Vacuum tubed tone control???

A company called PSE used to make a hybrid pre-amp that had tone controls of an unusual design. As I understand it, the tone control switches somehow adjusted the current to the tubes as you switched them...which didn't interfere with the signal path...just changed the "flavor" of the sound a bit. (Please understand that I'm a complete idiot when it comes to comprehending electricity, so I may be describing this incorrectly.) I thought it was a great idea, and have one of the pre-amps, but apparently they're not made anymore.

I'd be curious if anybody knows more about this. Seems like a potentially fruitful area to work on, for those of us who (perhaps secretly) wish we still had tone controls, regardless of the high-end bias against them.

Why not find a vintage tube preamp that has tone controls?

I've had the same dilemma, but, unfortunately, couldn't find a solution. Too lazy to fool around with cabling/tubes to serve as tone-controls. So,a Mac pre- is what I am going to get.

AMC CVT 1030S is a good low-cost tube preamp with tone controls. Click the link and scroll down for more info:

http://www.amchome.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=AO&Category_Code=Preamplifiers

Other than that, you could get a Z-man ASE tube line buffer. It uses a single 12AX7 tube for both channels and you could tube roll (but no tone controls).

If you like the Z-man idea, I have a good one that I may sell. You can e-mail me privately if interested.

Musical Fidelity has just such an item, called the X-10D Tube Buffer, and they're cheap and easy to come by both new and used. Try Audio Advisor for a new one or just do a search here.