It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!
Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
Although curiously not always.
I'm not sure people's ears have changed that much over the years, what sounds good sounds good.
That's probably true but then I rebuilt a WEM with all new components (except transformers, all but one, valves and PCB) and it sounded pretty darn close. Close enough for me anyway. I think one or two caps had a slightly different given value even.
It's maybe slightly quieter (and more reliable) if anything.
*An Official Foo-Approved guitarist since Sept 2023.
Guitar Bomb Giveaway – Win a FREE set of Oil City Pickups Deep Six humbuckers
serviceable and they have a longer life span. Vintage amps are like anything collectable they can be expensive.
We all want new phones, cars, TVs, recording equipment but want old guitars & amps !
If you bought say a modern day replica of a Fender or Marshall amp it would be really good as components are more
consistent so there isn't a lot of variation in the sound of the amps if played side by side. Vintage amps used what they
had available so amps varied sound wise but this never stopped a good musician getting a good sound from the amp !
When Marshall did the Hendrix head they used three or four heads from the same period and made an amp out of the strong
points from each amp.
Now Hendrix sounded great so weather his amp was good or not never stopped him from being great.
I use modern amps with circuit boards and they are good but I prefer my hand built hand wired amps to my ears they sound
better to my ears and over a vintage amp they have reliability.
I do realize they are a bit more expensive but I think they are worth it. I rather have one or two good amps & guitars
than a lot of problem amps & guitars. I know many will disagree with me.
In reality if it works for you don't worry about it. Thanks
Can't speak for other brands though!
the few that I have tried sounded no different to their modern equivalent
what made quite a bit of difference was older ,soft and worn-in speakers
That said, when you come across a vintage amp which has been completely stripped out and rebuilt to schematic values with new components by a well-meaning (usually hi-fi trained!) tech, it often doesn't have as much of the 'vintage sound', so I suspect that it is down to component drift in a lot of cases - and lower noise, a small amount of hum is well known to improve the 'warmth' of the sound.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Well I'm certainly not "hi-fi trained", but I know what I like
I chose the new components based on value/power rating, physical size/shape and to a lesser extent price. I wouldn't pay silly prices for "audiophile" caps but didn't use the cheapest options either.
I'd be surprised, intrigued, if old Charlie didn't use the best bits he could get away with? Would he have been considering beneficial resister distortion (or whatever you call it)?
I've still got most of the original parts out of mine. If I can ever be bothered digging them out I might check a few for fun.
You often do get a bit of hum from these simple old circuits, but now no crackley pots, rattly valves, or strange woofy sounds when it's switched off!
It's certainly a very "warm" sounding amp, when you want it to be. Don't think I'd need any more on the warm front.
I don't know, but I kind of agree.
In my opinion it’s one of the main reason things that don’t hum as much or at all - everything from EMG pickups to hum-cancelling ‘single coils’ to digital modellers to modern amps with a very low noise floor - are often perceived as ‘cold’ or ‘sterile’ sounding. A subtle amount of hum, not enough to be annoying but just enough to be audible, makes the sound noticeably warmer.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein