Welcome to the DaviSound "NEWS UPDATES" Page!
ARCHIVED CHRONOLIGICAL NEWS ENTRIES FROM HAYNE DAVIS FOR 2019
In reverse order with the first entry at the bottom of the page and the last at the top as each new entry is added at the top of each prior entry.
December 13, 2019
"DaviSeasonsGreetings" ..."DaviSummary" ... "DaviSubs" ... and "DaviSnaked" !
Tis the Season ...
And it is just so very hard to believe that it is time to summarize another year already and look toward a new year and our 50th anniversary, no less!Since the time continues to fly and the noticeable progress continues to drag, still somewhat, I thought I would go ahead and do the final entry for 2019 about a week earlier than planned since the busy holiday crunch is bearing down (albeit Friday the 13th!).
The good news to report in the "DaviSummary" for this year is regarding those "DaviSubs" mentioned above... sub assemblies that is. After a long fall of near record soldering and other related construction activities for yours truly, as I looked around yesterday I realized that virtualy ALL of the modules, power supplies, sub-assemblies etc. for ALL the remaining projects are complete. Indeed, some are already assembled in completed cabinets nearing final shipment stage but those projects, including the two remaining large mixers (yet to be assembled), each have all their "bits and pieces" all finished and ready to be "seated".. "glued and screwed" into a finished assembly.
So, no doubt, 2020, our 50th anniversary year, will see the COMPLETE culmination of ALL remaining projects currently underway which, after so long a wait for some of them (mainly the two mixers), this coming anniversary year will turn out to be a fitting delivery time for them I think. That being the case, 2020 should be a pretty big year for pretty big news in our monthly News Updates. Next month I will be relegating this year's News Updates to the Archives section and starting a new slate for the new year. I look forward to you joining me here again next year!
Before I "DaviSign" off for the year ...
I thought I would leave you with one of those little "DaviSide" stories that some of you have indicated that you enjoy. As you have come to know, I have NO "DaviShortage" of interesting "DaviSidetracks" and "adventures" along the way! Last night, after feeding my outside dog, I was walking back up between two outbuildings toward my charging station to unplug the charger (from "Evie", my well used, 2011 Nissan Leaf) when I almost stepped on a Copperhead snake stretched out in the path in front of me! Fortunately, I ALWAYS keep an eye on the ground when I am walking, as emphatically taught by my dad during my formative years, and managed to detect it just in time although it was well camouflaged on the bed of oak and maple leaves in the near darkness. I grabbed a nearby 2x4 from under one of the adjacent sheds and took care of it. It was fairly thin for a Copperhead and only about a foot long but every bit as dangerous as the big ones. Ironically, at almost Christmas time, this is only the second snake I have seen in the yard since last spring (the other being a harmless black snake early in the summer). Just goes to show that it pays to keep your eyes open outside no matter when the time of year!So, this year I was "DaviSpidered" and just narrowly avoided being "DaviSnaked" as well! Oh ... and, I also just narrowly avoided being "DaviStruck" in a traffic accident yesterday when driving back from inspecting one of our old media installations ( a car ran a stop sign and I had to stand on the brakes) so I guess my Friday The Thirteenth came a day early for me ...almost!
Well that wraps up (yes, with Christmas wrapping this time!) another edition of DaviSound News Updates for another month and another year. I do look forward to the coming new year and look forward to having some "bigger and better" news for you throughout. So until next month/next year ...
"DaviSeasons Greetings" to you all and ...
As always, thanks for "tuning in",
Hayne
November 21, 2019
"DaviScorched" ?... and ... "DaviSermon with DaviSteak" !Greetings and Happy Holidays upcoming!
Normally, I typically do just ONE news update for both November and December and let that suffice for the always overly hectic holiday season. However, since I am still trying to catch up on things as much as possible by year's end ... there will be another update around mid month, next month with a "DaviSummary" of sorts.The "busy-ness" (and "crazy-ness"?) continues abundantly here as fall looks to merge with a new winter. Due to the old pattern of circumstances that result in up one step and back two, there is still not yet a whole lot of the expected audio gear news that I had hoped, and anticipated, to present here by mid November. But it is coming- thus another attempt by mid next month. Meanwhile, just a few of these "up one back two steps" events will be covered herewith.
I had mentioned last time another round of issues with my Internet Service Provider. Well, just as I was about to get that all straightened out, I got a notice from them saying that they would be moving all my sites and files to a new server! This news was like a "punch in the gut" since the last time this happened (as some of you old timers who called my attention to all the problems it caused will remember), it was a disaster! During that "migration" as they called it, somehow my website reverted back to around the year 2000! Furthermore, they had somehow "lost" all the subsequent, current files in the process! Needless to say, this was a nightmare of extra work for yours truly since I had to actually re-upload the entire website. Fortunately, I always keep a complete, updated duplicate on two separate in-house computers but it was still an aggravating, time consuming added chore which I did not need to have to contend with.
However ... THIS TIME, I was pleasantly surprised that the "migration" was seamless and it couldn't have gone more smoothly. Also, it seems (so far at least), that all is in order with DaviSound and my other sites. Not only that, but as a result of this "new and improved" server, my email now seems faster and more reliable so, hopefully, all those past issues with lost emails and problems logging into the server etc., have all been resolved. I do remind all of you, again, that I ALWAYS answer email and that if you send something to DaviSound by email, and you do not hear from me within a few days, that means I did NOT get your email! So, in that event, PLEASE RESEND your email until I do respond!
