There's still a week or so left in the month and its already been the best month this year and one of the best ever for LBA.  Sold out of Thunder Knob pedals, with just one NuVision and Op-2 left in stock.  The sole NuVision is only available at Reverb.com.  Pedal sales have been higher all year than last year, but this month has been nearly triple over the average, setting a new record for sales in one month for LBA.  I'm very excited and I have my great customers to thank for their continued support.  

On Halloween I'm planning to upload a new video to my youtube channel, which will be the start of a 3 episode mini series on building an analog plate reverb.  The first video will take a look at and a listen to the plate reverb I built 8 years ago for LBA Studios.  The next video will take it apart to start building a much better version.  The last video will be the before and after comparison.  Stop on by if you have any interest in the wonderful awesomeness that is analog plate reverb.    

Between building gear and working sessions at the studio, I've been making some upgrades to some of my studio gear.  One of these upgrades was done to the prototype mixing board I built from scratch several years ago.  Its 12 channels of vacuum tube powered analog mixing.  

I added 12 volume controls to the board and improved its output amplifier.  Previously I was controlling volume either in Pro Tools or with outboard analog gear.  The out amp got a boost in headroom, making for a cleaner, punchier sound.  This is a prototype board.  It works and sounds great, but definitely not a product.  I'm using this as a developmental stepping stone for creating a larger, more complex board.  If you're in the area and would like to check out the board in person, contact to set up an appointment at www.lbastudios.com.

Yet another invention for the DIY'er.  This one is super easy to build and offers 3 different functions in one box!

Here's another freebie!  Just like my indirect box, the TI Box is simple to build with no more than basic soldering skills and its inexpensive.  This is a new type of passive DI Box, designed to give you a colorful sound in a retro sort of way.  Next week I'll be building one to compare against a typical passive DI Box.  

In observation of the independence achieved by the United States of America from England in 1776, LBA will be closed until July 5th.  Any orders placed during the break will be tended to in the order they were received, commencing July 5th.  Email and phone contact will also be suspended during this break period.  Sorry for any inconvenience this may pose.  'Merica!

I have a little invention of mine that I'd like to share with the world.  Its a new way of recording direct and reamping in the studio and I think you'll find it to be the most transparent sounding method.  The box is easy to use, low cost, and simple to build.  In this video I demonstrate how it works and what it does.  Next week I'll show you how to build one!  Enjoy :)

Due to recent events of the trolling nature, I decided it best to reboot the YT & FB.  Since neither were massively huge to begin with I thought this would be a great opportunity to try out some fresh new ideas.  Each Friday morning I'm going to try to upload a new informative video.  The topics can range from audio electronics tips, history, and practical knowledge to music production tips and associated DIY gizmos for getting the job done.  You can find the new channel at www.youtube.com/LightningBoyAudio.

The new facebook page is at www.facebook.com/lightningboyaudio and I plan to continually upload photos of custom builds, under construction shots, and prototypes, along with related videos.

Please subscribe to the YT and like the FB to stay up on new creative developments.  Thank you!

The design of my Trinity channel strip started in September of 2015.  I'm literally days away from completing the design.  The past few days have been devoted to finalizing the front panel layout.  The next few will be the back panel layout... and then its on to designing the packaging!  The electronics aspect was completed in full less than a week ago with the addition of a brand new control - presence.  This is an additional knob located in the EQ section of the channel strip.  It provides a boost-only shelving control of 15kHz and up.  I deemed this as absolutely necessary after hearing it in action.  It makes the EQ section far more versatile.  I've used Trinity prototypes for a long time in the studio now.  I have been using the equalizers for mixing and have found them to be rather limited.  One area was they couldn't do enough top end boost with dark ribbon mics and other dark sounds that I would like to sound bright.  The new presence control alleviates that issue, while surprising me with its very pleasing tone.  I was surprised because unlike the rest of EQ circuitry or any EQ I ever made before, the presence control is an active EQ filter.  Complex tone shaping of the upper mid to upper high frequency range can now be accomplished with a combination of the high cut switch, the treble knob, and the presence knob.   

In the past year and especially the past month I moved extremely far with the design of the channel strip thanks mostly to perseverance, but also to a laundry list of CAD programs.  I finally forced myself to learn a bunch of important design programs, which allowed me to simulate the circuitry, design the enclosure, and design the PCB for the power supply.  I'm finally starting to feel relieved and very excited since I can now taste the finish line after so much hard work, stress and frustration, tons of man hours, and loads of money.   This really is my greatest design and I can hardly wait to finally unveil my completed masterpiece.