By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 05/01/2009

A simple fuzz box comprises an operational amplifier (op amp) and diode The amplifier's gain range is unity (no gain), 6 dB. The circuit...

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 05/18/2004

Condenser microphones are the topic this month and I have a great story about them with a funny ending. But first, mes amis, I...

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 04/01/2003

My first encounter with the EMT-156 dates back to 1982, when I was wrapping up a project with Bay Area band The Mutants (as...

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 05/01/2001

UNDERSTANDING AC/DC, SERIES/PARALLEL, RESISTANCE AND IMPEDANCE We interface equipment every day, assuming and hoping that the relationship between source

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 04/01/2001

For any product, environment can affect the MTBF (Mean Time Before Failure). This is especially true for tape machines, where air quality can contribute

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 03/01/2001

What exactly is a solder joint? Prior to soldering, most components are to the printed circuit board (PCB) by their legs, which are also...

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 03/01/2001

Technology is not perfect. One aspect of technical perfection can be accomplished by balancing a healthy skepticism with a talent to extract the most

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 03/01/2001

Dear Eddie, Hi there! I have a Panasonic SV-3700 that is driving me crazy. Call it Machine A. Sometimes the transport won't move, but...

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 01/01/2001

MDM AND DAT MAINTENANCE Welcome to the new millennium! No Prince songs this year, but by now you must surely be tired of the...

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 12/01/2000

LOCATING PARTS, IMPROVING POWER AND GROUND DISTRIBUTION This is the third part in a series on analog equipment maintenance for geeks in training. Part

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 10/01/2000

Welcome to the final part of this series on analog tape recorder maintenance. Wrapping up each section has been a bit like making yogurt...

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 10/01/2000

ANALOG MAINTENANCE AND UPGRADE CONSIDERATIONS I get plenty of e-mail regarding "modifications and upgrades" to recording consoles and other pieces of

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 09/01/2000

PART TWO, RECORDER DEBUGGING AND ALIGNMENT In Part One of this series, I made some assumptions: Machines are older while users and technicians are...

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 08/01/2000

Since 1995 I've focused on the repair of digital tape machines-4mm, 8mm and S-VHS-but it wasn't always that way. Recently, three projects jolted me...

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 07/01/2000

The term "Sound Card" has become a bit of a misnomer. It once referred to a generic piece of consumer-oriented hardware designed to give...

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 06/01/2000

True monitors are necessary tools in any studio. Yet, as with any component in the signal chain, monitors need attention, and occasionally a tweak...

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 06/01/2000

The Tone Plug-essentially a tiny audio generator built into a Neutrik XLR connector-is a dream tool for live sound engineers. And for project studio...

By Eddie Ciletti ⋅ Published: 04/01/2000

Despite an almost endless variety of higher-performance disk and tape formats available in the market, the ubiquitous 16-bit, 44.1/48kHz DAT format is