The only thing I could blame Bill for would be if he didn't hype his product. IMO, that's expected behavior from anyone who builds, and sells, anything. It's great circuit and he deserves the credit for that.Speeddemon":14slce4d said:
Very true... very, very true.psychodave":1jiikgd6 said:I’ve learned one thing over the years, just because I can’t hear something someone else is describing, doesn’t mean it’s not there. It’s not just audible either...some things sound and “feel” better.
I was thinking along these lines, too. You explained it 1000x better than I could, though. Plus, you've got the knowledge and experience. Thank you for confirming what I'd been thinking. I definitely learned some things here.scottosan":2d5hb0dz said:
You're now talking different types of 9V batteries, I was talking about hearing which brand.psychodave":354jfput said:Speeddemon":354jfput said:But again, was he giving these interviews when he was actively selling these pedals, when he started out, or later on, when the originals were fetching 4 digit numbers and more and more Clones started to appear?paulyc":354jfput said:Every interview I s ever read from him he’s made mention of unibtanium parts and “it can’t be done anymore, the supply is gone” etc etc etc it that’s not hype then what isSpeeddemon":354jfput said:What exactly was Bill doing in terms on hyping his circuit? I mean, the first time around.
He gooped the circuit, adding some mystery. And tons of folks, especially on TGP creamed their pants about the Klon's tone. How is Bill actively hyping that?
If you mean him hyping it nowadays, then I'm with ya. But there I'm of the position "if you're no longer building it yourself, and your originals suddenly fetch crazy money, you can't really blame the community coming up with alternatives, and you should you refrain from adding oil to the fire". Same with Boss no longer making the FA-1's. There's some magic in that circuit too (combined with specific components). I've built versions 1:1 like the original (greeny caps, carbon film resistors, etc.) as well as modern low-noise updates. Most of the tone sits in the op-amps in that circuit, so I typically would avoid versions that substitute those with DIL op-amps, like a TL072).
Look, I never played the real thing, but I know a thing or two about boost pedals. From what I can gather, he had some rather unique approaches circuit-wise and it wasn't a totally simple circuit, opposed a pedal from a certain person who's first name starts with the last letter of the alphabet, IIRC pretty much copied a RCA preamp circuit, names it 'related to a rigid state of a male's appendage', sells an inherent design-shortcoming as a feature not to be feared, and asks $250+ dollars for it.
I'd say credit where credit's due and if the world goes crazy after drinkin' the kool-aid, you can't blame the builder IMO.
If the latter, then I agree with you, but at the same time, it's weird, because he wouldn't gain anything at that point himself. He would just increase the value of the units on the used market.
On a related note: claiming to hear the difference between different 1N34A's* -at least to me- falls in the same category as 'directional guitar cables' or 'Hey, this Energizer 9V sounds a lot crappier in my wah than a Varta."
*=save for high tolerance-differences in the forward voltage drop (which would be audible in drive-circuits).
I could hear differences in 9 volt batteries...meaning carbon vs alkaline. Back in the late 80’s-early 90’s I had 9 volt mercury batteries that sounded awesome in all of my old MXR script pedals. Those batteries were used in hospital equipment. Too bad they were outlawed.
Fair enough, but I'm usually taking a more skeptic approach, and just be generally wary when the marketing dept starts throwing around buzzwords.psychodave":354jfput said:I’ve learned one thing over the years, just because I can’t hear something someone else is describing, doesn’t mean it’s not there. It’s not just audible either...some things sound and “feel” better.
Speeddemon":2ul4uyrj said:You're now talking different types of 9V batteries, I was talking about hearing which brand.psychodave":2ul4uyrj said:Speeddemon":2ul4uyrj said:But again, was he giving these interviews when he was actively selling these pedals, when he started out, or later on, when the originals were fetching 4 digit numbers and more and more Clones started to appear?paulyc":2ul4uyrj said:Every interview I s ever read from him he’s made mention of unibtanium parts and “it can’t be done anymore, the supply is gone” etc etc etc it that’s not hype then what isSpeeddemon":2ul4uyrj said:What exactly was Bill doing in terms on hyping his circuit? I mean, the first time around.
He gooped the circuit, adding some mystery. And tons of folks, especially on TGP creamed their pants about the Klon's tone. How is Bill actively hyping that?
If you mean him hyping it nowadays, then I'm with ya. But there I'm of the position "if you're no longer building it yourself, and your originals suddenly fetch crazy money, you can't really blame the community coming up with alternatives, and you should you refrain from adding oil to the fire". Same with Boss no longer making the FA-1's. There's some magic in that circuit too (combined with specific components). I've built versions 1:1 like the original (greeny caps, carbon film resistors, etc.) as well as modern low-noise updates. Most of the tone sits in the op-amps in that circuit, so I typically would avoid versions that substitute those with DIL op-amps, like a TL072).
Look, I never played the real thing, but I know a thing or two about boost pedals. From what I can gather, he had some rather unique approaches circuit-wise and it wasn't a totally simple circuit, opposed a pedal from a certain person who's first name starts with the last letter of the alphabet, IIRC pretty much copied a RCA preamp circuit, names it 'related to a rigid state of a male's appendage', sells an inherent design-shortcoming as a feature not to be feared, and asks $250+ dollars for it.
I'd say credit where credit's due and if the world goes crazy after drinkin' the kool-aid, you can't blame the builder IMO.
If the latter, then I agree with you, but at the same time, it's weird, because he wouldn't gain anything at that point himself. He would just increase the value of the units on the used market.
On a related note: claiming to hear the difference between different 1N34A's* -at least to me- falls in the same category as 'directional guitar cables' or 'Hey, this Energizer 9V sounds a lot crappier in my wah than a Varta."
*=save for high tolerance-differences in the forward voltage drop (which would be audible in drive-circuits).
I could hear differences in 9 volt batteries...meaning carbon vs alkaline. Back in the late 80’s-early 90’s I had 9 volt mercury batteries that sounded awesome in all of my old MXR script pedals. Those batteries were used in hospital equipment. Too bad they were outlawed.
Fair enough, but I'm usually taking a more skeptic approach, and just be generally wary when the marketing dept starts throwing around buzzwords.psychodave":2ul4uyrj said:I’ve learned one thing over the years, just because I can’t hear something someone else is describing, doesn’t mean it’s not there. It’s not just audible either...some things sound and “feel” better.
Like things like 'skin effect' in GUITAR cables, when pretty much everyone that knows about that stuff, agrees on that it's happening in MHz-levels of frequencies, not 40-7000Hz, that's when I'm cautious.
And if you (in general) believe you can hear the DIRECTION of a guitar cable, more power to you. I still have to meet the first person that scores over 80% on a double blind test for cable directivity. YMMV.
Exactly!LP Freak":3a5ewdkc said:
+1!ChurchHill":39xaw0fx said:Exactly!LP Freak":39xaw0fx said:
This was one of the main reasons why I started trying to learn as much as I can about the technical aspects of the gear I use. Not that I'm an expert on anything and only really know about how things work for me. I'd just rather rely on my own experiences and research.Speeddemon":61723ypo said:Especially if you throw in some pseudo-science words where the buyer might be going 'hey I heard about that before somewhere...these guys must know their stuff!'
