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Post subject: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 11:28 am
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I'm a wannabe "new to the world of tube amps." Don't have one yet. I have a Mustang 4 solid state amp, which is fun. I'm in love with DRRI based on most of what I've read about it.

Just scanning this forum, however, I seem to notice a large quantity--not just a drip, but seemingly quite a lot--of threads and posts citing all sorts of problems that remind me, frankly, of the all of the complaining about the Mustang amps. Examples: buzzing, hissing, no bass, no sound at all, this and that problem "out of the box" that required immediate repair or replacement. Is this sort of the case now? They don't build 'em like they used to, even the iconic Deluxe Reverb amps? I even read about a 2-second delay using the footswitch, and someone replied "2 seconds is no big deal." LOL. Well, when the Mustangs, which cost between $99 and $425 (real price), had a footswitch that had a 0.03 second delay (literally), there was tempestuous outrage among the entire Fender-buying community, books were written, people wrote letters to their senator, etc., and Fender released firmware that fixed it. My Mustang 4 switches among the models (or pedal depending one what I'm using it for) *instantly*.

Do DRRIs buzz and hiss (fuzz) too, while simply not inspiring the commentary and hatred that the $199.00 Mustang II did?

Also, just reading this forum quickly, I also get the impression that even if one gets a DRRI that is not outright defective, they now come with substandard components such that most people want to immediately mod them, such as changing speaker and tubes.

What's the deal? Is it not a great amp with the great renowned tone out of the box, with whatever speaker and tubes Fender puts in it?


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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 11:55 am
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It is what it is......a new product manufactured during the NWO era of *disposable* durable goods.

And no -- they don't make things like they used to. Few companies do.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 1:27 pm
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Her Wanna wrote:
"They Don't Make Things Like they Used To"


Thank goodness! I don't want to have to hand-crank my car to start it. :lol:

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 1:31 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
It is what it is......a new product manufactured during the NWO era of *disposable* durable goods.

And no -- they don't make things like they used to. Few companies do.

Arjay


Thanks. Yeah, and the end of this "era" is not a return to something better, I fear. Rather, it's going to be something like, well, I guess we should be happy that for now at least we have electricity so we can play electric guitars through electric amps.


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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 1:43 pm
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I'm happy that I'm not a slave to the crap that's currently being manufactured.

And no, I do not foresee a day when companies return to the true-and-true production methods that made them household names to be trusted and revered.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 1:47 pm
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The DRRI is a great amp. I admit I did have some tubes fail rather quickly, but the amp has given me no problems. It's dead quiet and sounds killer.Is it the same quality as an original? No. Damn good amps nonetheless.

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 1:51 pm
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It requires a modest amount of hand-massaging to get a DRRI to sound as good and play as reliably as an original. And the newer the edition, the more necessary this tweaking becomes.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 4:53 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
It is what it is......a new product manufactured during the NWO era of *disposable* durable goods.

And no -- they don't make things like they used to. Few companies do.

Arjay

Quote:
shimmilou wrote:
Her Wanna wrote:
"They Don't Make Things Like they Used To"


Thank goodness! I don't want to have to hand-crank my car to start it. :lol:

Both are true. The good and the bad of it.

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 8:53 pm
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Her Wanna wrote:
Retroverbial wrote:
It is what it is......a new product manufactured during the NWO era of *disposable* durable goods.

And no -- they don't make things like they used to. Few companies do.

Arjay


Thanks. Yeah, and the end of this "era" is not a return to something better, I fear. Rather, it's going to be something like, well, I guess we should be happy that for now at least we have electricity so we can play electric guitars through electric amps.


Don't be too dreary. You can keep everything. It all depends on the political will of the people. A lot of dark prophesies come from people "playing a role." It has been that way forever. :D


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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 5:42 am
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Her Wanna,

There are a lots of good and well made amp . Today people don't whant to put money on to pay the real value . Company made what we want ; cheap price = cheap product .

If you think $1000 is too much money for a small amp ,shure you'll may have a cheap product .

Famous Blackface amps in '60 where sold at a price like today's boutique amp .


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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 5:56 am
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Lets not forget that those old amps that have lasted this long are probably the better made of their models and eras. We don't see the old amps that went into the rubbish heap, and I am sure there were a few too.

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 9:48 am
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stratele52 wrote:
Her Wanna,

There are a lots of good and well made amp . Today people don't whant to put money on to pay the real value . Company made what we want ; cheap price = cheap product .

If you think $1000 is too much money for a small amp ,shure you'll may have a cheap product .

Famous Blackface amps in '60 where sold at a price like today's boutique amp .


Yeah, I have to admit--and I remember to remember this from time to time--that what you are saying is true. The truth is I know for a fact that one can now get the DRRI for $890. (Just ask MF and you get that price.) Well, $890 is like, what $150 in the 1960s or 1970s. (have not looked up exact inflation numbers).

This goes with the youtube thing too, which I admit I'm a part of. With youtube today there are hundreds of thousands of wannabe players like me with our amateur skills and our amateur rigs who would not have even thought of or had access to a guitar 40 years ago. Even my solid state mustang sounds pretty dang good, for $400, certainly good enough for my playing in my living room.

So yeah.... the $1,000 DRRI today... I guess I have to admit that $1,000 is "cheap." So a boutique amp (like what?) for $4,000 (????) is how much better, in what ways?

Two Rock?


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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 3:46 pm
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Her Wanna wrote:
stratele52 wrote:
Her Wanna,

There are a lots of good and well made amp . Today people don't whant to put money on to pay the real value . Company made what we want ; cheap price = cheap product .

If you think $1000 is too much money for a small amp ,shure you'll may have a cheap product .

Famous Blackface amps in '60 where sold at a price like today's boutique amp .

...................So yeah.... the $1,000 DRRI today... I guess I have to admit that $1,000 is "cheap." So a boutique amp (like what?) for $4,000 (????) is how much better, in what ways?

Two Rock?

As memory serves me, in the late 60's a well equipped car ran $3000 +/-; today $30,000 +/- or a factor of around 10. Today get a RedPlate BluesMachine hand made for around $2400. I don't know what some of the vintage Fenders sold for back in the 60's....could they be had for under $240?

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 4:29 pm
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In 1967 (early), the blackface Deluxe Reverb retailed for $279 or thereabouts. A Twin Reverb was $499.50 according to the same price list.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 6:20 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
In 1967 (early), the blackface Deluxe Reverb retailed for $279 or thereabouts. A Twin Reverb was $499.50 according to the same price list.

Calculations obtained from http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ :

$279 in 1967 U.S. dollars = $1,951.30 today
$499.50 in 1967 U.S. dollars = $3,493.45 today :cry:
Inflation rate is 599.4%

They don't even make dollars like they used to!

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