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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 12:22 pm
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I get most of my dirt from the amp itself. I use the volume control on my guitar to control everything. The distortion on my Rebel is like butter. Like I said, I have a few pedals, I built them, but don't use them much. I just depends on who and what I'm playing at the time. I have pedals that I built from scratch too and etched my own crude boards. After 25 years they still work. LOL. I only tried time based pedals in the loop including and old Ibanez Phase Shifter. The old analog one knob job. I run a simple rig. And no I don't need my hearing checked. :wink: We all have different tastes and needs. Maybe you just need a higher end amp. I don't, so I'm happy with my tone. I've been playing for over 40 years so maybe I'm a little more tolerant because of the way it was done back then. I don't buy into the true bypass BS either. The tone sucking I get is easily remedied with the turn of a dial. But my preferred method of gigging is with the Rebel 20 an a decent guitar and cord. I don't need or want a ton of effects in the way. I just play the Blues, raw and simple.

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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 3:22 pm
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63supro wrote:
I get most of my dirt from the amp itself. I use the volume control on my guitar to control everything. The distortion on my Rebel is like butter. Like I said, I have a few pedals, I built them, but don't use them much. I just depends on who and what I'm playing at the time. I have pedals that I built from scratch too and etched my own crude boards. After 25 years they still work. LOL. I only tried time based pedals in the loop including and old Ibanez Phase Shifter. The old analog one knob job. I run a simple rig. And no I don't need my hearing checked. :wink: We all have different tastes and needs. Maybe you just need a higher end amp. I don't, so I'm happy with my tone. I've been playing for over 40 years so maybe I'm a little more tolerant because of the way it was done back then. I don't buy into the true bypass BS either. The tone sucking I get is easily remedied with the turn of a dial. But my preferred method of gigging is with the Rebel 20 an a decent guitar and cord. I don't need or want a ton of effects in the way. I just play the Blues, raw and simple.

I didn't imply that YOU needed it checked, I was saying if you plugged an analog delay, especially Carbon Copys or Aqua $@!& pedals, hat your amp overdriven, turned on the delay & didn't hear the tone loss, you would need it checked. I thought it was the pedals issue, then I went on forums and found it was like that with all of the earlt rebels and tweakers. Digital didn't have the same issue. The amp was built without taking impedence mismatches in mind, that's where the issues fame from. I typically prefer the amps overdrive, but with some amps I don't. I like using my tim or timmy for the base OD because I can keeothe preamp vol down, andkeep the famps compression at bay,I use dynamics in my lead playing & too much compression gets in the way. The Timmy gives me a good mild OD without the compression. So I use the Timmy then use either a. Tube screammer or Zendrive for more gain. I also find not all amp distortion is created equal, case in point the Marshall 900's that used a clipping circuit for distortion, much like the 800s, but it was dewigned horribly, and sounded terrible, so in an amp like that I prefer pedal dirt. Even the 800s, I can't think of the model #s, but I had 2 800 combos at different times. 1 had the jack inputs infront of the amp, like fender, egnater and 90% of other amps. I had another that had verticle inputs, like on the Deluxe hot rods, blues jr, etc. Even though that marshall used a clipping circuit, it was a much better overdrive and all around tone. Which is why they are coveted and u don't see them for sale much.
My main "big watt" amp(which is only 50 watts is a Carol Ann OD, itw a dumble like clone, like the Fuchs. I have my uncles Dumble OD left to me in his will, I love him, but WANT THAT. AMP. ANYWAYS, THE zendrive into a fender Deluxe reverb is VERY Dumblelike, and runnikng it into the Carol Ann is heaven. I was surprised that Carol Anns are built abouy a 20 minute drive from mu parents house. Joe Boammasa uses one, nuff said.

I raded my Tweaker thst I put a Mercury Magneticshgustom output tranny. It made the amp sound so much...more. plus it lowered the MVs sweet spot from 100 to 1000, making it more suitable for home use. Id recommend them for anyamp that has the chinese transformers, including the reissue backfaces.

