Technology Updates
 

On 1/13/2014 10:36 AM, F.O.A.D. wrote:

Sort of church-related, but not. The last time I was in New Haven, one
of our hosts played a CD of Bach he had being played on the 1928-1929
Skinner Pipe Organ at Woolsey Hall (you know that place, right?), and he
was playing it over a Bose 901 system he's had in his house for years.
Well, the "lackabass" of that sound system was really noticeable,
because what we heard through his Bose speakers didn't sound anything
like the Skinner, which I've heard dozens and dozens of times. The pedal
notes sounded like intestinal gas being passed. :)

The old 901's were notorious for 'doubling' low bass notes (producing
more 2nd harmonic than fundamental).

Technology Updates
 

"Mr. Luddite" wrote:
On 1/13/2014 7:46 PM, Hank© wrote:

On Mon, 13 Jan 2014 19:14:38 -0500,the celebrated boater, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:



I like 'em sounding clean.

Good explanation

LOL. I just noticed your attribute. "Celebrated boater" Ha ha.

Or you be like me that worked with card sorters and pneumatic card readers
with 110 db 3' from the heads, and you are missing certain frequency
ranges. Makes cheap players sound OK.

Technology Updates
 

On 1/13/2014 4:14 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:

Another example using guitars as the subject:

The early (1950's era) Fender Telecasters had horrible pickups,
especially the one in the neck position. It had a dull and muddy sound.
But the music of that era was recorded with them and it established
"the sound" of a Fender Tele.

Which one do you pick up more often, the tele or the strat?
(wondering if I 'need' a tele also...)

And what's the scoop on the little 'M' amp? A vintage deluxe-reverb clone?

Technology Updates
 

On Sunday, January 12, 2014 11:27:36 PM UTC-6, wrote:
On Sun, 12 Jan 2014 12:26:58 -0500, "F.O.A.D." wrote:



On 1/12/14, 11:51 AM, wrote:

On Sun, 12 Jan 2014 11:25:52 -0500, "F.O.A.D." wrote:



That's cool...are those M-Audio speakers? They look very much like mine.



I bought my wife a set of Bose speakers that are the size of a Spam

can and sound like a boom box.



http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41aYSHGKCwL.jpg



A typical Bose sound.

The only problem is you can hear the flaws in low bit rate rips ;-)





I know they are very popular and highly rated, but I've never been fond

of the sound that emanates from the Bose speakers I've heard. I don't

know why that is. My "main" stereo speakers are electrostatics, about

six feet tall, and I like they way they sound. I've got a pair of

M-Audio speakers on my computer desk, and they're adequate for that

purpose.



Like I said, the Bose sound. It seems to be aimed at people who have

very good hearing in the higher ranges. The sound is very crisp. I

worked on line printers long enough that my hearing has a bit of a

notch in that area.

I like that good old 70s deep sound you got from ARs or Sansui with

cabinets that could hold a small child.

I have a Bose table top radio/cd player and it's good for what it is, but nothing like Haul Harvey advertized that it replaces a whole 'wall full' of equipment. crank it up and it barks like a dog. Well, not really but for the money it's over rated. I lost the tiny little remote control for it and bought another for a whopping $44.00 about 10 years ago. That's the last time it'll happen.

Now speaking of cabinets that could hold a small child, Well back in 'the day' I bought the best I could afford. and shopped for quality used.

I ended up with a Kenwood Kr 7070 receiver and two Ohm F speakers (Walsh drivers). That Kenwood was rated a 350w. and you could NOT over drive the Ohm titanium cones! I thought that wasn't enough, and I couldn't find any more Ohm's so I got a couple of Klipsch "Heresey's" for a quad system. The only other item I had in the system was a Technics cassette deck with 'chrome' and Dolby. I couldn't use a turn table because the system would rattle the tone arm. So, a friend of mine that worked at a radio station would bootleg albums for me. Also my consortium of friends would buy albums, or go to the local library and borrow them and rack them onto tape as well.. I had a good collection of 'stuff' and bought all my equipment of less than half value. Still over a thousand in the late 50's. I just sort of build as I went.

Anyhow, without going into the bloody details, it's all gone now.

The carnage of a bad first marriage.

BTW, If you're unfamiliar with the Ohm/Walsh, they are nothing short of amazing.

I wish I could rebuild my system, but until then I suppose I'll have to settle for my antique Monkey Wards 'hi-fi'


http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/d...00608_0214.jpg

Technology Updates
 

On Monday, January 13, 2014 10:26:27 PM UTC-6, thumper wrote:
On 1/13/2014 4:14 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:



Another example using guitars as the subject:



The early (1950's era) Fender Telecasters had horrible pickups,

especially the one in the neck position. It had a dull and muddy sound.

But the music of that era was recorded with them and it established

"the sound" of a Fender Tele.



Which one do you pick up more often, the tele or the strat?

(wondering if I 'need' a tele also...)



And what's the scoop on the little 'M' amp? A vintage deluxe-reverb clone?

There's an old saying - "Tele's tell no tales" They are what they are, and it just about seems they're mandatory for playing country. But then again, Kieth Richards was always known for playing a Tele as well as Geo Harrison.

IMO, they seem to stay in tune but they're heavier than a strat, and they do have their quirks and limitations, but they're a 'gotta have' guitar.

YMMV

I dig 'em.

Technology Updates
 

On 1/13/2014 9:00 PM, Tim wrote:
On Monday, January 13, 2014 10:26:27 PM UTC-6, thumper wrote:

Which one do you pick up more often, the tele or the strat?

(wondering if I 'need' a tele also...)

And what's the scoop on the little 'M' amp? A vintage deluxe-reverb clone?

There's an old saying - "Tele's tell no tales" They are what they are, and it just about seems they're mandatory for playing country. But then again, Kieth Richards was always known for playing a Tele as well as Geo Harrison.

IMO, they seem to stay in tune but they're heavier than a strat, and they do have their quirks and limitations, but they're a 'gotta have' guitar.

YMMV

I dig 'em.

These guys put 'em to good use.

http://www.hellecasters.com/

Technology Updates
 

On 1/13/2014 11:26 PM, thumper wrote:
On 1/13/2014 4:14 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:

Another example using guitars as the subject:

The early (1950's era) Fender Telecasters had horrible pickups,
especially the one in the neck position. It had a dull and muddy sound.
But the music of that era was recorded with them and it established
"the sound" of a Fender Tele.

Which one do you pick up more often, the tele or the strat?
(wondering if I 'need' a tele also...)

And what's the scoop on the little 'M' amp? A vintage deluxe-reverb clone?



Probably two or three Strats for every Tele. The shop does a lot of
consignments as well as straight out buys and I've found that people who
find a Tele that they like tend to hold onto them more so than a
Stratocaster.

The "M" amp (stands for "Marshfield Amps") is a custom build by a
friend, Jeff Neely, "The Amp Smith. He builds tube amps to your taste,
meaning clean, or will break up easily at low volumes. I wanted a
vintage, clean vintage Fender sound and that's exactly what it does.
Sounds similar to a Fender Princeton. Has reverb and puts out about 12
watts which is more than enough for use at home. I rarely turn the
volume up beyond 3.

I had the Surf Green Telecaster and the Surf Green Strat, so he finished
the cab in Surf Green as well.

The Tele and Strat are also custom built by another friend who is a full
fledged luthier. He built the Tele from scratch and installed slightly
warmer pickups on it. The Strat started life as a made in Mexico Fender
but was totally stripped down and all the pickups, controls, bridge and
vibrato were replaced with upgraded components. A standard Fender
vibrato assembly is notorious for not returning to the same position,
even when adjusted properly. He put a Callaham bridge and vibrato
assembly on it that fixes that. The tone control is also a "pull" switch
that adds three more pickup wiring configurations to the standard five
way toggle switch.

To me, the most important part aspect of a guitar is how the neck feels
to you. Second is weight. All the other components can be easily
changed or modified. I liked the neck feel of both of these guitars so
they became "keepers". I like and have owned Gibson Les Pauls, but they
are too heavy for me, even the chambered ones.

