Revive Audio

[Chunky Karma]

I just wanted to let my fellow gear enthusiasts know about a problem they are likely to run into if the have any Revive Audio modded gear and decide to sell it online.
Recently, I decided to sell on Reverb a "Hot Rodded " DBX 166. I originally bought it 11 years ago directly from Revive Audio on eBay.

An interested buyer messaged me asking if the VCA was modded. I opened it up and saw that it was the original VCA, messaged him about it and sent him pictures I took of the inside.

He decided to buy it and after the sale he sent the pics to Revive to inquire about the mods. Their response was:

"that does not appear to have been modified by us as it is missing a lot of pieces that we would have changed out. It's possible it is one of the early ones from when the company was Revive Music 12-15 years ago but is missing a lot of work even for a BASE mod.”

Obviously that freaked him out thinking he bought a counterfeit.
I emailed Revive with my receipt. Rather than owning their mistake they went down the funnel of cognitive dissonance making a bunch of excuses for not knowing their own work like " we were Revive Music at the time". I pointed out that was not true - they were Revive Audio at the time of the original purchase . Then they said it was before we had the "Masonic Eye" in their logo. The whole exchange was just strange. They were trying to distance themselves from themselves. Ultimately they poisoned my sale and I had to refund the buyer.

So if you find yourself wanting to sell a "pre Masonic Eye" logo piece of gear modded by Revive feel free to copy and paste (and adjust as needed) my ad update to avoid the issues I encountered:

DBX 166 DUAL COMPRESSOR, LIMITER, GATE, Rare Early Made in USA Version, Hot Rodded With REVIVE AUDIO'S 166 MOD *Please read entire description!
Buckle up folks! This is a genuine Revive Audio HOT RODDED - Mark1 unit!!! What does that mean? Sounds like a race car right? Well, no. They are just weasel words that don't even amount to their current "Base" mod to keep you like a donkey chasing a carrot on a pole! Now they've moved on to "Gold" and other precious metals. What will it be next year - who knows?

Should you buy this and inquire with Revive Audio about the mods done to it you are likely to get a response from them that says:

"that does not appear to have been modified by us as it is missing a lot of pieces that we would have changed out.”

You will naturally have a sinking feeling followed by a four alarm hair on fire "holy sh*t I've been ripped off!!" sensation just as the first person who tried to buy this unit had.
But this is Revive Audio - they do not recognize their own work.
So what is this ?
Here is what I know to the best of my knowledge:

I bought this directly from Revive Audio on eBay 11 years ago with a mod that cost $119 ($107.99 when on sale - see attachment below from wayback machine).
How close is their $119.99 mod in 2014 to their $219.99 mod today? Is it 2/3 the way there? 80%?
I don't know. They haven't told me nor did they offer to make sure it was modded up to the buyers desires. Instead I got the "sorry you feel this way" cooperate brush off with no solution offered.

The unit does have upgraded Burr Brown opamps and guess what? The model numbers have been scratched off by Revive! At least they are socketed so if one goes I would suggest getting in touch with someone reputable like Jim Williams at Audio Upgrades if you don't want to engage with Revive Audio's shoulder shrugging business model.

 

[pucho812]

New member… 1st post.
Did he come all this way just to say that?

 

[Chunky Karma]

New member… 1st post.
Did he come all this way just to say that?

Thanks for the warm welcome. Just posting accurate and useful information. I hope that's allowed around here.

 

[pucho812]

Thanks for the warm welcome. Just posting accurate and useful information. I hope that's allowed around here.

Sorry 1st post from a new user could be a bot. The admins are good at stopping them but once in a while one slips through so you understand my response.
Sorry thanks for the heads up and welcome.

 

[JohnRoberts]

New member… 1st post.
Did he come all this way just to say that?

apparently but NJ is not very far away.

Thanks for the warm welcome. Just posting accurate and useful information. I hope that's allowed around here.

If it's objectively accurate, but it is a pretty harsh (and negative) post to introduce yourself to the forum with.

I never heard of Revive before but letting my fingers do some walking, they appear to be located outside Nashville, and their "about us" page claims a decade in business. Unclear who or what Vintage Audio Products are.

Surely we have forum members here who work in Nashville and may have crossed paths with Jason Lambson and can share their experience/observations.

JR

PS: FWIW they lose points with me for misspelling bus.

 

[pucho812]

apparently but NJ is not very far away.

If it's objectively accurate, but it is a pretty harsh (and negative) post to introduce yourself to the forum with.

I never heard of Revive before but letting my fingers do some walking, they appear to be located outside Nashville, and their "about us" page claims a decade in business. Unclear who or what Vintage Audio Products are.

Surely we have forum members here who work in Nashville and may have crossed paths with Jason Lambson and can share their experience/observations.

JR

PS: FWIW they lose points with me for misspelling bus.

I know of them. They do mods. I have seen their units for sale on the usual sites, eBay, reverb, etc. That's my extent with revive audio.

 

[Chunky Karma]

apparently but NJ is not very far away.

If it's objectively accurate, but it is a pretty harsh (and negative) post to introduce yourself to the forum with.

I never heard of Revive before but letting my fingers do some walking, they appear to be located outside Nashville, and their "about us" page claims a decade in business. Unclear who or what Vintage Audio Products are.

Surely we have forum members here who work in Nashville and may have crossed paths with Jason Lambson and can share their experience/observations.

JR

PS: FWIW they lose points with me for misspelling bus.

I'll address a few of your points. I see letting people know about bad business practices as a positive. I certainly would want to know. The only negative was Revive Audio injecting themselves into the sale denying their own work ultimately poisoning the sale.. I was fact based in my description of the situation. In the updated ad following I used some sarcasm. I know that doesn't always hit with a certain percentage of the population. But even then, I was still fact based.

 

[pucho812]

I'll address a few of your points. I see letting people know about bad business practices as a positive. I certainly would want to know. The only negative was Revive Audio injecting themselves into the sale denying their own work ultimately poisoning the sale.. I was fact based in my description of the situation. In the updated ad following I used some sarcasm. I know that doesn't always hit with a certain percentage of the population. But even then, I was still fact based.

sorry dude, I thought you was a bot that got passed the defenses.
My apologies.

 

[Chunky Karma]

sorry dude, I thought you was a bot that got passed the defenses.
My apologies.

No worries whatsoever.

 

[Script]

Welcome to the forum!

Indeed, smarter would have been to briefly explain what the old upgrade included (via you sending them a few pictures) and what it did not include. Then take it from there.

Maybe post closeup pictures here?

But I understand that you just wanted to sell it. It's just me being curious cos...

There is quite a lot that can be done, I wouldn't say 'to improve' but, 'to change' that circuit. I do not revive gear, more like resurrect -- and for personal use only.

Germanium diodes for the limiter. I should try that

 

[Chunky Karma]

Thanks for the reply and the welcome! Revive had these pics but wouldn't say what the difference was between this "Hot Rod Mod" to their current "base" mod. They even denied it was their work. I ended up giving the buyer a partial refund that pretty much ended up being the same as selling it unmodded. The thing that burns me up is how the company inserted itself in such a negative way I guess to influence the guy to send it to them to get it modded again at full price - essentially admitting what they originally did with mine was useless. I paid extra for nothing. Here are the pics for the curious:

 

[Script]

Thanks very much for the pictures. Definitely no mod to the limiter that I can see (1N4148).

Unit is sold and maybe it wasn't the best experience. But in return, you found this place. Hope you gonna stay and enjoy

 

[soulsonic]

Oh yes, new ICs with the marks scratched off. Best mod ever.