Carol-Ann Amps Dead?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MistaGuitah
  • Start date Start date
Mailman1971":2wh26u3o said:
Who the hell is carol Ann?
Related to Auntie Emm?
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BackCrack said:
A good friend of mine in Moline, IL that is a very well known and respected guitarist in that Quad Cities region sent Carol Ann money for an amp a few years ago and it never got delivered. No refund was given, either. Communications have been ignored by Carol Ann since the money was received. My buddy has been finding out lately that he's not the only one. Be careful if you're dealing directly with this crook.
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I know this is several years old but I just came across this. I was not aware there were any outstanding debts still unresolved. Maybe it has been since but I'd like to know.

I did go out of business in 2018 and it did leave a mess. I over-traded in the end and got out of my depth and it all caved in. I had to find another job and over the next couple of years had to pay back what was outstanding.
The business was upside down for around $40k (bank loan and credit card) and was no longer able to operate effectively and forced to stop. I should have finished it earlier and stopped taking orders, but kept fighting. I never once took anyone's money not intending to deliver. I became delusional that it could get back on its feet where every piece of evidence indicated that was literally impossible. Its the story of many failed businesses. On top of this the stress of everything was taking a toll on my health mentally and physically.

I was under the impression that all debts had been taken care of. If you know someone that is still saying this is not the case (again I know this a few years old) and something did slip through, I need to know about it and make it right. I am not hiding from anyone and I don't want my legacy in the amp world to be someone that took money from a customer and didn't pay it back. Its not their fault if I didn't deliver because everything went tits up. So please if you do have a friend that has not been taken care of since this was originally posted, send me a DM and we can figure out why not and get them settled if its genuine. I know its years ago, but it doesn't sit right with me if someone didn't get their money back that had paid me and not received anything.

Regards, Alan.
 
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Carol-AnnAmps said:
I just came across this. I was not aware there were any outstanding debts still unresolved.

I did go out of business in 2018 and it left a mess. I over-traded in the end and got out of my depth and it all caved in. I had to find another job and over the next couple of years had to pay back what was outstanding.
The last year or so of the business it went out of control but you think you can bring it back. I couldn't. The business was upside down for around $40k and was no longer able to operate and forced to stop. I should have finished it earlier and stopped taking orders, but kept fighting. I never once took anyone's money not intending to deliver. I became delusional that it could get back on its feet where every piece of evidence indicated that was literally impossible. Its the story of many failed businesses. On top of this the stress of everything was taking a toll on my health mentally and physically.

I 100% was under the impression that all debts had been taken care of. If you know someone that is saying this is not the case and something did slip through, I need to know about it and make it right. I am not hiding from anyone and I don't want my legacy in the amp world to be someone that took money from someone and didn't pay it back. Its not their fault I didn't deliver. So please if you do have a friend that has not been taken care of, send me a DM and we can figure out which way is up and get them settled. I know its years ago, but it doesn't sit right with me if someone didn't get their money back.

Regards, Alan.
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It is nice to know there are still stand up guys. I would love to hear anything about you working with Dr Z amps
 
S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑ said:
It is nice to know there are still stand up guys. I would love to hear anything about you working with Dr Z amps
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Mike Zaite had been a long time friend. We both suffered a lot of financial loss when a Dealer in NC went under around 2010/2011 and we stayed in touch very frequently. He was actually the one that convinced me to sop before things got worse in 2018. In late 2019 he asked me to design the CAZ-45 because he knew it was something in my wheelhouse and also was concerned I had not even picked a guitar up after the business had gone under and wanted to help me try to deal with it. It turned out so much fun. Absolutely wonderful experience. I love that guy, he pulled me out of a depression.
I designed the circuit and we tweaked it together. He'd send me protos and I would make tweaks. It was just great fun.
It was at this point where I really knew how arrogant I had been in the past thinking only I could build one of my designs. Here was a first proto that sounded so good I would have shipped it if I had built it. I guess the lesson was learned a little late, but it was learned regardless.

I read some of the less flattering comments from earlier in the thread. They weren't wrong. I was pretty arrogant when I was stressed out, but you deal with so much BS in this business. I'm a decent engineer, but not a great business person. This is why it was more fun doing the Z design.
 
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Carol-AnnAmps said:
Mike Zaite had been a long time friend. We both suffered a lot of financial loss when a Dealer in NC went under around 2010/2011 and we stayed in touch very frequently. He was actually the one that convinced me to sop before things got worse in 2018. In late 2019 he asked me to design the CAZ-45 because he knew it was something in my wheelhouse and also was concerned I had not even picked a guitar up after the business had gone under and wanted to help me try to deal with it. It turned out so much fun. Absolutely wonderful experience. I love that guy, he pulled me out of a depression.
I designed the circuit and we tweaked it together. He'd send me protos and I would make tweaks. It was just great fun.
It was at this point where I really knew how arrogant I had been in the past thinking only I could build one of my designs. Here was a first proto that sounded so good I would have shipped it if I had built it. I guess the lesson was learned a little late, but it was learned regardless.
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Thanks for all the great amps over the years! The triptik is one of my favorite lead tones i've ever heard, and the gear community misses your presence. Glad you guys worked together for the CAZ, it's a killer sounding amp and Dr Z makes killer stuff.
 