The other guitar in that slide show is a somewhat rare one. It's a
Heritage H-525 that the last time I researched, has a production run of
about five per year. If you are not familiar with Heritage ... they are
basically the original Gibson. When Gibson moved from Kalamazoo to
Nashville in 1985 many of the craftspeople and luthiers could not or did
not want to relocate. Gibson made a deal with them and they set up shop
in the vacated Gibson factory and started producing Heritage guitars.
I've seen a few of them over the years and the fit, finish and overall
quality of Heritage is superior to that of a typical modern Gibson off
the production line. I like the sound of a jazz box, so I set the
Heritage up with 11 gauge flat wounds and found a Polytone jazz amp for
it. Great sound.

My favorite and "go to" guitar is the Tele. If you have a Strat, you
really should also have a Tele in your collection.

Technology Updates
 

On 1/14/2014 12:00 AM, Tim wrote:
On Monday, January 13, 2014 10:26:27 PM UTC-6, thumper wrote:
On 1/13/2014 4:14 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:



Another example using guitars as the subject:



The early (1950's era) Fender Telecasters had horrible pickups,

especially the one in the neck position. It had a dull and muddy sound.

But the music of that era was recorded with them and it established

"the sound" of a Fender Tele.



Which one do you pick up more often, the tele or the strat?

(wondering if I 'need' a tele also...)



And what's the scoop on the little 'M' amp? A vintage deluxe-reverb clone?

There's an old saying - "Tele's tell no tales" They are what they are, and it just about seems they're mandatory for playing country. But then again, Kieth Richards was always known for playing a Tele as well as Geo Harrison.

IMO, they seem to stay in tune but they're heavier than a strat, and they do have their quirks and limitations, but they're a 'gotta have' guitar.

YMMV

I dig 'em.


Tim, I disagree somewhat with your comment on the weight of a
Telecaster. It really depends on the wood used for the body. Some
Telecasters are heavy but some are very light, depending on the wood.

My Tele is a pound or two less than the Strat.

Technology Updates
 

On 1/14/2014 2:20 AM, thumper wrote:
On 1/13/2014 9:00 PM, Tim wrote:
On Monday, January 13, 2014 10:26:27 PM UTC-6, thumper wrote:

Which one do you pick up more often, the tele or the strat?

(wondering if I 'need' a tele also...)

And what's the scoop on the little 'M' amp? A vintage deluxe-reverb
clone?

There's an old saying - "Tele's tell no tales" They are what they
are, and it just about seems they're mandatory for playing country.
But then again, Kieth Richards was always known for playing a Tele as
well as Geo Harrison.

IMO, they seem to stay in tune but they're heavier than a strat, and
they do have their quirks and limitations, but they're a 'gotta have'
guitar.

YMMV

I dig 'em.

These guys put 'em to good use.

http://www.hellecasters.com/



I had an interesting experience with a Telecaster a few years ago.

One day a couple of women ... probably in their fifties ... came to the
guitar shop carrying a strange looking guitar case. They were
interested in selling the guitar contained in the case along with the
case. They explained it was their father's guitar who had passed away
and no one else played it.

I opened the case and there was a vintage 1961 Telecaster. It was in
excellent condition, very little fret wear, straight neck and no major
dings or scratches. I checked the current book value for it and it was
just about $17,000.

Like Pawn Stars, I don't pay "book value" so after some discussion I
offered them $12,000 for it but also encouraged them to take it around
to other guitar shops in the area to see if they could get a better
offer. There isn't a huge demand for guitars in that price range and
although I was interested, I didn't want to tie up a bunch of working
capital on a guitar that might take a long time to sell.

They agreed to visit other shops (they had no idea it was worth that
much) and I figured that's the last I'd see of it.

After they left my luthier friend arrived at the shop and I was telling
him about it. At one point I mentioned that the case didn't look
original. It was old but it looked more like an acoustic guitar case
rather than the typical Fender rectangular case. He asked me to
describe it more and I mentioned that it had a strange "bulb" shape at
the top where the headstock rests.

