Things that Used to Suck, But Now Are Really Good

[Anderton]

Here's a companion thread to the other one about things that used to be good, but now they suck.

 

Microphones. Not so much that they sucked, but it cost a lot of money to get a good one. Now you can get great mics inexpensively, and even ribbon mics that don't blow up if you just look at them wrong.

 

Recording software. Early programs were expensive, limited, and crash-prone. Now you can even get free ones that are outstanding.

 

Televisions. Having watched the progression from the days of black and white, today's televisions are incredibly good and incredibly inexpensive compared to earlier efforts like DLP-based ones. They're a lot lighter, too.

 

CD players. Yeah, people aren't into CDs so much, but the new ones have 24-bit D/A converters instead of 12-bit ones. Big improvement.

 

USB mics. They used to be cheap things designed to hit a price point so grandma could talk to the kids over the interwebz. But then podcasters came along, and all of a sudden, first-class mics USB mics started to appear.

 

Telephones. There's no comparison between dial-up rotary phones compared to a computer and ultra-cool digital camera in your shirt.

 

Amp sims. The early ones were sketchy, but once software companies were able to throw computer power at them, it changed everything.

[pinkfloydcramer]

 

Hearing aids: Used to suck with a vengeance, amplified background noise (clatter in restaurants etc.) more than the voice of the person right in front of you. Now they use directional mics to mitigate that. Also now they Bluetooth- connect to smartphones, TV's, digital musical instruments, mixers (can function as IEM's). Technology has improved to where music sounds much more "musical" and smoother-  although my recent upgrade, which improves speech recognition, is a step back (for me) for music audio quality- especially for digital pianos (guitars sound fine). So I had my old ones refurbished. Also, hearing aids are going from almost prohibitively expensive to affordable. 

 

Biggest new development in the hearing world, however, may be treatment to reverse hearing loss:  https://news.mit.edu/2022/frequency-therapeutics-hearing-regeneration-0329. Phase 2 clinical trials to be completed Nov. '22. 

 

For me, this would reverse a lot of "suck".  

[KuruPrionz]

Speakers are better now than ever before. Guitar speakers, studio monitors, etc. 

Analog solid state emulation of tube guitar amplification is hugely better - THANKS Andrew Barta and Hartley Peavey!!!!

 

Fresno used to be one of the most polluted cities in the US due to internal combustion engines exhaust in a deep, flat valley. 

The "Big Three" American auto manufacturers fought tooth and nail to try and prevent legislation from forcing them to clean up their act. 

I remember they said it wasn't possible to make clean running engines that met a certain standard and months later both Toyota and Honda introduced vehicles to the US that exceeded those standards considerably. Over time, the air in Fresno has gotten less worse, THANKS Japanese auto engineers!!!!

 

There's more, I'll leave stuff for others. 

 

 

[Anderton]

The MusicPlayer.com forums. Remember the days of endless hangs, being logged off involuntarily, and speed that could best be described at unspeed?

 

Maps. They used to be things made out of paper that you could always unfold, but folding back up wasn't easy. Now we have electronic navigation that talks to you and tells you want to do, either in the car itself, or on your phone.

[KenElevenShadows]

Education, including Special education. Teachers are better trained than ever before and have better-trained staff. It still has a lot of issues and has a long way to go, but it is more inclusive and far-reaching than it was before. Unfortunately, teachers have been so stretched to the limit and stressed-out given new demands that it is now a dying field, with less young people choosing to go into the field and tons of teachers retiring early. Looks like maybe teachers do too much and are asked to be too good now. But what I've seen from teachers has been nothing less than jaw-dropping and heroic.

 

Diversity of restaurants (at least in metropolitan areas): the fact that you can actually have Sri Lankan, African, Peruvian, extremely regionalized restaurants, etc. in places like Los Angeles and other major metropolitan areas is so much more diverse, interesting, and exciting than 20-30 years ago.

[KenElevenShadows]

2 hours ago, Anderton said:

 

 

Telephones. There's no comparison between dial-up rotary phones compared to a computer and ultra-cool digital camera in your shirt.

 

Amp sims. The early ones were sketchy, but once software companies were able to throw computer power at them, it changed everything.

 

Great list. Well, telephones were kinda cool when they were in a shoe.

 

What do you feel is the most realistic amp sim now? I ask not to start a debate of sims vs. real deal but just so I can check out the new stock of stuff!

[Anderton]

Most realistic is a) subjective, b) whether you want a particular sound (e.g., vintage, clean, metal) because some sims do some sounds better than others, and c) depends on how much editing you want to do! Trials are available for most of them. There are two lists that pretty much give all the options, including free ones.

