I'm thinking about building a clean sounding vacuum tube based eq pedal. The idea I have is something simple, but great sounding and based on soul drive sonically and aesthetically. 3 knobs... Bass Treble and Volume. BOLT BENDER. Whatcha think?
 Bolt Bender will have an expansion jack on  which connects via 1/4" balanced (stereo) cable to a smaller pedal box with extra caps and switchies for extra frequency choices. I shall call him Mini Me.

I have spent the last couple of days at Gallery Acoustics. having a lot of fun tracking indie folk somethingorother band, New Township. We recorded a ton of different instruments including something called a Baklama. Got to record the Hammond and I had the unique opportunity to mic up the bottom speaker of the Leslie for the first time while the bass pedal were being played. Tons of sub bass! We also recorded the internal hammond speaker for the few seconds as the organ winds down when you turn off the power. Lots of really cool and different sounds. Recorded my Rogers kick drum being played with a felt mallet by hand. Mandolin, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Harmonica, and some odd percussion stuff. I'll try to post a sample when we complete the recording process. We still have one more session for vocals.

Wanted to share this with you. Matt Newman, Soul Drive player from Adelaide, South Australia recently had this to say about Soul Drive..."Honestly I have some great overdrives like the Ethos, Tim, Wampler Euphoria, Marshall Bluesbreaker v1, Arc Effect Klone, Fulltone Fulldrive 2, JHS Double Barrel etc.The Soul Drive would have to be my favourite for my Two Rock Studio Pro.... I have made a mini pedal board for it Tuner>Wampler Ego Compressor>Soul Drive>Arc Effect Klone>Deluxe Memory Boy>Two Rock. Honestly it sounds like it's a part of my amp, the dynamics are incredible and it actually sounds like my amp is getting pushed into OD... Unreal...Also Aarons Arc Effect Klone makes the pedal sound even better again, it just fattens up the Soul Drive even more and is an amazing boost for solo's..Anyway guys sorry to ramble on but I feel this is a great pedal and I think this is finally the sound I am after....Hope you give it a go..."

Cheers 

     Matt Newman, Adelaide, South Australia  

I'm racking up some more vintage PM1000 mic preamp/EQ channel strips at the moment. 2 channels in a 2U rack enclosure with built in linear power supply and awesome Jensen output transformers for just $700. Switchable Phantom power, EQ has true bypass, DI input, etc. Get at me if you want one of the 5 that I'm building. Email Mike at sales@lightningboyaudio.com

NEW GEAR @ GA: Vintage (1960's) Altec 438c vari-mu compressor & mic preamp

The Altec 436 was modified by EMI and used to record the Beatles at Abbey Road studios.  The Altec 438c is basically the same thing with extra controls for threshold and release time and the big difference is the 438c features a built in mic preamp.  This unit is 100% vacuum tube technology. 

Vari-Mu compressors/limiters are a certain breed of compressors, which are held in the highest esteem by some of the greatest engineers and producers in the world.  Compressors and Limiters are both forms of automatic volume control, which also imparts certain tonal characteristics on the audio.  Unlike most other forms of compressors, Vari-Mu compressors adjust volume changes in a very musical/natural way.  Aside from Mastering, the most common use for a vari-mu compressor is vocals.  Typically a singer can have a lot of dynamic range between their softer parts and full on wailing.  If left untouched, this dynamic range can make it difficult for a listener to hear certain lyrics or passages in the vocals.  A compressor can solve that problem.

There are a lot of different compressors out there, which all impart their own sonic signature.  Optical Compressors, FET compressors, and Vari-mu compressors are the 3 main types, with vari-mu comps generally being the most expensive and sought after.  The vari-mu comp has what most consider to be the smoothest compression character of them all, with a sound reminding some engineers of sweet cream.     

The Altec 438c has more color than most vari-mu compressors, which makes it more of a specialty piece of gear, rather than general purpose.  Many people prefer it over all other options for recording bass.  The 438c is a bit different from other vari-mu's because it also has a built in 12AY7 vacuum tube mic preamp. It is possible to bypass the compressor and use the mic preamp standalone.  Its a colorful mic preamp as well and is suitable for anything the engineer/producer wants to make stand out in a mix (ie. vocals).