DiVision, then some exciting fun!

First off, the DiVision.  If you don't know about it, check this out. If you are one of the few people on the wait list for one of these, check your email (check spam if you didn't get it).  I sent an email with a special link just for you.  Everyone else, this little box drops Friday and its definitely something to get excited about.  To the best of my knowledge, it's the worlds smallest tube direct box and the first ever nuvistor tube DI.  It weighs less than one pound, which you probably can't say about any other tube DI Box, yet it packs a big punch.  Furthermore, the DiVision is priced lower than the competition, while not skimping on a single thing.  I spend a few months making sure this product was as flawless as I could possibly make it.  It can't be damaged by phantom power and it also does not require it.  The DiVision runs on a standard 9V DC pedal power supply, drawing just under 350mA.  Internally this is stepped up to 250V with a beefy custom designed DC to DC power converter.  There's also a converter that drops the voltage to 6V for the tube filament.  There is circuit protection to prevent damage from accidentally connecting a reverse polarity adapter.  There's also circuit protection from itself.  There are multiple layers of voltage regulation onboard to maintain stability and to protect various components from potential over-voltage.  Everything was carefully designed with a balance of thermal performance and audio performance in mind.  Read more here.    

Lets get into what's got me super excited.  To cut to the chase, I bought a large format mixing console for LBA Studios on Reverb.com.  It will require me to drive across the country to pick it up - 4400 miles round trip.  It's an Amek Big 28, made in 1993 and comes with a bunch of accessories.  I bought it off the original owner, who is a 4-time Emmy award winning broadcast mix engineer.  While the console and automation computer are in perfect working order, I'm planning to completely rebuild, upgrade, and modify the console.  I will be documenting the entire saga starting with the road trip in a youtube series.  I had some email conversations with two renowned electronics gurus on this board.  One of them, Jim Williams, sent me some photos and advice for the project, which was super valuable to me.  I'm planning to buy one of his plug-in-preamp modules to test out on the console.  My goal is to get this board sounding as good or better than an SSL 4000 series console, which is actually possible and the reason why I made the purchase.  Jim said the one mod that makes the biggest sonic improvement is removing the VCA's on the Master section and jumping the pins to bypass the master fader.  I won't have a master fader anymore, but that's not something I need anyway... especially considering how much its supposed to open up the sound of the console.  I'm planning to fully recap every channel, upgrade every single chip and VCA, and I'll look into the possibility of designing and installing input transformers on every channel for some added fatness.  Lastly, maybe firstly, I will need to design and build a custom desk to house the console and some additional rack gear.  It comes with a stand and end caps, but the back is a thin meter bridge that can't support a computer monitor atop.  I'll make something that looks sexy.  In the end I think my total investment will be around $8-10K (a fraction the cost of a used SSL) and several months of my life.  I feel like the end result will be a console that improves the quality of my recordings, mixes, workflow, and provides me with a premium dose of satisfaction for years to come.