Over the past couple of months I have mentioned a lot about our new, TB-50 custom Tool Box still undergoing "burn-in". This prompted one jestful comment this month, included from an inquiror on another unrelated matter, that stated, "After all that 'burn-in' time you have talked about, that new Tool Box must be 'scorched' by now". So, this "DaviScorched" comment has prompted me to address the topic of "burn-in" again, briefly, in this edition although I have talked about it quite often over the years and it is addressed elsewhere on our site in regard to our construction technics.
For the new generation of readers who probably have no clue just what the term "burn-in" refers to with audio gear (particularly "old school" analog audio electronics), it is simply a precautionary period whereby the just completed, or near completed stages, audio electronics components are powered on 24/7 for at least a week, or nowadays preferably several weeks, to point up any issues that might occur with any of the electronics circuit components. We always do this in the final stages of assemby, and after completion prior to shipment, and it has paid off many times over!
When I first began studying and learning the crafts involved with audio electronincs design and fabrication back in the very early seventies, this was a very common practice amongst audio gear fabricators, especially those involved with custom, "one-off" products. One of my first mentors instructed me that most failures with electronics components occur within the first 100 to 500 hours (often earlier) of operation ... thus the practice of employing a lengthy "burn-in" period to "weed out" any early, "infant mortality" as he called it .
Unfortunately, as I have "preached" here before, with the only components that we have available nowadays in many cases, the failures can occur more frequently. This has been particularly true in respect to electrolytic capacitors and large filter capacitors especially in recent years. Again, as I have "preached" about before, it has become a greater and greater challenge in the past decade for circuit designers and builders to obtain reliable, quality components than ever before in past history. While we try and obtain as many of our components from Europe as possible, even that is no longer a guarantee that the component was actually made there! It seems, latter generation management of famous name companies put profit over quality and import low priced (and low quality) raw products to put their, once respected, hallowed names upon! Unfortunately, in some cases, underneath the label is the same imported, troublesome junk that has plagued us from Taiwan,China and Mexico in recent years. Fortuantely, for application in standard Tool Box©™ power supplies, we have a "lifetime" supply of "new old stock" filter capacitors imported from West Germany several decades ago, of which we have never encountered a single failure for those items.
Now, astute readers will realize, that in regard to this "burn-in"process and the time it requires, that once a component or circuit cluster is replaced, then the burn-in process must start all over again for an additional, similar period for the new, replaced components. It can be a very frustrating process for all concerned but certainly less frustrating than receiving a new unit and having something fail a few weeks after putting it into application. This is especially the case for our numerous international clients where two-way shipping abroad for repair is always undesirable. Of course, sometimes, in spite of all best precautions taken, this very thing can still happen as occurred with us several years ago with a custom vacuum tube audio amplifier shipped to a client in Greece. After several weeks of burn-in and retesting, this client experienced a failure just about a week after he first received the new amp and put it into service. One of the required, unique, extra large filter capacitors in the power supply had failed thus rendering the unit useless because of one faulty, imported component (in this case, one of those "plagued" capacitors made in Taiwan years back ... much larger capacitors were required for this power amp supply than those reliable West German types we use in processors and these Taiwan imports were all that were available at the time - regardless of the brand on them!). Fortunately, in that particular case, the client had a very technically capable, English speaking friend who I was able to "walk through" a repair after sending them replacement capacitors (I sent a handful just in case!).
As it turns out, I have experienced a few of these frustrating component failures within the new , custom built,TB-50 now on the "out bench", and so therefore, it still endures the infamous "burn-in" process here prior to final proofing, packing and shipment which will hopefully still occur before year's end (one of those "back two steps" events). In both cases, I am not specifically sure yet exactly WHAT component failed because they were embedded within the "MasterPiece"©™ circuit modules which employ many discreet circuit components so the unit has simply been retrofitted with new modules and undergoing "new burn-in".
I am also, simultaneously, "burning in" several new MP-1 and MP-EQ modules to be employed within the forthcoming new TB-4 prior to actual installation in the new cabinet (still in early stages of construction) which should help to cut down on required burn-in time when that unit is ultimately fully constructed and being readied for shipment. So there you have it ... todays "lesson" on "burn-in" ... and probably a lot more than a lot of you cared to wade through but presented here because of its extreme importance nonetheless. To borrow a line from a long ago wine maker advertiser ... "we will ship no DaviSound product, before it's time"!
I will wrap this up for now (but not in Christmas wrapping yet since I am NOT one of those who rush into that season earlier every year!) and, in closing, wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving upcoming just a week from now as I write this. I know most of you will be enjoying your tradition of Turkey and trimmings while I will be enjoying my own, unique, tradition of country fried STEAK with southern style trimmings!
Thanks for "listening" and please tune in again next time!
Hayne
October 30, 2019
"DaviSlightly... DaviSidelined" ...