Its just that the loops in the small egnaters are so noticeable when you kick on the analog delays in the loop, they need to be addressed. I'm assuming the amount of complaints is what led egnater to offer to put the line level mod in free of charge. They do sound great though as a straight amp. Especially the Fender setting, thoguh it doesn't sound too much like a fender, but close enough. The 44 is probably the next purchase. Once I replace. The blown transformer in the D Hot Rod, change the filter caos, and replace the cheap jacks,ill sell it. That is as long as all the amps I loaned out return in one piece. I lent out the Carol Ann for a recording gig for a friennd in a pretty big local Boston band (no, not aerosmith or the pixies), he asked me if he could use it for a quick tour, I agreed bedcause he heloed me a lot in the past.
I haven't played the Rebel 30 for more than a few minutes, but I remember thinkingthe 20 was better


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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 3:44 pm
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I actually like the Rebel 20 better than the 30 for what I do. I wouldn't put too much work into the HRD. They don't hold their value no matter what you do to them. If it was me, I'd just repair it and dump it. Egnater never claimed any of their amps sound just like a Vox or Fender. You can hear nuances, but it's still Egnater. I'm sure at the Egnater's price point it has some cheap parts in it, but the fact is Bruce Egnater cares about his products and his reputation. I've never has an ounce of trouble with my amp. The only thing I did was put a NOS JAN Phillips 5751 preamp tube in it to tame the gain a little. The thing sounds incredible with every guitar I own.

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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 7:05 am
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Yeah, but holding value's never been a reason why I get something all I care about is tone, performance, and in the case of guitars; playability. With the Tweaker, if you gig with it, you really need two. I got a call to fill in someone an hour before I had to leave (which seems like they dov that to me on purpose, because it goes down like that everytime im asked to do a session or gig), so i grabbed my Tweaker head, they had a 2X12 cab for me, my travel board and the Strat I built because I can cover most bases with the series/ parallel, in/ out of phase wiring and a 10-band eq. I need the EQ for when I run them in series, they may have the output of humbuckers, but they don't sound like them. So I use the eq to boost the mid so it can pass for a humbucker. Anyways, I kept having to run to tweak it.
I've spoken to Bruce at a few NAMM shows, he cane across kind of a jerk w which I heard about before, but most of those guys are. M. Fuller is the biggest one though. I asked him why he built one of his effects a certain way, and his response was pretty much "because I'm Mike Fuller, and people will buy whatever I make. I was shocked. Others, like Paul cochrane are the opposite. He builds Heritage amps and Timmy overdrive pedals. He couldnt be nicer or humbler.
IM going to keep the hot rod. IM going to replace all the jacks and pots, I think is its biggest flaw. I hate surface mount parts. If you pull on a cable too often, not only will it break, so will others.
I will say I had a Mesa transatlantic, I ended up selling it, I liked the Tweaker better. Though I don't know if Bruce cares about his reputation as much anymore, just try to get through to someone there.


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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 8:20 am
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One more observation on amps without fx loops. Since me HEX blew, I have to use my blues Jr that doesn't have one. Its been a few years since using an amp without one, at least while using modulation, MXR EQ , and delay. I forgot how much hum there is when running through the front end. On the Tweaker, or Carol Ann, its silent as long as the overdrive, boost, fuzz are off. Now it hums like crazy, at least relative tob what I'm used to. I donthear the hum when its just my Tim, zendrive,a d compressor, but with the others are plugged in, amn it seems like a lot of hum. And I design pedal boards for people, makibg them the quietest and most efficiantly patched as possible, so when my amp hums, its an embarrasment.


