Sound Skulptor: Pre's, Compressors, Tape Simulator, Professionnal Audio Kits

[kante1603]

Hello all,


have received and built this kit now.
Everything went very well,kit was complete in parts,nothing missing.
Adjustments  were easy,all was close to spot on from scratch,absolutely no issues.
Be prepared the solder nails for the test points need some serious force to put in,so just be careful while inserting them.
It also might be a good idea to let the unit heat up for some minutes,then repeat the balance procedure (which is the last step in adjusting it) two or three times and compare left and right channels.Mine were totally spot on then (within a 0.001VAC resolution of my dmm).
Mechanically everything fits like a glove.
Listening tests on monday in the studio.


Another great kit you have done Jean-Pierre,congrats,keep them going!


Attached a pic of proof,


best regards from munich,germany,


Udo.


Edited typo.

 

[Spiritworks]

Agreed, I finished mine and calibrated first channel yesterday. Hoping to get second channel calibrated and balanced later on today.

Finished , and working.

 

[Leon]

Just finished a LA502 build and try to calibrate it now. I have a question about the trimmer pots that I hope someone here can answer.

On the guide it says turn all the pots CCW all the way for about 20 turns. I think I have done double that count but none of them seem to have a stop. How do I know they have reached the end?

Thanks in advance for the hep.

Best regards,
Leon

 

[kante1603]

Just finished a LA502 build and try to calibrate it now. I have a question about the trimmer pots that I hope someone here can answer.

On the guide it says turn all the pots CCW all the way for about 20 turns. I think I have done double that count but none of them seem to have a stop. How do I know they have reached the end?

Thanks in advance for the hep.

Best regards,
Leon

Hello,


in a quiet environment you can hear them click at their end position.
There‘s no mechanical stop,if unsure just turn them more than 20 turns ccw.
Or measure between the inner and outer legs,one side should show approx. the full ohms value,the other close to zero ohms.


Best regards,


Udo.

 

[Leon]

Hello,


in a quiet environment you can hear them click at their end position.
There‘s no mechanical stop,if unsure just turn them more than 20 turns ccw.
Or measure between the inner and outer legs,one side should show approx. the full ohms value,the other close to zero ohms.


Best regards,


Udo.

Thanks Udo for the clear explanation.  It is very helpful! Just finished my calibration and everything works great.  I am moving onto a second build and soon I will have a stereo pair.

Thanks again,
Leon

 

[dp]

The compressors... LA502... CP5176... I eventually want both but can only get one at a time.

Which would you recommend first, mostly for tracking on vocals, guitar and bass? Ultimately I want to go with the tried-and-true Preamp->1176->LAxA chain for vocal tracking.

Of course I eventually want two of the Pultec EQs and the bus compressor for all my 2-bus duties too! But that comes later still...  8) These all seem to be the best bang-for-the-buck on the DIY market today.

 

[dp]

I went with the CP5176 and so far.... two thumbs up!

Build was not difficult, just time-consuming... lots going on in there. I had one tiny issue that took 30 seconds to fix on power-up tests but that was totally an oversight and all my own fault.

Now I'm looking for gear to sell so I can buy the opto-compressor.  8)

 

[Claudio]

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[Claudio]

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[Claudio]

Here is what the CP4500 sounds like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJfiAMJSwyo

Excellent job, Jean-Pierre!

 

[Brizco]

finally calibrated my CP4500 (my laptop/pc was not able to provide 1kHz with 3V...) now i will finnish an EQ573 that was laying around for several years...

Can someone help me with sourcing the rotary switches for the 573? i accidently broke one

 

[JPK]

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Grayhill/71BF30-02-2-06N?qs=%2Fha2pyFadui2NKSb%2FUfeM23te%2FdWUF6gC4NINHjSHnL89SPy%2FizONg%3D%3D

 

[dp]

Anyone know if these guys do a Cyber Monday sale?

 

[Brizco]

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Grayhill/71BF30-02-2-06N?qs=%2Fha2pyFadui2NKSb%2FUfeM23te%2FdWUF6gC4NINHjSHnL89SPy%2FizONg%3D%3D

thank you JP for your reply. the link is leading to a grayhill rotary... but your EQ573 kit had other rotary switches for the lowcut filter... or am i wrong?

 

[JPK]

Ah, OK, it's in the EQ573!
High shelf, Mids, Low shelf or High pass switch?

 

[Brizco]

Ah, OK, it's in the EQ573!
High shelf, Mids, Low shelf or High pass switch?

for the highpass switch...

 

[JPK]

https://www.buerklin.com/en/Products/Electromechanics/Switches-and-Pushbuttons/Rotary-Switches-Rotary-Selector-Switches/Multistep-rotary-switch-1-2-x-6-contacts-5-0-VA/p/16G222

 

[Brizco]

https://www.buerklin.com/en/Products/Electromechanics/Switches-and-Pushbuttons/Rotary-Switches-Rotary-Selector-Switches/Multistep-rotary-switch-1-2-x-6-contacts-5-0-VA/p/16G222

Thank you JP!

 

[Rdlt95]

Hello, I recently completed two TS 500 modules. The build went well on both units and I found the build guide to be a great tool that was quite simple to follow. However, as soon as I flipped the switch on the first unit I got a puff of smoke. I flipped it off quickly and tried the second unit. Again, as soon as I flipped the switch on the second unit, it started smoking as well. Upon my initial inspection I see that I smoked R 41 on both units. I did not find any other areas that appeared to be burnt so I believe that all of the smoke came from R 41 on both units. I went back through each unit checking for any obvious errors (components in the wrong location/orientation, solder issues, etc.), but I was not able to isolate the issue. I'm guessing that I must have made some kind of error as both units have the same issue, I'm just having trouble figuring out what I did. Does anyone have any thoughts on trouble shooting this?

Thank you
Ray

 

[JPK]

You must check the usual suspects :
- Forgotten solder joint,
- Bad solder joint (reflow all suspicious joints),
- Reversed components (electrolytics, diodes, transistors, IC's). In case of IC's, probably destroyed, better replace,
- flipped IC's or transistors (Q1/U13).
- Trim all the component leads as short as possible. No lead must touch the chassis plate.