tbonesullivan

I have had guitars with SS frets, and I think I have some now, probably some EBMM guitars, who have gone way into SS frets for most of their models. Some love them, some hate them, and some don't care. Do they make a sound difference? Yes, of course they do. Bridge material makes a difference, so why wouldn't fret material? Honestly I have never understood why people are SO OBSESSED with NUT material, when it's only in play when the string is open. Anyway, the best way to describe SS frets is that they always feel like freshly polished NS frets. They never get that resistance to bending that NS frets do as they oxidize. Some like this. Some hate this. I personally don't really care. I also don't hold with the "conspiracy theories" about techs not wanting to work with them because they will put them out of business. They are harder, so they wear on tools more, so of course they are going to cost more to install. They are also MUCH less forgiving of imperfections in the fretboard. For companies like Kiesel and others that have precision diamond ground fretboards, getting them to stay is easy. Otherwise, they can pull up. I know that EBMM uses CA glue at the ends of all the frets when doing SS, and even then they sometimes can start to pull up as the metal memory comes into play.

Furman is pretty much the Go-To. They have everything ranging from "glorified power strip" to voltage regulation. What I really like is that most have a "ground" indicator, which honestly every single one should. That's one of the most valuable things to keep yourself noise free and safe. I still remember going to big jams and seeing some pretty horrible power setups with extension cords that had broken grounds I pretty much told everyone around me to plug into my power conditioner as I had a good ground and it's rated for 15 amps. The ones with the voltmeter are nice, but not really necessary, unless you want to make sure you aren't getting too much or too little juice.

Wasn't there a big guitar show recently in Dallas? If they go to that, that can delay a whole bunch of things. It may also be that so many people want customized stuff that they found it better to not pre-build any wiring harnesses. Another possibility: the instability the tariff stuff has introduced into the supply chain. Do Alpha and CTS still make Potentiometers in the USA or somewhere not hit by tariffs? Same may be true for other components. From what I see RS has their own branded components, so that may also introduce other delays, depending on who is making the parts. Still, do they have anywhere on their website that orders can take 1-2 months to arrive?

Yeah, I would say if you are going to order tubes, do it soon, or maybe already do it. With the current events happening, and since all tubes are imported, prices are probably gonna go up.

The factory that made them in St Petersburg, Russia, closed. I think they had tube making equipment from Philips in Holland, so they were very good. They were pretty much the best current production 6L6GC tube when I first got into tube amps like 20 years ago. Sadly in 2012 the factory was closed, as Svetlana Electronic Devices didn't see any need for vacuum tubes. Another factory that made great tubes which closed was the Ei factory in what was formerly Yugoslavia, that I think had machinery from Telefunken. I heard one story that they were blown up during the war in that area, but others said that it simply closed. Some S.E.D. 6L6GC tubes pop up occasionally, but for the most part they are out of stock, and when they are available they are almost as expensive as USA made production.

I also like the JJs, though there are definitely some other good ones out there. What kind of amplifier are you looking to put these in? I have heard good things about the Tung-Sol reissue 5881 tubes. There's also the Tube Amp Doctor Red and Blackbase tubes. The electro harmonix 6l6 tubes are just rebranded Sovtek 6P3S tubes. Some like them, some don't.

Oh man, if I didn't have the JEL-50, I'd be going for that JEL-20, especially with those old production EL84s. That really adds to it, and with the "Sat" switch, you can really get some gnarly tones at lower volume levels. I believe it's a mod that adds some type of clipping circuit to make it sound like you're driving it hard when you're not. Great build quality, and WHO DOESN'T LOVE A RED AMP?

Ahh... I guess now I see where the inpsiration came from. Been following that build a bunch.

I am an unabashed fan of Avatar Cabinets. I have three of their 2x12s, two "Traditional" and one "contemporary". They used to make a 1x12 Forte cabinet, but do not anymore. They do however make some really nice 1x12s even without the Forte, and you can order them without speakers so you can install your own, or one that they do not carry. My only regret with them is that when I got the 12-6 bass cab that I didn't go for the Neo speaker, because it can only handle 250W. Looking back I'm never going to use anything with it that puts out over 250 watts so I Should have gotten it and shaved 7lbs off the weight.

I always am looking at those, but I just question how much I would actually USE them. I have both of the Carvin guitar preamp pedals, which are really nice, and I have a Two notes CAB M+ speaker IR loader, which also does have poweramp and even preamp emulation. I was gonna use it for recordings and yada yada and kinda never did that. If I had a great tube power amp, maybe it would work, or I could run the preamp through one of my other amps, but somehow I just have never gotten into the pedal thing. Probably too busy obsessing over having the perfect "arsenal" of guitars and amps.

