Hack Audio's Analog Circuit Factory

Written by Bytemapper

There is a bit of mythology surrounding analog gear in the music-making spaces I frequent. All too often, you’ll be faced with cork-sniffing gatekeepers who insist that digital simply isn’t it, despite all evidence to the contrary. Now, I certainly get it. I used to insist on tube amps only when I still regularly played guitar in a live setting. 

Times have changed, and computational power has more than kept pace with the ever shifting tide of digital signal processing. Perhaps the most interesting take I’ve seen on digital signal processing comes from the software developer and all around cool guy, Eric Tarr. His book, Hack Audio, is admittedly well ahead of my pay grade, but serves as a foundational bedrock for demystifying digital signal processing for the masses. 

Hack Audio’s debut piece of software is the proof in the pudding, so to speak. Analog Circuit Factory is well above my knowledge base, at least when it comes to taking full advantage of its feature set. However, my time with it has been somewhat revelatory, as you’ll discover. 

A Playground of Circuitry 

At face value, there is nothing to distinguish Analog Circuit Factory from the plethora of 500 rack wannabes on the market. I’m talking your Infinistrips, Virtual Mix Racks, and MixBoxes of the world. However, appearances can ultimately be deceiving, something I found to resonate especially after adopting DMG Audio’s tools to my workflow. 

Analog Circuit Factory comes with 100 modeled circuits, some targeting preamps, pedals, guitar tone stacks, and equalizers. At the time of this writing, this is early days for the software, as Hack Audio intends to add far more modeled components to the mix. 

The models aren’t all there is to Analog Circuit Factory, however. If you’re a bit more versed in electrical engineering for audio, you can create your own models in XML to import into the software for later use. Think of it almost as Reaktor’s Core Modules, but centered on signal processing rather than the creation of unique synthesizers. 

According to the developers, there is stuff in the works to make the creation of your own circuit models easier. I don’t know how this will be implemented, I imagine something akin to LiveSPICE’s own interface with visual components or something of the like. Anyway, it’s neat tech, I heavily recommend scoping out Mr. Tarr’s thoughts online regarding it. 

How Does It Sound?

I’m not one to hype one method over another, but I have certain expectations in place from my time with audio. I remember all too well letting preamp tubes in my Marshall head coming to temp so I could record in an ideal environment. Further, I know the sound of a TS-808 and DS-1. So, imagine my surprise when I loaded this up and created my own dream amp in a matter of moments. 

Later on, I actually put it into use through some mixing work. I released an EP recently, which is hardly beside the point. However, for the EQ work on the master, I used the modeled Baxandall circuit for a little last minute twisting and polishing. Since I had audio out on the loopback of my interface, I was comparing the tone and saturation of the EQ circuit to my own analog mixer. 

Tone-wise, they’re quite close. You can hear the effect especially on transients when using the tube models for work. Compression starts to be imparted, followed by the tell-tale harmonics that just convince your hear that this was the magic dust you were after. 

Now, six months ago, I was still on the hunt for a solid tube preamp to run my audio through. Today, I’m not entirely certain that is needed. I might get one still for the sake of it, but as a final dash of color Analog Circuit Factory gives that breath of reality to sound. It misses out on the noise of AD/DA converters, but perhaps that’s for the best. 

Is It Worth the Spend?

With an asking price of $199, Analog Circuit Factory might seem steep. However, I think that is in its favor. Even with the 50% discount you’ll find during the intro period, I think this is a piece of kit that is well worth integrating into your workflow. If you are wanting something that goes the extra mile, then the sound quality is certainly there in ACF. You’re getting something that sprinkles that little extra something on top when you’re making EQ moves. 

Now, it won’t be a replacement for workhorses like TrackComp2 for me just yet. But if the folks at Hack Audio are modeling MOSFETs, and the like in the near future, that may be subject to change. Computationally, it is a little on the heavy side. A single instance on my master bus took my Apple M2 to 60% with nothing else enabled. 

Printing to audio is fast enough though, and it’s worth it for the sheen it puts on your audio. You don’t have to be a electrical engineering whiz to make the most of this. I’m looking forward to where it goes over the next year, and the community that hopefully springs behind it. 

In short, if you want that special little something, it’s certainly worth a look. It’s cheaper than buying a 1073 clone, and you get so much more as part of the package.