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Originally Posted by colony nofi  Oh my. I am very interested in this little product. Very interested indeed...
Great concept... especially the 500 series slots.
I wonder if they could put a talkback button in there for me? <grin>
B. |
Hello fellow gearslutz!
I apologize for not signing on sooner, it's been a busy few months. I wanted to check in and say "hi" and thank you for all the kind comments and compliments on the Busby gear.
I'll answer some questions here.
Yes, a talkback module is at least on the drawing board, and would fit into either one of the 500 slots, or the master section.
The board is not part of the TLA tube family of sound. Our preamp uses 2 stages of 6au6, the outputs and direct output buffers use 12BH7. Mic inputs are transformer balanced, direct outputs can be unbalanced or optionally transformer balanced. The choice of transformer manufacturer/model will affect the sound to some extent. The sound is further modifiable depending on the settings of pads and preamp gain.
I am definitely influenced by Putnam's 610 console, I owned a 12 channel version in the early 80s, very rusted, corroded, missing psu, etc. I foolishly let it go in trade for tube mics... The Busby console fills my need to right that wrong :-)
Kinganalog, by all means send another email, I don't have record of one under that name. I am building 2 mixers at this time, a stock 6 channel and Reese's 8 channel one. I am not going to take any more orders until these two are completed. They are the first official builds, circuits have thus far been built up in prototype format.
Just before the big scare of a recession, Busby got quotes from a few metal work shops in BC to fabricate the chassis. We want to keep production as close to home as possible, and also have control over customizing orders. Our work orders were not big enough to warrant even getting quotes back from companies, so I researched cnc machines capable of producing the chassis and pc boards. A few months ago I took delivery of a cnc machine and began production, with a period of learning. A major breakdown of controller put production behind by about 3 weeks.
On June 30th, I received word that the building that houses me and the Busby workshops was needed for family emergency, which has caused a second delay as I prepare to move to a new found location. Production should recommence in the second week of August. The present economic climate has presented some very real challenges, but Busby is a small enough company to change game plan to overcome most problems quickly.
Concurrent with the build of the mixers, we are also building the first two units of the 2Rack, which houses the same preamp/buffer as the mixer.
The price is based on low margin, direct sale. The business model is designed based on 300 units over 3 years total for worldwide sales.
Many elements of the design can be customized. This includes the replacement of the left/middle/right concept with a continuous pan. Much of the initial design is based on my likes - I'm not a fan of continuous pan on the mixer, I'd rather affect placement through stereo pickup in the initial recording, or time delay on mix, but that's just me. I have quoted on 2 mixers using continuous pan, and also on one that includes a second auxiliary send.
Matt, we should be able to accommodate new face panels for 500 series modules, as our shop is set up to do the entire metal work processes. There would obviously be a cost attached. Noting the 610 console of Neil Young, the muted green wasn't stock. My 610 console was all black and silver, completely stock. Interestingly, I had not seen Neil's mixer before designing mine, I was using colours from my parents' living room.
The 500 series modules do go in the top slots. I will design a special faceplate to accommodate the few dual space 500 modules in the market.
The slots will also house our own eq and compressor modules at a future date, hopefully some time in 2011, unless an industrious user comes up with one sooner. We will fully divulge the pin requirements to interested parties to facilitate custom accessories.
The six channel version of the mixer is rack mountable.
We will do a mastering console at some point.
Line inputs can be fed through the same inputs as the mics, effectively reduced by pads before the transformer, as many of the older consoles did it. The standard design allows one to inject a line level signal directly into the output buffer when the corresponding channel is being fed to the main outputs. This allows one to use the tube amplification to "warm" or colour the sound of that input, although the resulting signal is only accessible via the direct output. It was designed this way so as not to waste the buffer when it wasn't used by the channel.
I have been a studio engineer since the mid-seventies, a professional musician since before that. In the past decade I have purchased many pieces of vintage gear built in the 30s through the 60s and am always amazed at how it can be brought back to life with very little effort. That ethic is the basis of my design. I want the Busby products to never be discarded to the scrap heap, and will do everything in my power to fulfill this policy. I want the products to be able to be repaired in the field by qualified end users or electronics repair people with basic knowledge. I want end users to play a part in modifying the design to fit the needs of a varied market. I want the products to be fun while being productive!
I also want to keep production in Canada, and also look at the possibility of having production occur in other countries where the ultimate purchase will be made. This would help keep shipping costs down and ensure more local support. As long as I'm heading up Busby, production will not move offshore except to service that market. Busby will also limit production to some extent to ensure that support can be given.
Thank you for the interest that you all have in the Busby products. Back to packing and moving now. I'll endeavor to answer any queries as promptly as possible on this list.
Cheers,
Donn
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