Retired LBA products
Professional Studio Equipment
(2011-2015)
(2011-2015)
- Flux Bender - 2RU vacuum tube powered stereo passive program equalizer.
- 1401 Stereo Microphone Preamplifier - 2RU vacuum tube powered preamplifier.
- 1401 Gravitone 30 - 4RU 30W single-ended, ultra-linear plate reverb driver amplifier
- 1401 Stereo Analog Plate Reverb - remote controlled analog plate reverb
- Rectified Leveler - vacuum tube powered optical compressor with switchable tube and silicon rectification.
- LB2A - vacuum tube powered optical compressor, based on the LA-2A.
- Soul Drive (versions 1-5) - 9-12V DC powered 12AU7 vacuum tube overdrive pedal
- The Lightning Boy - 9-12V DC powered 12AU7 vacuum tube overdrive pedal
- Opti-Mu Prime - 9-12V DC powered, optically gain controlled, dual 12AU7 vacuum tube powered compressor pedal
- Olympus - 9-12V DC powered multi-channel 4 tube pedal
- Thunder King - 9-12V DC powered dual 12AU7 tube bass preamp / distortion pedal with bax EQ
- Bolt Bender - 9-12V DC powered EQ pedal & sidecar controller
- Mikey Q - passive Inductor EQ sidecar module
- Baby Bax - Baxandall EQ sidecar module
- The Lightning Boy II - 12V AC powered, medium-high voltage (~140V) 12AX7 vacuum tube based modular overdrive pedal
- CH2 Sidecar Module
- LBII 12VAC PSU
- Solo Sidecar Module
- Op-2 Comp - 24V DC powered, dual 12AU7 vacuum tube optical compressor with led metering.
- Thunder Knob - 9V DC powered, high voltage (~215V) 12AX7 vacuum tube overdrive/distortion pedal.
- NuVision - 9V DC powered, high voltage (~215V w/ 9V DC input or ~245V w/ Treble Mod & 12V DC input) dual 6DS4 nuvistor vacuum tube powered preamp/overdrive/eq pedal.
- 2020 Instrument Transformer (original version). 213 produced from January 2020 - July 2020.
- 2020i Amplifier Isolation Transformer. 31 produced from early 2020-September 2022.
- TI Box. 63 produced between September 2020-October 2022. One produced in July 2023.
- 2020S Steel-Core Instrument Transformer. 324 produced from July 2020-September 2024 with a lapse of a few months in the middle somewhere.
The back story...
Designed and assembled in the USA By Mike Congilosi II.
Lightning Boy Audio was established in 2011 with the goal originally to create unique vacuum tube powered studio gear that offers a high fidelity sound with a tasteful amount of color. Superior noise performance is an integral part of the LBA philosophy. The founding tube-centric goal hasn't changed much over the years. In late 2019 I began manufacturing audio transformers. That has now become a major part of the LBA tonal equation.
Upon launching in 2011, I began designing and building vacuum tube powered FX pedals. I figured it would be a much easier sell than high end studio gear. The Soul Drive was my first tube pedal product.
My formal education granted me a Master of Music degree from SUNY Purchase College, where I majored in Studio Production. It was these college days that drove me to want to own a professional recording studio. With small finances and a big dream, I started to unlock a hidden talent by delving into the design of studio equipment. For the most part, my electronics education is self-taught. Electronics came at an early age, but never took a front seat until I started repairing amps, effects, and racking old mixing board channel strips for my first paying customers around 2008. In recent years (up until about 2019) I got some coaching on transformer theory and design from my late Uncle Joe, who had a background in transformer design. He also worked for Tung-Sol vacuum tubes in the USA back in the 50's. He was a super interesting guy, to which I owe a lot for the secrets he passed on to me. So where did my love of vacuum tubes come from? Not from Uncle Joe. Unfortunately, I only got to know him during the last 7 years of his long life.
I've been in love with tubes since my early 20's when I discovered that's the reason why I love certain guitar amps. Fascinated by the little glass bottles of magic I devoted much time to learning everything I could about tubes. When Uncle Joe found out about my passion for tubes and transformers he donated his old college text books (1947) on vacuum tube circuits to me. I'm still amazed that he kept those books for such a long time. Uncle Joe also gave me a number of vacuum tubes and transformer cores to play around with. He said, "the magic" sound I like about vacuum tubes is the harmonic distortion, which he believed could be simulated with transistors and transformers. Years later, I took that bit of insight into the development of the Dark Storm.