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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 8:37 am
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I have to sau, while the blues jr sounds freat with a good speaker, tubes that work well with it, upgraded filter caps and ouput trans, it is cheaply made. Allthe plastic shafts on the pots scream disposable amp. I'm going to replace the resistors on the MV and vol pots, as well as on the HRD. To get a more even sweep. The sweep is worse on the HRD is worse than the blues jr. The kid who owned the DHR replaced one of the volu pots withan 'audio taper' instead of a linear, which he was told by a Fender parts distribbutorsaid is used stock. The parts guy is either ignorantof what's in it, or just wanted to sell a pot. Id go with the former over the latter, I mean how much $ can u make selling 1 pot. Its the resistor they use that makes it so from 1 to 3 or 4 the vol spikes, the over that it doesn't get as loud. Jusst like when you put a resistor across the 2 legs on a pot in a guitar, they can really affect the taper, most of the tgime for the worse though I improved the taper on a few vol knobs when putting vol kits in. Its just a crap shoot on whether or not it will make it better or worse.

It is just a marketing ploy. You have a kid in a shop trying amps, he turns it to 3 & it gets really loud, so they think "if its this loud at 3, it must be really loud on 10", then they bring it home and realize the volume doesn't increase from 4 up like it does from 1-3. There is a tone of things on the net saying they ujse linear tapered pots for volume, because it sounds like it does. The guy who built my Carol Ann had told me this. It went on the web, and now is accepted as truth.

Btw, anyone looking for qa Dumble tone, and is looking at Fuchs and others, really need to check out the Carol Ann overdrive amp, they come in 50 watts, and though use different power tubes on some of tghem, it copsthe Dumble sound really well, especially when you push it with a Zendrivr.


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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 6:13 am
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I spoke to Bruce as well as Nate several times on the phone, and yes he does care about his reputation, and he cares about his products and no he didn't come off as a jerk. All I had were questions about new products. Check out the Egnater section on Rig Talk. He's there when he has time. Egnater is going through some serious growing pains. I don't think they were prepared for the popularity of their gear.
All I know is so far my Rebel 20 has been bullet proof and sounds incredible and my HRDlx was a POS that I always had to fight with to keep it operational. :wink:

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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 9:33 am
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Bruce Egnater is not a jerk, and I never had any trouble getting in touch with customer support up there, and this was before I was listed as an Artist. Furthermore, Egnater Amplification is in the process of BUILDING a rep, not coasting on an existing one, I can assure you they care passionately. AS for reliability, mine hasn't had a hiccup in two years. Abusing your gear and blaming the manufacturer for problems is a bar band trope.

And here's something I know about NAMM shows: I covered a few of them as a writer for EQ Magazine (back when it was great), and the exhibitors are spending a pile of money to attend. They are there to do business, and NAMM is supposed to be a closed show for members, not the wide-open geek fest it has become. Every know-it-all clodhopper who cadged a ticket from his fave mom-n-pop shop who buttonholes an exhibitor to grill them on their circuitry choices is going to be as welcome as a bug in the soup. At NAMM, if you're not a dealer, a manufacturer, the press or a working pro, then you're just in the way. Don't believe me? Ask anybody at Fender. I swear they'll agree.

So if anybody was a little short with you at NAMM, that's why.

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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 12:00 pm
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EgFryer wrote:
Bruce Egnater is not a jerk, and I never had any trouble getting in touch with customer support up there, and this was before I was listed as an Artist. Furthermore, Egnater Amplification is in the process of BUILDING a rep, not coasting on an existing one, I can assure you they care passionately. AS for reliability, mine hasn't had a hiccup in two years. Abusing your gear and blaming the manufacturer for problems is a bar band trope.

And here's something I know about NAMM shows: I covered a few of them as a writer for EQ Magazine (back when it was great), and the exhibitors are spending a pile of money to attend. They are there to do business, and NAMM is supposed to be a closed show for members, not the wide-open geek fest it has become. Every know-it-all clodhopper who cadged a ticket from his fave mom-n-pop shop who buttonholes an exhibitor to grill them on their circuitry choices is going to be as welcome as a bug in the soup. At NAMM, if you're not a dealer, a manufacturer, the press or a working pro, then you're just in the way. Don't believe me? Ask anybody at Fender. I swear they'll agree.

