North Coast Synthesis - MSK 011 Transistor Mixer

The MSK 011 is a transistor-based 4-channel mixer with great sound from North Coast Synthesis.

North Coast brings new glory to the Eurorack genre of 4-channel mixers with this minimalist design using only six transistors. The MSK 011 sounds great! Where a conventional mixer would normally require at least five op-amp units, each with a dozen or more transistors, North Coast has stripped the blend down to its bare essentials. It is a proprietary design, made with current components and modern manufacturing quality. Its Class A amplifiers, however, operate on principles dating back to the dawn of electronic signal processing.

The mixer is suitable for both audio and control voltages and has additional features that do not compromise the minimalist philosophy. There are positive and negative offsets and simultaneous DC and AC coupled outputs. The maximum gain is a little over a factor of one for when you need a little extra punch. It can also act as a transistor distortion effect by offsetting the signal until clipping and then using the AC-coupled output.

Features:

• High-quality potentiometers
• Plate-mounted jacks for wobble-free operation; conductive plastic for a smooth feel
• Completely new design, not a clone or imitation of anything else
• Classic discrete transistor design style
• No ICs
• No compromise on build quality: real aluminum plate, not PCB material, with color printing; nickel and gold plating on PCB; film output coupling capacitor; close tolerance metal film fixed resistors.
• Fully open design - no lock-in