Well, last month I mentioned that September had flown by and that I would spare all the usual routine about "extending" that short month for a couple of more weeks. However, as it now happens, OCTOBER turned into the month that I needed to add a couple of weeks to!The past couple of weeks have been more disruptive than usual ( as many of you know, I typically have more than my share of "domestic disruptions") in several different directions including another hassling issue with my Internet hosting "service" (more like DIS-service lately) and no ability for FTP (thus no photo uploads that I had planned) as well as an anticipated death in my wife's family which really took it's toll on her emotional state over the past few weeks.
So, now, with the expectation of getting back on track this coming month, I will just keep this update to a bare minimum and plan for a "DaviSooner", EARLY update for November in the next couple of weeks and finally get those promised photos of the new "TB-50" Tool Box edited and uploaded. It is still undergoing tweaking and burn-in on the "out bench" and I will be getting back to it the first of next week along with work on the other assorted projects underway.
Thanks for "tuning in" again, please don't get "DaviSpooked" and remember to check back in by around mid month for my next update!
Hayne
September 30, 2019
"DaviSeptember"...Yep ...
we are now "DaviStaring" at the end of another month (the 9th) and yet another (the 10th) moving in SO FAST!I will "DaviSpare" all of you the usual "DaviSeptember" routine about extending it since it, being one of the shortest months, always comes to a close far ahead of my "DaviSchedule" for it on the calendar. "DaviSuffice" it to say that it has flown by again (as they all DaviSeem to do now) so fast it truly seems like only a few days ago that I was writing last month's update.
On the flip side ... if the other tradition holds true, that being October seeming to hang around awhile and resulting in one of our most productive months ... then we ought to make up for this ninth one whizzing past us!
Work has been almost non-stop in varied directions here this month with quite a few of those old-fashioned ten-twelve hour workdays "DaviSandwiched" in amongst the more limited opportunity days. And, there were also a few new disruptions along the way of which I will also spare you the excruciating details. But, all considered, I feel I am pretty well on schedule to make most of the end-of-the-year predictions I committed to in late "DaviSpring".
Next month, I do PROMISE you a photo, or two, of the new "TB-50" (re-named in honor of our forthcoming 50th anniversary in 2020), custom line level processor which was designed by a longtime faithful client himself, and whose supplied layout-to-scale we followed almost to the last detail. It should be in the final "burn-in" proofing stages by the end of the coming month and, thereby, ready for some finish photos to be posted here. It's a beauty featuring a Purpleheart faceplate and it is "DaviStuffed" (quite literally) with two channels of our famous processing circuitry including the "Musi-Q" 4 band equalizer, the "DaviSirkit" pre-set, and our "DaviSmart" optical compressor.
I also contiue to turn out record numbers of MasterPiece modules for three different clients in three separate areas of Europe one of whom is a do-it-yourselfer in the UK who is building his own version of the "old English" recording consoles using our MP-4 modules (discreet, class-A) exclusively throughout. So the "DaviSoldering" marathon mentioned last month will not "DaviSlow" for quite some time!
I am also "DaviStill DaviSearching" for my lost Greenlee chassis punch set, just dreading buying a new set when I do not expect to accept anymore metal work projects besides the two on the back tabe now awaiting the final rear panel punchouts. As I have announced here many times before ... I intend to keep it as "DaviSimple" as possible in my "old age" only offering our wooden cabinetry in "DaviStandard" configurations for the future.
And so boys and girls...
It is time once again to say so long until next time when I invite you to "tune in" here again for another "exciting episode" in the "Adventures of DaviSound - News Updates"!Until then ... Thanks for "listening" !
Hayne (PS- Pardon all the excess "DaviSpeak" in this edition ... I just could not "DaviStop" myself!)
August 27, 2019"DaviSoldering" Marathon continues ...
Well, as the last full month of summer winds down, I continue to spend most of mine at the old soldering table at every opportunity. Of course the opportunities continue to be disrupted by the weekly trips for my wife's medical appointments and treatments but we are progressing here and, now that the needed, backordered parts have finally arrived from Germany and Great Britain, maybe we can see some REAL progress toward completing the benched, outgoing projects in the immediate weeks ahead.
August has never been a favorite month of mine for some reason (largely because of the excessive heat and humidity that typifies the time of year down south and the tropical storm conditions that often come with it - along with the assorted bugs and pests!) so I can't say I am sorry to see it go and glad to see fall on the distant horizon. For those curious, I am now over my spider bite announced here last month (it actually turned out to be just ONE bite instead of the two reported last time. The second developing red spot below the bite, at the time of my last update, thankfully turned out to be just a rash caused by irritation from the tape that held my poultices in place for weeks) and all that remains of the bite is a faint scar...good riddance!
While the soldering has mostly involved MasterPiece circuit modules for a new influx of module orders, along with modules for both the soon to be completed, "TB-50" fully custom Tool Box, as well as the new TB-4 project recently confirmed and launched, while awaiting parts I also began "stuffing" (DaviStuffing?) and wiring the rear panel for the LONG awaited "Mixer O'Tube" custom, all wooden, retro styled, upright console mixer.
In case you have forgotten what that will look like, here is an old photo that I displayed here awhile back showing the partially loaded, at the time, front panel, which is now upside down on the bench for the ongoing inter-wiring just mentioned.
Photo of "Mixer O'Tube" control panel prior to the latest work phase.