The original JEL-100 I think was a limited run of only 100 amplifiers, and they go for around $4000-5000 used on Reverb right now. 100 Watter had full tone stacks for each channel, and a reduced power switch on the back. All of the controls were on the front, and instead of a pull pot it had a mini switch for the channel 2 gain boost. Like the 50 Watt it was made with higher end USA made transformers, was hand wired. I think the 50 Watt is a bunch closer to the original JEL-100 than the JEL-20 is, which has PCB based construction, and the EL84-based power section. They also now have a bright switch on both channels for the 50 watt, and it is more than enough for most live situations. The 20 Watt amplifiers can have some trouble keeping up, depending on the room, situation, cabinet, and drummer. My experience with 50 vs 100 is mainly headroom, and "thump", in the "medium" volume range. Larger amps just have more of it. However if you want smoother and more compressed, the lower wattage amps are definitely a better choice. Many people are perfectly happy with their JEL-20 amplifiers, and I don't see them wanting to upgrade to a much heavier head, which also costs almost twice as much, when the preamps are pretty much identical. And of course you can also now get the preamp in a pedal as well, as Friedman released the IR-J Tube Preamp two weeks ago. People who already have some good power amps or heads may just use that to punch into the power section.

It's out! Looks like it is probably more of the hand-wired type, as opposed to the PCB style JEL-20, so it's retailing at around 3K. This is the intro video, which is ok, but doesn't really get much into the real sound This is the demo video I found the most useful, especially with the comparison with the JEL-20. The Sweetwater Demo is also definitely useful.

Only seen talk on the Book of Face so far, but this has got me kinda pumped. My planned next amp purchase after I sell off some was to be the JEL-20, but I've already got a plenty of EL84 amplifiers. Having a "Marshall type" 50 watt amp with EL34s has been something I have tried to get for a long time, but really wanted something more than the Runt 50 or an old Marshall JCM2000 DSL50. This looks like it will fit the bill. It seems more based on the JEL-100, and the knobs only go to 10. It also has bright switches on both channels, and the SAT switch is gone. Still has the shared EQ, but I'm pumped. https://fb.watch/tTn1O7O_Fn/

Blueburst is always tough to nail, as most light has some degree of yellow or red in it depending on the type it is. Under many incandescent lights blueburst can look kinda green. If it is the 3600K fluorescents, it looks purple. Either way, it looks incredible. Now we just need to find a bunch of sustain blocks for sunbursts.

DAMN. Nothing more needs be said. Those are INCREDIBLE.

I should mention I also don't like "quilt" tops, but I do like "curly" tops. Like in this guitar I should have never sold: or this:

I have a few flamey tops. I have a few solid finish guitars (metallic/etc). I've also got a bunch of translucent finishes with standard woods. I generally like to have SOMETHING going on color wise. I Like bursts. I like metallic. If a guitar doesn't have either a burst, some kind of metallic finish, or flamey stuff, I get bored of how it looks. So yes, My hamer diablos are kinda boring I wish they were bursts, or metallic. (or both)

His adopted sister and his cousin control it now. His brother Leon got nothing. In Lee's case, his widow received everything, and the foundation is now in control of the daughter. I believe all of the merchandise sold benefits in some way the Bruce Lee Foundation, which is basically a foundation to spread Jeet Kune Do martial arts and philosophy. I mean, sure it's not ideal, but at least she's not endorsing products that he specifically did not use. I think one of the big things about the Hendrix debacle was that they had GIBSON making a STRAT or STRAT LIKE guitar. Why didn't they make something else? like an original design instead of a ripoff design? And then the damned Piano??? That was I think the most outrageous of all the products. Lets put a bunch of graphics on a piano and suddenly JIMI HENDRIX PIANO.

That is a good point, but there was a lot of infighting in the family over the years. Jimi had one brother that he grew up with (Leon) and three other siblings that disappeared into the foster care system. After Jimi died, everything went to his father, and after his father died, Leon got nothing. So the people who now control Jimi's legacy are his cousin and his adopted sister, not his natural brother. All I see when I see Janie is gold digger. That's just me though, and I'm jaded. Also, the idea of Gibson making Fender-type guitars with the Hendrix name on them is insulting, and is another reason I love to see Henry J get raked over the coals.

Well, the problem is also that all of the rights are controlled by Jimi Hendrix's adopted sister, who was a little kid when he died. It's pretty obvious that she is a "professional celebrity" who pretty much makes her living and gets by from all the artistic work her brother did. It's really kind of sad.

Gibson didn't win the trademark suit, if I recall. Gibson's own expert testified that "only an idiot" would confuse a PRS SC with a Les Paul at the point of sale.

Oh yeah! I'm gonna sell sell sell! Basically I'm getting rid of dead weight, so I can buy... nothing? I need guitars that I love, not guitars that I just got because I wanted to try one out. I also need to solve my issue with SSH guitars.

His tone is reviled? I consider his tone to be one of my favorites. Classic MXR DIstortion + with some marshall grit added, and usually some tape delay in the mix. This list is pretty good though. I went quickly forward to see the top 5, because I knew that if White Room wasn't up there, it wasn't worth reading. Now we need to have a long and inane discussion about whether the Wah comes before or after the Fuzz box.

I actually have plans to sell my tele on Saturday morning. Then I am buying a yamaha THR10 amp, and trying harder to sell some amps I don't need.

If they fudge on disclosure that's never a good sign. Sure it looks good but who knows what has happened to it in over 50 years.