Tube console DIY?

[paulrichards7]

So I was doing some research the other day on what effect that transformers, valves, ICs, tape and vinyl have on the sound of audio
I came across this
http://www.milbert.com/tstxt.htm
Which got me thinking about a tube console to test this out
Not one of those plate starved tubes, but a real circuit
I found this
http://www.prodigy-pro.com/diy/index.php?topic=4539.0
(ZIP file at top of page)
What do you guys think of it, any good, can it be done?
Then I found this guy in UK
http://www.customtubeconsoles.com/products.html
He can custom make tube console to your specs
Just thought Id put it out there and see what you guys think
Paul

[aitikin]

I'd love to be able to make a tube console. Hmm. I'm far from an EE or anything of the sort, but I really would be interested in this project.

[TapeOpLarry]

Tube consoles are a great way to heat a room.

[aitikin]

Tube consoles are a great way to heat a room.

Perfect, my room is freezing!

[The Scum]

Tube connsoles are eminently doable. What do you think they did before solid state? Keep in mind that there's a reason those old consoles were in the 4 to 6 channel range.

A passive summing bus with a tube mic pre for makeup gain would be easy.

If you're looking at something that uses a tube (or more) per channel, first learn a bit about tube construction by building a preamp or guitar amp. The power supply and mechanical details will be fairly important.

Then learn about mixer design by building a simple solid state one...grounding probably becomes a top concern.

[paulrichards7]

Thanks The scum
After much research, you took the idea right out of my head
I want to experiment with that sound, see what I think
Any schematics or link suggestions
I am good at soldering, but thats about it
Thanks
Paul

[The Scum]

I'm not going to google it for you...there are DIY tube mic pres all over the net.

You'd be well advised to understand the difference between active and passive summing. Fred Forssell had some papers and schematics on his website.

There was a fairly detaild thread here, where I helped Gabe Real (IIRC) get a summing bus working.

I think Doug Self had some info about panpot design that you'll find illuminating.

If I were doing it myelf, I'd look into making an active summing bus design using tube opamps, as seen in the Nelson Pass discrete opamp paper.