Mixing Flask Full DIY kit

Description

The Threetom Modular “Mixing Flask” is a utility mixer offering mix-bus limiting and a cornucopia of indicator lights integrated behind a unique chemical lab-inspired front panel. 

I designed Mixing Flask as a solution to my main three gripes with conventional utility mixers:

• Mixing too hot is too easy, leading to hard clipping on the mix-bus. And even when there’s an indicator light to warn you when this is happening, there are no features to actively prevent it.
• Utility mixers usually only offer unity gain, so when you have a weak input signal (like a MTM Radio Music), you’re out of luck
• They’re nauseatingly boring

MIXING FLASK provides solutions to these annoyances in the following ways:

• I’ve implemented a soft-clipping limiting circuit on the mix-bus (inspired by DOPPIO). The highest setting prevents the mix-bus from hard clipping altogether in favor of warm saturation.
• All inputs have a gain of +6dB allowing you to better equalize between volumes while maintaining a hot mix-bus output
• The myriad of indicator lights and front-panel graphics make you feel like a mad scientist in your modular chemical lab. I bet you won’t find another utility mixer that makes mixing more exciting than Mixing Flask!

Features

• Three different flavors of saturation on the mix output (hard clipping, soft/hard clipping, or soft-limiting)
• Three inputs with up to +6dB of gain, and bipolar monitor lights
• One mix output with three-stage bipolar monitor lights (signal present, signal nominal, hard-clipping warning)
• Backlit chemical-lab-inspired front-panel graphics

Use cases:

• Mix oscillator waveforms without the risk of hard-clipping
• Mix CV signals while keeping an eye on what’s coming in and going out
• Give a gentle boost to weak input signals (e.g. from a sampler module)
• Have a utility mixer in your case that’s interesting to look at, and doesn’t bore you to death!

Demo video

Resources

• Build guide: Please refer to the DIY info page.
• Find the manual here
• Mixing Flask on ModularGrid

Specifications

• Construction
  • 4 HP wide
  • 36 mm deep (skiff friendly)
  • High-quality aluminum knobs with grippy surface
  • 2 mm thick glossy black front panel with translucent graphics and metallic print
• Power consumption
  • +12V : 36 mA max
  • -12V : 36 mA max
  • Reverse power protection