DIY Vari Mu ?

[Chris H]

I'm thinking of building a dual mono vari mu using point to point wiring,
as i have access to a bunch of trimax and AR transformers etc . Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated. I have thought about using the AWA schematics Rob has on his page. Would this design be versatile for tracking stereo bus and mastering applications? Any sugestions on a more simple but effective design?
Thanks

[rob]

the AWA's are big and hungry things. They sound good partly because of all the AWA iron in them. ( AWA made some very very good transformers )

Also ( as i clear an STC Vari-Mu limiter off the bench ) A lot of these old Broadcast Limiters require quite a bit of modifying in their gain structure to make them play happily in the recording studio. So, a straight clone will leave you with gain issues to sort out anyway.

i'd hold on for a while as word on the street is that our good friends up north may be coming out with a DIY Vari Mu kit very soon ( and initial reports are that it is hot!)

Rob

[Chris H]

Thanks Rob...JLM i presume. Any more details?

[astrovic]

Only interested in P2P? There is the PRR Varimu - not sure if you know of that one but it looks "simple" enough.

Have a squizz at:

http://www.diyfactory.com/projects/diy12au7comp/diy12au7comp.htm

http://music-club.rutgers.edu/headfonz/comp5/Comp5.html

You could prob P2P it, I suppose...

[Chris H]

Yep, seen them and while they might be fine i look at the op amps and think it 's prolly not what i'm after. Its not that i'll only look at point to point etc but i'm after something that truly sings and so a design with discreet op amps and great transformers would be be worth considering. That and the transformers have to be top quality and somthing that chews up thye juice,..high current. There are plenty of good compressors i could buy already, i suppose but the way i'm thinking the P to P usualy means the design is high current based on juicy transformers so.......I should also invite those who know more about the tech details of this thinking to correct any false assumptions i probably have.

[rob]

Chris

point to point wiring really has nothing to do with " high current", good sound or anything else relating to audio quality or function. It's just one way of hooking components together that can easily get very ugly and can cause all sorts of performance issues unless it is done correctly. ( ground loops, oscillation etc )

Tag boards or turret boards are a viable way to go for DIY. Is this what you mean?

Rob

[Chris H]

Yes. I was including the use of tag boards in my concept of point to point in my thinking.