Hi, I just got an amazing AMS S-DMX from VK serviced by David Kulka.
I want to use it mainly on vocals for a micro pitch shift FX, but I'm wondering if it's a good idea to also use it's stereo delays as a main delay or maybe to wide the sound a little bit.

Best regards.

delcosmos.

BTW, again... the unit is like NEW, how do they get this units in that perfect shape? I mean, right now It's 1985 in my studio!!!

GREAT BUY!!! David Kulka / Studio Electronics has helped me out a TON! … Especially with my CURSED MCI machine. Those AMS boxes are totally HIS thing! There is NO higher expert. He completely re-does those things to PERFECT condition.

I was eyeing a few of his AMS delays various times when I’ve been down to his shop ... but just don’t have the cash to pick one up.

You could not have made a better purchase from anyone on the entire planet.

- ALLEN WRENCH -

Hitting the "A" button will allow you to change the time delay on the "A" channel... hitting the "B" button will allow you to change the time delay on the "B" channel... hitting "A & C" at the same time will put you into 'pitch shift' mode on the "A" channel, "B & C" at the same time will put you into 'pitch shift' mode on the "B" channel... going to 1.007 on one channel and 12ms on the other will make your vocals sound just like "Phil Collins" vocals... circa 1986

Thanks Fletcher, I really appreciate your patience, because I already saw this same answer from you on 3 more posts!!
I'm a huge Phil Collins fan and I made my decision on this after reading your posts about DMX, it was a hard decision because as you may know, this specific unit is not cheap!!

BTW, you said 1.007 to one channel, I asume this is Pitch shift right? and then 12ms on the other channel again I asume this is delay right?, so you leave with out delay thet left channel and with out pitch shift the right channel...mmm interesting.

Best regards and THANK YOU Fletch.

1.007 harmonizer & 25ms delay LEFT
0.993 harmonizer & 15ms delay RIGHT

So both harmonizing in different directions and with slightly different (short) delay times too..

A 1980's standard setting for this unit. IMHO



There is a VSO switch too right? If I recall that gives the option between a steady harmonization or one that 'wobbled' and drifted around like a chorus (easiest to hear on a steady signal like a keyboard pad)

Cool, thanks Jules this exactly what I want to achieve.
I dont understand how those old "cats" use the DMX to trigger samples.

Best regards.

delcosmos

Do you have a manual?

Nasty business....

The manual is in transit right now, SDMX manual is hard to find, but VK have a premium service so once they found one they sent it to Mexico.
Thanks VK!

Best regards.

delcosmos.

Here you go buddy!

Thank you very much alex!!

Best regards.

delcosmos.

The sampling thing...trying to rememebr it was so long ago. You push hash and another button. You use the nudge buttons to trim the head or start time of the sample , then you feed audio to the input and it triggers the sample. There is a silght delay, we used to flip the tape and reprint the sound we were triggering from, say a snare, with a bit of delay, maybe 20 ms. Then when you flip the tape back you have a copy of the snare that is 20 ms early, which you then feed via a delay into the dmx input. Then you adjust the delay on the feed till it sits in the pocket witht the original snare. Now days you would just copy the track and bring it forward a little on the DAW. The piych shift thing is nice on these units. Score.

What??
Thanks god that is more easy now, things like that and razor editing makes me never miss tape days.
Thanks everybody for all your comments.

Being old, I can answer that.

Run the sound into a channel... hit the switch that says "lock"... hit the "A" button to find the start and end of your sample [loop]... use the "D" button to play the sample until it is succesfully edited... use the "nudge" buttons to edit the front and the back of the sample. Send an audio trigger into the unit to trigger the sample... instant "machine gun" snare drum... just like the 80's.

Mine's usually parked on short delays and pitch shift... but anybody using these guys for longer delays/ fx?

Thanks Fletch.

delcosmos

That's it - the lock switch, thanks Fletcher.

I was hugely flattered to see this thread and showed it off to a whole bunch of people. Many thanks to Armando and Allen for the kind words. Yes, we've really dedicated ourselves to AMS gear in the last couple of years and have invested a lot of time and energy into getting all the details right, so we can make these wonderful units like new again.

But, credit where credit is due.

"VK", as mentioned by Armando is Vintage King. They were the seller of this particular piece, not us. Vintage King is at the top of my list for high end gear, and that's a totally unsolicited testimonial. I have been involved in many transactions with them, on different levels, and every one went well. These guys are one of the few used gear sellers in the world that I totally trust. A class act.

