Sun Storm Compressor

SUN STORM: vacuum tube audio compressor. It's a feed-forward vacuum tube powered optical compressor with a load of features.

First of all, what we are looking at and talking about is a fully functioning prototype. The images here as of 11/30/24 are of the prototype(s) #3/4. I number them by the half rack, since that's how they are built. This represents the 3rd and 4th prototype, which introduce a pile of new features over the previous prototype. New to this is stereo linkage, a release control, and a whole ton of cosmetic upgrades and new circuit boards. New features too! So much is borrowed here from my past work in developing the Trinity, which is now a bust. That particular product is a failure because I couldn't figure out how to manufacture it in a profitable way. There were other factors involved, which were equally as ending... I lost the schematic for the power supply section in a hard drive failure. That power supply was something that took me several years and thousands of dollars to develop. It was the bees knees in my book and losing that was a major set back. I painstakingly recreated it for this product by looking at physical examples of the most current circuit board I could find, examining the latest existing schematic, and doing something a bit smart for me.... I sectioned up the power supply into different voltage sections and created a discrete circuit board for each section. This was critical in making sure I could find my mistakes if I made any when copying things over. The next step will be recombining those sections into one big power supply board. The design for that is already complete.

There are many voltages involved. The Sun Storm's power supply is an evolution of the Trinity's power supply. In this system (Sun Storm) It has 2 tubes instead of 3 per channel as in the Trinity channel strip. The tubes used here are V1 is a 12DW7 and V2 is a 12AX7.

Each tube has it's own separate B+ power supply, with one at around 190V DC, and the other around 210V DC. These voltages are generated internally with an LBA designed ultra-low-noise DC-DC multi-channel boost converter. There's also a linear-regulated 12V section onboard to power the tube filaments, the relays, and the VU meter. Each channel gets it's power from a 15V DC line-lump switch-mode power adapter, specially selected for low-noise. Unlike the Dark Storm, I feel like daisy chaining off of one power adapter isn't an option here, although I am still looking for suitable off-the-shelf high current power adapters that could fill this niche. The power consumption of the Sun Storm is actually sort of insane in comparison to a Dark Storm. Typically the requirement to power 1 (mono) channel Sun Storm is (currently as of 1/2025) 1.5 Amps at 15V DC. That's a lot. 3 Amps for a stereo channel. I plan to include a power adapter with the sale of each mono Sun Storm. I haven't decided on the stereo pair yet. An LBA power supply is also in development if you haven't seen the Thunder Power prototype yet. That thing can power a stereo Sun Storm and a pile of Dark Storms. Once that gets fully developed it'll be a product too.

On to the cool stuff! The Sun Storm is a unique design in progress. That is to say it isn't trying to be anything in particular, although it can be distilled down to the optical category. My goals were relatively simple in concept (difficult to achieve). I have a 1960's Altec variable-mu tube compressor, which has taught me a lot. Most of that teaching happened as I modified it to have more functionality. It's a cool tool, but I find it's a bit too colorful for most tasks. I also wish it was capable of much faster attack times. The Altec distorts if you set the attack too fast for it's liking. I assume this is standard with all variable-mu compressors since I spent a lot of time trying to correct that issue to no avail. Negatives aside, it has so much freaking mojo I can easily forget all its shortcomings when used sparingly on just the right source. I wish I had a compressor with that kind of mojo on every source, but not quite so much color. The Sun Storm itself is an evolution of my Op-2 Comp FX pedal, which was a dual tube optical compressor pedal. It's becoming so different now that I can't even compare them, so I won't. In the Sun Storm, there is a threshold control in the Sun Storm. It is labeled "Compression" on this early prototype. That is because it's sort of like an 1176, where you have to boost the gain to cross the threshold before it hits the compression circuit. The Sun Storm differs from an LA-2A in every way other than being optical at heart. You can achieve similar compression results with ease using the Sun Storm, but it has a less obtrusive sound in general. She has her color, don't get me wrong, but it's not as overbearing as a vintage Teletronix LA-2A. The goal for me was to create a compressor that could be very flexible in the studio, a tube audio path seems to be necessary from my customer feedback, and something of clearly understood... high quality. I have very grandiose plans for how to evolve this compressor design into what I want it to be. Hopefully there's enough cool people out there to keep funding my crazy journey by purchasing prototypes. Keep an eye out on the used store.

The allure of color.

There is a distinctly high-fidelity sound that you will notice immediately. A huge sound stage appears as a result of very high voltage DC and the almost magical harmonic content presented by vacuum tubes. The audio signal path is made to be as clear as possible, with the use of extremely high quality high voltage capacitors, well tuned vacuum tube circuits, a lot of high voltage headroom, and only the best transformers LBA has to offer. The compression action can be a very transparent 2:1 ratio with the correct settings, or a body-slamming limiter under more extreme settings. It's equally capable of delivering marvelous vocal compression as it is at handing drums due to the wide range of control options available. All said, she's no ghost... This girl has just the right touch of color to light your dreams.

All of this stuff I have been making up since October 2024.

I have been designing this compressor from scratch. Nothing else is exactly like it. Every detail. Maybe the concept has been done before... Maybe not. I'm not sure, but I can tell you nothing else sounds like it because LBA transformers are part of the equation. I design and manufacture them in-house, which you probably are aware of now. To get into what really makes the Sun Storm unique from the research I've done (aside from my transformers and custom parts) on the topic of compression, it's how the control voltage is achieved and manipulated. In this design, there is a fixed threshold that is reasonably low and built into the design of this compressor. There's a control voltage involved, which has to cross the threshold in order for the compressor to work. That control voltage is essentially boosted or lowered with the "compression" knob. The control voltage is vacuum tube based and uses the compression knob to drive the signal over the threshold. The more the control voltage (CV) tube stages are pushed, the more they distort. This tube distortion is directly related to the compressors ratio, although it is not the "ratio" control. As the signal level increases over the threshold, the compression ratio increases as well. The tube-based gain reduction (TBGR) circuit uses a specially developed hybrid tube/solid state capacitor control circuit that allows for the compressors features of attack, release and ratio. Only a single transistor is used in a non-audio circuit, with the rest entirely tube powered. The controls of threshold (compression), attack, release, LC side-chain, and ratio all work in conjunction with LBA's proprietary high speed Opto-Cell, model 1A to provide exceptionally fast attack and release times not normally associated with optical designs. Not only that, but very slow times are also possible with the attack and release controls, making the Sun Storm a competitive choice based solely on controls. On this early prototype shown here, there is no ratio control. Please note the relatively small size of this device compared to other competing options. Stereo 1-unit 19".

I want each Sun Storm to last a lifetime, so I'm using very high quality components and operating them far below their maximum ratings. One of the steps I've taken to help extend the life of the product is a time-delay sequential start-up. When you engage the power switch what happens initially is the VU meter's back light blinks and no audio passes. This happens for about 30 seconds. During this time the tube filaments are powered on with 12V DC and begin to warm up. After about 30 seconds the tube filaments are warm and the B+ power automatically switches on. When this happens, the VU meter backlights switch from blinking to a solid on status. The meters themselves only indicate gain reduction (same as my Altec 438c). Under the hood is a set screw to zero the meter if necessary.

While the Sun Storm is already very developed it is still considered a prototype. Some refinement is necessary. No release date is set at this time, but you may request a prototype for a very reasonable price by simply emailing sales@lightningboyaudio.com. Your purchase will directly further the development of this product and you'll have my gratitude! Thanks for checking out the Sun Storm. Please check back in the future for updates.