Posts by REVILO

  • No Kemper Booth at Musikmesse frankfurt 2016?

    Quote from hjscheffler

    Actually for many years there were 2 public days (saturday and sunday) but those were the years when the Frankfurt fair was running for 5 days. When they changed it to 4 they cut the 2nd public day.


    Could be HJ ... I don´t remember anymore ... I was not at the Musikmesse for a long time until I have returned 3 or 4 years ago. Fact is, that it is open for all on all days now.


    I think it is more clever to seperate the professionals from the customers than to focus on sheer ticket sale volume. This is not an unusual process. Most trade fairs have this scheme or are even closed for public at all.
    Prices for a square meter stand in Frankfurt range from 198 to 231 Euro. Outdoors is 131 Euro/m². The best place if you want to save money ... put a camping trailer outdoors and create an inexpensive fair stand ... ;)
    Could be that other fairs are cheaper but probably only marginally.


    Sad ... I miss the Warwick demos with Bootsy Collins (although being a guitarist myself). They were iconic...and big fun.

  • No Kemper Booth at Musikmesse frankfurt 2016?

    Yes, it is already a regrettable progress for a few years now. In times of Internet and Youtube, it becomes more and more obsolete to present products "in real". Since NAMM offers a stage to present new products before the Musikmesse, there is no real need to be present again in Frankfurt for a lot of money (and exhibitions cost A LOT of money). Particularly in a rather stagnating market.
    However, as long as I can remember (probably 25 years) the "Messe" always had one public day (usually Saturday) and the rest of the time was limited for professional visitors only. That was the time when the "Messe" was the largest music fair worldwide.


    In times when managers do not want to take risks and try to gain as much revenues as possible, it is obvious that they can mis-manage such an established fair as the Musikmesse to a point that we face now.


    Perhaps it would be wiser to take a bit of risk, advance the Musikmesse date from its classic date to November (i.e. before NAMM and the Christmas trade season), have it open from (let´s say) Wednesday to Saturday, with the last day open for public. That´s four days which is also easy going on the staff (on long fairs they usualy look like Zombies after 5 or 6 days) that has to be on stands. And this would bring back the Musikmesse to its original orientation.


    Otherwise I think we might not have the Musikmesse anymore in 2 or 3 years.

  • The NAMM plot thickens.............

    Quote from Bluesman

    I can't understand the point of two amps mixed.At the end you have one sound, unless you split stereo signal into one amp each side. A revolution for me would be realistic feedback reaction of guitar and speaker with even lower loudness. I don't mean necessarily long feedback, Just the bit of liveliness of a real amp played loud.


    The point in mixing two amps is very simple: to get a bigger tone ... :thumbup:


    For example listen to SVR or Bonamassa, both known for using at least two amps at a time.
    We can´t say that both of them had/have a particulary thin amp sound. To the contrary...


    I don´t think you necessarily need stereo to enjoy this option.
    You can have two amps/profiles that do not have to be outstandingly sounding on their own but could even (or one of them) be rather mediocre, but mixed together they really shine and offer a tone that can not be achieved with either one of them on their own.


    It is also to achieve a greater variety in sound.
    Now, you can of course say that you like an amp profile on its own but believe me, parallel stacks open a door to another world.


    For instance: I don´t like the sound of a piezo pickup on its own, but slightly blended with a magnetic pickup it can sound fab as it introduces more string separation and "HiFi" but still lets the magnetic PU (depending on how much you dial in the piezo) dominate the sound ... it can be the same with parallel stacks/amps.


    I admit it´s perhaps not an option for the broader range of users and it´s of course all a matter of personal taste, but it is worth a try for everyone if one has the opportunity.
    Most people haven´t tried it as they either don´t have a second amp, never thought or bothered about this option or were repelled by issues that occur using two amps in parallel such as humming and phasing.


    If the KPA "would" be able to provide parallel stacks (still speculating, lads ...) these issues would become obsolete.


    I for one would rather love to see this option in a KPA than any unpractical FX-gadgetry and -glitter that rub off too quickly and may only pose a real use for U2 cover bands (... and I love U2 !) ... ;)

  • The NAMM plot thickens.............

    Quote from Guitartone

    I'm most probably wrong but I see two different profiles in that video...one is the ACE Cornford and the other is some other clean profile, can't see the name.


    Well, if you can morph between two profiles with any expression pedals then doesn't that mean dual amps, two amps/Profiles at the same time?


    Right Guitartone ... it insinuates an Ace Cornford profile but under "AMP" it (faintly) reads "WD Blackstar Clean2".
    It could be that "CF" is misleading, it could be that the new FW enables parallel stacks ... that would indeed be a true quantum leap and a dream come true !
    Well ... we´ll see ... until now I was pretty relaxed in regards of the new FW-update but this possible option has put me a bit on the edge ... :D:)

  • Pete Thorn did a demo of the Helix, I must say I'm impressed now.

    Very professional demo, as all of Pete´s videos.
    Well, he is a freelancing musician who has to make a living in between studio/tour hires ... and let´s be realistic, he is in the position to charge for them.
    Now knowing this can we derive from this fact that the higher the fee the longer the video is?


