Why?

Post Reply
User avatar
RockyStar
Grand Poobah
Posts: 5781
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2021 2:01 am
Has thanked: 1036 times
Been thanked: 1662 times

Why?

Post by RockyStar »

Why do so many people think the older amps are always better? Are they really? Of course it comes down to personal preference but is it really true? Are we humans so nostalgia based and driven that it is difficult to embrace a new thing and hold it in the same high regard as the great gear of old?
User avatar
PLX
Executive
Posts: 4147
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2021 10:46 pm
Location: Bandera, TX
Has thanked: 1406 times
Been thanked: 1805 times

Re: Why?

Post by PLX »

RockyStar wrote: Thu Dec 15, 2022 5:29 pm Why do so many people think the older amps are always better? Are they really? Of course it comes down to personal preference but is it really true? Are we humans so nostalgia based and driven that it is difficult to embrace a new thing and hold it in the same high regard as the great gear of old?
The materials used 40~50 years ago are no longer available, or have simply fallen out of favor and been replaced by plastics/synthetics. The reasons for this vary.

Tube amp transformers used to have a material called "fish paper" a.k.a. Vulcanized Fiber as a lightweight dielectric. Many old-timers claim this is why old transformers sound better.

The Klon pedal is another example, where the builder, Bill Finnegan claimed the diodes he used were "unobtanium". Only he had them. No one else could ever find them. :roll: Josh at JHS pedals found them in bulk and bought a shit-ton from Russia - which resulted in a very nasty phone call from Finnegan. :lol:

The issue now is vacuum tubes. When I was a kid, these things were tossed out like a burned out light bulb would be today - and replaced for pennies.

All the department stores had a free-standing tube tester in the store. You could walk in with your tubes and plug them into the tester and find out if they were about to fail, or had already failed.

There was a big trash can right next to the machine so people could toss old tubes into it.

Now, there scarce and expensive. NOS tubes are stupid expensive.
User avatar
sytharnia NZ
Recruit
Posts: 188
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2021 10:18 pm
Has thanked: 77 times
Been thanked: 111 times

Re: Why?

Post by sytharnia NZ »

personally I don't give a shit if something is new or old .. as long as I can make things feel and sound how I like then i'm good
User avatar
PLX
Executive
Posts: 4147
Joined: Wed Jul 14, 2021 10:46 pm
Location: Bandera, TX
Has thanked: 1406 times
Been thanked: 1805 times

Re: Why?

Post by PLX »

sytharnia NZ wrote: Sat Dec 24, 2022 3:08 pm personally I don't give a shit if something is new or old .. as long as I can make things feel and sound how I like then i'm good
Yeah, it's like the whole 'tube amp' vs 'modeling amp', or even 'amp sim' running in your DAW..

I couldn't care less.

If you handed me a black box the size of a brick, and I could plug my guitar into it and get a good sound, I'd use that.
User avatar
sytharnia NZ
Recruit
Posts: 188
Joined: Mon Sep 13, 2021 10:18 pm
Has thanked: 77 times
Been thanked: 111 times

Re: Why?

Post by sytharnia NZ »

PLX wrote: Sun Dec 25, 2022 4:46 pm
sytharnia NZ wrote: Sat Dec 24, 2022 3:08 pm personally I don't give a shit if something is new or old .. as long as I can make things feel and sound how I like then i'm good
Yeah, it's like the whole 'tube amp' vs 'modeling amp', or even 'amp sim' running in your DAW..

I couldn't care less.

If you handed me a black box the size of a brick, and I could plug my guitar into it and get a good sound, I'd use that.
I think i'm one of the rare guitar players who plays guitar because I love playing guitar... I have very little interest in pedals, amps etc ... I mean I have a Boss katana that can have 8 different tones saved and over the 2 banks, Bank A 3 of the tones are the same, just with each one having different FX and the 4th one is a cleanish tone ... and Bank B is break up tone, southern rock tone, super clean tone and then a weird synth thing that I use way down in mixes to give the odd song "noise"

I just love guitars too look at just hanging on my walls or just sitting on stands .. they are art works to me and the fact I can pick them up and play them is an added bonus
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest