Matchless guitar amps
Dr Distortion
: Does anyone know of an objective guitar amp newsgroup, where the specific
: merits and downfalls of amps can be discussed thoughtfully?
If you find one, please let me know. I'm getting sick of the juveniles
that have invaded this newsgroup and I miss the rational technical
discussions we used to have here. I'm considering unsubscribing from
this group if things don't improve. I've noticed that Mark Garvin and
Randy Aiken have been scarce lately; perhaps they've already moved
on.
Perhaps a mailing list is the answer...
TimTube
u911...@muss.cis.McMaster.CA (P. Psutka) writes:
>Another more affordable alternative to the Matchless amps, would be the
>"Top Hat TB35 King Royale" for that voxy marshally sound. "Budda" (sp?)
>amps are probably as good or better than Matchless too, and they are also
>more affordable.
>
>
>Paul
The list of hand wired "boutique amps" continues to grow, it is somewhat
regional. Here in the midwest there are Dr. Z, Naylor, Blitz, Victoria,
ToneCity, and Butler. There are literally scores of others across the
country, some only building an amp or 2 a month. The ones that I have
tried or heard (mentioned above) have been excellent.
Tim
Tim (517)339-8404 after 7PM EDT or weekends
John Bartlett
The never ending JCM 800 vs 900 discussion was bad enough but the recent
discussion about Crates and Carvins really pushed me to the edge. It's
fun to argue and debate intelligently but the I get tired of the flames
and re-flames. If there's a new group or mailing list let me know.
John Bushong
>Dr.Dis...@bbs.mhv.net (Dr Distortion) wrote:
>>TimTube (tim...@aol.com) wrote:
>>: Does anyone know of an objective guitar amp newsgroup, where the specific
>>: merits and downfalls of amps can be discussed thoughtfully?
>>
>>If you find one, please let me know. I'm getting sick of the juveniles
>>that have invaded this newsgroup and I miss the rational technical
>>discussions we used to have here. I'm considering unsubscribing from
>Hoping that none of _my_ posts has made you sick, I'd like to tell you
>and everybody else who has valuable thoughts to share:
>
>Please, let them 'juveniles' just fade away, they're just too ignorant to
>be even mentioned.
[snip]
I really support this, although I must admit that sometimes I fail to exercise good
sense and fire off a reply which I shouldn't.
The flame-baiters thrive on controversy. The best way to get rid of them is to
ignore them. Replying to their posts, even to the extent of calling them juveniles,
gives them what they want. I'm trying my best to just sit on my frustration and
ignore the guys who loudly proclaim that a certain brand of amp is sh*t without and
reasons.
This forum has helped me a lot in evaluating what amp I want to buy and what a
reasonable price is for amps. (Too high, unfortunately.) I would realy hate to see
the people whose opinions I value leave because of the noise factor. I will
certainly try to reduce the noise I make to help prevent that.
Jonathan Wright
I've been in contact with Randy Aiken lately and he's been very busiy
at work these days. I don't think he's completely given up on the group.
I do wonder where the other gurus have been.
: >on.
: >Perhaps a mailing list is the answer...
: >
If you guys bail out, please let me know. I promise I won't ask what
the best practice amp is or anything like that.
: Opinions, anyone?
Do keep up the technical talk. This is where I've got some of my
best information.
Later,
Jonathan Wright
Cisco Jent
>TimTube (tim...@aol.com) wrote:
>: Does anyone know of an objective guitar amp newsgroup, where the specific
>: merits and downfalls of amps can be discussed thoughtfully?
>
>If you find one, please let me know. I'm getting sick of the juveniles
>that have invaded this newsgroup and I miss the rational technical
>discussions we used to have here. I'm considering unsubscribing from
>Randy Aiken have been scarce lately; perhaps they've already moved
>Perhaps a mailing list is the answer...
>
Hoping that none of _my_ posts has made you sick, I'd like to tell you
and everybody else who has valuable thoughts to share:
Please, let them 'juveniles' just fade away, they're just too ignorant to
be even mentioned. I believe there aren't so many posts in this newsgroup that
it would be impossible to extract the fine ones in a reasonable amount of
time. And, first of all, I believe that many of us would miss you, at least
those that take the time to follow your thoughts.
So why not stay tuned and just disregard the sh...
Opinions, anyone?
Cisco
(hope my swiss english hasn't completely buried the point I wanted to make)
Howard Steinberg
professional player who has really never had access to people with
competent knowledge of tube amps other than the techs who have
worked on my equipment (many of whom have lacked competent
knowledge). I've learned a great deal about the gear that I use.
I've also received some very useful information on a vintage Fender
amp that I am trying to get sounding right. It has been worked on
recently, and is going back with printouts of some of the postings
from this group which I bet will help to get this amp sounding the
way it should.
In short, guys like me benefit from the opinions and insights of
Tim Tube, Mark Garvin, Joseph Pampel, Dr. Distortion, Tremolux etc.
Musicians as a rule don't talk about things like plate currents,
transformers, etc., and it is great to have access to people who
know about this stuff and are willing to express their opinions
freely. That is what's right with this newsgroup.
As far as trashing Crate amplifiers, who cares? Read what is
relevant to you. In the words of Rodney King, "Why can't we all
just get along?"
SEFSTRAT
I think that the allure of a Matchless is not only in the tone. Its
lifetime warranty and tanklike construction have a lot to do with their
success.
