My 3D printer died.  It's one of the most expensive options on the market.  The manufacturer said this mechanical failure can't be fixed and the entire printer will need to be replaced.  It was purchased new from them in January of 2021 and is no longer under the 1-year warranty.  It's still one of the highest resolution SLA resin printers on the market.  There are a lot of cheap, sub $400 printers on the market, albeit with less features and lower resolution.  For me, the resolution is the most important thing and at 25 microns, it's pretty darn good. I explained to the manufacturer that I have been considering switching to a different brand considering the huge price difference and small resolution difference (28 microns).  They offered me 1/2 off a new machine, which is still 4 times the price of the competition.  Considering all the options are made in China, this isn't about where it's made.  It's about security for the investment first of all, but also a higher level of quality in printing and in longevity.  With such a hefty price tag I need a better warranty.  That's exactly what I told the manufacturer of my broken machine.  The agent gave me a phone number to call their sales team so I could learn about their warranty options.  I'm going to call, but I'm not paying for a greater warranty!  I expect a greater warranty for something as expensive as that.  I don't believe I'm wrong to expect that.  If they can't afford to deal with 2 years of warranty coverage it means they know their products will fail.  Doesn't it make sense to improve your build quality?  That's how you stay relevant when the competition is 1/8th the price!

This experience had me thinking about my own warranty more seriously.  I'm going to expand the warranty duration for the Dark Storm from 1-year to 3-years.  I have actually been making a lot of advances lately, which help this to make sense.

Over the past couple months I've been working with Trav to design a new enclosure for the Dark Storm.  The idea is to keep the look similar and the dimensions the same, but to significantly improve its structural integrity.  I was concerned about potential breakage from Artists touring with them.  The design is now complete and the first prototype is getting powder coated on Wednesday.  The metal was thickened on the top/bottom and additional bending and hardware were added to increase the number and types of internal supports.  The side panels now have a bit of a contour to them, which adds to the look, but doesn't affect the overall dimensions.

I made a minor, but good change on the motherboard of the Dark Storm a while back.  I found that on occasion during shipping the LBA opamp, Dark Yeller, would sometimes pop out of its socket.  It would be rolling around the inside of the Dark Storm and would require the customer to open it up and remount the Dark Yeller on its socket.  As a result, I'm no longer using sockets and instead solder the Dark Yeller directly to the circuit board.  Problem fixed.

With build quality improvements it becomes easier to offer a better warranty.  Once the new enclosure is in production, the price of the Dark Storm will need to go up by $50 and the warranty will be 3-years instead of one. 

Youtube channel, @KohleAudioKult did a shootout of several DI Boxes, including the DI feature of the Dark Storm.  It's an unbiased review.  My favorite part is the last few minutes where he takes the Dark Storm for a walk.  Check it out and let me know your thoughts in the comments of this blog.

By popular demand, I'm bringing back the 2020S this year.  This new production run will be 100 units.  If they sell quickly, I'll produce another run after that and we'll take it from there.   I'm planning to begin producing them in mid-August of this year, or roughly 1 month from now.  They'll be available for sale at that time.  Now that I have some extra help here at LBA, it's finally possible to bring these back.  The new selling price will be $119 USD plus shipping.  These will be exactly the same as before, but with a UV Printed top instead of the sticker decal that was originally used.   If you know, you know.  If you don't, visit 2020S to learn more.

Sign up here for the mailing list at eepurl.com/dbd6j5 to get the free download code.

Trav's growing place with LBA will only mean better things for our company.  I for one am excited to have him as part of our team and I'm looking forward to the day he'll be full time.  I hope that day comes sooner than expected!  Thanks for kickin' ass, Trav!

a Recording Engineer for LBA Studios.  It's all jobs that Paul experienced during his internship, but now he's digging in deeper and taking on a more serious role.  Thanks to his skill and drive, I expect to have some time freed up for myself to manage the business more effectively.  If all goes as well as I hope, LBA should see some business growth as a result of my ability to accomplish more in the same amount of time.  I'm looking forward to the future and feel lucky and honored to have quality help.

This is going to be difficult for me to pull off, but I'm doing it.  A dual product release.  Both of these products have been in development for over a year.  The long wait has been mostly due to manufacturing complications that were completely out of my control.  In 10 days I'll finally have the last thing I need - the retail packaging.  I've already begun building the first 100 of each.  Pre-ordering is currently open and is being offered with a generous discount.   Pre-orders will begin shipping in 10-12 days.  It's an exciting time.  I can't wait to share my hard work with the world.  Check out the product pages on this website to learn more about the Dark Storm and Super Storm preamps.  If you'd like to invest in one or more of these bad boys, you'll get a 30 day money back guarantee and a 1-year warranty.  Just head over to the store part of this website to pre-order yours now. 

Just 17 DiVisions remain available for purchase.  After that, they are gone forever.  It's a limited edition product after all.  Recently there was a big design update that adds more functionality to the DiVision.  I only raised the price a little bit when the updates came out.  To be honest, it's more work than what I'm getting paid for.  When there are just 10 remaining, I plan to raise the price to $399 USD.  Don't wait too long if you've been thinking about getting one. 

Here's the first official music video for my studio band, Burnt Trace.  Read the video description for details on how it was recorded.