OT - This month's GP Mag - Workhorse Amps ad

[tiges_ tendres]

my question would be if it is 100% clean, how well would it react to an LPB or a rangemaster?

will the amp get pushed into "natural drive" territory? or would we just hear the frequency response that is associated with those pedals?

and price, does anybody have any clue of the msrp?

also, is it spring reverb?

I now see that it is accutronics reverb! so I think my reverb question is answered.

[PharaohAmps]

my question would be if it is 100% clean, how well would it react to an LPB or a rangemaster?

will the amp get pushed into "natural drive" territory? or would we just hear the frequency response that is associated with those pedals?

I'll weigh in on this one - I think I know a little bit about the generic LPB-1/2   The magic WILL happen on these amps, no question.  If I know R.G., the front end of the amp is very likely a variation on the good ol' Fender preamp stage, though I don't know if he used the standard 68k series / 1M shunt grid bias combo.  What a Rangemaster or LPB does is overdrive the first preamp tube (on Fenders and Marshalls, at least - all amps that have the first volume control AFTER the first preamp stage) and these amps will react the same way.

R.G., I'd have loved a 2x10" combo!  I'm a BIG 2x10" fan, but I'll probably have to go with the 1x12" 30W combo when I get my Workhorse.  Great news about the hubcaps, I wasn't too thrilled with the whole chrome thing.  I like the SONIC idea, but not too crazy 'bout the VISUAL.

Matt Farrow

[Gilles C]

I know I won't need or even be able to buy one... but I would have loved the Pony.

I like the Toroid XMTR and the all wood construction. I mean, I like everything in it. But these are good points.

Btw, I also bought an foldup aluminum hand truck to carry my Fender HRD, so weight wouln't be a problem...

And I don't mind about the silver hub. I even like it. 

Good luck,

Gilles

[bioroids]

I saw the add at VisualSound site.

I hope they sell really well so R.G. can quit the job at the Chemical Plant! 

Luck!

Miguel

[R.G.]

Thanks Miguel!

Of course, I've already quit the job at the chemical plant. Actually, it was a computer plant. I left while there was still something to leave. 

That's why I referred to my former life. I'm out of the nest and flapping my wings as hard as I can!!

[Penguin]

rg congrats man i dont' know what to say for me [after being treated really extremely crappy by Bob weil while giving him a praise report on one of his pedals] it makes me feel like when i read about Jack and Fulltone.  Credit where Credit is due and i Sir aplaud you.

[EdJ]

Congrats!
If i was looking for an amp i would seriously consider buying one.
I like the looks of them a lot.

Greetings,Ed

[phaeton]

R.G. Says:

You may, but tread lightly. I'm proud of the new babies - if I can ever get the boatload of them here! - but I don't want to step on toes by spouting off about them everywhere like I've seen some boutiquers do. If he's interested, have Myles write to me. He may like that I put together a service technician's book for the amps, and we're looking into getting service photos and literature put into CDs for techs.  I'd be interested in his opinions about what techs need for easy, fast service.


Thanks for the permission, but I looked at Myles's website, and it is completely different now. www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com

Previously it was similar to yours- all technical and all straightforward and on topic- except about tube amps instead of effects pedals.  But now with all the models and endorsements and stuff, I had to back up and wonder if I really know him.  I think I'll watch and wait for now.

Tread Lightly

I know a *&^*&^ evangelist when I see one, and we loatheses them.  Of course I would have been nice about it.

[CS Jones]

But now with all the models and endorsements and stuff, I had to back up and wonder...

Yeah, really.
Weird... creepy.

I emailed Adirondack the other day and he wrote and told me he'd let me know when the Pony comes in.
http://www.adirondackguitar.com/amps/visual/main.htm

Any other dealers you know of?

[Paul Marossy]

I also did see that ad in this month's GP. I thought that was very cool seeing RG's name on there, too! It is also great about all the thought that went into making it very servicable. Most PCB tube amps I have worked on are a major PITA to work on! And, for a PCB amp, I'll bet these will give Matchless amps a run for their money. Not to mention they will be a lot more affordable.

BTW, has any consideration been given to selling those speaker dispersion devices as standalone devices? I bet they would sell very well. I certainly would buy one. I hate harsh sounding speakers!

[The Tone God]

Thanks for the more details explanation R.G. It was the access plate inside that was throwing me off but I suspected it was something similar.

Kudos for the "little details" thinking and designing of the product. Most builders spend their time on circuit design and little on the physical logistics. I appreciate that kind of work. I'm sure the techs out there will as well.

Thanks again R.G.

Andrew

[Fret Wire]

BTW, has any consideration been given to selling those speaker dispersion devices as standalone devices? I bet they would sell very well. I certainly would buy one. I hate harsh sounding speakers!

