M
O D I F I C A T I O N S
The
service department Alactronics is in a unique position. We
see just about everything ever built for audio at some time
or another. The goal here is usually to repair a broken device
but this gives us a great opportunity to study how different
equipment is designed and built. Over time, it becomes easy
to see what works well, or sounds good and what doesn't. When
someone brings us a device and says, "can you make it sound
better?", our response is usually yes because most manufacturers
design to a target market where absolute signal quality is
not as important as functionality or size or cost or any number
of other design goals. If absolute signal integrity is your
goal, most devices can be optimized for that purpose.
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There
are very few audio devices that have been manufactured in
the last 50 years that can't be modified to sound better.
Generally, we modify products to lower noise and distortion,
increase bandwidth, and improve transient performance. Sometimes
we will also change the operating characteristics of a device
or add a function at the request of the customer.
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Our
philosophy is simple, all audio devices should be as transparent
as possible. That said, one can certainly argue the need for
devices with specific colorations. Take the classic Teletronics
LA-2A compressor. Why would you want to alter the sound of
a device that works so well for so many things. The people
that designed this piece did a great job. On the other hand,
chances are good that your unit is over 25 years old and many
of the parts inside are worn out. Replacing these parts will
greatly improve the sound quality and reliability of the unit,
bringing it back to what the original designers intended the
unit to sound like. There are many pieces of old and new equipment
that fall into this category. For these devices, a restoration
to original or better performance is usually all that is needed.
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- Some
of our favorite mods:
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LA-4
-"Before the modification, it was okay on some things,
there were maybe one or two things it would always
be used for, and that was it. Now, it's one of our
favorite compressors. It works on just about everything,
and there are some things that it just can't be replaced
on.
|
- Ampex
ATR 102 - If you could get a quote from Bob Ludwig,
(which you probably won't, but if you could) he would say
that [the ATR that we modified] is his favorite machine.
Here
are some comments from people that have had their equipment
modified by us:
"Bob
Alach has modified our tape machines, limiters and other equipment.
I regard his work, both in concept and execution as exceptional.
He has increased the usefulness of everything he has touched."
-Steve
Albini - recording engineer / producer
"Alactronics
does the best electronic modification in the world. People hear
my LA-4s and go out and buy their own. They come back to me
and say 'mine don't sound as good as yours' and I tell them
mine were modified by Bobby Alach. He's the best."
-
Phil Greene - recording engineer / producer
"If
you like using any of the Urei 1176 models, the Alactronics
modifications are ESSENTIAL."
