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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Tue Oct 22, 2013 9:26 am
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BMW-KTM wrote:
.................You know, there are some of us on this board who sometimes get flack for being snobbish and narrow minded about amplifiers.......

And often this 'flack' is driven by the presentation or manner of expression of the opinion/viewpoint.

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Tue Oct 22, 2013 4:50 pm
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IM4Tone wrote:
And often this 'flack' is driven by the presentation or manner of expression of the opinion/viewpoint.
...and equally likely, the flacker's perception of the presentation or manner of expression.

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Tue Oct 22, 2013 9:26 pm
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BMW-KTM wrote:
IM4Tone wrote:
And often this 'flack' is driven by the presentation or manner of expression of the opinion/viewpoint.
...and equally likely, the flacker's perception of the presentation or manner of expression.

Yep, that too.

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Tue Oct 22, 2013 11:07 pm
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I used a Line-6 AX2-212 for a while. It was an interesting sojourn. I could get a mediocre facsimile of a high number of tones but not a single one of them was vibrant enough or expressive enough or had enough of the textural complexities to be considered "good".


I also tried out some Line-6s, the Vox valvetronix series, and a Peavey VYPYR, but did not find them to sound like any vintage tube amp I have played through. On a whim though, I purchased a Fender Mustang V2 and after spending a few days messing around with the Fuse software, I have managed to dial in some pretty convincing presets that sound like a tube amp running a pair of 6V6s or EL 84s with the creamy distortion.

As a comparison, before I left the recording field, more and more REs were gravitating towards plug-ins, mostly software emulating vintage Neve, API, Teletronix, Massenburg, etc, which was not quite there at that time. However, the recording plug-ins today are exceptional and exhibit the sonic characteristics of tubes and warmth of input/output transformers.

In the same way the latest generation of recording plug-ins are giving old vintage boxes a run for the money, Fender' s digital modeling amps are redefining tube amp modeling for clean tube sounds, at a time where vintage amp users (and recording studios) will find it harder to access "NOS tubes" to run thier gear to optimal levels, as the construction of the newer tubes is nowhere near the equivalent of an era that has long since passed.

I love vintage amps and high end boxes, but I also love this new technology.


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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 12:11 am
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Studio gear seldom suffers the rigors imposed by live performing (and the attendant loading, unloading, transporting, and periodic abuse/misuse). Which is precisely why most of the gear being built today falls flat on its face when it's time to hit the stage night after night after night. The same malady that killed the "big three" in Detroit has now manifested itself in the musical-instrument industry.

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 12:54 am
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That was one good thing about my AX2-212. It was reliable. I gigged with it for a couple of years and it never broke down, ever. I don't use it much anymore but it's still going strong and I've never so much as vacuumed it. Of course, it was $1,500 new and made in USA, not a $279 Malaysia special. I've only ever had one issue with it and it wasn't really the amp's fault. We took a New Years Eve gig way out in the middle of nowhere one time. It was so remote that they weren't even on the grid. Power was generated by a diesel engine and the poor generator was pretty much maxed out all the time. The software on my amp didn't care for the slightly fluctuating voltage from the overloaded generator and the too small wiring in the building and it would cut in and out. I had to borrow someone's personal computer UPS to finish the gig.

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:51 am
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CliffS wrote:
...the recording plug-ins today are exceptional and exhibit the sonic characteristics of tubes and warmth of input/output transformers...


Agree. The software generated simulations can do a much better job of emulation than SS, analog or digital. Line 6 in particular, such as the HD500 or some of the higher-end PODs do a very good job, not exactly like the tube amps that they imitate/emulate, but very close, much closer than the previous modeling effects.

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 9:39 am
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I think the problem lies with those of us who grew up on nothing but tube amps. I have used a ton of tube gear in the past 45 I've been a musician. I've seen the evolution of solid state to digital to the new emulation software, I know it has gotten light years better, but I still can't get into it. It can be perceived as snobbery, I don't care, but the digital followers can be just as snobby. I had one young guy a couple weeks ago ask me if I jammed with the Flintstones and then proceeded to tell me how I didn't need all this antiquated gear I'm using, referring to my Les Paul, a cord and my 5e3 clone. He later told me all I needed was a laptop an external hard drive and some software and run it through the PA system :lol: Needless to say, I was being paid for the gig, and he admitted he never performed outside of his home. Go figure, another bedroom expert. Not to say, there's anything wrong with that and I'll also add I've seen musicians or maybe they could be called technicians, get some pretty incredible live tones from their laptop rigs.

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:34 am
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63supro wrote:
I had one young guy a couple weeks ago ask me if I jammed with the Flintstones and then proceeded to tell me how I didn't need all this antiquated gear I'm using, referring to my Les Paul, a cord and my 5e3 clone. He later told me all I needed was a laptop an external hard drive and some software and run it through the PA system.


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:wink:

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:40 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
63supro wrote:
I had one young guy a couple weeks ago ask me if I jammed with the Flintstones and then proceeded to tell me how I didn't need all this antiquated gear I'm using, referring to my Les Paul, a cord and my 5e3 clone. He later told me all I needed was a laptop an external hard drive and some software and run it through the PA system.


Image

:wink:

Arjay


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 12:59 pm
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63supro wrote:
He later told me all I needed was a laptop an external hard drive and some software and run it through the PA system :lol:


I once saw a guitar teacher who had this set-up. A few speakers he mounted on the side walls, driven by some software on his laptop. But of course he had a Les Pauls, an expensive one.

Cheers

David

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 1:09 pm
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Amerigo wrote:
63supro wrote:
He later told me all I needed was a laptop an external hard drive and some software and run it through the PA system :lol:


I once saw a guitar teacher who had this set-up. A few speakers he mounted on the side walls, driven by some software on his laptop. But of course he had a Les Pauls, an expensive one.

Cheers

David


Seems a waste to plug a fine instrument into a computer.

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 2:29 pm
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63supro wrote:
I had one young guy a couple weeks ago ask me if I jammed with the Flintstones and then proceeded to tell me how I didn't need all this antiquated gear I'm using, referring to my Les Paul, a cord and my 5e3 clone.
Tryna think how I might have handled that. I might have been inclined to suggest the lad check out how much that antique gear goes for on eBay and maybe he should think first before expressing his opinion. Of course that prolly wouldn't work on a young lad these days. He'd prolly just keep blathering on like he knew what he was talking about.

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 2:51 pm
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BMW-KTM wrote:
Tryna think how I might have handled that. I might have been inclined to suggest the lad check out how much that antique gear goes for on eBay and maybe he should think first before expressing his opinion. Of course that prolly wouldn't work on a young lad these days. He'd prolly just keep blathering on like he knew what he was talking about.


Likely the slacker would be too busy texting to his cretinous buddies about how clever he was to hear your response.

:wink:

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Post subject: Re: "They Don't Make Things Like they Used To" ???
Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:04 pm
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I just considered the source and figured he really didn't know any better. I have gear older than the kids Dad. :lol: Doesn't really bother me and I get a chuckle out of it. All I know is I love the way my gear sounds and that's all that matters to me. I'm not married to any piece of gear even if I build it myself. If it give me headaches, it goes, even if I made it. It's a shame that so much great gear is out of the budgets of most of these young guys, because if it wasn't, the HRD series and many other budget amps probably wouldn't even exist. Mod Kits Diy makes a 5 watt kit for around $215. If I can build it, anyone can, and this simple little amp totally rocks and is fun to build. It's seriously old school. Real old school. It's like an EL84 driven Champ. There's a lot of satisfaction in building or restoring your own gear.

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Last edited by 63supro on Wed Oct 23, 2013 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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