ampage Tube Amps / Music Electronics	For current discussions, please visit Music Electronics Forum.

ampage archive

Vintage threads from the first ten years

PAIA, what is this?

:

3/15/2000 10:33 PM
Troy	PAIA, what is this? Hi all, I'm not an effects person, but I'm thinking of building a Q-tron clone for some bass gigs I've been playing. Anyway, I've seen reference to PAIA for kits. Is this a company and do they have a website? Please get me up to speed. thanks, Troy

3/15/2000 11:44 PM
nic	www.paia.com nicholas

3/16/2000 12:08 AM
Troy	Thanks Nic!! Troy

3/16/2000 3:01 PM

John Simonton, and the folks at PAiA (not a typo, the "i" is supposed to be lower case), have been serving (if not instigating) the DIY market for what is coming up on 30 years. I bought my first flanger from them in 1976 in kit form (worked great, too).

I don't know if it's their motto, but they sell kits that are distinguished by the following consistent features:
- low cost for the parts used
- well-designed (though not always pro-spec)
- extremely well-written construction manuals
- maximum controllability (my $70 1976 flanger had 2 or 3 different voltage-controlled parameters)
- amenable to a variety of packaging formats (though rackmount is the most common)
- rejoicing in quirks

They will sell you whole kits, boards, parts, and in my experience provide decent service over the phone.

They are also good about sharing information, having posted many schematics on their site, and publishing many articles in popular magazines over the years. Many of the projects are designed by Craig Anderton or Jules Rykebusch, in addition to Simonton himself.

Their "Motion Filter" shares many features in common with the Doctor Q envelope controlled filter, but seems to be a bit more thoughtfully designed, going by the schematic. If you want a kit that will make you smarter after you're done, they're a good place to start.

Page 1 of 1