Steve
SEFS...@AOL.com
SEFSTRAT
mark
>>Paul
>The list of hand wired "boutique amps" continues to grow, it is somewhat
>regional. Here in the midwest there are Dr. Z, Naylor, Blitz, Victoria,
>ToneCity, and Butler. There are literally scores of others across the
>country, some only building an amp or 2 a month. The ones that I have
>tried or heard (mentioned above) have been excellent.
>Tim
>Tim (517)339-8404 after 7PM EDT or weekends
There are a few "boutique amps" made in the UK too.
Dennis Cornell makes the 1x12 35 watt class A "Journeyman" which, I
have heard, compares well with Matchless and costs £1395..
Booker is the brand name for the Audio Brothers' own amps - they make
the current range of Hi-Watt reissues. The 12 watt V12M costs £599,
has one 10" speaker and an annoying (I think) hardwood vintage
wireless box.
SJB Audio makes a range of reasonably priced (is this unique?) hand
wired amp starting with the Ant, a 15 watt (or therabouts) 1x12
or1x10 combo with 2 6V6s for £199. I have been using an Ant at home
for the last six months and reckon that it's a real bargain. They
have just announced a 25 watt combo with reverb and an outboard reverb
unit.
Mark Willson
P. Psutka
Dr Distortion <Dr.Dis...@bbs.mhv.net> wrote:
>Mark,
>Thanks for the information on custom amp makers in the UK. I'm sure that
>many of us in the US (myself included) know little about such activity in
>other countries and find such information very interesting.
>
>Now how about Europe, the far east, Mexico, Canada, South America and the
>antipodes? Can anyone fill us in about what's going on in those countries?
>
I can help out a bit for Canada. There is a guy named Bernard Raunig who
works out of Hamilton, Ontario. He has made amps for guitarists in
Canadian bands such as Crash Vegas, The Tragically Hip, Junkhouse, and
also Daniel Lanois. He made a batch of amps which used old film
projectors as the chassis. They were called the "Filmo" model and they
were a 18 watt push pull design with 2 El84's, 2 12AX7's, and a 6CA4
rectifier tube, a 10" speaker, vol and tone controls. His amps are very
pure and are "tuned" as Bernie likes to say.
He is now concentrating on 2 Class A amps. One is a 5 watt amp with a
single El84, and the other is about 10 watts with an El34 power tube.
All his amps have no negative feedback, hand wound transformers, tube
rectifiers, and have carefully selected speakers to match each amp. He
even makes the cabinets and the handles himself. His amps are quite
affordable - the 5 watt Class A "Aviator" model sells for $400 Canadian.
Another guy is John McIntyre who works out of Calgary, Alberta. He has
been mentioned in Guitar Player before, however.
Jay Nelson
>Mark,
>Thanks for the information on custom amp makers in the UK. I'm sure that
>many of us in the US (myself included) know little about such activity in
>other countries and find such information very interesting.
>Now how about Europe, the far east, Mexico, Canada, South America and the
>antipodes? Can anyone fill us in about what's going on in those countries?
In Canada, I know of two.
Wizard Amps from Vancouver build "modded" variations on the classic
Marshall and Hiwatt designs. They are a small shop with a few retail
outlets around North America. They did a recent redesign of the amps
to look more like late 60's Marshalls. They have also been used in
the studio and on the road by a number of top hard rock/metal bands.
A couple of the guys I know there have Internet accounts, maybe they
can fill in more details.
McIntyre of Calgary also make a few amps. They are better known for
Musitech products that show up in Stew-Mac catalogs among other places
(I think they sell a Strat mid-boost in that catalog). I *believe*
their amps are based on a higher gain/modded Fender circuit, but maybe
someone else could be more clear about that. This company is run by
the fellow that wrote the article on the Bassman head mod in GP a few
years back.
Cheers,
Jay N.
Vesa Karppi
>
>
> Now how about Europe, the far east, Mexico, Canada, South America and the
> antipodes? Can anyone fill us in about what's going on in those countries?
>
He makes them quite traditional way to meet customers needs. The amps
look pretty cool. Last week he had three tweed covered cabinets: one
normal yellow, one green and one purple!!!
Vesa
David Roach
: The best echos, areas or discussion groups always seem to have a core group
: of users who possess intelligence, wit, a small dose of attitude problem and
: a major portion of humor.
: A strong core group sets the pace for everyone else to the point that the
: twits feel out of place (it helps immensely to ignore the twits) and they go
: away on their own.
Yikes! There's a psychologist in our midst!
Interesting analysis, tho. Now maybe you can help me out with
this little problem I've been having with my brother-in-law...
Dave "Twit-bound for Glory"
P.S.> FWIW, the amps group is one of the better ones I've read through.
For a good look at immaturity running wild, try the pro football
groups.
David Taylor
>Please, let them 'juveniles' just fade away, they're just too ignorant to
>be even mentioned. I believe there aren't so many posts in this newsgroup
that
>it would be impossible to extract the fine ones in a reasonable amount of
>time. And, first of all, I believe that many of us would miss you, at least
>those that take the time to follow your thoughts.
> So why not stay tuned and just disregard the sh...
>
>Opinions, anyone?
Never at a loss for those <g>.
As one who has been on the FidoNet (Fight-O-Net) Echos since they first went
on line, and on local Fido message areas for over ten years, and also
speaking as one who helped moderate The Musician's Echo on Fido for six
years, I would appreciate the opportunity to reply:
John Bushong
>David Taylor (dta...@cyberramp.net) wrote:
[snip]
> P.S.> FWIW, the amps group is one of the better ones I've read through.
> For a good look at immaturity running wild, try the pro football
> groups.
No thanks. I get all the immaturity running wild I need on the front page of the
newspaper.