    However ... the Helix amp modulations still sound too blank to me ... maybe it´s only me...
    As someone commented earlier in this thread, I think it is rather a competition for the Axe-FX.


    .. and boy oh boy ... I can´t look at them ... these flickering footswitch lights make me completely dizzy. 8|

  • Horrible things you can do to a guitar

    Ahh ... true mastery ... always a sight for sore eyes ... ;):D


    I also like this completely butchered but original 1959 Les Paul Sunburst which was "customized" by its former owner, a Hawaiian session guitarist of the 50s and 60s.
    These scans come from the highly recommended book "The Strat In The Attic" by Deke Dickerson (ISBN 978-0-7603-4385-2)



  • Andertons video: Amplifire with Victory cab vs Yamaha DXR 12 vs Atomic CLR

    Quote from Ingolf

    To me the problem with this video as a listener is that we always get biased a bit by the first example which is the victory amp/cab which to me doesn't sound darker at all (like the Captain states here) but brighter and in comparison more fresh than the other two options.
    The DXR 12 in comparison lsounds like with a blanket thrown over, very dull.
    I don't know anything about the real room sound of course, but personally, knowing the CLR and the little brother of the DXR 12 (the DXR 10) first hand I'd have not accepted a recording of both that sounds as muffled as this (OK the CLR sounds decent but far from what you can expect when you have an in-the-room experience with it).
    I have the impression that despite what they wanted to achieve the miking was not room miking at all but more miking the beam of the victory cab in the first place.


    I agree with you Ingolf.
    There is something wrong with the recorded sound.
    I am not sure what the problem was, as you can see with the Yamaha cab that they have put the two mics in front of that cab (they are barely visible at the bottom of the video screen) and I assume they did the same with the CLR.
    To me the Victory cab sound much brighter and fresher as both FRFR cabs.


    Strange ... particularly as I feel that this video was made to promote the Atomic products which - much to my spurprise - can now be purchased from Andertons directly (the only source in Europe? Anyone?).
    I would have expected to be able to hear the "obvious difference" that Lee Anderton and Danish Pete talk about ... hmmm. :huh:?(

  • Mogami cables

    Quote from dougc84

    To amend on @REVILO here, there are some pedals that simply do not like a buffer before them. Most fuzz pedals and older wah pedals have this problem. The good thing is that they generally sit at the front of your chain, and you can always add a buffer after them; the bad thing is if you're running 30' of cable to get to that old wah pedal. Buffers don't "fix" problems, they simply boost the signal and change the impedance. Once some signal is lost, you can't recover it, though a buffer may make it seem like it is "fixed."


    Also, @REVILO, your avatar is awesome.


    Thank you Doug. :)


    Of course you´re absolutely correct, most of these pedals in question sit at the front of the signal chain, but if not - as one may have active guitar electronics or a compressor before the Wah or the Fuzzbox - you can "fool" that pedal by soldering a 7-10k resistor in series in the input cable that goes into that particular pedal.
    This "trick" will provide the midrange impedance that it needs so desperately to sound as it should ;)
    Before and after that you can use buffers ...

  • Mogami cables

    This small article explains also very well, what Doug has touched in his post before:


    http://www.petecornish.co.uk/case_against_true_bypass.html


    Pete uses a great sounding buffer in all of his pedals. Actually it is a buffer into a second buffer, thus a "bootstrapped" buffer which creates a very tube-like sound (although based on JFET transistors) with quite a bit of headroom. Believe it or not, only one of his buffers does not sound that great but bootsrapping them creates that extraordinary sound. Interesting ... but I have tested this myself by building some buffers based on a traced schematic and therefore can verify this.


    There is nothing bad about buffers, but the problem is, that some - mostly Germanium transistor based - pedals do not like a low impedance at their input at all. A low impedance provided by a buffer will overpower the input of such a particular pedal and produce a nasty sound. The same issue arises when you have "true bypass" pedals before such a "sensitive Germanium pedal". As soon as you switch one" true bypass pedal" on, you will create the same problem as if you would have a buffer. The only exception here are pedals that have a resistor in series at their output - thus creating a higher impedance.

  • Mogami cables

    Goodness ... dangerous territory ... very dangerous ... sound of cables =O 8o:rolleyes:


    Are we talking about instrument cables or interconnects?
    Or all sorts of ?


    Well, the only thing I could recommend is to try out as many cables as you can. What someone will find terrific, another person will find terrible. It´s all a matter of taste and one can´t rely on reviews or test results. It is too personal.
    Of course there will be engineers (although I am one myself...) and scientists who will tell you that there are no audible differences. There are ... believe me. It is more important what one hears not what one measures.


    If you are a handy person and can solder properly then I would strongly advise you to build cables yourself. You can save a lot of money. Look for shops who sell audiophile cables by the metre/yard and buy some "testing pieces".
    Try to delve into the HiFi area, as this particular subject is vastly covered there. Don´t think because we are busy with guitars, HiFi demands do not apply for us. The discussion about what FRFR cabinet sounds better is not much different from what is being discussed on HiFi forums.


