Dar FBM seekers…

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bram576
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braintheory said:
I had a DAR FBM and Forza and tried a Tuzzia. I wouldn't consider any of them great amps, but just like the shiny poly drenched guitars that many here love, they at least had looks going for them lol and the carbon fiber tolex on the Forza felt really cool

They all sounded a bit synthetic, but not as badly as many other amps. The Forza and Tuzzia sounded sort of like the KSR's to me in some ways, but not as good. The FBM I had sounded bigger, more powerful and modern, but still synthetic and not great tone. I kind of expected that with the FBM, but was hoping it would at least be crazy tight, but it's nowhere near super tight like a Hermansson or Hell Razor, both of which are far superior amps. Fwiw, some say the serial # of the one I had may not have been as good, but none of the 3 I played were imo great amps, but they looked awesome lol. Not as distinctive sounding as I was hoping for either given the looks and innovate designs
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I remember the drama about that specific serial #.....Martin should just have an Darfest :love:
 
I liked how he used the different tubes. Plus they looked cool as shit with those giant pieces of glass. Apparently the tubes are fairly cheap and super robust. I don’t know, going from memory. These and the makos were the cats ass for awhile. Then fortin I believe.
 
Imagine thinking your absolutely dumb as shit amp is worth 17 thousand dollars simply because there’s only a few of them. An amp that by all accounts, was a complete and utter flop unlike anything ever seen. An amp that literally 23 people on earth have heard of. What a time to be alive.
 
VESmedic said:
Imagine thinking your absolutely dumb as shit amp is worth 17 thousand dollars simply because there’s only a few of them. An amp that by all accounts, was a complete and utter flop unlike anything ever seen. An amp that literally 23 people on earth have heard of. What a time to be alive.
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Duuuuude but it's RARE. Don't you know RARE things are better because you have it and nobody else does? Psssh, everyone is just jealous that they can't have it! Who cares if you even play it...the 15 other guys on earth who give a shit about it will be impressed, and will be lining up to buy it from me so they can say it's "THE BEST AMP THEY HAVE EVER PLAYED BUT THEY ARE SELLING AFTER 3 DAYS TO MOVE ONTO SOMETHING ELSE BUT TRUST ME ITS THE BEST AND AMAZING" #UsedOnNoRecordingsOfNote
 
Bloodrock said:
I've played Martin's a good bit. It's definitely brutal and unique. I keep telling him to sell it cuz he'll never get it fixed if it breaks. Lol. But it's his most favorite thing in the world. I doubt he'd sell it, even for that price.
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He won’t sell it ever . He’s already left to someone in his will
 
PurityS.L.G said:
Who here has owned one?

I remember when I was saving the cash for one and then poof they disappeared. From what I’ve read they were very unreliable so I’m glad I never got one but again, I’m curious who here has played one and what are your thoughts
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These guys were at NAMM a few times.

I remember stopping by and listening to their amps during the first year they had a booth.

The amps sounded good BUT those tubes were generating a LOT of heat.

It was pretty cold that year at NAMM so I would stop by their booth and stand in front of the amp to get some warmth.

If a person was practicing in a small room or during summer days then it would get pretty hot in there very quickly.

A local retailer out here called Tone Merchants had two or three of their amps for trying out but those HUGE power tubes and the heat they were generating made me pass on even thinking about getting the amp :ROFLMAO:
 
i checked those out at the 2010 NAMM. unfortunately didn’t record any high gain clips but it sounded pretty unique and very musically aggressive.
those honey jar sized tubes were memorable. looked like WWII tech!

 
rottingcorpse said:
Quit fingering my bitch, fucker!!
He is absolutely correct. If I was broke and homeless, I'd sell everything else in my collection and be using the FBM in it's road case as a pillow. But part of that amp is the story that came with it. It has crazy sentimental value from the very darkest time in my life. Bloodrock was there in real time as it happened and stood beside me to help me though it. There were others that helped too...but there's a reason that amp resides in his care, along with my most favorite guitars and other very special amps. It is even in my will, and goes to someone who also helped me along from afar, whom I have never actually met in person.

Edit...I would note that braintheory's assessment that the DAR amps sound a bit synthetic is spot on. My FBM is in no way organic like most of my other amps. If you're love is the open and raw organic sound of a boosted Marshall or that Mesa grind, or even the legendary tones of Wizards or (insert your favorite amp here) then the FBM ain't your bag. It's a different breed for sure, almost robotic IMO. The gate is super tight and dead nuts quiet, like a fucking kill switch. The mid sweep is glorious. But it is definitely is not what I would call a "natural" type of classic guitar distortion tone. But that's what I love about it. In a fairly large collection of lots of brands of amp heads, it is the outlier. The sexy bitch in the corner wearing leather and drinking tequila, making snide remarks about all the other amps in my room...waiting for me to come back to bed and be satisfied. It makes me smile every time I plug into it.
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You seem like the guy I need to talk to.. I’ve recently married your bitches sister.. so apparently we are brother in-laws by marriage? I don't expect you to do me any favors or solids.. Maybe a bribe of some nice bourbon could help get things initiated.. I could use your input if you’d be generous enough to assist. If not no worries :) I’m sure I’ll see you around the family gatherings from time to time..

O

Thread 'DAR FBM100 Owners'

I am new here but I come seeking advice from DAR FBM owners.. If one would be kind enough to crawl out of the ruins.. I am the new owner (aka price inflator) of the most recent FBM which went up for sale.. My dilemma- I live in the states but the amp is coming from overseas.. I asked the seller about the fuses as most gear I purchase from overseas requires different fuses for use on 115v. The seller’s response:

“I've checked the mains fuse and it's a T10H with 10 ampere so it should work easy with 115V and the plate fuse is T5AH and will certainly work too without any issues.”

Is this...
  • Omnipotent1
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  • Forum: Rig-Talk
 
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Bram576 said:
I do get surprised that guys haven’t cloned some of these real rare amps and sell them. Just from the insane prices that people pay for them.
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Need a schematic before you can clone something... and I have never seen detailed gutshots much less an attempt at a schematic of these
 
technomancer said:
Need a schematic before you can clone something... and I have never seen detailed gutshots much less an attempt at a schematic of these
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I’ve seen detailed gut shots back when the owner was developing it and active - the PCBs are all very custom and there’s a shit ton going on with analog design - the boards looked like motherboards.

I also know they used transformerless output meaning driving low impedances right off of the tubes. I know how that is done theoretically but damn is it not complicated with tubes to keep from everything thermally running away. It’s not like you can mount tubes on a heat sink.

To clone one of these you’d have to completely blow it apart on a bench and clone any of the safety/monitoring circuitry to go with it.
 
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