So if anybody was a little short with you at NAMM, that's why.


:?

I don't doubt that there is some truth in this, your very latest in a series of pro-Egnater missives.

But there is also a whole lot of the elitist, patronising tosh you like to grace us with at times. I wonder why you come here, if it's not to evangelicise Bruce Egnater's (I agree, not a jerk) admittedly very fine products.

We get it already! you're a pro musician.. you've spent hours in your studio.. you're a featured Egnater artist.. you were a technical music journalist.. the Fender Blues Jnr is crap..

Sheesh! I don't know if Bruce Egnater should be proud of you, or be embarassed by you.

Oh, and those "clodhopping, ticket cadging geeks", those little people you so seem to despise, are all potential customers, as I'm sure Bruce would be the first to tell you..

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Last edited by adey on Sun Nov 20, 2011 8:16 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 12:24 pm
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They're all nice, until you question a design you find flawed, things change. Jerk was too harsh a statement, he wsnt a jerk. Short is more like it. Now a certain pedal builder that builds "boutique" pedals, though they're everywhere now, is a jerk. But Ed Roman takes the cake..
I just didnt like the attitude I got when I questioned why they didnt put the line level in the tweakers, rebels, that caauses analog delay pedals to cut off the highs. The resonse was more or less "because that's how we did it!" Granted; they offer to fix them for free, but you have to ship it, at your cost, and go without for a while. I really like their amps. En\ven more so since I got rid of mine.
I understand the difficulty getting a business going, and I understand that dealing with every tom, DICK, and harry can be a pain in the .... But first impressions you know.
Its good they came out with a 44 watt tweaker. I just wish they would have put footswitchable features on the original, or at least offered to install them for a price. The 15 Watt ones are great, but to take advantage of switching between the American and Brit (not a fan of the AC feature), requires using 2 amps. or to be able to run really fast to switch them, or have a guitar tech that doesnt mind sitting next to the heads switching all the time.

I wish they would have put a parallel loop in it, it would have made things much easier, and wouldnt have had the tone sucking of analog delays.

Again, this only happens with the preamp gain. OD pedals wont cause it to happen. I like the Rebels, I just cringe to think about having to retube them, it'll cost as much as the amp to replace all the different power tubes.

As for getting in touch with customer support, unless its changed over the last year, they wre the worst at getting in touch with. I thought it was just my experience, until i read some forum cmplaints. There were almost as many as the fx loop issue


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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 12:43 pm
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BTW. I went to NAMM as a rep for a manufacturer. What good is a event like that if 'the unwashed masses' cant go? Just a hang out for the elite? Those dopes (consumers and players) are the people that get manufacturers to change their prototypes to be more consumer user friendly.

As for Egnater reliability. I agree, they're very reliable. Excpet for the design flaw in the loop (which I believe has been addressed, at least with the Rebels), i NEVER had an issue with them. I like the Engater sound, but it took a few weeks. Now i can almost tell an Egnater just from hearing it, I dont have to see it, very distinct tone.

THough i wish they put footswitches, what do you expect for $400. I liked it so much i sold my Mesa Transatlantic (that's a company that seems to have peaked). I use loops, and i need them with my pedal board. Im running just half my pedals now because my amps (that are working correctly) with loops are on loan, and if i try to run them through the input, there's too much hum. With the loop, i use a lot of stompboxes, including fuzz, and you wont find a noisegate or surpressor anywhere on there. No need for one when you set your board up properly.

And please, for the love of God, coming from someone who does pedal boards for people; If you're going to connect a $800 Klon (or however much you overpayed) to a $550 delay, done use the $1.99 patch cables they keep in those plastic penny candy bowls on the counter at GC's. Its like putting the wheels from an engine from an '86 Ford Escort into a Porche 911. Or a bumper sticker on a Bentley.


