DBX 386 mic pre mods

[Chris Parsons]

Hello,

What could I do to my DBX 386 to make it sound less "consumer"? I figure I can change the 12AU7 tubes to something better. What about opamps? Has anyone ever modded one of these and gotten good results?

Thanks,

-Chris Parsons

[soundeziner]

I've got one in my portable rack. Let me know the results if you decide to experiment with it.

[Chris Parsons]

So should I mod the DBX or sell it off?

[HoPMiX]

i have one. It stopped working after about a year and a half. I just have it sitting in the rack as a spacer. JUNK

[dementedchord]

i've got one here and love it... i've never really considered modding it... anybody got a schemo for this puppy????

[reypina]

Has anyone found any info on modding the 386 or done any experimenting? I've been searching all day for info with no luck. It seem strange that there is no info on a mod for this piece. Has anybody gotten their hands on a schematic?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[Stitch333]

The starting points I'd use would be:
-tube upgrade
-IC upgrade
-audio path component upgrade
-transformer balance output

Some of this can be done without schematics, some only with.
Tho I can pretty much smell the "tube"esque starved plate design with haze and mud everywhere to begin with...

Sell that box and build a couple of Hamptone pre's

[mildav]

dbx 386 is nice pre for the price....i considering to change tubes.....a friend of mine changed the chinese tubes inside with the mesaboogie 12ax7 and the result is best agressive sound

[dementedchord]

Originally Posted by Stitch333

Tho I can pretty much smell the "tube"esque starved plate design with haze and mud everywhere to begin with...

what this really smells like is the common misconception often associated with dbx by the ill informed....

there's 200V on that tube.... dont want to beliene it??? grab it once....tutt

[denismcd]

Tried and sold the DBX386...great for AD conversion. The tube gain was not to my taste. It sounded to me like I was listening through a wool sweater.

[qbert1]

I had one once and the only mod I got around to was a tube swap. I can't remember what I used, but it made a big difference over stock. It's a good place to start.

BTW, I could have sworn there was a schematic in the manual

[Jim Williams]

One of these had the HV taps on the power transformer go out. No replacements available. I bypassed the tube sections and it sounded pretty good.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades