YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN EQUIPMENT!!
YOU CAN MODIFY YOUR OWN EQUIPMENT!!
YOU CAN FIX YOUR OWN EQUIPMENT!!

HIGH END MIC PRE KITS !!

Email me, requesting a schematic from the LISTS of available
Hi-Fi, Recording, or Guitar amp schematics. (links below)

THEN ,....we either exchange schematics, or you negotiate a small FEE to offset my EFFORTS
(I want to know what is being offered to me first, dont just go ahead and email it)

PLEASE CHECK THE LIST before you ask me if I have a specific model....

I AM NOW DOING ONLY EMAIL TRANSFERS
The only exception to this is in the case of full manuals.

What I charge varies depending on my costs, rarity, etc..

but $5 is a good base line normal price for a single page HI FI schematic.

Some high end / Boutique equipment
schematics are more expensive....
FAIRCHILD, PULTEC, NEVE, API etc....
( full manuals ALSO) you can guess why....

PAYMENT is in: INTERNATIONAL POSTAL ORDER,
or CASH, or BANK TRANSFER… *note that incoming bank transfers cost ME money,
which i have to charge for.
often, for small amounts,it is simply better
and cheaper to put cash in an Envelope, hidden…….. (you didn’t hear that from me.)

My address will be on the bottom of my RETURN EMAIL to you.
it is not on the site anywhere.

WHY ISN'T MY SITE FREE?
INFORMATION WANTS TO BE FREE, RIGHT?
4 times a year, i get letters from people complaining about my fee.BR> of course you can sometimes get the same schematics elsewhere, for free.
i cant possibly keep track of the evolution of the web..but most sites
have a maximum count of about 50 schematics. Mine has thousands.
it would be the equivelent of scanning WAR AND PIECE and hosting it,
it just isnt practical with todays technology. Also, I DONT LET COMPANIES
BUY WHOLE LIBRARIES OF SCHEMATICS, TO SHORT CUT THIER R&D.
also,sad to say, becuase of human nature, many people would attempt to download
the entire lot, crashing my servier..think i have a lot of hits NOW? i DO INTEND TO DONATE IT ALL TO THE WORLDS LIBRARIES, when its appropriate.
its taken ten years off and on, to scan all the schematics i have done SO FAR,
also, remember, i have done a LOT OF TRADING, to expand the base. this actually doesnt
PAY ANYTHING AT ALL..i am NOT getting rich from this site, in fact, it loses me money
as my REAL WORK IS IN STUDIO EQUIPMENT MODIFICATION, DESIGN.

I do TRY to get to WORK quickly...but I DONT work weekends
In NORTH AMERICA, the mail takes about 10 days at the most.
In EUROPE, SOUTH AMERICA , AUSTRALIA, ASIA, etc.. a bit longer, but they DO get there. I have sent stuff all over the world successfully.

because of the sheer volume of email from 30,000+ hits a day...
I often can't answer mail asking for pieces NOT ON THE LISTS

YOU NEED TO CHECK YOUR EMAIL LIMITS.. I havn't got time or inclination to help you troubleshoot your email system. A simple phone call to your ISP will quickly establish your email K limits. I will , on rare occastion RE SEND a schematic, but i dont want to TRY successive email address to see if it works

NOTE: I DO NOT EMAIL SCHEMATICS TO HOTMAIL ACCOUNTS. THEY ALMOST ALWAYS GET REJECTED. I will answer your email, but i will need a REAL EMAIL ADDRESS to send the schematics to.

WHILE ON THAT TOPIC: I don't SPAM. I DONT EVEN KEEP LISTS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE AQUIRED SCHEMATICS FROM ME. There is ABSOLUTELY NO DANGER of me selling, or using your email address for ANYTHING, once we have finished our transaction. I think people that abuse EMAIL are RUDE. The only time I email anyone without notice is the odd time when they have expressed interest in my MIC PREAMP KITS, and i have some NEW design, or in the unlikely event of an UPGRADE to kits purchased allready...and i think this has happened TWICE , total.

i will NEVER go for paypal or other online banking.

check this out if you want an example of PAYPAL's behaviour.

