edgar_allan_poe

Booster....the rest just gets in the way of tone.

The Svet 6L6s are very nice tubes. IMHO they are the best of the new 6L6s. Some of the new Sovtek 12ax7s are also very good. I really liked the new GT Mullard but it is expensive and it really doesn't sound like a real Mullard. Still a nice sounding tube, but overpriced. The best value for NOS 12ax7s is a Sylvania...they have a wicked bottom end and really aren't that much more expensive than the new name brand tubes.

I agree with the setup issue, but most of what I am talking about is not a case of a poorly cared after guitar. Nut problems are not GCs fault. A gap so large that I could slide my fingernail in between the body and the butt of the neck is not GCs fault. The strings on the Taks were fine, the tone was not. I picked up quite a few guitars and if the strings were dead, I put them back and didn't play them at all. What I saw last night falls directly on the shoulders of the guitar makers. GC is not perfect...I am well aware of this....but last nights debacle was not their making. I also agree completely with the Guild suggestion. I will look for an 80's Guild 12er. I had a DV52 several years ago and it was spectacular.

I played a bunch of acoustics last night and was shocked at some of the shoddy workmanship displayed by some of these mid level to high level companies. I have been looking for a decent 12 string so I decided to hit Guitar Center and see what the deal was. I played a bunch of guitars and they were all terrible. I was shocked. 1. Ovation 12 - name and model escapes me but it was selling for around $1050. This thing was awful, and almost unplayable. Strings were at least 5 feet off the board, sloppy nut work, and impossible to tune because of the nut. 2. Takamine 12 - I played two of these and they were both priced at a little over 1K. Both of them felt good, and held tune. But they sounded like someone was playing them behind a wall or something...jesus, they had absolutely no projection or presence. Absolutely terrible sound. To be fair, I got the impression that these were really meant to be more of a stage guitar than a pure acoustic, but WOW, they were awful. 3. Fender 12 - I played this for 3 seconds and realized that it was a toy. Even at a little over $300 it was still a rip-off. 4. Taylor 12 - This was the most shocking of all. The guitar was absolutely beautiful. Quilted maple back and sides, beautiful spruce top, and fancy inlays. It sounded like the Takamine...dead, lifeless. When I looked it over, I was shocked...it had the headstock attached like some of the chinese guitars. The headstock was spliced onto the neck. WTF is this? This guitar was 3K!!!???? 5. Ramirez classical guitar - This was almost 2K and was a complete joke. There was a gap...no shit...a gap between the neck and the body. LOL!! It had absolutely *zero* sustain. I left in complete shock. It was a Wednesday so I had the acoustic room all to myself. Maybe I have been spoiled by the likes of Hamer, Baker, and Huber. But that Taylor was nowhere near what it should have been at that price.

Jeff Beck Paul Rodgers Freddie Mercury

Sorry for your loss Bill. All my best.

Slim...don't assume people are talking directly to you. I did make a point on something you said, but others after me are commenting on the entire thread...not just your post.

That can easily be turned around. Is it not possible that heroine ruined these guys? Again, I have a hard time believing that heroine is responsible for those great albums. I would argue that they would have happened *without* heroine.

Agreed. For the record, I am not naive to the argument of opiates enhancing creativity. One of my favorite authors was a legendary opium user. Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote Kubla Khan on an opium high. It has long been argued that opium enhanced Coleridge's senses and enabled him to write this magnificient piece. But Coleridge himself claimed that to be bullshit. He denounced opium every time he had the chance. In 1814 Coleridge wrote a letter to a friend where he said something to the effect of (I am paraphrasing so please don't kill me if I don't get this right) Thirdly, tho' before God I dare not lift up my eyelids, & only do not despair of his mercy because to despair would be adding crime to crime; yet to my fellow-men I may say, that I was seduced into the ACCURSED habit ignorantly. That statement had a profound effect on me when I read it as a teenager. I guess that my main problem with this whole argument is this... A no-talent hack will not become Coleridge after taking an opiate. Does it effect the talent? Absolutely...but I would argue that the effect is not always positive. Its a complete crapshoot, and not worth the risks.

True...but these albums are created by incredibly talented people. I would say that the record succeeded *in spite of*, not *because of* the substance abuse.

True...but pot and heroine are 2 different beasts.

He is one of the Spiders from Mars. HAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

This explains why you can't figure out how to turn your amp on and off...but don't worry bro....you are beautiful. ROTFLMAO!!

Mr Salem what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

Thank *god*. He is one seriously funny kid. Glad everything worked out. Sounds like the EX is a true idiot.

I ran it stereo in order to get the most out of the effects. The effects of the Pod are not great, but very good for live use. For recording they just dont pass the test IMHO. I would sometimes run it in simul at practice. That is one *loud* mutha.

Big +1 I used a Pod Pro with that exact Poweramp into a Soldano 4x12 and was able to get *killer* sounds. IMHO, that Poweramp is the bast that Mesa Made. The EL34s make a huge amount of difference, especially when run in class A mode. I got tons of compliments on that setup, I just didn't need all of those sounds or effects. It was like killing a fly with a sledgehammer.

Excellent!! Glad to hear it bro...he is a sweet kid. I liked hanging out with him.

ROTFLMAO!!!

+2 Even though I am too stupid to know what myopic means. Maybe Robbie can help me out with that.

There is a reason for that. Ben is a small shop and will do what you want him to do, within reason. Just because an option is not listed, doesn't mean he will not do it. Seriously, give him a call, he is a great guy. Do it that way and get your answers straight from the horses mouth. Tell him that Rob Tennant from Pittsburgh sent you.

Yes...but why not give Ben a call and make sure that the amp is exactly what you want. He is a wonderful listener, and gives his customers what they want.

IIRC...Weider wound up buying a Fargen Bordeaux recently. This was *after* he attended a huge amp shootout held by a member of the Gear Page which had just about every cork sniffer amp known to man....including the Allen and the Clark.

Not according to Ben Fargen.

My EL34 Fargen Bordeaux is cathode biased and I can run just about any tube that fits the socket. Something like an EL84 needs an adapter...like the THD Yellow Jacket. It does have a little less power, but it isn't something drastic. It also makes using vintage tubes *much* cheaper. I don't have to buy matching sets and singles are normally much cheaper.