Long story short, it turns out it was a Fender "Thermometer case".
They were used for less than 2 years when the original Telecaster was
produced in 1950. At that time the Telecaster was known as a
"Broadcaster" but the name had to be dropped because Gretch made drums
called the "Broadkaster". Fender removed the name from the headstock
for a brief period of time before renaming it the "Telecaster". The
guitars produced with no name on the headstock are known today as
"NoCasters".

Anyway, the Thermometer case is very rare. I checked on-line and could
only find one that was for sale on G-base. The owner wanted $8K for it.
That's just for a case!

It didn't make sense that a 1961 Telecaster would be in a 1950 vintage
case, but since I figured we wouldn't see them again I didn't worry
about it.

A month later the women returned to the shop and said they would accept
my offer of $12,000.

First, I asked them if their father had any other guitars thinking that
he may have had a Broadcaster or NoCaster as well and the '61 Tele had
simply been put in the wrong case. They said, no ... it was his only
guitar.

So, being a somewhat honest guy, I explained to them that the case
itself was rare and valuable and they may want to rethink my offer.
They told me that $12K was fine and would accept it.

I paid the $12K. Sold the case by itself for $3,700. Bought a era
correct but new rectangular case for $200 and sold the guitar and it
for $12K.

Technology Updates
 

On 1/13/2014 11:50 PM, Tim wrote:
On Sunday, January 12, 2014 11:27:36 PM UTC-6, wrote:
On Sun, 12 Jan 2014 12:26:58 -0500, "F.O.A.D." wrote:



On 1/12/14, 11:51 AM, wrote:

On Sun, 12 Jan 2014 11:25:52 -0500, "F.O.A.D." wrote:



That's cool...are those M-Audio speakers? They look very much like mine.



I bought my wife a set of Bose speakers that are the size of a Spam

can and sound like a boom box.



http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41aYSHGKCwL.jpg



A typical Bose sound.

The only problem is you can hear the flaws in low bit rate rips ;-)





I know they are very popular and highly rated, but I've never been fond

of the sound that emanates from the Bose speakers I've heard. I don't

know why that is. My "main" stereo speakers are electrostatics, about

six feet tall, and I like they way they sound. I've got a pair of

M-Audio speakers on my computer desk, and they're adequate for that

purpose.



Like I said, the Bose sound. It seems to be aimed at people who have

very good hearing in the higher ranges. The sound is very crisp. I

worked on line printers long enough that my hearing has a bit of a

notch in that area.

I like that good old 70s deep sound you got from ARs or Sansui with

cabinets that could hold a small child.

I have a Bose table top radio/cd player and it's good for what it is, but nothing like Haul Harvey advertized that it replaces a whole 'wall full' of equipment. crank it up and it barks like a dog. Well, not really but for the money it's over rated. I lost the tiny little remote control for it and bought another for a whopping $44.00 about 10 years ago. That's the last time it'll happen.

Now speaking of cabinets that could hold a small child, Well back in 'the day' I bought the best I could afford. and shopped for quality used.

I ended up with a Kenwood Kr 7070 receiver and two Ohm F speakers (Walsh drivers). That Kenwood was rated a 350w. and you could NOT over drive the Ohm titanium cones! I thought that wasn't enough, and I couldn't find any more Ohm's so I got a couple of Klipsch "Heresey's" for a quad system. The only other item I had in the system was a Technics cassette deck with 'chrome' and Dolby. I couldn't use a turn table because the system would rattle the tone arm. So, a friend of mine that worked at a radio station would bootleg albums for me. Also my consortium of friends would buy albums, or go to the local library and borrow them and rack them onto tape as well.. I had a good collection of 'stuff' and bought all my equipment of less than half value. Still over a thousand in the late 50's. I just sort of build as I went.

Anyhow, without going into the bloody details, it's all gone now.

The carnage of a bad first marriage.

BTW, If you're unfamiliar with the Ohm/Walsh, they are nothing short of amazing.

I wish I could rebuild my system, but until then I suppose I'll have to settle for my antique Monkey Wards 'hi-fi'


http://i531.photobucket.com/albums/d...00608_0214.jpg


Ohm has made some very nice speakers over the years.