Now...the real tech brain behind our DMX restorations is Cary Altschuler. Cary is one of the finest techs -- and finest people -- I have ever known. Many people know him from his days at MCI, and then Sony. Cary is a veteran of this biz and he has the stories and chops to prove it. He has toiled for many hours to decode the weirdnesses and tricks of these old AMS's. It was maddening at times, but he hung in there. Thank you so much, Cary.

Below is Cary doing his thing with a DMX. The photo is rather fake, in that he rarely smiles while working on these units! (AMS repairs require Dalai Lama-like patience.)

Oh - by the way - I happened to click on Armando's profile, and just about fell over shen I saw the monster racks in his studio. Not to mention his guitar collection! Now that's a studio to drool over!

I'm not done quite yet. I still want to credit Tess, who's the real "artiste" behind Armando's like new S-DMX. This forum only allows one photo per post, so she'll be next.

Jules, thanks for that info, your preset combination sounds AMAZING on vocals, just what I was looking for, I grew up listening this sound, and I am delighted with my AMS, there's no plug in in the world that can replicate or emulate the sound of this machine.

Seriously, thank you Jules for this amazing forum.

Keep the good work.

Armando Avila.

David, it's an honor to have a piece of gear restored and serviced by your company, this S-DMX thing started 3 or 4 weeks ago when my fellow gearslut friend "Raal" told me about the "S-DMX" sound on vocals, then I started to investigate about it, and saw all your info about the S-DMX, then I contacted Mike Nehra and he told me that he had a beautifull unit serviced by you, we close the deal and now I'm very happy with my purchase, now I understand why the greatest studios in the world always have at least one DMX and one RMX, congratulations for keep alive these wonderfull machines.

Best regards.

Armando Avila

Armando, thanks a ton. Your studio looks amazing and I know that your friend Raal is one of the top industry people down in Mexico. I hope to meet you guys some day.

Actually, before jumping to Tess, here's a printable 1 page cheat sheet for DMX's that addresses some operational points that came up here. Fletcher nailed most of it very well but this might be handy as a printable file. Every DMX is a little different and these instructions don't exactly apply to every one, but it's a good start. (I wish the jpg was more legible.)

This is actually a photo of an engraved steel overlay panel that Audio Rents had made back in the 80's. These panels were permanently glued to the top of every AMS owned by Audio Rents to help new users and I suppose also (ahem) to discourage theft. (Ten grand was a LOT of money in 1985!)

Tess Stein, princess of our shop, standing next a few "outpatients" that have finished the refurb procedure, and are now going through their 1 week burn in.

Armando, your AMS looks like new because of this lady, who can run rings around most any tech out there, male or female.

Tess, thank you.

Tess, THANK YOU!!!

Keep the great work.

Armando Avila

OH yeah... I almost forgot... when it locks up on you [not "if"... "when"] turn off the power then press the "1" key when you turn it back on and you're good to go... that little trick saved my ass more than a couple of times back in the day.

Peace.

Well, this was a complete AMS DMX workshop, I can't believe that brands like AMS or Lexicon can't make units like those anymore, but that's another thread.

All the best.

Armando Avila

Also, if the unit freezes for whatever reason or you find yourself in some confusing status, pressing D and then 0 does a complete reset that clears all RAM and settings. This will sometimes clear illegal key entries and weird modes when the Reset switch does not. I don't think that's in any of the documentation, for some reason.

Also, if you see a flashing H in delay mode, it's just a reminder that a pitch change was entered on that channel. You'll see this in normal use, but it always seems to throw people at first.

Another happy DMX and RMX user here.....................both from David, Cary and the rest of the Studio Electronics team.

All my used gear purchases automatically go directly from seller to David's shop for checkout/calibration/recap/etc. A truly first class operation. Their knowledge extends well beyond AMS gear.

And don't get me started on how well Tess can build patchbays. My 4th one arrived today....................absolutely beautiful job.

Thanks for all the info guys.

What's the difference between 1580s and SDMX?

Armando Avila.

The S-DMX is the latest incarnation of the 1580s and therefore the most desirable.

but there's no difference in sound?

Because I saw that price is higher on SDMX!! If they sound the same, maybe it's a good invest on a 1580s refurbished and serviced by Studio Electronics, I mean what's the point to pay a lot more for the same thing? I already made it!!!!, the thing is that I want to get a second one for my B room.

Thanks.

Armando Avila