I am NOT entirely SURE I TRUST ONLINE BANKING. I certainly dont think that LARGE CORPERATIONS need to have access to EVERY LITTLE THING that EVER PERSON DOES. I am sorry for any inconvenience my payment policy may cause, but in the name of economic FREEDOM, or the ILLUSION THERE OF, for now I intend to keep things as they are. The schematic side of things isnt a multimillion dollar thing, in case you were wondering.....

ALL of these schematics came from years of
DESIGNING and modifying TUBE EQUIPMENT
for PRO RECORDING and HOME AUDIOPHILE use,
and of course, the EFFORTS of people like you..!

SO far, there have been THOUSANDS OF HAPPY TUBE SCHEMATIC TRADES.

STEREO EQUIPMENT SCHEMATICS


RECORDING EQUIPMENT SCHEMATICS


GUITAR AMPS and EFFECTS SCHEMATICS

MY RANTS....
you have been warned....there is information below, but also RANTING
CIRCUITS CAN be improved, even those big ticket vintage pieces.. New parts can be a lot better than the old ones
(with the exception of some transformers).

NEW CAPACITORS are FASTER,
NEW RESISTORS have less NOISE.

I often like the copies better than the originals (GASP!)

Some of the big stuff is LOADED
with component types I wouldn't choose for my own stuff...Some of that NEVE stuff is full of chips......Focusrite ISA as well, some API, SSL, etc etc use em too...Chips can sound ok at unity gain...I dont like the sound of them for gain heavy circuits like MIC preamps or EQ.. I also tend to substute better chips, either super high slew rate for unity gain, or some slightly slower lower noise audio units for gain situations.. BURR BROWN makes some good ones..

TRANSFORMERS:

Great transformers are NOT SCARCE! There are some EXCELLENT ones out there.

One of the charactaristics defining most PROFESSIONAL RECORDING EQUIPMENT is the use of TRANSFORMERS.. in most high end gear like Neve,API, Focusrite, SSL, Urie, Pultec, Fairchild etc etc.. etc. The transformer SOUND ( and cost ,for that matter) and the very usefull QUIET (that comes from the ground isolation)sets apart what would otherwise be ( read: LATELY) another cheap (to make) chip device.....add a coupla trannies, and P-R-E-S-T-O, you have a $1500 piece... (add a sexy meter , and perhaps an anodized coloured fface plate)

THIS COMES AT A COST, as far as fidelity....unbalanced , S-H-O-R-T, TRANSFORMERLESS signal paths ( using SOLID WIRE) are the CLEAREST WAY TO MOVE (ANALOG) AUDIO SIGNALS. here's another opinion...(you will have to squint for this one)

I actually think that the NEVE / API sound comes from OVERDRIVEN underdesigned trannies.. put a cheap little iron trannie at the end of your signal path and add all the HAIR you want to the signal...choose more IRON, less nickel.....in your transformer core, for all the vintage warmth you could want ...in fact, I will say that THERMAL LOSSES in transformers can equate to WARMTH sonically.

Transformer SOUND can be tailored to your liking, somewhat....clearer, warmer, etc...
but it takes a pretty good one to have minimum sonic artifacts....
TRY OUT the UTC LS series for a NICE transformer....nice price too.. $200- 300US each....
The BEST new ones, in my opinion, the LUNDAHL

these fine folk actually KEPT ON REFINING TRANSFORMER DESIGN when everyone ELSE STOPPED.....
I havent heard ANY new stock transformers to compare withthe AMOURPHOUS STRIP CORE made by LUNDAHLthey seem to buck the LARGER / BEtter rule for VINTAGE transformers.Here is an example of a TYPICAL VINTAGE SIGNAL PATH:TUBE MIC / Telfunken v72 / Pultec eqp1a / Urei la2a With this, you would have 8 transformers in the signal path , BEFORE you plugged it INTO ANYTHING! Personally, I like better fidelity than that...

the AVALON kitchen sink idea has some kudo's in my opinion,( quality minimal signal path )
or better yet..use the clearest mic pre like MILLENNIA MEDIA , or GREAT RIVER and use ribbon mics for your warmth.. If you can afford them...

( OR, you can BUILD YOUR OWN COMPLETELY WORLD CLASS PREAMP YOURELF!)