DanTravis62 said:
Thanks for all the great amps over the years! The triptik is one of my favorite lead tones i've ever heard, and the gear community misses your presence. Glad you guys worked together for the CAZ, it's a killer sounding amp and Dr Z makes killer stuff.
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Whats funny and the reason I ended up here today was because some amp builder on a FB thread got pretty salty with me and he accused me of being one of those 'rigtalkers'. I don't even know what that means. I actually really wasn't ever on here much because at the time this place was more kind of the LA metal scene thing and that wasn't really my customer base. I just happened to have Tone Merchants as a Dealer and I met Brad there was I visiting and he set up an account.
Anyway........I will not mention any names but I came on here to see who the hell this guy from FB was and wasn't dissapointed. He's pretty infamous on here to say the least. As I was searching I came across this thread and couldn't unsee it. I had to follow up if there was any possibility someone didn't get a refund that had paid me.
 
Carol-AnnAmps said:
Whats funny and the reason I ended up here today was because some amp builder on a FB thread got pretty salty with me and he accused me of being one of those 'rigtalkers'. I don't even know what that means. I actually really wasn't because at the time this place was more kind of the LA metal scene thing and that wasn't really my customer base. I just happened to have Tone Merchants as a Dealer and I met Brad there was I visiting and he set up an account.
Anyway........I will not mention any names but I came on here to see who the hell this guy from FB was and wasn't dissapointed. He's pretty infamous on here to say the least. As I was searching I came across this thread and couldn't unsee it. I had to follow up if there was any possibility someone didn't get a refund that had paid me.
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That's fair, RT is way more rock and metal focused

Everyone appreciates the design and function of well-engineered and well-built stuff though, and you were famous for it :dunno:

And no need on the names, we can all probably guess who it is just from your description :ROFLMAO:

You're always welcome here and feel free to PM me if you need anything Alan
 
japetus said:
Not one of those infamous Rigtalkers!! I heard those guys get pretty dang wild, a couple have "taken weed"'a few times, rumor has it.
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Yeah what does that actually mean ? what is a 'rigtalker' ? I mean I haven't been on here a whole lot and folks get a bit wild, but its not exactly Harmony Central. During the business, I had to hang out more on TGP. Now I was kind of lucky there because my business had this ongoing thread on there that was always pretty cool. I stayed there and didn't venture out much further.
 
Carol-AnnAmps said:
Yeah what does that actually mean ? what is a 'rigtalker' ? I mean I haven't been on here a whole lot and folks get a bit wild, but its not exactly Harmony Central. During the business, I had to hang out more on TGP. Now I was kind of lucky there because my business had this ongoing thread on there that was always pretty cool. I stayed there and didn't venture out much further.
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Most of the old school guys from here came from the Harmony Central Amp Forum after they clamped down on moderation. It used to be no holds barred back in the day. They let a little more go around here without being so uptight. HC used to be a soap opera every day! LOL

Triptik 2 is one of the best amps I've had the pleasure of hearing recorded. The other OD amps would probably be more up my alley these days as well. You made some great amps!
 
It's great to hear from you Alan, and the community appreciates your honesty and transparency.

The Triptik 2 is the only one of your amps I've tried, and I fully agree it's a special one. I've been very curious about that CAZ-45, and was sad to see it too went out of production. I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion on this forum about it, considering it's in the "high gain" realm. Food for thought - since you had so much fun with the CAZ-45, how about a Rev 2 100w channel switcher? :yes:
 
Meeotch said:
It's great to hear from you Alan, and the community appreciates your honesty and transparency.

The Triptik 2 is the only one of your amps I've tried, and I fully agree it's a special one. I've been very curious about that CAZ-45, and was sad to see it too went out of production. I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion on this forum about it, considering it's in the "high gain" realm. Food for thought - since you had so much fun with the CAZ-45, how about a Rev 2 100w channel switcher? :yes:
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I mean, because it's out of production and no one like me, VESmedic, or anyone that actually posts clips has ever gotten their hands on one, is my guess

If that happened I'm sure there would indeed be a spike of talk about it

I've played one and it was freaking killer especially for lead tones - just a spectacular amp
 
DanTravis62 said:
I mean, because it's out of production and no one like me, VESmedic, or anyone that actually posts clips has ever gotten their hands on one, is my guess

If that happened I'm sure there would indeed be a spike of talk about it

I've played one and it was freaking killer especially for lead tones - just a spectacular amp
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Dr. Z CAZ-45 45-watt Tube Head | Sweetwater https://share.google/asQunG2osEVSQs3Kj
 
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