Exciter (effect) - Aphex Aural Exciter

Aphex Aural Exciter

The Aphex Aural Exciter was one of the first exciter effects. The effect was developed in the mid-1970s by Aphex Electronics. The Aural Exciter adds phase shift and musically related synthesized harmonics to audio signals. The first Aural Exciter units were available in the mid-1970s, exclusively on the rental basis of $30 per minute of finished recorded time. In the 1970s, certain recording artists, including Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor stated in their liner notes "This album was recorded using the Aphex Aural Exciter."

Aphex started selling the professional units, and introduced two low-cost models: Type B and Type C. The Aural Exciter circuit is now licensed by a growing list of manufacturers, including Yamaha, MacKenzie, Gentner, Emu and Bogen. The original Aphex Aural Exciter, first offered in 1975, came without the Big Bottom circuit, which was added in 1992. Later revisions of the Aphex Aural Exciter included the Model 104 Type C and Type C2 units. Aphex released in 2001 the Model 204 Aural Exciter and Optical Big Bottom, yet another refinement of the original unit. According to Aphex, the Model 204 updates the Aural Exciter and Big Bottom processor blocks with improved circuitry, including an optical gain-control element for the Big Bottom compressor.