audio effect schematic

[alecwek]

ok ive intrested in building a couple of effects ive got some questions,
first of all is there any site that gives schematics for effects like the

DBX 120 subharmonic synthesizer, or the
aphex aural exciter

or any of these kind of sound shapers.....for lack of better name

they are both line in line out devices right?
any other suggestions for such projects,
i have searched yahoo over and over but i cant find any schematics ,with explainations would be nice,
are there any projects any one has seen concerning these kinds of sound processors......
what about you guys are you guys doing any stuff like this...

 

[Mr Evil]

The aural exciter is patented, I believe, in which case you may be able to find a schematic in the patent.

 

[alecwek]

would the patent be available on the net?

ill try searchin for it..

 

[alecwek]

no luck at all, i looked at the adverts for the aural exciter thingy, and the only way i can see this thing workin (by the way they described what i did) was some kind of frequency selective compressor so that they split the low signal out heavily compress it and then mix it back in, but still wouldnt that bring in massive phase shifting , and possibly other problems, anyone know the sectret to this baby..
i guess the DBX 120 subharmonic synthesizer just boosts low signals, the aphex brochure heavily critisized this approach , promissing better results from its own PATTENTED design...
does the fact that its patented mean that i will never get my hands on a schematic. or even bettter some kind of diy project about this baby on the net??

 

[johnnyx]

Therewas an aural exciter design published in a magazine years ago, probably ETI.
IIRC it just added harmonics where there weren't any, eg to brighten up a dull sounding tape recording.
There was a filter, so only higher frequencies were processed. The distortion was added by an over driven transconductance amp, ie LM13600N. They used an NE571 compander chip too, so all the harmonics were generated at the same sort of level. The harmonics thus generated were then mixed in with the original signal. There were front panel controls for adjustments of the parameters.
I thought it might make an interesting guitar effect, so I was going to re - design it so that it would be more suited to that purpose.


Hope this helps

 

[alecwek]

id still like to hear about you guitar effect if u start a project dont be afraid to share thanks for the info 😉
its a bit more complicated than i thought huh!! well ill check up on those chips uno momento...thanks

 

[alecwek]

oh by the way i thought it also had some sort of effect on the bass...and that was why it became so big in techno circles..

 

[electroaudio]

DBX 120 subharmonic synthesizer, or the
aphex aural exciter

or any of these kind of sound shapers.....

hmm, are you refering to the aphex "big bottom" effect?
That is just a simple compressor.

Otherwise, the harmonics "exciter" part, was once explained in the manuals for the old aphex Exciters (model B/C) and IIRC there was a drawing in there too.

 

[alecwek]

man i guess these chips are really old

 

[Mr Evil]

...does the fact that its patented mean that i will never get my hands on a schematic. or even bettter some kind of diy project about this baby on the net??

Being patented means they must provide enough information for anyone to implement it. That's the whole point of patents🙂

There seem to be multiple patents involved with the aural exciter and other similar things. Here's one., which seems to include schematics, but I couldn't view them for some reason.

 

[alecwek]

hey thanks a lot, i thought that the patent was basically a strong ....uhh suggestion shal we say..to mind your own business, oh well all the better for me, but thanks a lot,ill try checking out the link

 

[Mr Evil]

You are not allowed to use the patented material for commercial purposes, but you can do whatever you want with it for personal use.

 

[alecwek]

hey actually it looks like they give all the schematics...but there some weird schematic components i cant figure out.....

ok ive looked at the site again..man u can find anything in here this is f/(/%%g great.......all hail Mr Evil

 

[StephenGiles]

Here is the circuit for the Aphex Aural Exciter B:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/StephenGiles/aphexB_grey16.gif
Stephen

 

[StephenGiles]

.....and here is the DBX 120 subharmonic synthesizer circuit

http://www.silentarts.de/lab/forum/120XP_Schematic.pdf
Stephen

 

[dangus]

I have a hunch that I saw plans for a subharmonic synthesizer in a magazine once, but I could be mistaken.

AudioControl sells a similar device as "The Epicenter" for car audio, patent number 4,698,842 , and used to have a home version, the misleadingly named "Phase Coupled Activator" (which received a very positive review from Corey Greenberg in the Aug 1995 Home Theater Technology).

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...0&s1=4698842.WKU.&OS=PN/4698842&RS=PN/4698842

http://www.audiocontrol.com/caraudio.htm

Since I'm holding an Epicenter, I'll take the cover off and tell you that inside are 6 Exar 4136 opamps, an Exar 13600 (Dual Operational Transconductance Amplifier), and a 4013 CMOS D-type flip-flop.

To view the patents, you may need to install a TIFF viewer plug-in. I installed Alternatiff, http://www.alternatiff.com/install/ and it worked.