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Post subject: In praise of solid state, digital, and software
Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 7:46 pm
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Dear Fans of Solid State, Digital, and Software,

This post is dedicated to you. I am hoping to trade notes, possibly catch the attention of a certain manfacturer, and put some well-deserved praise on a technology (ies) that has provided me quite a bit of joy.

I have a bunch of Cyber Twin amps, SEs and CTs. I use Cyber Commander to control up to three of them at one time. I am still discovering tones and nuances - I've had this gear for about 5 years. i use 3 Cybers because i deliberatley set them differently to get a 3-D effect. The most beautiful tones are the near clean ones (just a tiny bit of dirt). My most favorite reverb is the "Black Face", + bit of time delay. I play surf along the style of "the mermen", "driving the cow". Actually, I really admire their music, Jim Thomas, Jenifer Burnes, and especially Martyn Jones - really like his driving style.

My most favorite second amp is my trusty JC-120. It has i think the best chorus on the planet. Seems Fender has cornered Reverb, Roland has the chorus.

On the practical side, i've had to "reset" my cyber twins on occassion, mainly because I had experimented a little too radically and caused the amp to "behave funny". The reset always brought back the amp to factory fresh. This is really cool - to go back to a factory fresh condition. This will of course wipe out any saved data.

I use Cyber Commander to save all my settings and have organized my "library" of tones, Player's Lounges, and MIDI Maps (for my cyber foot controller). I reload from my library onto the Cyber Twin regularly and preset my musical setup, even in a club with my trusty Dell laptop. Again, this is a practical matter, this has made working with the Cyber Twin a joy.

I play surf. Anybody who plays surf knows the importance of pick attack, it's part of what makes surf music surf. I've been playing a "driving" surf repertoire for the past 5 years with the Cyber Twins. I can say that these amps deliver the pick attack and tones. I also use 3 SE's. Occassionally I'll crank up all of them, for a particular song for the effect, but only at large venues. I have heard some say ss don't deliver volume, i'm here to tell you they deliver, more than you can imagine.

After 5 years of reliable, consistent, and incredibly great performance, I have nothing but priase for the Cyber Twins. I believe the Cyber Twins, assisted with some software, their incredible versatility, and the tones in them, make these amps the greatest amps on the planet. That continues to be my experience.

Am interested in hearing your experiences, let's see if we can trade notes and help each other. I sure have learned a few things along the way, would love to share.

Ciao,
Johnny.


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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 4:16 am
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Johnny

How you keeping mate? Incidently have you seen the line6 wireless system that transfers the signal as a digital signal rather than a radiowave? Wouldn't mind trying that. After all clarity must be better and interferance less.

Onto pick attack. I have a recommendation you simply must try. Bareknuckles Sultans pickups. Vintage voiced alnico2 magnets, low output. I cant play em with a plectrum, theres simply too much attack there for me.
Never heard clarity like em, not out of anyone.

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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 7:23 am
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Hi Johnny, interesting post, as a guy who is a dedicated tube user I do know that a lot can be said for the improvements made in digital amps. I added a Cyber Deluxe to my amp collection a couple of years ago and love it. It's great for smaller gigs and has the tone and feel of a tube amp. The problem I think with many of these type amps is a perception that they aren't quite there yet with the tone and a lack of support from the manufacturers. In another thread it was recently disclosed that Fender had discontinued the Cyber Foot Controller. That's disappointing because I think it points to a time in the near future when Fender will discontinue the CT. The CT sounds as good as most tube amps but many find it confusing to use or just want more simplicity. I hope there will be a follow on to the SE but I woundn't bet on it.


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Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 6:46 pm
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Great to hear from you too!!!

Have seen the Line6 gear, real innovative stuff. Gotta hand it to them, they are movin' with the times.

As for radio waves, there's this thing called "modulation", or rather how you put "information" onto a radio wave. There are basically two ways: analog & digital. Regardless which, a radio wave is essentially modulated with AM, FM, and/or PM, and if you get real fancy, quadrature modulation can also be used (sine and cosine components). With analog tansmission, the "information" is transfered directly to AM, FM or PM. With digital, the "information" is first converted to digital form, then it is "coded" in some manner, then the digital coded information is transfered (or modulated) onto the radio wave.

Here's the diff: analog transmission is subject to fading, interference, and noise of all sorts with NO CHANCE for recovery -hence the drop outs, squeals, etc... Digital transmissions are coded with error-correcting codes and can recover the "information" even when temporarily blatzed by some events. That's why digital TV is far superior to analog TV, not to mention there's more information packed into a digital signal than an analog one. The Line 6 uses "digital" radios. They are doing it right.