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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 12:51 pm
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adey wrote:
EgFryer wrote:
Bruce Egnater is not a jerk, and I never had any trouble getting in touch with customer support up there, and this was before I was listed as an Artist. Furthermore, Egnater Amplification is in the process of BUILDING a rep, not coasting on an existing one, I can assure you they care passionately. AS for reliability, mine hasn't had a hiccup in two years. Abusing your gear and blaming the manufacturer for problems is a bar band trope.

And here's something I know about NAMM shows: I covered a few of them as a writer for EQ Magazine (back when it was great), and the exhibitors are spending a pile of money to attend. They are there to do business, and NAMM is supposed to be a closed show for members, not the wide-open geek fest it has become. Every know-it-all clodhopper who cadged a ticket from his fave mom-n-pop shop who buttonholes an exhibitor to grill them on their circuitry choices is going to be as welcome as a bug in the soup. At NAMM, if you're not a dealer, a manufacturer, the press or a working pro, then you're just in the way. Don't believe me? Ask anybody at Fender. I swear they'll agree.

So if anybody was a little short with you at NAMM, that's why.


:?

I don't doubt that there is some truth in this, your very latest in a series of pro-Egnater missives.

But there is also a whole lot of the elitist, patronising tosh you like to grace us with at times. I wonder why you come here, if it's not to evangilise Bruce Egnater's (I agree, not a jerk) admittedly very fine products.

We get it already! you're a pro musician.. you've spent hours in your studio.. you're a featured Egnater artist.. you were a technical music journalist.. the Fender Blues Jnr is crap..

Sheesh! I don't know if Bruce Egnater should be proud of you, or be embarassed by you.

Oh, and those "clodhopping, ticket cadging geeks", those little poeple you so seem to despise, are all potential customers, as I'm sure Bruce would be the first to tell you..

+100, Ive wondered the same myself. I question members who only seem to show up to besmritch other peoples ideas, or even worse; their questions. Some people here know a lot about a few things, some know everything abut 1 thing, and some dont know anything (new players). I know we see the Mapole Vs. Rosewood a hundred times, but the poster may not, so lete not jump on them.
And lets admit that maybe we dont know all we think we do. I know Ive thought i knew things were facts, but was wrong.


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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 1:00 pm
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Regarding the Blues JR. I have to say, after doing a few tone stack mods, and shielding the input jack: i really like it. I set the middle control so i can roll it down to sound like a blackface, and back up for a hot rod sound. I dont like the board mounted, plastic pots. But Egnater uses some of the same things, they just have tigher tolerances putting them together so you dont notice it as much.

And if it werent for those butthole's questioning the circuit choice, we'd still be playing CBS era like garbage.


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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 1:07 pm
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I do shows for my day job, and i prefer the ones that are open to the public. I much rather talk with them than industry types who pat themselves on the back saying: "what a novel idea putting the gas tank where you did in the Corvair". (just example, im not in the auto industry anymore


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Post subject: Re: I ordered a egnater tweaker 40
Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 5:08 pm
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windwalker9649 wrote:
Regarding the Blues JR. I have to say, after doing a few tone stack mods, and shielding the input jack: i really like it. I set the middle control so i can roll it down to sound like a blackface, and back up for a hot rod sound. I dont like the board mounted, plastic pots. But Egnater uses some of the same things, they just have tigher tolerances putting them together so you dont notice it as much.

And if it werent for those butthole's questioning the circuit choice, we'd still be playing CBS era like garbage.


You mean like SF Fender amps? Or like the current offerings like the HRD series or the Vintage Molested series? I'll take a hand-wired Silverface Fender amp over any of the current offerings.

As far as Jim goes, he was passionate about Egnater products long before he was a featured artist. He actually talked me into trying one out and I never looked back. He not only knows sound and recording, but he is also a very fine musician to boot, not just a bedroom wanker and I trust his opinion. Bruce has been a boutique amp builder and designer for over 30 years. If you can design and build a better amp, why not just build your own? If I could, I sure would.

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