came up with our first project a pultec eq1a clone. The pultec is legendary in the recording world and is used today. It is a parametric eq using multiple transformers and tubes which imparts a almost magical quality to ANY track that is run through it. It has not been made since the 70's and they are wearing out and are extremely expensive (just look on ebay). We spent 6 months parting it out as the resistors, capacitors, and transformers have not been made in years and we had to find an equivalent that is made now. Then we decided to use Cinemag transformers as the are super quiet and used in the best pro audio gear out there (i.e. Manley, Langevin, etc) and has never been done with a pultec which would therefore not color the sound and get monstrous amounts of headroom. This required a few months of schematic revisions and adjustments to verify it would work finally we had to fabricate the chassis and viola! we finished our first prototype.

    Pretty cool my father in law is using skills he never thought he would use again the were antiquated in a different way which he can be productive and create a living. We are naming the business in honor of his old business (i.e. nondestructive testing) Nondestructive Audio. Thought it was pretty cool. Anyway here is the pics of prototype 0001.

    Ran some tests this weekend when we went up to Detroit to visit the inlaws a nd it sounds GLORIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!! and functions perfectly. A few more adjustments and then to final testing and the beginning of building high end boutique pro audio gear.

    Just had to share as I am so stoked. Sorry about the long post.





  2. #2

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    Default Re: Had to share

    A few more pics...
    BTW, the front of the unit is covered in masking tape with the values on it as the front of the unit will then be sent for etching and painting which is the final step of the prototype.



  3. #3

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    Default Re: Had to share

    Speechless.....I felt like I just witnessed a comeback for your father-in-law and a start of a new family business for all of you. I have very little audio engineering knowledge but I do know the issues surrounding digital audio and the sterile, thin, brittle sound it tends to replicate. I remember reading that major recording studios are using different methods to get the "warmth" back into the recordings by running the digital audio over the heads of an analog reel to reel deck just to get some wow and flutter back into the mix.

    Is the box you guys built designed like a pultec but at the fraction of the cost? Thanks!

  4. #4

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    really like the big 70's style pots

  5. #5

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    Wow. That's awesome.

  6. #6

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    Thats some quality stuff right there.
    -Steven

  7. #7

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    Very cool nucjd. Out of the ashes, the Phoenix rises again!
    Quoting gonefishin: Just have some bacon with ya when you go pick her up..........youre an instant chick magnet.





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  8. #8

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    Thanks guys. I am really excited mainly for my father in law and brother. I don't plan on making a huge profit or anything but if my brother and father in law can make a living doing it I am going to do everything in power to help. Late, I am hesitant to name our price but as you know an original pultec goes for about 6000-8000 dollars so our price point would like to be below 3000 dollars and hopefully around 2500 dollars for the single channel unit. Really depends on what our part out costs and logistics will end up being. IF we could break below the 2000 mark then it would really be something special as multiple people could get into it. Our next step is to make a stereo unit with a mid/side Eq built into the unit so you can flip a switch and be able to access the mid/side aspect. We plan on making a high end two channel preamp and a two channel compressor (modeling after a 1176) which would probably be a fet compressor rather than an opto compressor like a la2a.
    Last edited by nucjd; 09-10-2011 at 07:24 AM.

  9. #9

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    Oh yea Late. It is an identical build as an original pultec. The chassis is the exact dimensions and the gauge of steel is the same as well. We spent quite a bit of time getting these parameters correct then found a fabrication company in New Jersey that could make it. The gauge of steel is very important as you can see there are very large transformers hanging off the back of the unit. The large transformers and tubes were put there for a very good reason. The capacitors are electrolytic gel and would dry out secondary to the heat being generated inside the unit which would create a need to recap it frequently (you could cook an egg on this thing if we put everything inside the unit). The original designers were pretty smart. So yes it is about as close to an original pultec that is being made with one very important difference, the Cinemag transformers which have improved the sonic characteristics when compared to the sowter or peerless transformers in our opinion.

  10. #10

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    Default Re: Had to share

    Thats very cool looks like great work nice professional and all that. good luck getting the price at a good cut off I love to see something done right and on a small scale, meaning family business kind of stuff.

    of course when you start talking about the specs and what it does and hanging stuff off the back because .. .. .. I realize you must be greek because I get about the same amount of information out of Το ορυχείο πηγαίνει σε ένδεκα

    thats just me though
    We Have nothing to fear but Reefs and Pirates

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  11. #11

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    This is REALLY cool! I wish the best for you guys in this endeavor - you could quickly make a name for yourselves if you get going in the right direction and get noticed by the right people. Keep us posted on how things shake out as it progresses.
    Your = possessive - your stuff, your dog, your car, etc
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  12. #12

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    I echo the above and it ll be great for the family too
    *TAMA-PEARL-REMO-EVANS-PAISTE- SABIAN-ZILDJIAN-VATER*

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  13. #13

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    Thanks for the encouragement guys. Little update. We are doing the final tweaks of adjustment of the picofarad cap crossing one of the tubes to dial in the the high frequency and we are changing the interstage transformer to pull the signal up to unity. The original pultec would drop about 12db of signal which would then be boosted by the unit or a preamp. we are boosting the signal and putting in a trim pot to adjust the output. We have been doing some beta testing with a few studios and the responses are nothing short of astonishing. My favorite quote is " I am addicted to this thing and can't imagine listening to a track that has not been pushed through it". I will post up final picks of the prototype once the face plate is finished. Tanks for all of the kind words.

  14. #14

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    Dude, this is awesome! I'm glad all your hard work is getting the praise it deserves. I can't wait to see the finished product!
    -Reuben

    SABIAN SQUAD
    ^^^SGD'S EVANS EMPIRE^^^
    RIP Frank "Fiacovaz" Iacovazzi

  15. #15

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    forget the pics, i want before/after audio!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    MAPEX MAFIA

  16. #16

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    Hey Chafey I will postup some AB clips so you guys can here what it can do. I can honestly say I have never used a piece of gear that so massively improves the sound.

  17. #17

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    OK guys. Here is a quick sound clip of one my drum tracks from a song we are working on. I am punching it in and out between the raw track and the track running through the pultec. Let me know what y'all think.

    http://www.mediafire.com/?vc4rx56duv5c5wi
    Last edited by nucjd; 10-11-2011 at 07:41 PM.

  18. #18

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    Ok, I can hear a slight difference throughout the recording. Which part has your unit kicked in nucjd?

    Man, I'm glad you weren't standing in front of me, because I would never have been able to keep a straight face! What an amazing difference in the sound, and the only difference is your unit? I have a feeling that your dad and brother will do just fine. The fullness of the sound is truly indredible!
    Quoting gonefishin: Just have some bacon with ya when you go pick her up..........youre an instant chick magnet.





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  19. #19

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    slight? with headphones in, the difference was day and night!!!!!!!!!
    MAPEX MAFIA

  20. #20

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    Thanks guys. That is why these things are coveted in recording studios. it has some mojo going on. We are really excited.

  21. #21

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    UH OH, just realized I boosted the crap out of the 60hrtz range. i will send another track through it and post it up.

  22. #22

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    Well, here is the front plate of the unit CNC'd out, painted in the CNC and finished. We are really pleased with how it looks and more so how it sounds. I will get better pics to show you guys which will then go on our nondestructive audio website.



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