I mentioned pick-attack because some like to propagate the urban myth that a Cyber Twin doesn't do this well. well bull. it does, i play surf and the cyber twin does exactly what i expect it to do, every nuance comes through, very, very articulate.

I88vette, am delighted you are coming aboard and embracing the digital revolution. It really is the wave of the future, i think we are slightly ahead of our time with respect to some our peers. By the way, one fellow mentioned the warm glow of tubes. I recall being a young 18 year old university student doing holography as a physics experiment - preservation of coherent light interference patterns on film. I recall how fortunate and privledged i was to see and work with laser light in the very early 70's. Then came solid-state light!!! Wow, to get light from quantum effects from inside a semi-conductor! LEDs, OLEDS, lasers, and on and on. Never before in humanity's existence was there quantum light until this new age we are in. think about it. As for heating some thing up to make it glow, yes it's nostalgic, but so dark-ages. I really prefer LEDs, I believe are more beautiful to look at, & never burn out.

On the subject of the Cyber Twin, it is a revolutionary amp. Not many realize just what an astoundingly great amp it really is. At the risk of sounding like a salesman, cyber commander really helps you unlock the amp's potential. There are enough of you out there who have both cyber twins and cyber commander, please step forward and let's hear from you! please share your experiences, let fender and everyone else know!

Like you, i certainly hope the Cyber Twin line continues - it is the greatest amp ever built by fender or anyone else for that matter.

and some links to my favorite underdog band, the mermen. if ever a band needed a break, these would be the guys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOhXH9q1 ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVtCKGTT7C8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqHHFXjx ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50MdDbYM ... =1&index=3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsx3MRZk ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVs8HnTo ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpnOsusW ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv9kK3rL ... re=related

well, you get the idea... the old guys rock.

ciao,
johnny.


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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 6:41 pm
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fans of surf, check out:

http://ckuik.com/The_Mermen

In between tunes like "driving the cow", "raglan", "krill slippin", "silly elephant", and "dragonfly", all cyber twins owners and fans, please step up to the podium and let's hear from you. should we meet in person, where ever i happen to be, the beer's on me.

ciao,
johnny.


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Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2010 12:20 pm
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Johnny

As a long time Cyber Twin SE owner and a user of Cyber Commander since it came out... I agree this combination is unbeatable for creating the best sound around... Once I under stood all that the Cyber Twin was capable of thanks to Cyber Commander, it opened up a whole new world of great sound that just keeps getting better and better...
As a matter of fact I like the amp so much I'm ordering another one... I have been waiting to see if FENDER would come out with an upgrade but it doesn't look like it... My Cyber Twin SE is 6 years old and still going strong but you never know... So it's time for a new one... besides I've always wanted to run a couple of CT's together but tweaked a little bit different...
I have modded my CT with lower gain pre amp tubes (12AU7's) for a warmer and fuller sound which suits my style... it also made all the presets usable in my opinion... JakeJ
www.jakej.com


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 8:01 pm
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Hi Jake,

I have a bunch of SEs and CTs due to the software development. But regularly use 2 to 3 SEs. I program them a little differently and I end up getting some pretty unique sounds and a 3-D like effect. It has to be heard live, i don't think the mikes capture it well, i haven't. It does make you sound like a super star.

It was really worth the effort to "get it right" for folks like yourself, am very, very pleased to hear CC has had a positive impact.

many thanks,
johnny.


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Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 8:25 pm
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i think i will have to give one a try
~hmm

:0 twin~amp & 5E3 user

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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:53 am
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Nice! I have a cyber deluxe and I love it, great tones you just have to tweak it and get to know it.

I do wish Fender would make the foot controller available again.

Question.. what is the cyber commander?

what is the best foot controller available now?


Long live the Cyber!

B


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 5:17 pm
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Hi B!

Cyber Commander is a product we developed for the Cyber Twin, the website is http://www.generalcybersystems.com/GCSWebSite/index.php
and there you find manuals, preset charts, and products.

Some history: several years ago, i bought my first SE. I really wanted to get away from mid-20th century pain-in-the-arss electronics, and wanted a versatile tone machine i could take on stage, studio, or home and be roadworthy. The SE seemed like it had what it took to deliver the tones and be the amp i wanted it to be. So I bought one. As soon as i bought one, i discovered the dark side. My first problem was getting over the SE manual. My second problem was getting at the tones in SE through the tiny display panel and nameless knobs that i seemed to be rotating forever and going nowhere.