I can say, without doubt, that this one will be one of my all-time special pieces once it is fully assembled with the top mounted vacuum tubes mounted in display fashion and the control panel fastend to the sloping "aged oak" cabinetry. I look forward to displayng it here, hopefully, around the end of the year. This long, ongoing project WILL finally ship in early 2020!So, the "grind" continues here, and will be winding up even further as the summer winds down, while we head toward the "short rows" of 2019.
Thanks for "tuning in" and please join me here again next month for another update!
Hayne
July 23, 2019
"DaviSnagged and DaviSpidered!" ...Greetings!
SInce this month's "news" is not a whole lot different (on the AUDIO front that is) than last month's "DaviStatus" update, I decided to go ahead and do this month's update a bit earlier than usual while I had the chance.
I continue to get trickles of email from readers of our website which encourages me that there are still SOME Internet users who browse, or visit, other areas besides Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. One such reader commented last week that he enjoyed my news updates for all the assorted narratives from "yours truly" regarding "things in general" aside from all the audio related content of our website. Well that reader may get a "kick" out of this edition because it is somehat of a "doozy" (as my aunt used to say) relating to "things in general".
The "DaviSnags" I refer to have been both literal and figurative. On the literal side, I managed to "snag" myself up with a couple of gashes in my leg while moving yard debris ( a giant weeping willow split and crashed during a recent storm) which, while not too serious, have provided some dsitraction. On the figurative side, while trying to get the new "TB-50" custom Tool Box into final proofing on the test bench, I have encountered a few "snags" that needed changing prior to final certification ... such is life with one-of-a-kind, fully custom style units built in prototype fashion (which is one of the reasons why I have announced previously that I will only accept orders for STANDARD Tool Box units in the future). This, along with parts shipping delays, has caused me to fall a few weeks behind schedule once again which is why we are about where we were at last month's update.And further contributing to the aggravations/slowdowns this summer, has been the myriad of insect pests in our neck of the woods. I have encountered more ticks, mosquitoes and fire ants this year than in many years past (averaging a "tick a day" that I find crawling on me after being outside for awhile, some days two or more!). Most of the ticks are small and haven't attached themselves but still a nusiance and concern just the same.
But the real "doozy" is in the "DaviSpidered" category ...
Sometime around two weeks ago I was bitten by a Brown Recluse spider. I am no stranger to these bites having had two prior ... a serious one when I was in the tenth grade (back in ANCIENT times) and a not-so-serious one about fifteen years ago. Now the internet "experts" will tell you these bites are RARE ... don't you believe it, as my own story will further show! This spider has become much, much more numerous in recent years (llike a lot of pests), no doubt due to the warmer climate, and they are not "weavers" but "hunters" and therefore much more aggressive than some would have you believe.
As mentioned, my first bite, decades ago, was not really noticed (on the back of my arm) until it had become about a two inch sized oval with decaying flesh in the center surrounded by a scablike crust around the edges. I visited two different doctors with it over the course of a month and neither were able to do much for it. They just take TIME ...and often lots of it... to heal.
When I first noticed this one, it was like a large mosquito bite, very red and swollen , with a small open center wound. I asked my wife (who has her own, new recent viral afflictions to deal with aside from her usual disabilities) to look at it and tell me what she saw since I could not get a good close look due to the location on my mid-back just around from my right side. She first said it looked like a very angry mosquito bite but I suspected already this was something else because of the intense burning and itching. I tride to ignore it as best I could until a couple of days later when she saw me shirtless and told me that the bite had started to look like nothing she had ever seen before. So, straining to get a view in the bathroom wall mirror and aided by a small hand mirror, I saw the all-too-familiar circular ring pattern, about the size of one dollar coin.
I began immediately treating it with "home-brew" poultices (all doctors normally do is prescribe steroids and antihistamines and, sometimes, antibiotics - probably because they are not totally sure if it is a bite or a weird bacteria). I have worn one of these poultices for close to two weeks now and the bite never worsened (no necrosis) and is finally starting to show signs of healing, albeit a very SLOW process. 
This is NOT my bite but a generic photo found on the Internet.
However, it is virtually identical to how mine looked after one week.
My poultice ingredients varied just a bit from time to time (for example after a few days I eliminated the baking soda and then the honey a few days later) but have consisted of a base of aloe vera gel, vitamin E and honey for the liquid base. Then a paste was made by adding baking soda, Echinacea and Curcumin/Boswellia (from opening capsules).
Things were progressing well until ...
yesterday when I noticed a SECOND whelp, about an inch below the first one, with intense burning and itching just like the first one had done! I know, this is UNHEARD OF, right? One bite in a lifetime maybe but two within two weeks in almost the same place for a total of FOUR overall? Call Guiness and tell them to dust off the record book!
Well to shorten the long story somewhat ...
