Special Edition Metasonix TX-1 Agonizer Announced
 September 21, 2004
Back in April, Metasonix introduced a decidedly different effect, the TX-1 Agonizer, created for the sole purpose of mutilating your sound. It turned out to be their fastest-selling product with the entire run sold out in two months.
Seeking to make this tool of sonic destruction available to more people, the company has introduced the Special Unacceptable Edition of the TX-1.
Metasonix changed some of the circuitry for a little more gain and distortion. This special edition also adds a Suckbass switch, which as you might guess, kills the bass frequencies from the signal.
But like the original, the tube used in the Special Edition TX-1 was never intended for use in the audio world. It was created for use as a demodulator in TVs (and cheap TVs at that). Not only that, the Agonizer hooks up the tube in an incorrect fashion to pump out loads of distortion, also putting the tube in a feedback loop. A neon lamp is inserted into the feedback loop, together making the circuit rather unstable.
The LEVEL knob is the input level control. The POUND knob varies the voltage on the deflection grid in the tube--which changes the gain and the distortion character. The CV input allows you to insert a control voltage in the grid, so you can modulate the distortion OR add another audio signal modulation to the noise. The STRANGLE knob brings the neon lamp into play. The overload effect increases further when the lamp conducts. And the GRIND knob controls the feedback loop. More GRIND, more horrible intermodulation distortion. Finally, "SUCK HARDER" is the bypass switch.
The Agonizer requires a 12 volt AC power supply at 1.5 amps maximum, measures about 8" x 4.5" x 2.5", and weighs in at 4 pounds. It gets quite hot when powered for extended periods.
The TX-1 Agonizer Special Edition is hand-made in the USA, and limited to a run of just 100.
Retail price is US $499.
For more information, visit their web site at www.metasonix.com. | 
