One of my favorite rack mount units in my studio is my Avalon 737 preamp/channel strip. It has a nice analog sound with out the pushed mid range frequencies that many other units use to simulate “tube” or “retro.” It adds just enough to make vocals (or anything else really) feel thick and up front in the mix– It also broke recently.
Avalon VT-737SP
The last time I posted about my Nixie Clock project the sockets for the tube connections had just arrived and I was beginning to formulate a plan as to how I would power and control these tubes. The plan I came up with, though solid, was implemented so poorly that it seemed worthy of a write-up just to document the extreme level of failure I managed to bake in at every step.
These are some of the paintings I’ve done over the years. Not all of them are recent, but they are my favorites.
2013 Acrylic on Canvas
(16″ x 40″) x4
Not too long ago I got two old cash register displays full of perfectly functional nixie tubes from a friend. My goal was (and is) to use these tubes to build a pair of clocks. I am by no means new to electronics or programming so I undertook this project completely unaware of the challenges that lay before me.
Look at these beauties:
