Magic death eye mod Aphex Dominator

[Berse]

Hi there. I'm searching for a modification for the Aphex Dominator II called Magic Death Eye,but I had no luck so far.
On the other hand my unit is the version one,so not sure if there are major differences in the circuit that make mine not suitable for it.
Many thanks in advance.

 

[gyraf]

References for what you are talking about?

 

[kidb]

I believe there is a "mastering mod" that Magic Death Eye does, or did to these units. I'd reach out to Magic Death Eye to see if there are specific versions of the Aphex that can or can't be modded, or for more info. I doubt there is any documenation out there on the mod, could be wrong tho. Good luck!

 

[analogguru]

Sounds like the unit will experience the "magic death" after someone applies this holy secret mod in an attempt to convert his unit into a jack of all trades device - at least there must be a reason why this mod is unavailable now:

..... modifying it per the instructions posted on the Magic Death Eye page... … the page with the modification instructions now throws a 404. Luckily, I’ve pieced most of it together from the Wayback Machine,.....

 

[Script]

Is that a modification which requires bridging some ICs on the main board and drilling a hole into the faceplate for a timing pot or switch? I think I watched a video once or had found the website. But decided it is a lot of work with unclear outcome.

I have two of those units, decommissioned by a radio station for having been too much off spec. The one I worked on a long time ago is in the rack but doesn't see much use, the other is somewhere in storage.

Suggestion:
try calibrating the unit first (recombining MB-split signals is a delicate affair) and it might sound better already. Schematics should be in the tech section.

 

[j.colt]

I did this mod and highly recommend it! It turns the unit into an incredibly transparent compressor. You can find the guide using the Way Back machine: Dominator Mod DIY – Magic Death Eye

I also replaced the two voltage regulator with Sparkos and drilled some holes on the top of the case to increase airflow as it gets pretty warm.

I have a second one to mod soon...

ps: I know Ian a little bit as one of his very excellent compressor owner and I suspect he took down the guide to avoid dealing with too many questions... I did not have any issue modding my unit but some people seem to have some problem with the aging little trimmers. One user on gearspace replaced them with new ones, which could be a sensible thing to do.

 

[tommia]

Most important mod is replacing the 4016's with resistor wire. This should be a law.

I turned the meter trimpot all the way open. It gives you a doubled read out.

The now unused level switch can now be used to switch in some relais for let's say to bypass the clipper.

I don't understand why the time constants are the same for the 3 bands. I have lowered c304 on the mid and lower it even more on the high freq. Thresholds should be made variable as well.

 

[Berse]

Hi there to everyone for the kind answers.
I did some research and It seems the Dominator 700 is not suitable for this mod. I use It at the end of the drum bus chain when mixing in the console,and kinda like the slight grit It provides.
Cheers
Carlos

 

[tommia]

The dominator II can be a transparant limiter if you do some mods. Do the above mods and lower c304 like suggested. Add threshold to low and mid. Add make up gain. Omit low, high and input volume knobs. Love it! Tha magic death eye mod is not all good. Some mods are not how you should do it, but the ideas are interesting.

 

[pvision]

The 700 is quite a different beast to the later models. The 720 and 723 -which is a 720 with switchable pre-emphasis - are two-band units where the 700 is three-band. I think the philosophy changed quite a bit with the later ones

 

[tommia]

Add gain reduction meters for low mid high. Threshold of low and mid should be set where meters indicate same amount of gain reduction for low mid high. Love it!

 

[tommia]

There is a lot you can change. Me personally i have separate meters for each band and a threshold pot and speed switches for low and mid. Mine is modified completely and sounds very musical. Soundwise there is little you can do. The design is state of the art, comparable with all the big names of that area. The only lack is the metering and more controls for studio work. It was initially not ment for that.

 

[Script]

How does all that fit onto the faceplate? Do you have a picture at hand?