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Guitar Players,
I just bought a customized 1960's reissue amp from Firebelly Amps. The quality and tone is uber-sexish. You really need fidelity on tour and in the studio and also the durability/reliability of modern guts in your equipment, but you don't want circuit board infused construction because they cannot provide that vintage sound that you hear on probably most every great album out there.
There are also some real concerns about taking an all original 1960s amp on tour. For one, you can destroy an amp that should be used mainly in a studio or a museum with all of the bouncing that a trailer in-tow has. The originals are like 40 year old amps after all. The originals cost a mint too. Most serious touring artists prefer to have modern custom shop replicas made. I am pretty sure Clapton is guy who would go for such a thing.
So, if you are a purist on the gear end, have a budget from like $1,000.00 or a little more, then you want to look at having a boutique amp company like Firebelly Amps make your amp.and make it to the original 1960s specs that are so coveted. Maybe even add in a little customization to suit what you do. There is no reason to pay the same for the reissues at the instrument hypermarts (many have circuit boards components somewhere in them...not the real thing at all..joke cityville folks). I think Firebelly is matching prices right now anyway. No comparison all things considered.
My amp arrived today and it is insanely perfect. The finest amp I have ever owned. I am handsome, but not filthy rich. It had to be one or the other I suppose. But, I broke down and sold some outdated gear that I had and managed to buy this amplifier despite my good looks and cash-poorness. They were way more affordable than I knew. Like I said, they run around $1000.00. Matching current hypermart pricing.
I'll say no more, but if you want a brand new old amp...hand-wired, point to point.. all tube and per original specs.. you are doing yourself a favor by hitting up Firebelly Amps. A lot of boutique amp shops do this sort of thing, but not near this level of quality and pricing.
Also, I have added ANALOG.MAN custom guitar effects pedal modifications bring my signal chain inline with a more vintage sound.
Let's talk about over the counter pedals versus boutique pedals..and then let's talk about what lies in between. Over-the-counter, you will find affordable effects stomp pedals in the trusted and relaible Boss and Ibanez lines. They have circuitry and sound capabilities long established and are consumer-level "functional."
Then you have many new boutique stomp pedal makers that lovingly devise a post-modern circuit with the finest compenents attainable and a price to go with it. These pedals are usually well-worth the money, if you have the money.
THEN, you have these innovative pedal modification companies that perform these calculated modifications to the top, most common, over-the-counter stomp pedals. Shops like ANALOG.MAN improve the exisiting circuitry or components used in say a Boss or Ibanez stomp pedal to give it the optimal sound coloring capabilities for your guitat signal chain. ANALOG.MAN performs these modifications at the highest level of standards and I just received a modified Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer Distorion Pedal with the highly-requested "Silver Mod" modification where undesirable frequencies are cut they also added an improved stomp switch (TS-9s have a weak stomp surface in my opinon, but are a great pedal after the frequency response mod.). I also recieved a Boss DD-3 Digital Delay with frequency cut mod to make it sound more way more analog.The pedal was kind of unbearable to me before ANALOG.MAN'S mod. It sounded robotic in a way. The modification performed was one of the most-requested mods and I can see why. I would not have recorded with the pedal before, but now I am eager to.
The second best thing about about modded pedals, in general, after the improved signal chain quality, is the increase in value of your over-the-counter pedal. What ever it costs to mod the pedal, it increases the pedal's value, so it is never a "money out the window" or a risky thing to do with your cash. The resell value is phenonmenal on these modded pedals. ANALOG.MAN is among the the top of the food chain for this highly-soughtafter service or signal chain improvement viw existing pedal enhancement. Mike at ANALOG.MAN has a deep commitment to being "green" and his commitment to reuse is his life.
So, you might want to consider improving your current over-the-counter pedals over costly replacement or the more costly option of boutique pedals. I am completely pleased with the finished product and green philosophy of ANALOG.MAN.
http://www.analogman.com/ ..
5:00 AM
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