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Post by bowie on Jul 22, 2020 1:02:35 GMT -6
Unfortunately I'm not a big tube connoisseur. The tube in our 67 is what's been in there the whole time we've had it, a GE 6267. After reading this thread, perhaps I'll try a different one to see if I like it more. Your is Japanese production. None of the US companies made an EF86 so they (RCA, Tung Sol, Sylvania, GE) out-sourced them. You'll often see the country of origin listed incorrectly (in this case, I'm guessing is says "Gt Britain"). If you like this type and want to find more you'll sometimes see this same tube branded for NEC (a major Japanese electronics company). Though they might not be the most sought-after EF86s, I consider these to be better than most other EF86s of 70's and 80's.
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Post by bowie on Apr 22, 2020 16:47:44 GMT -6
Looks cool. I want one, but I'm reminded of the fact that last week I found my Ebow, which I had bought 5 years ago and have not used once...
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Post by bowie on Apr 20, 2020 14:14:42 GMT -6
My favorite electric strings are Everly B52s (steel alloy or something) but my Tele is the one guitar I like plain old DAddario nickels on. It's just "that sound".
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Post by bowie on Apr 13, 2020 20:57:01 GMT -6
It's becoming more common because it's built into the system now, with both ebay and reverb including "best offer" in your listing unless you specifically un-check that option. In a classified setting, haggling is pretty standard. It's more or less expected that you will inflate your asking price slightly to allow room for you to compromise with the buyer. That's the way it's worked for the 20+ years I've been using classifieds on the internet. For instance, if I want $1,800 for a used mic, I will list it at $2,000. When people don't give an offer but just ask for a "best price", they're psychologically playing passive and putting you in the driver's seat so take that as them being a weak bargainer, not as in insult or time waster.
Not haggling is perfectly fine and in that case it's expected that you put "Firm" next to your price if you're not open to offers. Some people will ignore it, which is annoying and don't feel obligated to respond to people who disregard your "firm" price.
Now, none of that applies to non-classified sellers though. If you're operating a business (be it studio, builder, luthier, parts, etc) and people approach you with the classified mentality, there's no cultural obligation for you to haggle with them. I sometimes get silly offers and I just politely decline.
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Post by bowie on Mar 24, 2020 19:00:23 GMT -6
The wife and I mostly cook at home so the food hoarding issue is affecting us greatly in that, the grocery shelves in our area (Phoenix) are bare. There was a woman at Trader Joe's trying to buy 15 gallons of milk but thankfully TJ's is limiting people to 2 of each item, per-customer. For the last week, my meals have been mostly either cereal or beans and rice, but now those are hard to find so we're going to have to order meals. Are you seeing this kind of thing where you're at?
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Post by bowie on Mar 12, 2020 17:38:23 GMT -6
Was in physical therapy today and heard calls coming in of people canceling over COV concerns, saying they'd resume when things settle down. This isn't at a hospital, just an office that never has more than 10 people in it. There are 9 cases in my state, meaning these folks canceling would rather live in disabling pain and forego treatment rather than risk exposure to something 9 of 7,000,000 local people have. Seems insane to me but everyone's got to make their own priorities. For me, the therapy is far more important than the fraction of a percent of risk.
I do understand I'm relatively lucky that it's low risk where I live. They moved the presidential debates out of Phoenix this year, which I'm glad for because the extra incoming travel certainly wouldn't be a good thing as far as the virus goes.
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Post by bowie on Mar 4, 2020 18:36:14 GMT -6
While I think that's just the way things have worked, I do think it's time for change. When I was doing freelance work, I recall a studio owner instructing me that the interns (who had just gone through a $35,000 recording course) were not to handle any mics. And, when I got hungry, to let the interns know what I needed. I felt absolutely terrible for these kids and tried to impart as much info as I could on them as it was clear they were being robbed of any education during their internship. The real crooks are the schools charging so much money with promises of careers upon "graduation" Yea, I meet a lot of graduates from the local recording school, often working at Guitar Center, and a couple of them have delivered food to my home and when they see the mic stands and acoustic treatment, they mention that they graduated from the recording school. I think that's the sate of education now though. In the US at least. Kids are being given this idea that you are entitled to be anything you want, as long as you go to school for it. I was fortunate in that my college professors told my family to give me some money for gear and let me start working rather than paying for a recording education.
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Post by bowie on Mar 1, 2020 15:32:12 GMT -6
While I think that's just the way things have worked, I do think it's time for change. When I was doing freelance work, I recall a studio owner instructing me that the interns (who had just gone through a $35,000 recording course) were not to handle any mics. And, when I got hungry, to let the interns know what I needed. I felt absolutely terrible for these kids and tried to impart as much info as I could on them as it was clear they were being robbed of any education during their internship.
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Post by bowie on Feb 18, 2020 20:20:37 GMT -6
Now, you have to know a little about my post office.. Sounds a LOT like my post office. I had an issue with them NEVER delivering packages that I've re-scheduled (as-in, I wasn't there to sign). They told me not to go through the website and they only re-deliver if I leave the orange note in my mailbox. I then explained that there was an orange note in my mailbox for the last 3 weeks that had not been picked up. They also deliver to the wrong house frequently. It's unfortunate because I love my neighborhood but the local PO is just terrible. I've never had this problem in any place else I've lived, not even apartments.
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Post by bowie on Feb 15, 2020 21:21:27 GMT -6
The new USPS system ('new' as of about 2 years ago) has all sorts of issues. It's great that ALL packages now have tracking and greater levels of tracking, something that was sorely needed, but packages are frequently getting sent off destination. Many times, a package will either go to the wrong side of the country before making it to the correct state, or they will make it to the destination state, COME BACK to the origin state, and then be sent back again to where they're supposed to go. This happens a lot and you won't notice it unless you watch the tracking history. I'm currently dealing with a package that make it to the UK, came back to Phoenix, and before it could be returned to me, was sent back out to the UK. It's now coming back to the states once again. Customer is elated, I can assure you.
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Post by bowie on Feb 15, 2020 21:16:20 GMT -6
I think there's something special about the occasional morning drink. I actually find it more enjoyable than an evening drink but I refrain because even though a couple drinks every evening is deemed fairly normal, just one drink in the morning is considered alcoholism.
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Post by bowie on Feb 15, 2020 21:10:34 GMT -6
Very interesting subject, thanks for posting. I can't fast because of metabolic issues (I have a fast metabolism and I get dizzy if I don't eat every few hours) but I'm always interested in things that affect the voice. I've found that vocal training and sports training have many parallels and nutrition/meals seem to go in line with that, for me at least.
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Post by bowie on Dec 5, 2019 21:25:36 GMT -6
Depends entirely on the situation but, on some vocals, I like the attack real wide (almost full open) and release on the short side. I found it can help give that "vocals on top of the mix" sound. For something like bass, I'll listen carefully to the part and adjust to it as things like that can vary so much.
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Post by bowie on Nov 7, 2019 21:41:50 GMT -6
My eyes glaze over when I'm forced sit through a modern comic book movie. I love the 1989 Batman with all it's quirkiness and character, but what we have now resembles fast food; loaded with all the things that are supposed to tickle the senses, but lacking in quality and generally devoid of nourishment. Not that I've liked anything Scorsese has done in years either but at least he's trying to craft something rather than this paint by numbers Marvel stuff.
I absolutely loved Joker, which spits in the eye of the comic book genre. Despite almost no actual "action", it feels far more impactful and intense than any of these CGI-heavy comic book films. I've compared it to what happened to rock in the early 90's. The public became so numbed to the over-the-top and decadent nature of 80's rock that they were craving the simple but intense styles of Nirvana and such.
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Post by bowie on Oct 29, 2019 17:27:17 GMT -6
"Get pissy"? I don't get the hostility and I don't think you understood what I was saying in the first part. I stated that there are people who have gotten in the mindset that there are no differences in cables, and they don't understand they can be spec'd for various ratings. Is there something debatable about that? None of what you said seemed relevant to the interaction I was describing. Regarding the rest, I was able to make recordings and hear clear differences after tonerite use. It was a very moderate investment (got most of my money back for every one I bought and sold). The whole thing worked out very well for me. I'm not trying to sell them so if someone doesn't want to believe, that's not my concern at all. That's their marketing team's concern. The pissy comment wasn't directed at you, just the general public at large, sorry if it came across as criticizing you directly. Ok, I must have misunderstood your story because I thought you were trying to say that the person you were arguing with about a cable was trying to say that *any* cable would work regardless of rating. At least I hope that's not the case, because blatantly ignoring speed certifications WILL get you into trouble. However, my comment about a 5$ vs. 5000$ digital cable still stands.. If the cable is rated for the bandwidth you are using, then the price does not matter and the cheapest one will work because the specs create a lot of headroom as well as assuming the error correction will work as designed in most cases. Most cables will be spec'd for quite a bit above their operating speeds so that the largest tolerance cable that is made will still be well within specs as well. There are some cables that are completely counterfeit out there too. It's a very big problem in the commercial marketplace as well as the consumer marketplace on websites like Ebay, Amazon and Alibaba. This is where it pays to at least buy from a reputable dealer. So I think there will be unrated and lower rated cables that are certainly able to work at higher than rated speeds, but that's just a gamble on a per-cable basis. Thanks for clarifying. Yes, seems it was just misunderstanding. Regarding the original post, the person I was debating with believed that all higher rated Display Port cables were "marketing nonsense" and he did not understand that the higher ratings were there for greater data transmission and longer runs. This application was 1440 resolution at 144fps over 12'. The most common 12' DP cables were just not adequate and it was evident in the specs. I am in full agreement about the predatory nature of a lot of many "high-end" cable companies. I get a lot of questions about that and try to warn people.
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Post by bowie on Oct 29, 2019 16:45:59 GMT -6
I think there's a couple things that come into play. The main being that we've become so paranoid of marketing manipulation that many of us are instantly skeptical of new solutions, or anything being offered as an "upgrade". I got into a debate with someone the other day about cables and this person was so washed by these "truth about cables" videos that he swore all anyone needed was a $5 "amazon basics" Display Port cable. Well, he was wrong because these cables are rated as to the amount of data they can transmit over a certain length and I found out the hard way what happens when you ignore those specs in a demanding application, you get drop-outs. But, here we have people that are so ingrained in skepticism as a safety blanket, that they not only fail to give an honest look, but they advise others. They simply choose to believe person who confirmed their skepticism! Talk about blind faith. I get it though. I am instantly skeptical of new solutions, ESPECIALLY in the audio field. Another factor is, it's annoying to spend more money. Well, for some of us. There's some people to take joy in throwing money at things but most of us don't want to hear that we're missing out on something and that someone can get us to the next level, for a price. It's easier to just be dismissive. I'm guilty of it. I told my wife the expensive pillow she got me to help my chronic neck condition was marketing nonsense and wasn't going to help. But, I haven't had a bad night's sleep in 3 months so... The datarate certification being violated is NOT the same as believing "all cables are the same". If you knowingly bought a cable that can't handle a higher datarate, why would you expect it to work? It's not voodoo trickery, it's physics, and they're rated that way for a reason. As an engineer who primarily works in the field of high speed RF over conductors with a specialty in transmission line technologies, I can tell you that if a cable is rated for a specific digital data speed, it won't matter if it's a 5$ cable or a 5000$ cable, it WILL work as designed. (If it does not, then it's broken or a fake, with the latter being more common than you'd believe.) Why will it work? Because the datarate and bandwidth is pre-defined for most high-speed data protocols. I think you might assume that the datarate and/or bandwidth changes with usage, but almost all of these standards simply fill the unused bandwidth with noise patterns. You can't have zeros or ones filling unused data or else you'll get DC offsets, but that's another discussion. All of these standards use complex error correction as well, and it's generally the case that these operate at very low levels almost all of the time, but there is some point where they can't correct the errors induced by whatever cable problems or noise ingress that happens to degrade the signal, which is where you start getting dropouts. The physical cables are generally defined by the amount of crosstalk and shielding performance balanced with the amount of inductance, resistance and capacitance. All these things must be balanced for the cable to work correctly, and this is what truly defines the speed and bandwidth the cable can handle. But back to the first point you made that I agree with.. After years and years of being told that "XXXX miracle device will do XXXX" and finding out the hard way that XXXX miracle device did NOT do XXXX, I'm skeptical of most everything that is being sold to me as a miracle. And who did most of the selling? Exuberant everyman reviewers on the internet. Does that mean I believe they are lying? No, of course not, but if I can't hear the difference and you can't explain how something actually works in a technical fashion to me, why would you get mad at me for being skeptical? If you get pissy because I'm skeptical and instead of buckling down to explain why it works you go on tirades about being attacked, then maybe you're not as sure about your decisions as you want to believe. I'm sorry to be blunt about it, but bruised egos are not my problem. I get it, you like something and you want to tell others about it, but emotional damage because people don't readily accept it as gospel? That baffles me. So as a skeptic, an engineer, a musician and a recordist, I yet again ask, can anyone explain to me the details on how this works in technical way? Because I've spent way too much time trying to find ANY kind of report, whitepaper, analysis of this phenomenon at all. What did I find? NOTHING. There seems to be zero investigation into this phenomenon besides the typical forums full of folks who believe it to be true without anything more than "I hear it" and those skeptics who "don't hear it". "Get pissy"? I don't get the hostility and I don't think you understood what I was saying in the first part. I stated that there are people who have gotten in the mindset that there are no differences in cables, and they don't understand they can be spec'd for various ratings. Is there something debatable about that? None of what you said seemed relevant to the interaction I was describing. Regarding the rest, I was able to make recordings and hear clear differences after tonerite use. It was a very moderate investment (got most of my money back for every one I bought and sold). The whole thing worked out very well for me. I'm not trying to sell them so if someone doesn't want to believe, that's not my concern at all. That's their marketing team's concern.
