M2 Circuits was started in 2013 by Maurizio Miserere with the focus of building boutique guitar pedals. Since then, the company has shifted its focus to the repair side of electronics.
Maurizio worked at a local repair shop for a few years, where he developed a well rounded knowledge of analog audio equipment and the repair and maintenance of it. Alongside his working experience Maurizio has spent countless hours experimenting and learning electronics. He has studied topics ranging from discrete transistor circuits to vacuum tube technology. Since the beginning of his electronic journey he has filled shelves with books covering various electronic topics, including well known texts such as The Art of Electronics (P. Horowitz, W. Hill) and Small Signal Audio Design (Douglas Self). Other texts include vintage text books from the late 1960s and early 1970s that focus explicitly on tube and transistor technology. The understanding of such topics in important not only when designing products, but also essential in the troubleshooting of existing products.
The experience with analog electronics does not stop at audio, as one of Maurizio’s hobbies is repairing and restoring vintage test equipment. His personal collection includes oscilloscopes, curve tracers, signal generators, current sources, multimeters, VTVMs, and power supplies. His time spent inside of test equipment paved the way for a solid understanding of how they function.
In 2023 Maurizio was approached by the owner of Thump Recording to partake in the restoration of Les Paul’s recording equipment. The Les Paul Foundation chose to have the equipment restored so that it can be used to teach a new generation about the recording contributions of Les and to showcase the innovative technology of the 1950s and 60s. The first pieces of equipment to be restored were: Les’ custom Rein Narma console (known as ‘The Monster’), his AMPEX 350 1″ 8-track tape recorder (known as ‘The Octopus’), and his AMPEX 351 1/2″ 3-track tape recorder. The project was a huge undertaking and took the combined effort of Maurizio, Ben Fischer of Tubular Audio, Richard Levengood of Thump Recording, and several others to see the restoration of these three pieces through to completion.
Maurizio’s focus during the Les Paul project was on the two tape machines. Much of the equipment needed to be reverse engineered as it had been heavily modified by either AMPEX, Les, or Rein. He made many notes and drawings during the process, and his last contribution to the project was hand drafted schematics for all of the un-documented parts and modifications. The equipment had been dormant for decades, so naturally several things required repair. Some of the previous repair work had to be redone to comply with more modern safety practices and provide reliable operation. A restoration such as this is never straight forward, and some creativity was required when trying to find replacement parts for failed components. Maurizio’s ability to design and 3D print parts made the job easier and allowed for the team to overcome several obstacles. His design experience helped when test fixtures were needed to facilitate the testing of certain functions. It was an amazing experience that he can now add to the list of equipment he has worked on.
Alongside his love for electronics, Maurizio is a Classical Guitarist and Tubist, and studied at York University under renowned guitarist Brian Katz. He graduated from York University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Specialized Honors in Music. He enjoys all genres of music and directed the brass quintet, Bach on Brass, where he played tuba and arranged most of the music for the group.
His shop is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.