Hitmaker 4000 Colour Module

80's British Hitmaker Console

for Chroma, Mister Focus, & DIYRE Colour

Overview

HITMAKER 4000 brings solid state British console sound to the Colour format. This circuit was inspired by the classic VCA console's Mix Amps through which thousands of hit records have been mixed since the early 1980's.  

The heart of the famed mix bus was a balanced summing architecture with a hybrid combination of a discrete quad-matched transistor input and a then-state-of-the art Signetics NE5534A op amp to provide open loop gain and load-driving capability.  While a dual amp NE5532 could have been chosen to simplify the design and reduce cost of this Colour module, the audio performance of the NE5532 is not the same in terms of distortion, soundstage, and overall tone.  Our design respectfully pays homage to the original console's Mix Amp by using multiple IC stages of a carefully selected modern production NE5534A that best matches the depth and tone of the out-of-production Signetics part.  Another critical component defining the gritty and punchy sound of these consoles was the VCA used for master fader level control.  This is the same VCA fader that the legendary Bus Compressor sidechain controls for 2-bus smack and levelling.  We have included this essential ingredient along with original spec bipolar coupling capacitors to help achieve the harmonic texture reminiscent of the vintage console.  HITMAKER 4000 isn't merely an enhancement effect trying to approximate the harmonic distortion characteristics of hybrid transistor summing amps and VCAs - it is those very kinds of circuits using the correct components. 

One of the signature features of these consoles was its powerful yet musical 4-band EQ, which many mix engineers have used to shape sounds into hit records.  As a tribute to the most favorite high frequency shelving EQ setting of one particular award-winning mixer dude we have included a jumperable 8 kHz shelving boost to add an in-your-face presence and sparkle your tracks and mixes.  

To further expand the range of tones possible in a way the original console could never offer, we have provided two user-selectable THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) settings.  The RICH setting has a more forward and aggressive character with its dominance of 3rd order harmonics pulling sounds to the front of the mix as the module is driven harder.  An alternate FAT setting configures the module for more 2nd order harmonics, which gives the low end more roundness and depth; the top end thus feels more refined and less edgy.

Features

The HITMAKER 4000 module is one of our most ambitious designs to date and offers a versatile palette of console-style saturation and tone-shaping, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the Colour format.  We are confident you will enjoy using it on your busses to achieve that perfect console saturation sweet spot, and on your tracks to add a rich high end sheen that grabs the listener's ears. 

1. Unity gain signal path
2. Inspired by the complete the Mix Amp signal path of the vintage console including the VCA and summing amp
3. Two THD settings (via jumper): Rich and Fat
1. Rich: increased 3rd order harmonic for original console tone
2. Fat: increased 2nd order harmonic for alternate, fatter texture
4. 8 kHz high frequency shelving boost
1. Bypassable via jumper
2. +2.8 dB of boost
   
3. Recommended applications: bus sweetening, mix-ready vocal and guitar presence, snappy in-your-face drums
5. NE5534A op amps chosen for proper vintage tone closest to the famed Signetics 5534
   
6. Panasonic bipolar caps as originally spec'd in the 80's consoles
7. 4-layer PCB design (most parts on bottom of the PCB)
8. Analog plugin compatible with Chroma and Mister Focus
1. C-DRV knob on Chroma controls amount of drive into mix amp
2. C-MIX knob on Chroma blends effected signal with dry signal
3. If 8k Boost is enabled C-MIX knob will control the amount of boost applied
9. Compatible with DIYRE Colour

Fully assembled and tested by Louder Than Liftoff.

Chroma 500 Series module or DIYRE Colour Palette must be purchased separately.

Documentation

• User Manual

About Colour

Colour is an exciting new modular platform for creating your own custom analog signal chains. The ever-growing family of modules allows you to bring multiple stages of high end analog processing to your setup a la carte. These are real analog plugins.

The Colour platform consists of Colour modules and hosts like Chroma, Mister Focus, and the DIY Recording Equipment Colour Palette. Colour modules are ultra-compact, swappable analog circuit blocks that snap into Chroma and impart various types of analog color such as distortion, saturation, compression, EQ, and even echo. Chroma provides drive and wet/dry mix controls, power, and support circuitry for one module.

The Colour Palette is a 3-slot host available as a 500 Series unit from DIY Recording Equipment. In the near future there will be rackmount version of the Colour Palette as well.