This second bite put me on a serious detective mission to try and find the source of these things. I thought of everything, bedding, clothes, any place I might have been with my back up against something. The obvious places would be seats and chairs ... lawn mower seats, car/truck seats, work chairs etc. Checked them all with no spider traces. Then the last, and what should have been the most obvious, my den recliner! I went in and turned it up on end and what I saw was mind blowing..."tons" of the tell-tale scattered webs exactly like those made for hiding places and nesting by the female Brown Recluse! I immediately got the vacuum, a broom and some disinfectant spray and went to work. I vacuumed, brushed, swept and sprayed every crevice in that chair. I never saw a spider during all of this (they are "reclusive" after all) but since my bites are exaclty the area of my back that snuggles into the area of the chair where the arm, back and seat all meet, and which places you exactly against that adjoining "tunnel" on reclining, I have to believe that this was the source of my bites.So, there you have it. The latest "DaviSidetrack" adventures ... life here is never boring for sure. These bites are not all that painful but the itching can almost drive you crazy. If you have never had one you just cannot imagine the intensity! Multiply the worst poison ivy itch by three or four and you may have it. Fortunately the intensity waxes and wanes, but it is ALWAYS there .... for weeks! And, these bites can sometimes produce "horror story" skin decays that can take months, in some cases surgery and skin graphs, to heal. Fortunately, so far I have kept mine in check (the first one that is) and the "experts" at the University Of Florida who study such things say that if necrosis has not occurred within 96 hours, it won't occur. I take that as GOOD news since I am well past that on the first bite (going on two weeks as I write this) and I caught the second one even earlier with my poultice treatment.
I guess the moral here is ... if you live in the southern United States, CHECK YOUR RECLINERS! (and any other dark, hidden area that you may come in contact with)
So, at this juncture, I leave you with renewed optimism for the things returning to "normal" again by next month, (WHATEVER that is around here), and the following photo that was sent to me by a dear friend who learned of my current plight!
Until next time, 
Hayne
June 30, 2019
"DaviStatus" ...Since summer is now well upon us...
and since we have just reached the midpoint of yet another year ...
I thought this would be a good time for a full "status report" on where all the current projects stand here at DaviSound.As I look around my over-crowded (cluttered?) work room, at the various work tables, I can see one large vacuum tube "retro styled mixer" ("Mixer O'Tube") being assembled from components that have been readied now for years, also components for another wooden cabinet mixer (my last large mixer project to be accepted as announced sometime ago) all in one corner. In the other areas I can see several (three) custom, one-of-a-kind preamp/processor projects all nearing the final stages of completion. Only one of these is in the classic "Tool Box" format and it is the special "TB-50" project that I have mentioned a couple of times prior this year. The other two are in unique metal packages with housings supplied by the clients.
The other work table, nearest the door as I gaze in, contains a stack of MasterPiece modules that are being readied for a variety of final destinations. These have dominated my attention for the past ten days during my latest "soldering marathon" which I will be getting back to, for the continuance of another work-through-weekend, as soon as I finish this month-end update. Four of these modules are MP-EQ2 modules which are being readied for the first new Tool Box order I have accepted since lifting the "freeze" a few months ago, a new TB-4 "DaviShaper" Equalizer (more on that shortly).
My personal goal for 2019 is to have ALL of these projects completed and shipped by year's end! I am posting this here for all the remaining clients in waiting since my email updates have fallen behind somewhat this month due to new "server problems" at my hosting service which have greatly affected my email access (again!) this month and, thereby, my personal email updates to all you clients.
Now, this many completions by year's end is may seem like a "tall order" (and in some ways it is, indeed) but the key to it is the fact that, over many months past, I have "DaviSnailed" my way to the near completion point of each of those mentioned and expect to have the TB-50 ready for the final burn-in, proof-of-performance stage by the next news update.
Were this goal of "mass completion" over the next few months not already in my sights, I would not have announced the lifting of the freeze earlier and accepted my first new Tool Box order for the past couple of years! That new Tool Box will be a standard, TB-4 "DaviShaper", as mentioned above, and I am proud to say it is still one of the most proven, and sought after, analog equalizer designs ever offered for professional audio application. I would like to call your attention to it as a "featured item" this month since it is my latest project launch and since it is in the top four of our all-time most popular Tool Box offerings. You can check out the highlights here DaviSound TB-4 with the detailed on-line owner's manual linked from there.
So, barring any tragedies and mega-delays over the next coming months, I invite you back here month by month for progress reports on how close I am to meeting ALL these personal goals for 2019!AS always, THANKS for "tuning in",
Hayne
May 31, 2019
"DaviSameOld"
Yep...
It pretty well is DaviSTILL the DaviSAMEOLDTHING ...
Just "DaviSqueezing" in the work in between all the multiple "DaviSideTracks" which continue to plague me to varying daily degrees.
So, as a result, STILL no time for photos and uploads of the works in progress here. But ... WORKING I am / as often as I can. I will try to have some photos of these latest projects up as soon as possible.
On a "DaviSide" note ...
As if there wasn't enough to do already...
After years of plodding from old clients and inquirors ...
I finally DID register the new domain for a forthcoming Mother Cleo Productions website!
Now...given the workload, circumstances and SIDETRACKS on the homefront that continue here, who knows WHEN I will get any substantive material online for the new site. But, at least, it has been officially "kick-started"!
If there are any new visitors who have no clue as to what I am referring to (those who have not checked our origins and history documented on this site)...you can check out the launch page here- Mother Cleo Productions
Well, now it is back to the one hundred degree heat and more work between the Murphy's Law sidetracks on the domestic front.
(This is the FIRST spring that we have not endured monsoon rains and flooding for many, many years. Instead it has been just the opposite...a record DROUGHT! And, although it is HOT [100 degrees or thereabout] every day now for the last ten or so, it is the dry, breezy heat that I thrive on instead of the typical South Carolina 98% relative humidity which I despise!)
