Tell me about your unique equipment.

[Joe_caithness]

One of a kinds, you built, or had built, or customised beyond recognition.

I find this stuff really interesting.

I have told about mine before so I won't jump in and make a thread about myself.. what you got?

[strdsk]

All of my analog gear (EQs, Comps, and Tranny switchers) were custom built for me by Dort and Operation Audio. What was cool for me was to be able to choose what parameters, specs, and materials were used in the process. Right down to the size of the units. Also, the gear has a proprietary sound of sorts...regardless of how it's tweaked. The comp for example sounds like a tweked LA2A on lots of material...a tone you couldn't score from a stock LA2A or even Fairchild. I went custom years ago and never looked back. It's the only way I could truly ever have what I searched for so long...

[dcollins]

Custom A/D, D/A, SRC, and EQ here. Most everything else analog has been modified in some way.


DC

[ORC]

I use this compressor when i need to add air to a track. As far as i Know, I'm the only ME using one!

[12ax7]

Originally Posted by ORC

I use this compressor [Attachment 198918] when i need to add air to a track.

As far as i Know, I'm the only ME using one!

You FOOL!

Those things are noisy as hell!

Here's what I use to add air:



...But then again, I'm an old-school purist, so...
.

[Red Mastering]

a pair of my ears,
custom made for 1 only client in the whole galactic...

I have another unique equipment, but won't mention it here, 'cause ladies visit this forum too

[Greg Reierson]

I dig into most everything in some way. Might be as simple as modifying control surfaces to ground-up EQ and monitor controller builds. My analog deck mods are the reslut of years in the trenches with high speed dupe systems. Other mods done with the help of people who know a lot more than I about specific things. Compressor mods have proven to be out of my league.

Mods are fun but it's all too easy to make a mess of things (voice of experience...). Always make before/after comparisons to be sure the mod is actually better and not just different. Some things are very hard to improve upon.


GR

[jason]

Originally Posted by dcollins

Custom A/D, D/A

DC

Very cool....based around an AKM or Cirrus chip?

What was the motivation to build your own over buying a commercial unit
(any particular design aspect you were looking to improve)?

Cheers,

j

[dcollins]

Originally Posted by jason

Very cool....based around an AKM or Cirrus chip?

What was the motivation to build your own over buying a commercial unit
(any particular design aspect you were looking to improve)?

D/A is Analog Devices, the A/D is Arda Technologies.

The main reason I do it is to simplify the audio path as much as possible. The A/D has one stage before the chip the D/A has two after it.

Because I know the signals etc. that will be involved, I can run without level controls, balancing/unbalancing or other circuits that are not needed in my chain.


DC

[Brad Blackwood]

Three custom EQ's, a custom SRC, custom M/S matrix, custom transfer console and a few minor customizations to other analog bits here.

[jackthebear]

We too have a custom transfer and monitor console........and custom rooms.....however I think it's our approach and attitude that is somewhat more unique.......and seems to matter more to our clients.......

[Silvertone]

Besides some custom mastering gear, I keep instruments that musicians can relate to when they walk in the room...

It's fun to watch Tony Levin play my Music Man bass or to watch Pat Mastelotto sit down and play my '64 Gretsch drums or Dangerous Dan Toler play my strat.. . I find having gear in the room makes musicians much more comfortable...

I still track for fun every once in a while... here is the room this past weekend... you should hear these kids, especially Emma's voice!... and soon you will...

[manman]

i use my custom build ahmad tea volume controller and
atari vu meters calibrated to -3dbfs

[Greg Reierson]

Originally Posted by manman

i use my custom build ahmad tea volume controller and
atari vu meters calibrated to -3dbfs

Nice! I used to have VU meters in a cigar box.

[manman]

actually it was a passive speaker switch for 3 trs outputs. i just removed the switch.

[Cellotron]

Nothing truly custom but half of the stuff in the rack has had some small mods to it -
* Amek Medici - recapped with Panasonic's, replaced input gain pots with 12 position Grayhill switches in 1/2dB steps
* Sontec MEP250EX - changed gain ranges from +/- 12dB to +/- 6dB so that changes of 1/2 dB are now possible, replaced the 2 per channel soft bypass buttons with a single button for hard bypass
* SPL SX2 Vitalizer - replaced a number of IC's with better spec'ed NS LM's.
Pendulum Audio OCL-2 - added a switch to allow me to bypass output pots and just have unity gain at output, replaced electrolytic caps with Panasonic's, upgraded tubes
* NTP 179-120's - added Triad and Jensen input/output transformers, added stereo link and hard bypass buttons to rack
* ADR Propak Audiomates - replaced JRC IC's with better speced NS LM's, removed input pots and replaced with resistors to just maintain unity gain at input

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[wado1942]

Stuff I've built
Desktop VU meters.
Summing busses
Most of my cables & so forth
I sorta' built a multiband compressor but I made it out of off the shelf compressors.

Modified stuff? Almost everything else in my studio in one shape or form, except my Orban EQ, but I'm thinking of changing a few things on it since it's somewhat noisy for me and doesn't quite have the parameters I'd like.

[Bonati]

Originally Posted by dcollins

Custom A/D, D/A, SRC, and EQ here. Most everything else analog has been modified in some way.

Hi Dave - I'm intrigued by your A/D/A builds. What were your criteria when selecting the chips? Do you have level meters on the A/D unit? Was price the only thing you disliked about the available off-the-shelf mastering converters?