That would be nice.   The first commercial version of "duct tape across the grill" was Weber's Beam Blockers. At least I think they were.
http://www.webervst.com/blocker.html

RG's hub design, just from it's look, appears to disperse treble much better in all directions, even if the amp was tipped back, as you have to do alot in live situations.

[R.G.]

Re: hubcaps, beam blockers and duct tape

First, the hubcap design wasn't mine. Bob Weil is a very inventive guy in his own right. Those are his, start to finish.

The hubcaps work differently from the blocking style anti-beaming things. They are properly a version of an acoustic lens. As a bit of acoustic technology, the bigger the radiating surface, the more it beams treble. That's at least one reason tweeters are so small - you get better performance in the acoustic sense if they are. A point source treble radiator will spread highs very efficiently in all directions, as witness hearing a mosquito. A line source, like a ribbon tweeter, radiates efficiently in two dimensions, so it concentrates its treble in a solid area 180degrees wide. It doesn't radiate well up or down along its axis, which is quite effective for normal listening rooms. A 12" guitar speaker concentrates the highs into a beam in the middle.

The internal cone of the hubcaps actually forces the treble to spread back out.  It doesn't look it, but the shape of the cone is critical. You have to tread a fine line between just blocking the trebles and a duller sound and too good a job on all trebles, causing an ice-pick-in-the-ear treble effect by bringing up trebles our ears don't expect from guitar speakers.

On objects that close to the speaker, small nuances of shaping have big effects on dispersion.

Weber's beam blockers do work very well, although by a different principal. They do what they say - block the trebles that beam most efficiently from the center of the cone.

I think Bob is considering selling the hubcaps separately. I don't know how that will come out.

[Mark Hammer]

So do the radiators increase the likelihood of fellow musicians hearing you across the stage in reasonably small contexts? (i.e., clubs)

[Paul Marossy]

A 12" guitar speaker concentrates the highs into a beam in the middle.

That would explain why I hate standing directly in front of the speakers - it just sounds so harsh. 
It would be most cool if those hubcaps were for sale as standalone devices one day. 

[markr04]

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/cat_48.html

Designed for subs, they're for appearance only. But they might do what you want them to... and match any 20" dubs you put on your car in the future .

[R.G.]

That would explain why I hate standing directly in front of the speakers - it just sounds so harsh.
It would be most cool if those hubcaps were for sale as standalone devices one day.

I'll make sure that your opinion gets back to the guy with the money for marketing.

So do the radiators increase the likelihood of fellow musicians hearing you across the stage in reasonably small contexts? (i.e., clubs)

They do.

In fact, one of the other nice things they do is spread your treble *up* so *you* can hear them without frying the ears of the people right in front of you.

Designed for subs, they're for appearance only. But they might do what you want them to... and match any 20" dubs you put on your car in the future

... and notice that you can get the "spinning" feature that everyone asks for five seconds after they see our hubcaps... 

These have no spreader cones, but it might be better than nothing if you used one and stuck a wad of cloth to eat up the excess treble right behind the center.

When we get these things out, I predict that there will be a blast of similar things come out. Also, you'll likely see amps start having 9V DC outputs... if they license it.

[bwanasonic]

A 12" guitar speaker concentrates the highs into a beam in the middle.

That would explain why I hate standing directly in front of the speakers - it just sounds so harsh. 
It would be most cool if those hubcaps were for sale as standalone devices one day. 

A not as attractive solution to this that was sometimes emplyed by SRV's tech, is to cut out a 12" diameter cardboard circle and place it between two 12"s with duct tape. Works well for a *beamy* 2X12.

Kerry M

[Paul Marossy]

I'll make sure that your opinion gets back to the guy with the money for marketing.

Cool! Something like this could take an amp from harsh to sounding a whole lot more pleasant. I suppose it could even find use in studio work as well.

one of the other nice things they do is spread your treble *up* so *you* can hear them without frying the ears of the people right in front of you.

Yeah, that is a good thing if you're playing in a small venue. In my own experience, it seems that the further you get from the speakers, the less harsh it gets. If I have to stand close to my amp, I prefer to have it behind me so I can handle the brightness of the speakers when so close to them. And even then, I find myself messing with the EQ a lot to try to find a tone I can live with. 

A not as attractive solution to this that was sometimes emplyed by SRV's tech, is to cut out a 12" diameter cardboard circle and place it between two 12"s with duct tape. Works well for a *beamy* 2X12.

Hmm... I haven't heard of that one before. I was just thinking, couldn't you put a 3/4" diameter piece of felt on the dust cone to disperse some of the highs as well? Or would that adversely affect the performance of the speaker?

[Fret Wire]

When we get these things out, I predict that there will be a blast of similar things come out. Also, you'll likely see amps start having 9V DC outputs... if they license it.

Hopefully, if anyone does license it, the 9v outputs will be filtered and regulated.