There had to be a better way. Software. The one thing the manual alluded to was the SE could be MIDI controlled. So software work began totally for myself. At the same time, there was a buzz on the net, other owners complained of the total lack of support for the SE and CT. Then i talked myself into a grand project, developing "Cyber Commander" with my buddy. We also talked ourselves into developing not just a mediocre software with the usual excuses and features, and endless versions to fix the previous version and add new "features". We worked extremely hard to layout an initutive "control panel" software that made everything the Cyber Twin had to offer easily and intuitively accessible, and NO BUGS. We tested the crap out of the software (a year). We were finally ready for the "bigtime"... and after a bumpy start, we went live.

We had invested an incredible amount of time, money (equipment), and decided to setup a little company called General Cyber Systems, sounds grand doesn't it? Well, every "general" needs commanders... to command the amps. So the name Cyber Commander sprang up. We call our software Cyber Commander. Well, that's the whole story, almost.

I know that this software + Cyber Twins are an incredible tone machine, nothing like before it or after it. We are real small and do not have the means to get the word out. Yet we know this is the way to go because we are living it. Beating one's own drum is at best an effort viewed with suspicion. Getting the word out, getting digital, and opening new and creative channels is what this is all about.


Anyways, i wanted to dedicate this thread to 21st century electronics and means of tone amplification, including laptops! i'd like to think of cyber commander + cyber twins as the revolution that gets this off the ground.

To answer your other question, Behringer is the only other fc i could recommend (it's closest to the fender fc, but it's a bit painful to setup). Find yourself a used fender original and hang on to it, they are indeed the best there is/was.

hi twirlyboggs,

if you know someone with a cyber twin + cyber commander, give it a try, it would definitely be worth the learning experience.

ciao,
johnny.


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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 4:15 am
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I am also a huge fan of the Cyber-twin. I purchased mine in 2001 and it has been my go-to amp ever since. Unfortunately, it is currently experiencing some problems and is with the tech, awaiting parts from Fender.
I am concerned about Fender's long term plans and support for this technology. The applications to their Vintage-Modified series and the Gdecs are interesting, but I am not particularly encouraged. I think it is time for a new Cyber-twin. The SE has been around for a while, and I am not sure if I should buy one now, or wait to see if Fender will offer a new version soon. My feelings have been the SE does not offer me, for my usage, sufficient upgrades to purchase. But if they drop the CT, I will definitely buy a new one, and maybe pick up a couple of used ones along the way for future parts salvage.
My favorite tones are also the blackface clean to semi-clean, with a bit tremolo and reverb, one of those great delays, or the Vibratone. Of course I love the tweed sounds too.


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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 9:02 am
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I just purchased a new G-DEC 3 amplifier and I think this is the direction Fender is going to go with regard to a modeling amp as opposed to further development on the CT. If you havent tried the new GDEC you are in for a real treat. The amp covers some amazing tones, is easy to connect with your laptop to download just about anything from Fender Fuse in the way of presets, amp voicing, backing tracks etc. I think you will see a larger combo amp incorporating many of these features. Check out the demos here on Fender.com. I can't believe how good the tone is from this amp. I think you will see people giging these amps with a mic but I also believe that a larger version is in the works. Fender has invested a lot of money and effort on this project not to use it in larger applications. It is a great product and easy to use. I would buy a 65w 12" combo version of this amp in a heartbeat if it every becomes available


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Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 6:07 pm
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Couldn't agree more. The G-DEC's are the most exciting thing Fender has done in a while. And the Fuse website is definitely a cool means of support, growth and enrichment. Have heard the G-DEC's they are fun amps.

My Cyber Twin, especially when i link up 2 or 3 of them, are pretty incredible as well.

Before Fender goes off builds a new Cyber Twin, I wish i could spend a day, or two, or... talking with their designers. I think i know all the weaknesses & room for improvements over the SE, not to mention a pile of ideas i have for such an amp. One thing i would definitely recommend, get a professional writer and top system engineer together so that they can write a descent manual, or a training video, or something well above the SE manual!

ciao,
johnny.


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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 8:21 pm
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Cyber Commander contest: Find a bug in the software.

BTW, there is one blemish we know of, not a bug.

ciao,
johnny.


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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 6:25 pm
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looks like i gotta give you a hint. it's a cosmetic thing in one of the txt file settings... see if you can find the blemish. this one blemish does not affect functionality. that is the one and only known "software bug" in Cyber Commander. not bad for a software that's been around for almost two years. it also explains why we didn't bother updating anything, why fix something that ain't broke?

ciao,
johnny.


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