Category: gear

amp camp – preflight 1

got an email blast from Gerald Weber about a two day workshop, dedicated to working on my own amps….
…so I signed up and the adventure begins

I’m taking 3 amps with me:

“bad eugene” (made from a Magnavox phono amp)
-needs new filter cap

“flames twin”

– restoring master volume
-“mapping” the previously installed mods
– power tube upgrade/bias (going half power)

 “norco twin” (my number one since 1991)

– hunt for source and fix recent dead bug event
– power tube upgrade/bias (going half power)
– tweaks for more gain and post inverter breakup

stay tuned for future updates

Brownsville CB Wah (CB200)

Picked up this Brownsville Wah via eBay.
This unit powered externally via a 3.5mm mini jack (pos tip).
The first mod as replacing it with the 2.1mm (neg tip) standard and removing the battery clip).

The circuit was identical to most inductor based wahs I’ve seen. 
Cleaned the pot and did the following mods:
Q Vocal Mod – Changed R1 to 100K (originally 33k)

Increase Gain and Bass Mod – change R12 to 330R (from 390R)
Volume Mod – Change R3 to 47k (from 68k)
Midrange Mod – change R4 to 2.7k (from 1.5k)

the new (old) DAW pt 4

Sync…
..became an issue. I originally started by recording a clock signal from the modular to track 16 on the AW and then routing that back to the modular via OMNI out 4 into a Doefper A119. Some of the modules didn’t like the gates they were getting, so I put another device (Alesis SR16 Drum Machine) in the chain that would receive/send MIDI clock from the AW. The modular now syncs via a Pittsburgh Modular MIDI3.

This allows me to “rehearse/jam” without the AW being in PLAY/REC – the SR16 generates its own clock. This also guarantees I get a correct tempo setting for the AW (when it becomes then lock source)
routing update: 

AD1: Waldorf Blofeld L
AD2: Waldorf Blofeld R
AD3: SE Boomstar 4075
AD4: Modular Demo rig 1
AD5: Modular Demo rig 2
AD6: SR16 Main R (kick out)
AD7: SR16 Main L (snare out)
AD8: SR16 Aux R (hat out)

(Presonus DigimaxLT via ADAT)
SL1-1: empty

SL1-2: empty
SL1-3: empty

SL1-4: empty
SL1-5: Shure KSM27 to modded TubePRE via insert return

SL1-6: Ibanez AD200 Return
SL1-7: Eventide H9 Return

SL1-8: Eventide H9 Return

Playflow…
…is the new challenge. 

I can’t just throw anything down and chop it up the way I’m accustomed to*
Individual parts have to run a minimum amount of time to be useful. 
Sources for these parts are in different locations and require different methods to generate them. 

I’ve decided that I should have a “workable” patch on the modular that will deliver melodic and rhythmic parts on two separate outputs as a guide for the entire piece. The rule I’ve set for myself (for now) is to be able to play the patch live. This also has the side benefit of being prepared for the meetup  (oscpgh) this weekend.

I was originally programming parts on the SR16, but I seem to be getting more interesting things in real time on the modular. 

Percussion patch is:


Sequencer: MFB SEQ01
Kick: PGH Mod LPG
Snare: Livewire Chaos Computer (clocked by Dalek Modulator Square out) Binary Gate out to VCA 

The SYMMETRY control of the Dalek waveform and PROBABILITY switches on the Chaos Computer affect timbre of the noise shaped by the VCA. 

Melodic patch: 

(2) Livewire AFG, sync’d, SAW out mixed into Livewire Frequensteiner, into Doepfer VCA 
PGH Modular KB1 controls 1voct and triggers ADSR (fed to VCA and Frequensteiner) 
Livewire Vulcan Modulator LFO L to FM in on AFG1 (vibrato), LFO R to FM in on AFG2 (sync sweep)

I went into the weekend with the idea that I’d give specific musical/sonic roles to the Modular, Boomstar and Blofeld. A couple passes at this approach didn’t seem to intrigue me as much as limiting myself to “Modular only” and layering additional takes on top of the “workable patch”. For the moment this is a really good thing, considering I won’t have anything but the modular and H9 at the meetup (and I really need to be sharp on it). 
I’m really motivated by the idea of an entire project made with a single source (modular synth).
I didn’t come up with anything I’d keep, but I also didn’t produce another folders worth of stuff that will sit unused on a hard drive, promoting anxiety as to whether or not it should be thrown away. 
This new way of working delivers a kind of satisfaction similar to learning an instrument or first experiments on reel to reels (over 40 years ago). 


*actually, I CAN do a lot of chopping and rearranging with the AW, it’s just a lot faster to redo takes at the moment. I fully intend to get good at the surgical editing later.