So....I will leave you hanging here until next time boys and girls ... "tune in" here again soon as I will try and have another, more substantive, update coming just as soon as I possibly can.
Stay cool,
Hayne
April 29, 2019
"DaviSqueezing" ... and "DaviStories"
Yep ...
I am "squeezing" this update in just before the end of another month that has flown by all too quickly!
This will be an abbreviated version with a promise to include more substantial progress news next month.
Meanwhile ...
I urge those of you who are wandering in here for the first time (and there are a few each month!) to please scroll down for the updates posted thus far, this year.
I have been just a little "DaviSidetracked" by more computer/phone/internet issues which I will not go into in any detail here (thank me for that!). This is one of the reasons I am late with this update and why it will be minimal. I am just NOW learning to use a wireless, physical keyboard with my Android phone (since my other internet connections are down) with an ftp app and html editor. The keyboard is so nice since I hate pecking around with one finger on the Android (never got the hang of the thumbs method) but I can "fly" on a good old physical keyboard. So now the "droid" is much like my computers albeit a VERY small screen.
The other reason I have been "DaviSidetracked" a bit this month is because we have been "DaviStormed" twice already early on this year with some storm related damage to deal with ... but that is another "DaviStory" entirely that I will not go into here.
But...
Speaking of "DaviStories" ...
The other topic I wanted to mention is our DaviStories section of the website. I have received two separate emails this month asking if we had a "testimonials" area on our website. And, while I have never particularly liked that term, I guess I should have highlighted it somewhere in the menu since two visitors in one month somehow missed all the detailed client/user correspondence posted in that section.
So, for those of you who have NOT visited our DaviStories area in a while, as well as the newcomers to the site, PLEASE use the link to go there now and review some of the many detailed posts of email and photos by our clients. I did that last night, myself, for the first time in quite awhile and, I have to admit, even I was impressed with the many glowing comments! So please do check it out again and from time to time (who knows I may get a chance to go through saved email and update it again one day soon!).
So, that will be it for this month ...
Hope all of you are enjoying an early spring and I thank you, as always, for visiting my News Updates area again this month!
Until next month ...
Best in audio,
Hayne
March 1
"DaviSeconds..." I called this update, "DaviSeconds" because I started it over a week ago and it was intended to be a rare second post of the month during February. But, I obviously did not quite get it posted in time so I just went ahead and left the title "as-is" then finished and posted the update today, March 1.The reason for it was because I have received a "ton" of email and texts this month relating to various matters and I thought I would address one of those in particular, which I will get to presently (I did not realize that so many of you still read this page each month! Thank you for doing so! They say that you only ever hear from 1 or 2 per cent of your site visitors so, if that is the case, we must have a BUNCH of readers still!).
Before I get to the main topic of this update ....VACUUM TUBE AUDIO ... I wanted to thank those few of you who wrote regarding last month's post relating to my "trigger finger". Thanks for the well wishes and suggestions. I am actually showing some improvement after a couple of weeks of my " DIY therapy". I am soaking it nightly in hot water with Epsom Salts and keeping it taped (similar to splinting) during the night. The pain has lessened and the dexterity is improving daily although it does seem to be an up two steps and back one kind of thing. For those who might desire further treatment specifics, I am also taking extra vitamin B6, along with serrapeptase, and I have gone back to a theraputic dose of Glocosomine/MSM/ Chondroitin from my usual maintenance dose. That and the soaking/splinting/massaging seem to be doing the trick and I am now more confident thasn ever that I can "cure" this over time. Even in this short a time, my "workability" with my right hand has GREATLY improved!
And before going further, If you happened to miss the last month's post as to what I am referring to here, please scroll down as each month's post always follows the one before it. I especially urge those of you who may have missed my announcements in the January update to please scroll down and review it also.
And now on to this month's topic ...
DaviSound vacuum tube audio!I received an interesting email just after I posted last month's update which prompted me to do a little site reviewing and also to decide to address some of the writer's questions publicly herein. Here below is an excerpt of the email from a reader located in Great Britain -
"I am a long time wannabe DaviSound Tool Box owner and I have followed your web site for a very long time. There is quite a lot of useful information scattered about and it must have involved an awful amount of typing! But I am perplexed why you have never updated your Glass Ear section and, particularly perplexed why you still have not yet introduced the TB-9 valve compressor which I have been waiting to see for years (and hopefully purchase)!I also wanted to compliment you on the write-up about the proposed transformerless valve monitor amplifier. That is one of the best written, informative pieces on the use of valves for audio that I have ever discovered on the web. I appreciated your unique insights about transformers in general that were also presented there."
That is the first inquiry I have gotten about the proposed TB-9 in many years and a very good question that needs to be addressed. So, here it is.
Those of you who have followed DaviSound for a quite awhile know that many of my plans and schedules have been disrupted by various life circumstances during the past decade, not the least of which has been my vacating the lifelong DaviSound facilty to now work entirely from my current home workroom along wih my wife's health disabilities which also had a lot to do with deciding to make that move.
As a result, my work backlogs became even more backlogged and many new planned projects had to be placed on the far, "back burner". The introduction of new Tool Box designs, one of which was to be the TB-9 Vacuum Tube Processor, were among those necessarily placed on hold.