[mcsnare]

I have a custom made clock. An ex-military scientist made it for me using parts of the navigation system recovered from a crashed UFO. Makes my rig sound incredible but the surgery to alter my fingerprints to an alien pattern to allow the thing to turn on was a bitch.

Dave

[Teddy Ray]

I have a custom designed vacuum tube recording mixer (6 x 2). It is part of my portable setup for a very big venture I am undertaking after the beginning of the year, documenting various musicians in their home turf(think Lomax/Folkways, but with different music choices). Too many amazing , creative players/singers never get any recognition, dying before ever being heard. I hope to help that cause..

anyway, I first got inspired by Jan Eric Persson(whose Label, OPUS 3 records produces some of the best sounding albums I have ever heard..check out Eric Bibb and needed time- spirit and the blues for but one suggestion) He uses a mixer he designed himself, and this feeds a telefunken m15 Tape Machine.. his records are consistently sonically awe inspiring... he does no EQ in post, no balance, no nothing.. everything is made right at the source!

my mixer has L/C/R panpots, not continuously variable. 62 dB gain. Phantom Power on/off and the following fixed EQ points.


450Hz @ 6dB/octave
225Hz @ 6dB/octave
75Hz @ 6dB/octave
Flat
60Hz @ 12dB/octave
150Hz @ 12dB/octave

outputs to a custom designed ADC>>> Sound Devices 722.

[lowland]

Originally Posted by Teddy Ray

Too many amazing , creative players/singers never get any recognition, dying before ever being heard. I hope to help that cause.

There's a joke in there somewhere...

[Thomas W. Bethe]

Lots of customizations to my Alon IV Speakers, to my various controllers, to some analog gear and work surfaces. I use to do a lot more but don't seem to have the time anymore. Maybe later this year or the start of next year I will get into building or modifying more equipment. We just installed some new custom VU meter panels and redid some analog and digital AES/EBU wiring and added an additional digital output from my mastering computer. It all takes time and lately I have not had much free time.

[bitman]

I have a recording light in rhe tracking room that is driven by a 22khz tone that originates in Sonar's audio metronome. That tone also ducks the talkback during record. An x10 home automation "power flash" alarm interface senses the incoming tone and then turns on a silent relay feeding the AC to the light.

Just last night I harnessed the iSCSI protocol to make my DAW's CD-R look like a local reader in my duplicator box. So I can write the superstar's cd and then dup it without getting up. To move the resulting disc to the duplicator

Oh yeah.

[Tubefreak]

Varimu
Loosely based around the Thermionic Culture Phoenix. Deeply modified to fit my wishes, oa: attack (extra long) and release (extra short) times, stepped switches, true bypass, no negative feedback, custom program release, etc.


Maarten

[PBM]

Custom dog pool. Hand-picked components, carefully welded into a mega-pack of attitude: comforting for the righteous and pure of heart; utter Rabelasian nightmare for the dissimulators and tardy of monetary transfer.

[Ben F]

Originally Posted by jackthebear

We too have a custom transfer and monitor console........and custom rooms.....however I think it's our approach and attitude that is somewhat more unique.......and seems to matter more to our clients.......

Much like your custom train set that you have at home.

[jackthebear]

Originally Posted by Ben F

Much like your custom train set that you have at home.

Yeah the same one you spilt your medicine on trying to get rid of your migraine........

[Herbeck]

I use Samplitude and my own developed plugins.
Customized analog gear is accepted and almost the norm,
digital on the other hand seems to be tabu.


All the best

Herbeck

[Serif Sound]

• bundled and laced all cables with kite string, using a Marline hitch.

• apparently, each D. A. L. owner has a custom cross-over for each speaker... (Dunlavy SC-V v.1 cross overs)

• custom Hamilton mod to the Dunlavy SC speakers (additional piano felt strips around the
tweeter and high mid-range drivers...)

• modified ATR-102 - added urethane capstan with new glass encoder
(capstan_replacement), J-13/-14 signaling snake, VS-20, Flux and ECM heads.

• modified A 80 R VU - added direct interconnect panel, urethane tyre, and rebuilt the PSU's rectifier board (and replaced bad condensers)

• modified vintage sound studio (added a wall, redid Pink Panther insulation to Roxul, converted dirty to iso. ground, store-bought (RealTraps) and custom traps...)

• in-house modified vari-mu (hp s/c, t-bar...)

• custom hp switch for OCL-2 (cherry-picked caps and Elma selector)

• custom monitor controller (with Shallco H-pad and L/R flip-switch muting)

• SonicStudio-modded HD-3A breakout box (for better heat control and
better jitter attenuation)

• modified & custom Sterling Modular Plan A desk
(Edge Banding)
- has mahogany edge banding over middle seam and additional black
edge banding on once exposed surfaces.... also went for Midnight Blue Naugahyde wrist pad...

• custom XLR jackfield, using Mogami 3080 (twisted pair with drain and shield; 14 pF/foot)

• modified diet (Wife became vegan a few years ago... Gotta love soy.)

• custom and then told them not to come back! (j/k...)


Cheers,
Andrew

[dualflip]

- A pair of 1176 DIY which sound awesome
- An MCI JH-528 currently being moded
- A pair of MM310 Warner Brothers Q8 Modules, not moded but one of a kind