Here is my latest tube muxer build now delivered to a customer in Pasadena: four mic pres with stepped gain controls, phantom, pad, phase and mic/line switches, two band stepped EQ (three frequencies per band), pan and two echo sends and direct out. There is also an echo send/return module and a two channel bus opto compressor. There are four input and six output transformers. Fader panel includes mute and solo switches, pre/post fader insert switch and ALPS faders. Meters by SIFAM. There was not enough room to fit a tube headphones amp so that had to be op amp based.

Cheers

Ian

For anyone not familiar with this console, Ian has been developing it for some time. Various iterations.

He has an impressive audio background and is very active in the modern EE DIY community.

Check out his stuff, it's really great and he is a gentleman.

He does not know me, but I have learnt a lot from him.

Thanks Ian!

Amazing!

Thanks for posting this ... Most impressive.

Quanto costa???

Parts cost approximately £2500. Fully built £5000

Cheers

Ian

.. bit of a conversation-killer

thought this was po'boy's tube mixer

It is all relative. When you think a Manley stereo vari-mu compressor alone costs £4000. For an extra grand you get four tube mic pres with transformer balanced inputs, two band inductor EQ (three frequencies per band) , phase, phantom, pad, mic/line switches and Pan, two AUX sends plus a transformer balanced direct out, per channel solo/mute plus two AUX returns, monitor outs AND a stereo tube/opto compressor I think it is exceptional value for money. Not to mention, if you build it yourself it will cost only £2500. It is, after all, meant to be a DIY project.

Cheers

Ian

yup. eye-opener for me. i'm just a troll for purposes of this thread, take no notice. it is indeed relative when you compare to all sorts of custom/hand made items and activities.

You troll away my friend. There is no such thing as bad publicity.

In fact this project has been a long time in the making. Initially is was a lot cheaper. used a single main PCB and a couple of front panel ones and it fitted into a low cost off the shelf enclosure. It had just two mic inputs plus 16 line level stem inputs on a pair of DB25 connectors and a left and right output.It was cheap but it was a nightmare to build and even worse to maintain. Here are some pics of it.







The main issue was the lack of access to the enclosure - only from the front or the rear and the main PCB was bolted to the bottom.

Recently I came across another enclosure that has much better access so the original idea may come to fruition after all.

Cheers

Ian

I find audio circuitry understandable, but I spend ages sorting chassis and metalwork, so tedious!

That looks a superb box, Ian. Really pro looking.

Assume you got a case and then separate front panels?

And I am pretty much mechanically dyslexic which does not help either. If there are four ways of assembling something, only one of which is correct, I am bound to try the other three first.
It is made by Metcase:

https://www.metcase.co.uk/en/Technomet/M6436325.htm
Yes, it is available without front and rear panels. I use the free software FrontPanelDesigner from Schaeffer to create my own panels.

https://www.schaeffer-ag.de/en/front...gner/?lang=en#

I have now sourced a different case from Japan which has a removable bottom which I am hoping will solve the accessibility problem which in turn could mean a really low cost tube mixer would be possible.

Cheers

Ian

Thanks for the info Ian!

Yes, it is quite tedious but oh so important to get the mechanicals right. I used to be a bit sniffy about this when I was a manufacturer, big mistake.

Sadly we have lost a few in the UK (metal work types like Bryant)

Import is expensive and pointless from China. (Cost too high.)

Weirdly have had some issues with my recent purchases from Germany (they keep sending wrong items, most strange, sort it out Don!)

One mention (may be useful at some point) is Penn offer an aggressively priced custom panel maker. If you need 19" this is best value.

https://www.penn-elcom.com/penn-elcom-panel-designer

Thanks for the Penn Elcom link. I don't know why but I always assumed they were American but it turns out they are British

Cheers

Ian