Skibbe Electronics 226-9 Limiter

The 226-9 is based on the original Flickinger 226-9 audio limiter, built in 1966 by Daniel N Flickinger and Associates in Cambridge, MA. The 226-9 is one of the most obscure audio limiters in the professional recording industry. Most notably used on Stevie Wonders vocals on INNERVISIONS and bass guitar on Aerosmiths SWEET EMOTION! We suspect that less than 10 were built.. i know of only four originals that still exist!

The 226-9 limiter features four 6386 tubes, detector side is a 12AX7 and 12BH7 gain stage, and a very hearty dual 6L6 tube output stage. The 226-9 is BIG! 8 tubes, 5 rack spaces, 4 audio transformers, and outboard power supply….all for ONE channel!! The limiters are stereo linkable or can be triggered from an external source. The power supply is external, and all ac voltages are kept out of the chassis. The on/off switch is dc to a relay in the power supply box. This, plus the fact the the heaters are rectified, makes the 226-9 QUIET!

We took the liberty of redesigning the chassis to be more solid and revamping the power supply to work correctly and remain stable. The circuit is very similar to the Fairchild 660 with a few tweaks, all UTC trannies and different side chain tube compliment. I added the time constant selector for my own use in the studio and realized it was a necessary addition. Look for a Hi-pass filter for the side chain next!

All controls for the 226-9 are conveniently mounted on the front faceplate and allow for the following functions:

– Input level
– Attack time
– Release time constant selector 1-6 (fast to slow)
– Release time (gives a wider control of release time within the time constant selected)
– Slope
– Threshold
– Tube balance
– Meter adjust
– Limiter hard bypass