Metasonix
Metasonix is an American audio equipment manufacturer, founded by Eric Barbour and located in Lakeport, California.
History
Until 2000, Barbour worked as an applications engineer for the Russian vacuum tube manufacturer Svetlana Electron Devices [1], while also contributing to Glass Audio magazine (since 1991). He has been the senior editor of Vacuum Tube Valley magazine [2] since 1995. Barbour founded Metasonix in 1998, and in 2000 it became a full-time manufacturer.
Products
Metasonix produces audio effects and synthesizers, using atypical vintage vacuum tubes; such as special types made for TV sets, FM modulation detector tubes for cheap FM radios, and radio pentodes. Metasonix modules are notorious for their high cost, high power consumption (as much as 100 times greater than for similar solid-state circuits), and peculiar highly-distorted sounds. Inspection of a Metasonix TM-1 reveals that, as the company advertises, the entire signal path depends on three vacuum tubes--there appear to be no transistors or integrated circuit chips directly in the path, while a single IC chip is used as the ring-modulator oscillator.
The current lineup of Metasonix products is:
- G-1000 Fucking Fucker guitar amplifier ---an all-tube amplifier, utilizing 23 unusual tubes (mostly pentodes). Output power is 15W per channel, and two speakers (or a stereo speaker) are required. The appearance of this amplifier at the 2008 Winter NAMM Show caused a sensation in the music-gear media. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] The offensive panel artwork was by cartoonist David Lovelace, creator of the Newgrounds cartoon Retarded Animal Babies.
- S-1000 Wretch Machine---a fully tube-based synthesizer, which appears to be the only such device on the market at present. The synthesizer uses two 2D21 tubes, plus two 5651 regulator tubes and a 5BQ7 type tube, in its VCOs. The waveshaper consists of a 6BN6/4BN6 plus a 5BQ7-type. The filter is made with three 6AK5 type pentodes, including the VCA. Status display is a 6AL7 tuning-eye indicator tube. The remainder of the system is solid-state. Power is 12v AC at 3 amps, provided by a large AC adapter-transformer.
- TM-1 Waveshaper---a distortion effect, which applies waveshaping and ring modulation. It uses a 6CB6-type tube for input preamp/VCA, a 5BQ7-type for the pulser, and a 6JH8-type as the ring modulator. Power is 12v AC at 1 amp, from an AC adapter-transformer.
- TM-2 Filter (winner of the 2003 Electronic Musician Editor's Choice Award)---a dual bandpass filter plus VCA, It uses three 4AU6/4DK6/4EW6 type pentode tubes. Power is 12v AC at 1 amp, from an AC adapter-transformer.
- TM-3 Oscillator---an oscillator, which can be frequency modulated and used as a pitch source. It uses two 2D21-type gas thyratrons as VCOs, plus a suboctave divider made of two low-current neon lamps. Power is 12v AC at 1 amp, from an AC adapter-transformer.
- TM-5 Preamp---a distortion/fuzz preamp for electric guitar. It consists of two 6AU6-type pentodes for the preamp, plus a 4BN6/6BN6 beam modulator tube (originally used as a detector in FM radios) for distortion. Power is 12v AC at 1.1 amp, from an AC adapter-transformer.
- TM-6 Multimode Filter---a derivation of the TM-2 Filter, with two bandpass filters. It uses two 6AK5 type pentodes. Power is 12v AC at 1 amp, from an AC adapter-transformer.
- TM-7 Scrotum Smasher---a unique low-fi distortion effect. It uses two 6AK5 pentodes plus a 4BN6/6BN6. Power is 12v AC at 1 amp, from an AC adapter-transformer. The offensive panel artwork was by cartoonist David Lovelace, creator of the Newgrounds cartoon Retarded Animal Babies.
From 2000 to 2002, Metasonix produced some limited-issue 19-inch rack products. These included the PT-1 "Phattytron" synthesizer, TS-21 waveshaper, TS-22 quad filter, and TS-23 dual VCO. These modules were hand-wired and were apparently made only in very small quantities. The TS-21 won an "Editor's Choice" award from Electronic Musician magazine in 2001. Limited edition distortion effects, the TX-1 Agonizer and TX-2 Butt Probe were also issued in 2004-05. Like the TM-7 Scrotum Smasher, their front panels were decorated with obscene cartoons.
Users
Metasonix users include Trent Reznor, Robert Rich, U2, Tim Skold, Richard James, Billy Gibbons and Nikki Sixx, plus famous producers such as Bob Rock, Hans Zimmer, and Gary Chang. According to rumors on the Nine Inch Nails and The Wretch message boards, Metasonix sound effects were apparently used heavily on the NIN album Year Zero, making it one of the first commercially viable albums to use the S-1000 Wretch Machine. It is interesting to note that one of the TX modules that Nine Inch Nails uses says Capital G on it, as it was also the name of one of the songs on Year Zero. S-1000 Wretch Machine sounds also prominently appear on the Saul Williams album The_Inevitable_Rise_and_Liberation_of_NiggyTardust!, produced and cowritten by Reznor.
References And Notes
Most information came from the official website, from info seen on Harmony Central and from personal emails with the staff at Metasonix dealer Analogue Haven [12] in California. Mr. Barbour assisted with product photos and some background info. Some historical information was found at the Audio Playground Synthesizer Museum [13]. Metasonix products are apparently too new to be mentioned in any recent books on music synthesizers.
Interviews with Mr. Barbour:
Reviews of Metasonix products by Electronic Musician magazine:
- S-1000 Wretch Machine synthesizer
- TM-3 voltage-controlled oscillator
- TM-6 filter
- TX-1 Agonizer (discontinued)
- TX-2 Butt Probe (discontinued)
- TS-21 waveshaper (discontinued)
Review of TX-1 by KEYBOARD magazine: TS-21 waveshaper (discontinued) TX-1 Agonizer (discontinued)]