Topic: possible ua-5 mod? for the elecrically inclined...

[Tall Adam]

so i was thinking about this...now that i have matched mics () i was wondering, would it be possible to switch the gain nobs on the ua-5 so that they are both adjustable by one knob? i hate having to turn them both when its merely a minute lowering of levels to prevent clippage. in a dream world this mod would also have a switch so you could turn it on and off on the fly and adjust one side only if necessisary. i know shit about electronics though so...anyone think about this ever? would it work?

[Sanjay]

so i was thinking about this...now that i have matched mics () i was wondering, would it be possible to switch the gain nobs on the ua-5 so that they are both adjustable by one knob? i hate having to turn them both when its merely a minute lowering of levels to prevent clippage. in a dream world this mod would also have a switch so you could turn it on and off on the fly and adjust one side only if necessisary. i know shit about electronics though so...anyone think about this ever? would it work?

I suppose it would be possible, but rarely am I lined up so that both sides need equal adjustment, and many mics may be off by a bit so it would not work there.  However there are many times when I wish i could just tap them both up wtihout having to squint for the little line.  What I really would like is someone to figure out how to condense the UA-5 into something 3/4 its size so i can stealth it!  But now thats pretty impossible

[Tall Adam]

well if it had a switch it wouldnt matter if your mics were lined up, all youd have to do is set each equivaltenly, and then flip on some sort of join switch which makes only the right knob for example raise or lower the volume for both.

[Sanjay]

well if it had a switch it wouldnt matter if your mics were lined up, all youd have to do is set each equivaltenly, and then flip on some sort of join switch which makes only the right knob for example raise or lower the volume for both.

ohhhhhhh I get it now, i'm pretty tired i should go to bed 

[Tall Adam]

you mean...you get it and that would be pretty cool right...RIGHT...

[hexyjones]

I've never seen the thing...but I dont see why you couldn't add a ganged pot - to accomplish what you propose...

But - you are opening the door on another "philisophical" question/debate...

i.e. - Do you gain each channel independently or just set them both at the same setting?...and accept any lopsided-ness...?

Not sure if this is the point of matched mics...i think they match more than just the ouput spec...

[ChrisV]

Yeah, my biggest complaint about the UA-5 here....if you need to go down or up slightly it is a bitch to re-equalize the channels once you got had gotten them perfect.    So some sort of switch/knob that had settings to increase or decrease by 1,2,3,4,5 db would be perfect.

Another possible idea would be if the damn level knobs were able to turn them in visible increments(clicks).   So if you do adjust each side you know you can just adjust each side by 1 equal click so they'll both be adjusted the same amount.   Get what I mean?

[hexyjones]

Yeah, my biggest complaint about the UA-5 here....if you need to go down or up slightly it is a bitch to re-equalize the channels once you got had gotten them perfect.    So some sort of switch/knob that had settings to increase or decrease by 1,2,3,4,5 db would be perfect.

Another possible idea would be if the damn level knobs were able to turn them in visible increments(clicks).   So if you do adjust each side you know you can just adjust each side by 1 equal click so they'll both be adjusted the same amount.   Get what I mean?

Sounds like this thing could really use a "main" fader...get the mix and L/R levels right...then use the main fader for over all gain adjustments...more like a regular mixer

[Tall Adam]

main fader would also work. if we didnt all use digital outs on it, it would be fine, because there is a main knob for analog outs.

as to where to place this mod...the top is a rather blank space on my ua-5, plenty of space to drill a hole there...

[dnsacks]

issue/thought -- each time the signal passes through a variable resistor (level control) noise/distortion is added.  This could well affect the character of the ua5's sound.  What price convenience?

[Tall Adam]

im not sure what what price convenience means...but by the time you add all the things to a UA-5 that I wish it had, youre at the price of a v3 and might as well get one. my dream ua-5 would have an oade analog mod, built in VU-meters on the top, and somesort of master/joining volume control. unless i really knew electronics and could do it all myself, by the time i got someone else to do it, id be looking at a much more expensive machine.

[dnsacks]

My post wasn't looking at the term "price" in the $$$ sense. Instead, I was merely questioning whether a feature that increased convenience at the expense of possible degradation of the sound quality the ua5 would really be an "improvement"

[Tall Adam]

ahh to that, i have no answer.

[jk labs]

issue/thought -- each time the signal passes through a variable resistor (level control) noise/distortion is added.  This could well affect the character of the ua5's sound.  What price convenience?

This statement is theoretically valid but why should one worry about this in the UA-5? The op-amps alone contain 100s of resistors  and I submit that they still add "no" distortion at all relative that created by the active devices sitting smack in the middle of signal path (including the analog front of the ADC itself).

Resistors contribute noise but nothing prevents one from arriving at a final gain scheme where the total noise is lower than in the stock unit.

Jon

[zhianosatch]

why not try to jerry-rig an imitation knob setup a la the da-30 (or other decks i'm not familiar with)? see if you can temporarly physically join the two knobs, hopefully with something better than a rubber band.
something to consider...

[eman]

My UA-5 has a bad input volume knob so I'll be looking at some possibilities since I'll be in there soldering anyway. I think the characteristics of these knobs really suck anyway, at least for my rig the "power band" (-20 to 0dB) is between 3 and 5 oclock making it virtually impossible to balance (esp using JB3 meters). Plus the actual knobs are so small and tucked in next to the XLR's- and the line in one is even harder to access. Maybe they should all go on top of the unit, drill some holes. Worth looking into for sure.
Dial switch with adjust seems to be the best setup, I'm no expert but it doesn't seem like rocket science.