 

List 1

List 2

 

It also depends exactly what you need. Scuffham S-Gear sounds really good, but has a lot fewer options than the competition. I'm big on multiband distortion for rhythm guitar, and the Helix does that more elegantly than anything else. Nonetheless, I pretty much use them all, but the ones that get the most play around here are the Line 6 Helix, IK AmpliTube 5, Waves PRS Supermodels, Overloud TH-U, and Guitar Rig 6. Check out the free trials, though, and I'm sure you'll find some that just sound "right" to you.

 

 

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, KenElevenShadows said:

 

Great list. Well, telephones were kinda cool when they were in a shoe.

 

What do you feel is the most realistic amp sim now? I ask not to start a debate of sims vs. real deal but just so I can check out the new stock of stuff!

I'm gonna add a couple of amp sims that I like. I have Amplitube 4 and 5 and the free version of Guitar Rig 6 and there are some great tones to be had. I've tried some other amp sims but not even close to a fraction of what's available. 

I'm not claiming that the ones I am listing are "better" than other options. You could easily own hundreds of amp sims and spend hours trying to decide which is what. I have no affiliation with any amplifier or plugin company, I pay the same as everybody else does. 

 

First, a well modeled Dumble clone - the Fuchs stuff is quality and so is the plugin. $40 right now. 

This amp can deliver a huge variety of tones, your guitar will sound like your guitar clean or dirty (filthy is another matter with all manner of distortions).

https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/fuchs_overdrive_supreme_50.html

 

I really like this amp too - it is sort of a modern hybrid of a Vox AC 15 and a Marshall Bluesbreaker. It FEELS good when I play it and it sounds good too. That's $30

https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/chandler_gav19t.html

 

Don't forget bass amps, I really like the Amplitube Ampeg SVT knockoffs, great on bass and interesting on other things, like kick drums. 

 

There is an almost overwhelming plethora of great amp sims out there. I would recommend using the trial versions and picking maybe 3 or 4 including 1 bass amp. 

Just use those until you really get how they work and see if you actually need anything else. I know when I gig I usually find an amp that I like and use it for a long time. 

Too many choices might be as insane as not enough choices. 

 

It's a great time for guitarists right now!

[KenElevenShadows]

Thanks. I wasn't expecting such complete answers! Wow. So without getting totally into it, since I am using such an antiquated system (Pro Tools 10.3, Mac Pro 1,1, which is a 2006 tower computer), I probably can't use one of these. I was more interested in what you guys thought sounded super realistic. 

 

That said, Craig mentioned that this "Scuffham S-Gear sounds really good, but has a lot fewer options than the competition". Since I'm often attracted to things that don't necessarily do a ton of things but do what few things they do well, I checked this out first. I personally love the chimey clean tones. I use this in my music a lot, and this seems to do that. It even does the Fender tremolo well. I will never give up my Carr Rambler or stop recording guitars through there because....well, if you record with an amp like that, you'll get it, and if you don't, well, I'm not sure what to tell you. But this sounds really good all the same.

 

 

That said, that Chandler Limited VAG19T seems to have a few cool sounding things as well.

[spokenward]

7 hours ago, Anderton said:

 

Microphones. Not so much that they sucked, but it cost a lot of money to get a good one. Now you can get great mics inexpensively, and even ribbon mics that don't blow up if you just look at them wrong.

Still one of my favorite ironically painful memories was calling up the Neumann rep about 30 years ago and being told that they only sold to legitimate studios.

 

(But I also expected electret condensers to keel over at 20 years.)

[KuruPrionz]

56 minutes ago, KenElevenShadows said:

Thanks. I wasn't expecting such complete answers! Wow. So without getting totally into it, since I am using such an antiquated system (Pro Tools 10.3, Mac Pro 1,1, which is a 2006 tower computer), I probably can't use one of these. I was more interested in what you guys thought sounded super realistic. 

 

That said, Craig mentioned that this "Scuffham S-Gear sounds really good, but has a lot fewer options than the competition". Since I'm often attracted to things that don't necessarily do a ton of things but do what few things they do well, I checked this out first. I personally love the chimey clean tones. I use this in my music a lot, and this seems to do that. It even does the Fender tremolo well. I will never give up my Carr Rambler or stop recording guitars through there because....well, if you record with an amp like that, you'll get it, and if you don't, well, I'm not sure what to tell you. But this sounds really good all the same.

 

 

That said, that Chandler Limited VAG19T seems to have a few cool sounding things as well.

The Scuffham S-Gear does sound great beyond a doubt. Paul speaks of "feel" and that's how I felt with the Chandler. I didn't "think" I was playing an amp sim, I "felt" I was playing an amp. 

One thing I am wary of (and it's easily fixed) is that many vendors of both amps and sims create presets that sound optimal when one is playing guitar solo but are a bit over the top for dropping into a mix. Just a matter of setting things to taste and saving as a new preset. 