I am currently making some PREAMP KITS using the MILLENNIA 990 op amp...

I also have the API 2520 application sheets for people wanting to use this unit) a great APP for this is a TRANSFORMERLESS PULTEC EQ..I will be making a kit for that shortly.

CAPACITORS:
Improve the CAPACITORS! polypropylene in the signal path.. !!!! (thats it. done. I said it. I do it. WIMA and RIFA are good bang for buck...I dont go for the HIGH END esoterica....waste of money, in my opinion...) I will also put in little bypass caps on the electrolytics in tight places...your signal path is only as FAST as your SLOWEST CAP!! WHY would you want FAST CAPS? because all the air read: reverb information, transients,etc, are lost in slow electrolics, or bad transformers,. or too much resistance in the circuit.

TUBES:
this is a BIG one, in my designs.... I like BLACK PLATE tubes EXCLUSIVELY in units designed with CLARITY in mind. they have WAY LESS 4th and 6th harmonic distortion

for WARMTH ie: distortion...(noticing a trend?) I like the usual crop of GREY PLATES,
with smooth plate TELEFUNKEN as my personal fave, though the new SOVTEC sounds the same to me..finally... the TESLA is a good cheapy for starved plate circuits....as well as making some GREAT power tubes..I USE grey plate power tubes because i HAVE TO, i wish someone would make the black plates again, like the old RCA 6l6.Grey plate distortion is great for guitar amps, though..nothing like 6 telefunken 12ax7's cascaded for that absolute saturation lead tone.
I dont think we will be seeing new EI tubes for a while, as the YUGO tube factories are probably RUBBLE.. But i use KT90's in my own monitor AMPS

OTHER PARTS:
Change the resistors for film types, put in good transformers...change chips (if there are any) to the best available...and presto!.. you improve the performance....See how it MIGHT be worth making NEW units?
I do NOT always condone ripping up and changing collectable equipment...if you are starting off in modification world, dont do it on a yard sale acquisition FAIRCHILD 670 or a NEVE 1055.....Better to let the RICH guys have em..and make your own new better units...if you are able.

I hate to say it, but I let the collectors have the pricy stuff, and make myself a better copy......( with the exception of LARGE vintage transformers, which i always keep..the MUIRHEADS, and UTC LS types.... as well as cool MICS.)
sour grapes, though...I really wish I had the money to spend, and the time to spend endlessly SERVICING vintage units..so my friends, who DONT have any idea about this obsessive little recording world,
can look at me funny when I say:

LOOK! RUPERT HIMSELF built this in his own garden shed !!!
SEE that BLOOD SPOT where he pricked his finger on the guitar string clippings.....???

(cue CORPERATE VOICE-OVER...)

SNUFFLE SNUFFLE...now at last, WE have his DNA,
perhaps in the not so distant future, WE could VAT grow his brain
( in a tube regulated aquarium )
( perhaps we can leave the top off so he can still wear that HAT )
thereby making HIM always instantly accessable
to add the famous and CASH generating
RUPERTS VAT CLONE BRAIN - APPROVED!! celebrity endorsement
to our VERY OWN mediocre
but hopelessly expensive and un-obtainble
NEW VINTAGE CLASSIC

(scritch scritch )---I wonder if the CLONE endorsement issue will be a PROBLEM...
Perhaps RUPERT BEAR would be available cheaper....

perhaps I should design a console strip that exudes the
psychic recording INTENT of various pieces of VINTAGE equipment...
(jah, thats it, lots of CASH for me, with an imaginary PLETHORA of FUNCTIONS)

IF they can be made to believe they MIGHT turn into the BEATLES
by simply OWNING a FAIRCHILD 670, and, IN SESSION, use the psychic ODOUR to edify your vintage equipment collector's secret thi rd nostril I may be able TO SELL THEM ONE for HUGE DOLLAR$!!!

but I DIGRESS...back to the schematic lists....

ALL the available circuits are on the LISTS.

STEREO EQUIPMENT SCHEMATICS


RECORDING EQUIPMENT SCHEMATICS


GUITAR AMPS and EFFECTS SCHEMATICS

FIND OUT ABOUT-- ME / my amps

SEE A PAGE FULL OF EYES!!