EZ Tube Mixer Support Thread

[letterbeacon]

Cor! This is amazing! Do you have any more pics at all?

 

[Rocinante]

That is just breath-taking.  I have too many projects that need finishing at the moment but that is just soooo inspiring, I am pretty sure I know what my 2015 project might be.  Amazing work.

 

[dipfrik]

You should start saving money now!

Cheers, Sven

 

[Rocinante]

You should start saving money now!

Cheers, Sven

Ohh I bet. Still it looks like Ian makes this affordable enough.  And there is no way I would ever get it as beautiful as Holger has done. Im simply just not that good and dont quite have the money.  The incredible amount of options this project offers through  varying degrees of diy is also very attractive. 

 

[ruffrecords]

You should start saving money now!

Cheers, Sven

Ohh I bet. Still it looks like Ian makes this affordable enough.  And there is no way I would ever get it as beautiful as Holger has done. I'm simply just not that good and don't quite have the money.  The incredible amount of options this project offers through  varying degrees of diy is also very attractive.

What Holger has built is very ambitious and in doing it he came across and solved problems I was not even aware of and developed his own set of support PCBs.  I am conscious that that building a complete mixer is vastly different to building a few mic /EQ channels. In part, that is the reason for the Lunch Box project:

http://groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=53765.0

The idea is to provide a common framework that can be used as the  basis of a wide range of range of projects, from a couple of mic pres to small rack mounted mixers. It uses the same PCBs as the EZTube Mixer so they are completely reusable if you later want to upgrade to a more sophisticated mixer.

Cheers

Ian

 

[Holger]

The little tube mixer vs. a 56 channel SSL 6000 mixer.
This picture was taken during a mix bus sound comparison.

 

[ruffrecords]

The fact that some people actually think it is worth while comparing the sound of my little mixer circuit design to that of an SSL quite brings a lump to my throat.

Cheers

Ian

 

[anjing]

Totally epic!

 

[anjing]

Nothing can compare to Holgers masterpiece but,
this week i finally received a nice NOS 3 inch davenport knob to use as my master fader...

Also i got some edcors XSM2.4K/600 to try on direct outs. I put them on the master stereo out for now, first impression is they seem to do the job just fine...they are a good deal.

Regards,

Pierre

 

[Rocinante]

I followed Ian's link to the lunchbox (which is far more appropriate for humble diyers such as myself) then spent a large portion of my afternoon bouncing from the blog to this thread to other links taking in this incredible project(s). Im sure others have said it but you guys should be really proud of yourselves.  Damn I love this f***ing forum.  In awe and gratitude I salute you.

 

[Holger]

We've had an event at Renaissance Studio in Cologne on November 22nd where we presented the "Krässemaschine" to the public.
A Jazz band was recorded simultaniously through the SSL and the mixer.  We've switched between the tube mixer and the SSL back and forth for comparison.

Later people had the opportunity to mix the recorded files. It was a fun evening.

 

[kambo]

We've switched between the tube mixer and the SSL back and forth for comparison.

so, what was the comments ?

 

[Rocinante]

They like Holgers tube mixer overall better.

 

[Holger]

They like Holgers tube mixer overall better.

confirmed ;-)

 

[kambo]

brings a lump to my throat.

u should feel good now 

 

[ruffrecords]

u should feel good now 

Yup!!!  ;D

 

[Dnukas]

Hi everyone,
I have an idea about building a mixing console directly fed from my DAC
for summing from DAW.
I think the EZ tube mixer project will be great for it.
I want to make it simple, so I need just line IN, EQ per channel, PAN and LEVEL.
8x LINE IN , 1x stereo AUX return, 2x stereo bus-virtual earth (for
master and aux OUT).
I want to use 3 band Pultec as EQ`s with EQ With Gain Make Up buffer
issue 0.2 2016.
For BUS AMP I want to use Twin Line amp with Master fader between.
I want use 600R:600R transformers for OUT`s because I have enough pcs
for it from an old TESLA console.
I need it to drive just 10k inputs at my ADC.

I will design a new PCB as I’m a PCB designer: I need it  more compact and also I want to
use LORIN switch for EQs.

A bigger complication is my knowledge of analog, most of the time I design
digital circuits, sometimes mixed signal circuits.
I attached a block diagram.
I`m not sure where to put faders on channels and master bus. Is the
configuration on the block diagram ok?

thanks for reply
Lukas

 

[ruffrecords]

Hi Lukas. You have everything basically right. 10K pots for the faders and master are fine. Dual 50K lin for the pan pots is also fine. The EQ with gain make up amp has enough drive capability to drive the channel faders/pans plus the 600:600 transformer provided it is loaded only with 10K.  The way the block diagram is connected up is also fine.

The only unusual thing is the way the channel fader and AUX send are in parallel. This means the AUX send level does not change if you fade a channel down. This may be what you intend but I thought I should mention it anyway.

The other thing to mention is your plan to make a new PCB. I have no problem with that but you said you want to make it more compact and use Lorlins witches. The Pultec with gain PCB is already about as compact as you can get it. Lorlin switches are bigger than the the Grayhill ones. In addition, the total front panel space used by the Pultec EQ depends mainly on how you space out its many pots and switches and less so on the size of the PCB. So I am not sure doing a new PCB will make it more compact.

Cheers

ian

 

[Dnukas]

Hi Ian,
thanks for fast reply.
Yes you are right about size of Lorin switch, but they are more cheaper than Grayhill.
I place inductors and caps on PCB similar to your PMEQP1A MK2 design so PCB size will be about 195x32mm.
I add some render from CAD to the attachment.

thanks a lot for support

Lukas

 

[ruffrecords]

Nice design. Very good use of space. Just to be clear I am happy for you to make PCBs based on my design for your own use but not for commercial exploitation. I am sure you have no intention to do that but its best to be clear at the outset.

Cheers

Ian