So many choices!!!! I remember decades ago buying a Tweed Fender Harvard amp and it was so easy to dial it in, just dime the volume and the tone and play. 

It was a bit noisy but the band drowned that out easily. Of course, that was then. 

Amplitube has a 57 Champ with just a volume knob but it seems like they sampled the noise as well as the tone. Now, it doesn't seem to be so easy to ignore...

[JimboKeys]

Powered speakers.   The few i encountered in bands in the 70's weighed a ton, and needed to be run from an external amp because the internal ones had died.  Now we can have 1000 watts in a 20 lb package that keep on working (even after falling from a speaker pole onto an asphalt parking lot - don't ask me how i know that).

[KuruPrionz]

There are many variables to this one but I do remember clearly the days when EVERYBODY I knew brewed Folgers from a huge can in an aluminum percolator. 

Gut-rotting stale acidic floor sweepings after the bean auction with plenty of caffeine but not good. 

 

I didn't know anybody who bought vacuum sealed small bags of single origin organic beans and ground them fresh then dripped them in their Melita with brown paper to absorb acid. 

 

Of course, now we have Kuerig too, that's nasty. As I said, variables. At least if you want good coffee it's easy to find it and make it. That wasn't the case in my experience 30 years ago. 

[Notes_Norton]

PA Speakers in general: Agreeing and expanding JimboKeys entry. I remember when the best passive speaker a band used was the two ton Voice Of The Theater monster. My 35 pound passive Carvins sounded at least that good, and my slightly under 40 pound EV speakers sound much better (active).

 

Keyboards: I remember being in a band with a +400 pound B-3 organ. You can now get 95% of the same sound with something one person can carry in one hand.

 

Saxophone Intonation: Modern manufacturing techniques have made saxophones more in tune with themselves than they used to be. My 1925 King Alto has the voice of an angel, but the intonation of a devil. My 1950s Selmer was better, 1980s Couf even better, >>fast forward>> My 21st century Yamaha has only mild intonation issues. Sax players have to 'lip' each note to play in tune. The lipping for my King is extreme, my Yamaha slight.

 

Car engines: It used to be rare for a car to run for 100,000 miles. "Flipping the odometer" was a cause for a celebration and a lot of "WOW" factor. Now it's common for them to run twice that long if cared for properly.

 

Computers: They really sucked in the DOS days, now they are way easier to use, and much more reliable.

 

The Internet: Along with advances of computer technology, the Internet itself is faster, and more useful than it was in the early 1990s

 

Medicine: They can treat some diseases much better, prevent others, and even cure a lot of what used to be fatal.

 

TV/Computer monitors: I don't know of anyone who misses those huge Cathode Ray Tubes.

 

Highway safety: The design of vehicles and roads have greatly reduced the number of deaths per hour on the roads.

 

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

[KuruPrionz]

BASS AMPS!!!!!

I remember clearly helping our bassist carry an Ampeg SVT head and cabinet up and down 2 flights of stairs long ago and far away. 

It sounded good. No DI worth mentioning. I guess you could mic it. I remember when he had tubes go bad, that was not fun - Whirlwind DI to the rescue. 

 

Current bassist totes a Fender Rumble 100, one of the newer ones they made after buying Gens-Benz.

100 watts, 1-12" speaker, good sounding DI built in, small and 22 pounds. It's loud enough to hear on stage and then some. 

 

He can put his gig bag on his back, grab the amp and that's done. 

[Anderton]

Windows. I'm sure some would argue with this if they've frozen their system on XP or Windows 7, but Windows 10 has performed very well for me. The updates have been smooth, and it's stable.

 

Free plug-ins. Some of the early ones had pretty sketchy coding, but the overall quality has gone up a notch over the years.

[KuruPrionz]

Guitar strings. I remember when Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys were just about the only light gauge guitar strings available at the local music store. They were pretty good strings but technology has moved the bar higher. 

 

Now we have a huge selection of different gauges and types available - it's pretty easy to find what you want - from six string bass guitar to requinto strings and everywhere in between. 

[Old No7]

Going back to the 70's versus now.....

 

My Paychecks!

 

Old No7

[Notes_Norton]

Volt-Ohm Meters: Digital displays replacing D’Arsonval needles and range-finding for fewer clicks of the range knob.

 

Radio tuners: Instead of twisting the knob trying to get it precisely in the place to lock in the frequency, and then have temperature changes cause you to readjust, just dial the digital frequency number on the tuner, and it's done.

[harmonizer]

Acoustic piano sounds on electronic keyboards.

