getz out Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 davio, it comes down to good design and quality components in my opinion. Tubes tend to be marketed to guitarists and bassists because they are "better". The Avalon U5 has no tubes. Rupert Neve doesn't use tubes in his design; pretty well regarded. When my Eden WT-405 is not on fire (like it was last week), it sounds great. No tube. I have no experience with the Fender TPB-1. It might be a bad design or maybe you just didn't like it. I hate most Eden amps (the ones with tube preamps), and other people love them. I use the same preamp as Brian when I go to Ultrasound Studios, and I have never been able to coax the sound I want out of it. Some people use my Demeter VTBP-201s (William) and do not get the hype; I think it is one of the more brilliant pieces of gear available. Different strokes. Hey, some people even like Hartke gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted November 21, 2008 Author Share Posted November 21, 2008 I understand that there are plenty of fantastic solidstate amps (I usually prefer playing SS amps based on the tube amps I've tried out). But as far as one tube amp sounding better than another, I was assuming that having only one tube in the pre section wouldn't give it much a "tube-y" sound whereas the Aguilars (which have several tubes) have a very "tube-y" sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 The tubey-est sound I have ever heard was from an Alembic F-1X. Basic Fender tone-stack. Single tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 You're the tubey-est. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Hey, some people even like Hartke gear. No they don't. They just don't know any better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted November 21, 2008 Author Share Posted November 21, 2008 Well gosh, I guess trying something out might actually be a better way than reading about it online to find out how a piece of gear sounds. Who'd'a thunk it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted November 22, 2008 Share Posted November 22, 2008 Hey, some people even like Hartke gear. The tubey-est sound I have ever heard was from an Alembic F-1X. Basic Fender tone-stack. Single tube. I love the irony of these two quotes! Why? Because you have to hear the new Hartke LH500/1000 - they've put the basic Fender tone-stack as also found in the Alembic into a hilariously cheap amp head and it sounds amazing! http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26831 Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted November 22, 2008 Author Share Posted November 22, 2008 Blasphemy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whappo Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Wally was nice enough to give me a heads up about this thread, but I was out of town for the weekend celebrating my 31st anniversary. Sorry for the delay. Please let me know if I can answer any questions other than cost. We wont know the cost until we get close to NAMM. Sound & reliability are our design criterias, not a certain price point. All the best, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted November 24, 2008 Author Share Posted November 24, 2008 Understandable. Thanks for checking in, Mark! ...and congrats! I guess since my attention was drawn to the TalkBass post most of my questions have been answered. The only thing I'm left wondering about is: are the specs on your website still accurate or are those the specs from before the redesign? For example, you listed among the improvements "better sounding, 20+% smaller, lighter, 30% more power"...is 10lbs the reduced weight? Is 17"x13"x3.5" the original size or the 20% smaller size? Etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 davio, it comes down to good design and quality components in my opinion. Tubes tend to be marketed to guitarists and bassists because they are "better". The Avalon U5 has no tubes. Rupert Neve doesn't use tubes in his design; pretty well regarded. When my Eden WT-405 is not on fire (like it was last week), it sounds great. No tube. I have no experience with the Fender TPB-1. It might be a bad design or maybe you just didn't like it. I hate most Eden amps (the ones with tube preamps), and other people love them. I use the same preamp as Brian when I go to Ultrasound Studios, and I have never been able to coax the sound I want out of it. Some people use my Demeter VTBP-201s (William) and do not get the hype; I think it is one of the more brilliant pieces of gear available. Different strokes. This is a pretty useful post. Thanks, Maurizio. I do get a useable and pretty tasty sound from the Aguilar preamps at UltraSound Rehearsal Studios. I'm not in love with that Demeter pre, and when I use your gear I'm a larger fan of the Kern. Now I own a Warwick Quad preamp like robb. (wherefore art thou on this thread, homey?!), and I think I can achieve some tubey tone goodness with that, partially because there's not only preamp tubeness but also a power amp tube. It ain't just the inclusion of one or more tubes in the preamp, it's the design of the whole sh-bang. Peace. --SW spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 You're a sh-bang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted November 25, 2008 Author Share Posted November 25, 2008 ...sh-bang. Wasn't that a Ricky Martin song? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 I believe so. Sh-bang sh-bang sh-bang... repeat for 3 1/2 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Pelvic gyrations optional or required? Peace. --SW spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Required. Not unlike Elvis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whappo Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 are the specs on your website still accurate or are those the specs from before the redesign? For example, you listed among the improvements "better sounding, 20+% smaller, lighter, 30% more power"...is 10lbs the reduced weight? Is 17"x13"x3.5" the original size or the 20% smaller size? Etc. Hey Davio, Those specs are before the redesign. We'll change them before NAMM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted December 2, 2008 Author Share Posted December 2, 2008 Nice. Might need to buy a paperweight and some velcro to hold it on the cab. Under 10lbs and ~1300W...I hope it has rack ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruuve Posted December 25, 2008 Share Posted December 25, 2008 couldn't find it though.... Long story short: The Accugroove cabinets used to come with what was called an "AccuSwitch". This simple resistor/capacitor network toggled the measured DC resistance of the cabinet between 4 ohms and 8 ohms. Sounds like magic doesn't it? Well, it wasn't. The switch toggled the DC resistance between 4 and 8 ohms, but it didn't actually change the input impedance (roughly the AC equivalent of DC resistance...this is what the amp actually *sees* since it's output is AC sine waves rather than a straight DC current). So a 4-ohm cabinet was still a 4-ohm cabinet regardless of how you set the switch. Hook a 4-ohm load to an amp rated for 8-ohms and guess what happens? Sooner or later you let the magic smoke out of the amp. The question became: did he understand the simple electrical theory behind this or not? In other words, was he so imcompetent that he didn't know changing the resistance did NOT change the impedance of the cab? Considering he was competent enough to build the circuit, it's doubtful. Did he knowingly market a product component/feature that would damage amps just to sell more cabs? Looks likely. And to add insult to injury, this sham came from someone who made all sorts of proclamations on his web-site about his devout Christian beliefs. Now, Christians certainly do make mistakes and bad choices, since we're all human. BUT...no admission of guilt nor explanation was ever offered that I saw. Do most mfg's mis-represent their cabinets specs to some degree? Yes...BUT...claiming frequency response of 30Hz when the -6db point is actually 60Hz or claiming full spectrum sensitivity of 100db while it's actually 100db at 1KHz doesn't typically damage amps. Claiming 8 ohm impedance when it's actually 4 ohm impedance does. It was a sham that demonstrated reckless irresponsibility IMO. Does he make great cabs that sound great? I'm sure he does. Did he need to propagate a substantial falsehood to sell more cabs? Apparently so. Some folks on this forum still believe the "AccuSwitch" works...if they wish to fools themselves, that is their choice. Ignorance is indeed blissful. Dave Old bass players never die, they just buy lighter rigs. - Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted December 25, 2008 Share Posted December 25, 2008 So it was easier to write all that then just read the next few posts in the thread? http://www.briantimpe.com/images/LDL/timewasted.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruuve Posted December 25, 2008 Share Posted December 25, 2008 If you don't like it, don't read it. Dave Old bass players never die, they just buy lighter rigs. - Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted January 22, 2009 Author Share Posted January 22, 2009 :D :D If only.............. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p86/wrightville/Tri112LCombosm.jpg If you're bold enough to read the TB thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 One thing I do not understand: 525 watts at 8-ohms 1,100 watts at 4-ohms That is a strange specification. It was always my understanding that, in a perfect situation, the most you can get from halving the resistance is a double of the output. However, most of the time, due to performance of the actual components, you get something less than double (this is why you see amps that do 405 watts at 8-ohms output something like 650-watts at 4-ohms). So, do I misunderstand how this works? robb, you around? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 That is an interesting point. I thought it was quite a gap but I dismissed it because I don't know anything about the subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Now I own a Warwick Quad preamp like robb. ... love it! and I think I can achieve some tubey tone goodness with that, partially because there's not only preamp tubeness but also a power amp tube. verily, the EL84 power amp on settings 3 and 4 impart all kinds of stellar on my tone. i never use 1 and 2 as a result. It ain't just the inclusion of one or more tubes in the preamp, it's the design of the whole sh-bang. Peace. --SW a big part of the "tube sound" is the output transformer. use a transformer, and you will better approximate it than just adding a tube gain stage. One thing I do not understand: 525 watts at 8-ohms 1,100 watts at 4-ohms That is a strange specification. It was always my understanding that, in a perfect situation, the most you can get from halving the resistance is a double of the output. However, most of the time, due to performance of the actual components, you get something less than double (this is why you see amps that do 405 watts at 8-ohms output something like 650-watts at 4-ohms). So, do I misunderstand how this works? robb, you around? i've been busy. sheesh. your understanding of physics is correct. at a fixed voltage, half the load impedance means twice the power, provided the amplifier can source that much current (most are limited). beyond that, i will defer to mark. he is, obviously, more intimately familiar with the technology is his amp than i am. robb. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 it must be a typo. the accugroove site lists it at 1000W into 2O, 775W into 4O, and 450W into 8O. nothing to see here. move on. robb. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 it must be a typo. the accugroove site lists it at 1000W into 2O, 775W into 4O, and 450W into 8O. nothing to see here. move on. robb. No, those were the old numbers before the rework. Mark said the new PDF was done over the weekend and he's waiting for his web guy to put it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 A little late to the party, but the new Synergy literature is up on the AccuGroove site for whoever is interested. www.accugroove.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I haven't seen a price yet. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davio Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 He hasn't quoted one yet. "Hopefully next month" is the closest I've heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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