I do have a working prototype, that I hastily mounted in a comparatively crude little "consolette" cabinet for my own personal use. And, use it I have! I do not get called on too often nowadays to do voiceovers or narrations but, on the rare occasion that I do, I invariably use this little unit for my preamp/mixer. Here is an old photo of it below.
This little unit is built around 6sl7 and 6sn7 vacuum tubes and features my unique, original design, transformerless vacuum tube mic preamp. It also features a line level input jack to mix line level signals with this mic input stage. The three knobs to the right control low/high EQ and Compression, in that order. The compression action is from one triode stage which is in/out switchable. The unit also has a headphone amp and switchable phantom power for the mic input.With only a few mods from the original design, this little consolette is an amazing performer and provides a lot of satisfaction each time it is pulled out for use. Hopefully, I can still utilize its development toward the TB-9 project in the not-too-distant future. I now know that there are still, at least, one or two potential commissioners out there for it when it is finally ready for introduction!
As for the GLASS EAR vacuum tube discussions page, it, like much of the other website updates, has suffered delays because of the same circumstances that prevented the launching of the TB-9 to date. Hopefully, though, things are now returning more to "normal" (whatever that is
) and progress will finally be allowed, henceforth, in all the neglected areas.
And speaking of progress...
Hopefully this month will turn out to be the most productive so far this year as I work steadily through March toward the final assembly of our latest Tool Box in the queue, the custom "TB-50" ! I, again, thank all of you who have stood with DaviSound all this time and for returning faithfully to this updates page month after month.It is ALWAYS good to get email from you....and don't forget you can always text me at 803-944-7972 should you so desire (although email is preferable for detailed inquiry responses)...and I look forward to your comments and suggestions any time you care to send them!
Until next update opportunity ....
Thank you VERY much for "tuning in"!Hayne
February 16, 2019"DaviSpacing!"...and... "DaviSurgery or DaviSplint?"
Greetings again from DaviSound as we continue to "ease in" to 2019!There is not a whole lot of "audio related" news this month, aside from a new "trickle" of MasterPiece module orders (again, mostly from Europe, particularly France and Greece this go-'round). The big "catch 22" plagued task for me these past weeks has been trying to inventory and rearrange my home work room for more space as I attempt to make enough room for the final two mixer projects in the works alongside my current Tool Box project, the forthcoming "TB-50" custom processor.
It's been akin to trying to stuff a 20 pound turkey into a 10 pound size bag, if you know what I mean. That's where all the "catch-22s" come in. I move one thing out of the way and two things seem to take it's place when it needs to be the other way around. But, I am slowly getting it functional, and comfortable for working, and hope to be in full "DaviSwing" with the new arrangement by the first of March. Hopefully, the time spent now getting things in better order will make work more productive and efficient when I do settle in for the next steady work routine.
Another thing that has really hampered me more than I wanted to admit to myself intitially, has been a new affliction (added to my "dozen or so" others I deal with daily). It seems I have developed something that many of you may be aware of but I never knew existed until I became "blessed" with it ... ... "TRIGGER FINGER". For those who don't know, this is an inflamation in the tendons and joints of a finger which is rather painful and actually can make it nearly impossible for you to bend, or subsequently straighten after bending, one of your fingers. And, when you do manage to bend it, it "snaps" back in place like a spring loaded hinge creating a burst of pain each time it "snaps".
Naturally, mine WOULD be on my right hand but, I do have to say, it is probably the least of the bothersome fingers if I had to pick one to be so cursed. Well, actually if I could have chosen, I guess I would have picked the little finger. Instead, it is the one next to the little finger (if it were my left hand that would make it the "ring finger"). Naturally, this makes gripping things a chore and it wreaks havoc with using cutting pliers and needle nose pliers during the work process, not to mention steering a soldering iron.
Most people, I am told, rush off to the nearest surgeon when this happens to them and I may just wind up there eventually myself. But, being one who tries to avoid surgery (and doctors in general for that matter) except for life and death situations, I have been determined to try and ride it out using a variety of "alternative" methods, so far without much success.
As I write this, I am just a few days away from my 71st birthday on February 20th and, in all my 71 years, I have been fortunate not to have ever had a major surgery. Oh, I have had a few minor surgical procedures involving local anesthetics but I have NEVER, to date (THANKFULLY!), been under full anesthesia. Of course, the process for "trigger finger" would involve only local anesthesia, I'm sure, so that is not the reason I am avoiding it. I just happen to believe in exhausting every other possibility first and, to date in many instances, I have been successful at it. Will these alternatives work for "trigger finger"? We'll have to find out.
Nowadays, most Americans seem to flock to surgeons for elective surgery every tme a little twinge of pain hits them. Everyone rushes to do something RIGHT NOW. It has been my observational experience, that in many cases, they would have been as well off, if not much better off, to try alternatives and give it some time. For example, I have read that using a splint on your finger for a week or two may just reduce the inflamation enough to allow the body's healing process to complete the cure. Most people would say, well I can't wait a week or two so I want surgery NOW. But, then they find out that AFTER surgery, they STILL have to wear a splint, sometimes for six weeks or so, to allow full healing! This is the case with many procedures. Who is to say that a person wouldn't be as well off on some of these joint replacements and other elective surgeries if they did just the"post op care" part itself WITHOUT the surgery involved?