 

In 1983 I was living in a shared rental home, and needed a keyboard instrument that had a volume control to allow me to make very little noise while playing, but which also played louder or softer based on how hard you pressed the keys, so I bought a Fender Rhodes 73 Suitcase. It did not make AP sounds, but its sounds were aesthetically acceptable.

When I first started playing in a covers band in 2004, I bought a used Proformance module on the cheap. I think those were sold as new products in the 1990s and were considered a step forward when they came out. 

[RABid]

Keyboards - I played in the early 1980's when synths would not stay in tune and pianos and organs needed two or four people to move.

 

Cheap Guitars - I had a cheap Ibanez LP copy in the 80's that would not stay in tune. That was common back then with cheap guitars and basses. Bad tuners that would slip, bad necks, high action. Nothing like today's cheap guitars.

 

Communication - People may complain or make fun of Facebook, but I have more contact with friends and family than ever before. My dad was one of 12 kids. Mom, one of eleven. I have a big, spread out family. It is nice to see pictures and know what is happening, even from a distance.

 

Learning - The days of going to the library and hoping they have something about an esoteric subject you are interested is over. Now I watch videos on YouTube, check for books on Amazon, and see if someone has developed a downloadable class.

[pinkfloydcramer]

light bulbs

[The Real MC]

1 hour ago, pinkfloydcramer said:

light bulbs

 

Uh, no.  Their life is too short.

 

In the first 40 years of residential electricity, light bulbs lasted a long time.  According to my late father, my great grandfather's house had a porch light that kept on ticking for 50 years.

 

Then the bulb manufacturers colluded to intentionally design light bulbs with shorter life to boost profits.  This started before WW2.

 

Today you're hard pressed to find a light bulb that will even last a year.

 

That's a lot of disposed light bulbs in our landfills, not to mention the toxic stuff in the filaments...

[The Real MC]

So many things that are better today

 

Digital pianos

Hearing Aids (wore them for life digital H/A are a HUGE improvement over the old analog H/A)

Modern medicine

Safety standards (esp motor vehicles and home appliances)

Music formats (CDs are MUCH BETTER than vinyl records and cassette tapes)

DAWs (40 years ago you couldn't make professional quality recordings at home)

[Threadslayer]

snapshots. Unlimited, instant gratification via cellphone vs waiting a week for a roll of mostly bad shots on Kodachrome.

[Threadslayer]

Refrigerator water filters. I just replaced mine this morning. 90 degree turn to remove, 90 degree turn to replace.

[Notes_Norton]

Emergency Medical Service: In my youth, an ambulance would come to your location, pick up the victim, and drive that victim to the hospital. They were only drivers and offered no medical assistance.

 

Now the EMTs come to the location and actually provide life-saving procedures when they get there..

 

When I was in a road band, the girlfriend of our guitarist, who at the time was with our agent talking business, tried to abort her fetus with a coat hanger. Abortions were illegal back then, too.

 

There was blood everywhere and she was screaming.

 

I wrapped her in a blanket, put her in my car, and raced her to the hospital.

 

The doctor told me if I got there 5 minutes later, she would have bled to death. It was more than 5 minutes to the hospital, so if we waited for an ambulance to come from the hospital and then take her there, she would have died.

 

If we had caught a train at the RR Crossing, she would have died in my car.

 

All in all, it was a very lucky day for that girl.

 

Notes ♫

 

[Joe Muscara]

On 3/29/2022 at 12:26 PM, pinkfloydcramer said:

Biggest new development in the hearing world, however, may be treatment to reverse hearing loss:  https://news.mit.edu/2022/frequency-therapeutics-hearing-regeneration-0329. Phase 2 clinical trials to be completed Nov. '22. 

Imagine if this is a cure for tinnitus. That would be amazing.

[pinkfloydcramer]

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/frequency-therapeutics-—-hearing-loss-regeneration.18889/page-647

 

Some discussion RE whether the treatment may be effective for tinnitus. Seems to hinge on whether tinnitus is cause by damage to the auditory nerve itself, in which case growing new hair cells in the ear may not help as much with it.  Also discussed is whether FX-322 helps with speech recognition but not as much with recovering hearing, something I don't follow, because trouble with speech recognition comes from losing the HF hearing that enables you to hear consonants and sibilant sounds that make speech intelligible.  

 

The company is also using the same progenitor cell approach to develop a treatment for MS.   

[Anderton]

9 hours ago, pinkfloydcramer said:

Some discussion RE whether the treatment may be effective for tinnitus.

It's refreshing to see medical professionals with the same level of discourse as a YouTube comments section

 

It's clear this is all early days stuff, and people are following up on leads in the hopes that something pans out. But isn't that kinda how things progress?

 

Anyway, there are some adults in that thread, and what they said does seem to indicate science might be on to something here.