Lets mod the Alesis Micro Limiter!

Brett Siler · Post by **Brett Siler** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 5:02 pm

So I have an Alesis Micro Limiter sitting around, and some people around here talked about modding the Micro Limiter so I figured I'd start it. I also thought it might be a fun project for me and some buddies. I am kinda new to modding gear, but I have a friend thats being doing this stuff for a bit.

What would be some ideas for where to start? Probably replace some cheap parts like capacitors and such. I'm new to this so let throw some ideas around and have fun.

T-rex · Post by **T-rex** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 8:02 pm

What timing? I said I would never mod the ML cause I love the crappy aspect of it, but I have one that has developed a grounding issue. So I was just thinking tonight of popping it open and poking around.

Do you have yours open yet?

Brett Siler · Post by **Brett Siler** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 8:59 pm

Awesome T-Rex lets do this!

I haven't opened it yet, it just popped in my head to do this. I did find this picture that I think is the inside of it that I found on the interweb.

I'm gonna open mine and see it is the same as the pic.

roscoenyc · Post by **roscoenyc** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 9:33 pm

thing sounds fantastic.
put it in a box with a green front panel and a big VU meter.

that's enough of a mod for me.

T-rex · Post by **T-rex** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 9:50 pm

Totally! If you stuck one in a 2u case and wired some knobs to it and a big VU, people would be all over themselves about it.

I have three in one of the original micro thingy shelves. Noisy or not, I use them pretty much somewhere on every mix.

When I get a chance I will pull mine from the rack and pop it open. I just finished my opto and I am waiting for parts to arrive for my EMI Limiter so this will be a nice filler project.

eeldip · Post by **eeldip** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 11:32 pm

the microlimiter and the microverb sound great. don't MESS WITH PERFECTION.

rhythm ranch · Post by **rhythm ranch** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 9:22 am

InvalidInk wrote:Awesome T-Rex lets do this!

I haven't opened it yet, it just popped in my head to do this. I did find this picture that I think is the inside of it that I found on the interweb.

I'm gonna open mine and see it is the same as the pic.

Definitely not the inside of a MicroLimiter. (Camera battery is charging as I type; I'll try to get a pic up soon.)

Wouldn't be bad if it was a little quieter, but I wouldn't want to mess with the character.

T-rex · Post by **T-rex** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 11:06 am

Yeah that may be some one making the circuit on a breadboard. Those green caps look about twice the size of the microlimiter case!

rhythm ranch · Post by **rhythm ranch** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 11:16 am

Here's the MicroLimiter...

Click image to enlarge.

Brett Siler · Post by **Brett Siler** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 1:34 pm

Thanks for the right picture. I just found that other one on a google images search.

But c'mon guys you can get a Micro Limiter for $30 - $50 bucks. It would be fun to see what some new opamps and cap would do to the thing. If it doesn't sound as cool get another for $30 bucks.

Nate Dort · Post by **Nate Dort** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 7:04 pm

Quick "upgrade": replace those TL084s. Even TL074s would be better. Depends if they're in the audio path or not.

Jim Williams · Post by **Jim Williams** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:27 am

I went through one a couple months ago. I used LME49740NA for U1 and U2. C5+6 are 470 uf Panasonic FM thin case. The 4 mains caps are changed to 1000 uf 25V Panasonic FM. The grey el caps were either replaced with larger valued FM caps or eliminated due to low LME opamp offsets. The remainder was bypassed with Wima MKP-2 .01 uf.
I did add local psu .1 uf bypass caps and some feedback resistors had small mono ceramic caps added to reduce bandwidth and to enhance stability. The rf filter caps on the I/O were removed and ferrite beads were used to create rf traps.

At least it's quiet now...

strdsk · Post by **strdsk** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 8:14 am

Is the micro a stereo unit?

rhythm ranch · Post by **rhythm ranch** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:17 am

strdsk wrote:Is the micro a stereo unit?

Yes.

strdsk · Post by **strdsk** » Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:34 am

Well in that case...let the games begin...lol! Anybody have one they want to get rid of? Please PM me! This mod could be fun...

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Lets mod the Alesis Micro Limiter!

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