I can recall back in the very early nineties, I was cooking barbecue for a friend and relative who just happened to be a master surgeon. I was having GREAT difficulty at the time with my knee joints and, on that particular evening, I could hardly even walk. Both knees were in bad shape but one was especially swollen, stiff and inflamed. My friend/relative told me that I might as well let him go ahead and book the operating room for me for a knee replacment since my knees would only get worse over time and I would soon not be able to walk at all. Well, being the stubborn individualist that I am, I just grinned and thought to myself, "Uh-Uh...I'll prove him wrong!" And, I did. It took time and I had to endure some pain in the weeks/months ahead, but after much research, I began a nutritional and herbal pilgrimage that I still follow to this day. And, specifically for the knees and joints, I poured on the Glucosomine with MSM along with Chondroitin on alternate days. Today, both my knees are strong, healthy and totally pain free ... better at age 71 than at age 41! Meanwhile, I have other friends and relatives who have gone the surgery route for assorted "replacements" and injury "repair" who have all come out in about as bad, or worse, shape than they were in before the surgery. In fact, two that I have in mind had to have follow up surgeries (one had two of them) to try and correct the first surgery and, in each case, they wound up with more pain and nerve damage than previously!
Now this is NOT a dissertation against surgeons and surgery in general. And, if I am struck with appendicitis, I will be the first one to knock on the operating room door, so to speak. But, my point is, you never go to a surgeon and ask if you need surgery. The answer will invariably be "yes"! I believe one should investigate all other options before hand. I will always remember my ex-father-in-law's (who was one of the last of the brilliant, "old fashioned" doctors) adaptation of the old Hippocrates quote, "first do no harm". He said it was always his practice to try and do as little as possible to make things worse while time and nature had a chance to do the healing!
SO... will I be as successful this time with alternative treatments for my current ailment as I have with most of my previous attempts? Time will tell (and hopefully heal!). Meanwhile I will be be " DaviSlowed" by my "DaviSplint" but that may be better than being "DaviStopped" by "DaviSurgery"!
Thanks again for "tuning in" to these humble, opinionated news updates! I hope to have some more audio-type news for you next month since I expect March to be a full "in the grind" month!
Best efforts,
Hayne
January 15, 2019"DaviSliding"...and... "DaviSteady"
A sincere HAPPY (and HOPEFUL!) NEW YEAR to all of you and welcome back to my News Updates for 2019! As per our standard practice, all of last year's updates have now been archived to the DaviSound News Archives area and this year's posts will appear here monthly with each new entry posted ahead of the prior month's entry.So far it has been a rather easy, slow "slide" into 2019 here but I am now getting geared up to be off and running for 2019!
The BIG NEWS is ....
Since the culmination of our last remaining Tool Box on order is on the horizon and scheduled for shipment around the end of the first quarter ...
I am pleased to announce .... at long, long last... that THE FREEZE ON NEW ORDERS IS NOW LIFTED! I am now, once again, FINALLY accepting new orders back on a regular basis ...BUT... only firming each one, one-at-a-time, with each subsequent order placed in the queue in chronological order of inquiry. Hmmm....did that make any sense?
(It has been a LONG, LONG workday and getting LATE, LATE, LATE as I write this!)Let's try that again just to be sure ...
I will only be accepting payments or deposits, thereby firming the order, one project at a time. Once each project is completed and shipped, I will THEN either announce the opening for a new order or contact the first prior serious inquiror waiting in the chronological queue that confirmation can be made.I will be operating as always with a chronological waiting list but with the single distinction that I will only be accepting payments when I am actually ready to begin work on the project. I just do not want to ever again operate with a backlog of prepaid orders on hand as we have had in the past.
SO... if you are one who has been waiting on a chance for your own DaviSound Tool Box ... go ahead and let me know and I will place you on the new chronological list letting you know where you stand and when to expect firm confirmation. Once the order ahead of you is shipped, you will be notified to make your payment, or deposit, to confirm your project as the next in line.
I THINK that ramble ought to clear up what I am trying to get across!
As for the "DaviSteady" theme ...
This refers to the fact that our prices have remained steady and have not increased in a whole decade! This is in spite of the fact that materials costs and shipping costs have risen drastically during all this time. I have been doing a great deal of badly needed, overdue editing on the website as of late and our DaviSound Prices/Order Info was just updated today. The only updates were primarily in the contact info section and NOT in the actual price list area! So, if you want to become an original DaviSound Tool Box owner, the "bang for your buck" has never been greater than now!If you have not scanned our complete website in awhile I urge you to do so now. There have been numerous updates and there might be a few more sections that need my attention that I have overlooked. If so, I would appreciate your calling my attention to them should you run across something that appears to be out of date.
As always I thank you for returning to this News Updates area and I look forward to our 49th year of doing business with the best clients in the world, all over the world! Remember, I always welcome your correspondence, inquiries and suggestions! It may take me a day or two (maybe sometimes just a bit longer) to get back to you, but I WILL always get back to you! If you don't get a reply from me it simply means I did not get your message for some reason so, in that case, PLEASE follow up until you hear from me! I do NOT...EVER ...iginore correspondence, voicemails or text messages!
Best for the coming year,
Hayne
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