    You can buy 1 meter pieces of audio cinch cables for interconnects and test which sound you like. You can even use some of them (coaxial type not balanced) as instrument cables.
    You don´t have to buy an Evidence Lyric HG cable to get the best sounding cable for your individual taste and demand. In this field, there can be a lot of Voodoo- and Mojo-PR, trying to convince you that their particular cable coated with snake oil is the best thing you can find on this planet.


    Trial and error ... I am afraid this is the only way.


    I for one have even built myself interconnect cables from solid fine-silver wire in teflon tubing, covered with braided cable hose (which you can also get with an RFI/EMV coating) that you can all buy by the metre or yard.


    I can highly recommend trying silver wire for wiring your electric guitar. You will hear things that you have never heard before from your guitar (in a positive sense that is ... although some might be frightened by this).
    It can truely be a dramatic experience to hear this difference for the first time.
    He who likes the particular coloring of vintage cables will not be satisfied with silver wire. Silver wire sounds authentic, transparent, natural, honest and high-resolution.


    Still, it all remains a matter of individual taste ... which is why this is dangerous territory ;)

  • Youtube: Kemper vs. Boogie Mk. V Amp - HOFA TV

    Ich will niemanden etwas unterstellen aber das Video hat schon ein deutliches "Geschmäckle", da hast du vollkommen recht Harry.
    Als KPA Liebhaber muss man natürlich erst einmal Luft holen, um wirklich alles aus einer unabhängigen Perspektive zu betrachten und um nicht Gefahr zu laufen persönlich zu reagieren ... aber trotzdem ... es ist schon sehr eindeutig. Dabei finde ich auch, dass die Mimik des gitarrespielenden Herrn ein bisschen zu dick aufgetragen wirkt, was mich persönlich etwas irritiert und für mich nicht unbedingt zu mehr Glaubwürdigkeit beiträgt. Aber vielleicht ist es auch einfach nur seine normale Körpersprache, die wir falsch interpretieren.


    Was die Herren von HOFA hierbei genau antrieb, ist mir noch ein Rätsel. Ich habe mal versucht ein bisschen zu recherchieren aber einen direkten Kontakt zu dem einen oder anderen Konkurrenzprodukt konnte ich jetzt nicht auf die Schnelle herausfinden. HOFA scheint dennoch sehr umtriebig in der Musikbranche zu sein, was wiederum den Spielraum zu Spekulationen öffnet.


    Aber vielleicht ist das auch nur ein Promo-Video für ihr Frequenzanalyse-Programm, das wir einfach nicht verstehen ... ?(:S


    Die Professionalität, die dieses Video zu vermitteln versucht, sehe ich allerdings in den Details nicht.


    Ich würde gerne ähnliche Videos von HOFA über die anderen "Konkurrenzprodukte" (wobei es die ja eigentlich nicht wirklich gibt...) sehen. Wenn das Video der Startschuss für solch eine Reihe ist, na dann nur zu ... :P


    Gruß,
    Oliver

  • Youtube: Kemper vs. Boogie Mk. V Amp - HOFA TV


    Hi Harry,
    wir stimmen absolut überein ! :thumbup:


    Ich fand es merkwürdig, dass beim ersten Anspielen des Profils und des Originalsounds nach dem Profilingprozess beide Moderatoren der Meinung sind, dass sie keinen großen Unterschied hören, wobei ich persönlich definitiv einen Unterschied hören kann! Also schon einmal eine ungünstige Ausgangskonstellation. Gut, dann wird ja "ge-refined" ...


    Ich finde, dass das gezeigte "Refining" ... na ja, sagen wir mal .... etwas nachlässig gemacht wurde. Wenn man dagegen die Refining Tips von Michael Britt auf Youtube anschaut, merkt man schon wo hier der Hase begraben liegt.


    Außerdem ist unbekannt, welche Profiling-Einstellungen (EQ, aber auch Definition und Power Sagging) verwendet wurden. Wurden sie auf den automatischen Werten belassen ? Keine Aussage dazu im Video.


    Welche Firmware-Version wurde verwendet ?


    Zum Anderen frage ich mich, müsste man - wenn man einen reinen Sinuston als Referenzinput nimmt - nicht auch mit einem Sinuston "refinen" ? Ein Gitarrensignal mit einem Sinuston zu vergleichen erscheint mir doch etwas fragwürdig. Mir kommt das ein bisschen so vor, als ob man Orangen in der Saftpresse ausquetscht und dann überprüft, wie gut sie nach Apfel schmecken. Ist ja beides Obst ...


    Werden anschließend wieder Gitarrensounds verwendet nähern sich beide Frequenzanalysen wieder sehr nahe an.
    Aha ...


    Alles in Allem ist mir das auch zu grafisch/datenbezogen, als soundbezogen. Mir ist wichtiger, was ich höre, als was mir ein Analyzer grafisch anzeigt. Trotzdem wäre ich auch interessiert, was Kemper GmbH dazu sagen würde (wenn sie was dazu überhaupt etwas sagen wollen...).


    Selbstverständlich werde ich meinen KPA wegen dieses Videos auch nicht verkaufen ;) . Sicher nicht wegen dem Video ...