Since High School I've been passionate about recording and producing music. That's what lead me down a path of tone addiction and a love for high fidelity sound. Discovering that all recording equipment in the early days would have been vacuum tube powered and hearing the sound of such devices was quite the revelation. Realizing the price of such gear was beyond my reach, I decided to start learning about the circuits by constructing my own Pultec EQP-1A passive EQ, Teletronix LA2A optical compressor, and a full size EMT 140 stereo analog plate reverb... all from looking at the original schematics, photos of originals, and a lot of google research. Following those successes I decided to start experimenting with creating things of my own imagination. After selling a few of these early creations to friends and the first customers, I realized people like what I do and I need a brand name for my electric children. After very little thought the name struck me. I've been shocked a lot of times along the road of learning and I'm still alive and well. A super hero title like Lightning Boy seemed fitting.
Manufacturing, testing, and R&D is conducted in the Lightning Boy Audio laboratory, which is in its own wing at Lightning Boy Audio. The LBA facility also houses LBA Studios, which is full of unique 1-offs and products from LBA's past and present. Lightning Boy Audio is located in the small rural village of North Collins, which is about a 45 minute drive South of Buffalo, NY, USA. If you're in the area and want to demo Lightning Boy Audio equipment in person, or if you would like a tour of the facility, email info@lbastudios.com to arrange a visit.
Lightning Boy Audio was established in 2011 with the goal originally to create unique vacuum tube powered studio gear that offers a high fidelity sound with a tasteful amount of color. Superior noise performance is an integral part of the LBA philosophy. The founding tube-centric goal hasn't changed much over the years. In late 2019 I began manufacturing audio transformers. That has now become a major part of the LBA tonal equation.
Upon launching in 2011, I began designing and building vacuum tube powered FX pedals. I figured it would be a much easier sell than high end studio gear. The Soul Drive was my first tube pedal product.
My formal education granted me a Master of Music degree from SUNY Purchase College, where I majored in Studio Production. It was these college days that drove me to want to own a professional recording studio. With small finances and a big dream, I started to unlock a hidden talent by delving into the design of studio equipment. For the most part, my electronics education is self-taught. Electronics came at an early age, but never took a front seat until I started repairing amps, effects, and racking old mixing board channel strips for my first paying customers around 2008. In recent years (up until about 2019) I got some coaching on transformer theory and design from my late Uncle Joe, who had a background in transformer design. He also worked for Tung-Sol vacuum tubes in the USA back in the 50's. He was a super interesting guy, to which I owe a lot for the secrets he passed on to me. So where did my love of vacuum tubes come from? Not from Uncle Joe. Unfortunately, I only got to know him during the last 7 years of his long life.
I've been in love with tubes since my early 20's when I discovered that's the reason why I love certain guitar amps. Fascinated by the little glass bottles of magic I devoted much time to learning everything I could about tubes. When Uncle Joe found out about my passion for tubes and transformers he donated his old college text books (1947) on vacuum tube circuits to me. I'm still amazed that he kept those books for such a long time. Uncle Joe also gave me a number of vacuum tubes and transformer cores to play around with. He said, "the magic" sound I like about vacuum tubes is the harmonic distortion, which he believed could be simulated with transistors and transformers. Years later, I took that bit of insight into the development of the Dark Storm.
Since High School I've been passionate about recording and producing music. That's what lead me down a path of tone addiction and a love for high fidelity sound. Discovering that all recording equipment in the early days would have been vacuum tube powered and hearing the sound of such devices was quite the revelation. Realizing the price of such gear was beyond my reach, I decided to start learning about the circuits by constructing my own Pultec EQP-1A passive EQ, Teletronix LA2A optical compressor, and a full size EMT 140 stereo analog plate reverb... all from looking at the original schematics, photos of originals, and a lot of google research. Following those successes I decided to start experimenting with creating things of my own imagination. After selling a few of these early creations to friends and the first customers, I realized people like what I do and I need a brand name for my electric children. After very little thought the name struck me. I've been shocked a lot of times along the road of learning and I'm still alive and well. A super hero title like Lightning Boy seemed fitting.
Manufacturing, testing, and R&D is conducted in the Lightning Boy Audio laboratory, which is in its own wing at Lightning Boy Audio. The LBA facility also houses LBA Studios, which is full of unique 1-offs and products from LBA's past and present. Lightning Boy Audio is located in the small rural village of North Collins, which is about a 45 minute drive South of Buffalo, NY, USA. If you're in the area and want to demo Lightning Boy Audio equipment in person, or if you would like a tour of the facility, email info@lbastudios.com to arrange a visit.