The Transformer

Swedish brand TK Audio are proud to launch a new creative audio solution – The Transformer!

• Transformer saturation circuit that adds low-end harmonics and a low-end bump 

• Passive saturation circuit that adds a lot of odd and even harmonics

• Active germanium stage with a vintage sound and a mix of harmonics

• Class-A stage with a pleasant British 70’s sound

• M/S function for separate processing of the mid and side channels 

The Transformer is a recording and mixing tool that transforms your sound by using several different harmonic stages. 

The unit is divided into two sections, a harmonic generating section and a transformer-coupled class-A stage with a punchy, vintage tone. If you’re working mostly in the box, this is the perfect tool to add some warmth, punch and color to your sound/mix.

The first section contains three different harmonic stages; a transformer saturation stage, a passive saturation/clipping stage and an active germanium circuit.
These three stages do not only generate different kinds of harmonics, they also shape the tone curve in different ways.
Use the Blend control to mix in the desired amount of harmonics. You can also choose to process the mid and side channels separately by activating the M/S function.
The second section is a selectable vintage transformer-coupled class-A stage.

TX Drive
The first harmonics stage is TX Drive, which is a transformer saturation circuit. With a single control you can vary the amount of transformer saturation and still keep the level constant.
The circuit generates around 1% of harmonics (distortion) in the low-end and a gentle amount of higher harmonics. It also adds a 2dB bump in the low-end around 30Hz. By adjusting the Drive control, the boost and higher harmonics decrease, while the low-end harmonics stay around 1%.

Gain
The TX drive is followed by a gain control, allowing you to drive the following Sat and Ge stages harder for more harmonics.

Sat
The second stage is a passive saturation circuit which adds a lot of odd harmonics; engaging the Even switch will add additional even harmonics. The harmonic content depends on how hard the stage is pushed.

Ge
The third stage is an active germanium stage that adds more even than odd harmonics. It has a pleasant vintage sound with its mix of harmonics and a soft high-end. Like the previous stage, the amount of harmonics are dependant upon how hard it is driven.

Output trim
The Sat and Ge stages are followed by an output trim, allowing for fine adjustment of the level before it enters the Blend control.

Blend
With the Blend control, you can blend the harmonic stages’ signals with the dry signal.

M/S
An M/S (mid/side) function is provided so you can process mid and side channels separately with different harmonic circuits. As an example, you can use the TX drive on the mid channel for more low-end harmonics and the Sat and Ge stages for more harmonics on the side channel.
(Note that the the class-A stage is placed after the M/S function, so it can’t be used in M/S.)

Class-A
The blend control and M/S function are followed by a selectable, transformer-coupled class-A stage that adds a fat and punchy sound, with the mid character and silky top end associated with British class-A designs from the early ‘70s.
The class-A stage also has a HF boost function that adds a small amount of air to the sound when activated.