Non ADA Gear > Effects

Mimicking tube amp transformer compression

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vansinn:
Well.. I don't think there are too many really easy ways of achieving the same type of soft knee limiting/compression as what takes place when the output transformer gets loaded into saturation.

But missing it is damn annoying, so I tried using an old ADR Gemini Compact dual/stereo compressor/limiter.
Had to repair it, as it blew the rectifier diodes and voltage regulator on first startup after fifteen years in storage - culprit was the 470uF main filter capacitor gone bad ;)
It's a fully discrete thingy, using a FET and a build-together lamp-fotodiode component, plus a bunch of transistors.

Anyways, when set as a limiter with 1.5:1 ratio and somewhat fast reaction time, it sortof semi-emulates the tranny action. Sortof ;)
Mmnn.. not quite real, but still quite decent. Sortof..

Any other ideas?

MarshallJMP:
When you go into saturation, you get harmonic distortion which will sound quite different from the sound you get from a comp/ lim .So I don't think you can mimic that sound with a comp/lim.

vansinn:
I fully agree on the harmonics, AKA intermodulation products.
However, I still do end up with something akin to the soft-knee compression in the loaded output transformer.

Hmnn.. I could try installing a small-signal transformer in the compressor, and use a germanium transistor to drive it into saturation.. :dunno:

MarshallJMP:
Clipping is a sort of compression but with added harmonics.

Kim:
How hard would it be to build a very small poweramp circuit to drive the snot out of for this application?  Something with just one 12xx7 tube. 
And then....maybe something based on the Ampulator?

I know I sure would like to have something like this in my home studio.  :thumb-up:

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