What's new at Area 51?

August 2009

I'm happy to announce that we have a new dealer in Seoul, S. Korea - Tonefreaksdistrict.com

February 2009

I just want to take the opportunity again to thank all of our valued customers all over the world.  Right now is a tough time for many, and it will probably get worse before it gets better.  If you ask me, I think the media is creating a "self fulfilling prophecy" with all of their doom.  One thing is for sure though - unlike GM, Chrysler, and the big investment banks - Area 51 will NOT be getting a bailout from the federal government.  So we, as always, rely on YOU - our customers - for our income, and we'll continue to provide you with good service and top-notch products and support.  There's never been a more crucial time for those in the U.S. to buy American. 

I'm presently working on a new website for Area 51.  Yeah, this one has served us very well since, oh, about 2002!  It's a bit stale (understatement alert).  I designed this one in frontpage, which is now completely obsolete and our host is no longer supporting the extensions.  I have done a few sites in dreamweaver now, and I've started working on one for Area 51.  I'm doing it in my spare time, so it'll take a while yet.  Really, the plan is to simplify and I want to add a bunch of support stuff for our diy customers.  The online store will remain pretty much as it is now.  I've been bouncing around the idea of adding a wish list to it - ala amazon.com - since I find that to be a useful feature when I'm shopping online.  I'm wide open to any suggestions that you may have - so please feel free to shoot me an email  (dan-at-area51tubeaudiodesigns-dot-com)

August  2008

We're now offering a "Lefty" option on our custom Area 51 Wah pedal.  This is a no-cost option that will make life easier for the South-paws among us.  The idea came from Paul Bento - one of our good friends from Brooklyn, NY (he plays for the group Carnivore, fronted by Peter Steele of Type-O-Negative fame)  Paul is a lefty and always hated how his cord would cross over and get in the way when using his wahs.  So, he requested that I do something about that on his newest Area 51 Wah.   I've decided to offer this as an option for no extra charge.  Why? - Because lefty's always get the short end of the stick!  How many times have you seen a lefty guitar that was anything but white, black, or burst?  Probably not too many.  And, (when the left handed player can even FIND a decent lefty axe, .....he usually gets to pay some obnoxious up-charge.  I won't be able to do them like this for free "forever", but while I'm building wahs on a custom-order basis - I'll offer this option for no extra charge.

July 2008

We'll be releasing the fuzz very soon.  The boards are here, and we are starting production.  I'm working on a few mp3 samples now.  We're building an initial run of 100 pedals which will be offered to those on our mailing list FIRST.  Only those on our mailing list will be offered these very first units, so if you are not on the list, send me an email and I'll take care of you.   

I get many emails each week asking about these, so thanks to all of you for waiting so patiently - I'm confident they will be worth the wait!

We now have the latest (revision 5) Wah boards in.  These boards have the same exact sound, AND much better layout for the new inductor.  They also have places for all of the DC Jack components - so that kit (which was already pretty easy to install) is now REALLY easy to install. 

May 2008

I'm pleased to announce the addition of 2 new dealers now carrying Area 51 Drop-in Wah Kits:

Ninevolt - Hanamaki, Iwate - Japan

Musician's Boutique, USA

Work continues on the Area 51 Fuzz, Buffer, and Tube Trem pedals.  These new products will be made available to our dealers.  Customers may also purchase them directly from us here at Area 51, as always.

April 2008

Funk Off™ String Cleaning Wipes are now available.  If you'd rather spend more time playing, and less time changing strings - you may want to give these a try.

January 2008

A number of new projects happening for 2008 here at Area 51.  First of all, I've decided to discontinue the BMT60 add-on tremolo unit.  That's the bad news:  The good news is that I've been working on a replacement.  The replacement is in the form of an all-tube tremolo pedal, which is based on the legendary 3-tube tremolo found in some of the brownface Fender amps of the early/mid 60's..  Fact is, the first time I played through the prototype of the pedal, it was a pretty easy decision to discontinue the old tremolo.  This one just simply has it beat. Even our non-musical friends and family who visited us over the holidays were going "ooh" and "wow" when they heard it.  If you would like to be informed of the latest developments regarding the release of this new pedal, please go to our contact page and use the "join our mailing list" utility at the bottom of the page.  UPDATE:  The tube trem pedal is on hold for the moment.  I have to focus our limited resources on other projects for now.  After further analysis, I've determined that this pedal will be very limited production when it's ultimately released.

We're also putting the finishing touches on our newest product - Funk-Off ™ string wipes.  Look for that in the very near future. 

I'm also finishing up the development of a new fuzz pedal.  Yeah - just what the world needs: another fuzz. Right?  Well, this one's a little different.  It's silicon powered, but with the character and tone of a really great germanium fuzz.  Not possible, you say?  That's what I thought too......

Another item of interest: Last year, my inductor manufacturer informed me that they could/would no longer be able to wind my inductors to the tolerance that I required.  So, I started looking at alternatives.  What happened next was a truly great thing (although it didn't seem that way at the time!):  First, I designed and built a coil winder so that we could make them here.  Then, I began to experiment with inductor designs.  I tried a multitude of cores, wire types/gauges, and winding/assembly techniques.  The end result:  We have a new inductor that takes what the old one did - and goes beyond it.  Improved resonance and harmonics are the result.  These inductors are only available in our Area 51 wah, wah kits, and wah boards. (they have a different footprint and pinout, and are not a drop-in replacement for any other type)  I've been using these with all kits and wahs for the past few months now.

Thanks for stopping by....,

Dan Albrecht
Owner
Area 51 Tube Audio Designs