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Post by bowie on Oct 27, 2019 20:53:50 GMT -6
I think there's a couple things that come into play. The main being that we've become so paranoid of marketing manipulation that many of us are instantly skeptical of new solutions, or anything being offered as an "upgrade". I got into a debate with someone the other day about cables and this person was so washed by these "truth about cables" videos that he swore all anyone needed was a $5 "amazon basics" Display Port cable. Well, he was wrong because these cables are rated as to the amount of data they can transmit over a certain length and I found out the hard way what happens when you ignore those specs in a demanding application, you get drop-outs. But, here we have people that are so ingrained in skepticism as a safety blanket, that they not only fail to give an honest look, but they advise others. They simply choose to believe person who confirmed their skepticism! Talk about blind faith. I get it though. I am instantly skeptical of new solutions, ESPECIALLY in the audio field. Another factor is, it's annoying to spend more money. Well, for some of us. There's some people to take joy in throwing money at things but most of us don't want to hear that we're missing out on something and that someone can get us to the next level, for a price. It's easier to just be dismissive. I'm guilty of it. I told my wife the expensive pillow she got me to help my chronic neck condition was marketing nonsense and wasn't going to help. But, I haven't had a bad night's sleep in 3 months so...
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Post by bowie on Oct 27, 2019 18:26:50 GMT -6
I've owned these on 3 occasions. They help. Every time I get a relatively unused acoustic I put a tonerite on it for about 3 weeks (I've tried longer but with diminishing returns). The wood vibrates more freely letting the low end bloom, harmonic overtones come out, and there's a better sense of articulation after using a tonerite for a few weeks. I use them because i don't care for the bright/stiff nature of a new instrument. Changes in the low end can sometimes be very significant. However, tonerites can only do so much and I recently decided to sell my last one because I've come to terms with the fact that I like the sound of aged instruments much better than freshly made ones. Doesn't have to be "vintage" but a guitar that's been around for a few years sounds different than one that was just put together (and, yes, I've done direct comparisons with guitars of the same models several times). I think a tonerite gets you about 10 or 15% of the way there, and it helps, but it just doesn't replace what a few years of play and natural age do. I'm a big believer that age has just as much a hand as play and I've bought case queens that sounded settled in.
As far as instruments needing to be exercised, I think it varies by instrument. I have an all-koa 000 that seems to "close up" when it sits for a few months. If played regularly (or given tonerite treatment) the low end sounds like a completely different instrument, becoming large and booming. It's so uncanny, even my wife hears it and she doesn't play. But, even though I've noticed this in a few, most instruments I've owned have not shown the same characteristics. So, I believe it does vary.
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Post by bowie on Oct 3, 2019 18:31:25 GMT -6
I was blown away by his first album. Instant fan. But, have felt less strongly about each subsequent one. This one will be the first I don't buy. As Sturgill says, "Some days you kill it... Some days you choke..."
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Post by bowie on Aug 16, 2019 17:15:28 GMT -6
Sad news. I always heard great things about the guy.
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Post by bowie on Aug 9, 2019 18:01:15 GMT -6
My understanding from someone who worked for them is that Telefunken USA bought the machinery from Telefunken GMBH. Gesundheit and Farfignugen to you. That's interesting if true, but I have not heard anything about that and one would think that if it's true they'd be publicizing the hell out of it. But even if it is true that doesn't solve the metallurgy problem. And the skilled technicians from the original Telefunken tube factories aren't available. Furthermore it is my understanding that the primary reason that tubes are not manufactured outside of former communist bloc countries is that there are severe problems with environmental laws that prevent manufacture in places with enviromental protections.
Can you furnish any sort of documentation or references to back up your friend's assertion?
bowie , are you following this discussion? I've heard some very strong opinions from people who have tried them. I have a few. I'm not going to publicly comment. Regarding making tubes with factory dies and equipment, it means almost nothing. Some of the Ei made tubes on old Telefunken equipment sound nothing like Telefunkens. Same for the JJs made on Tesla gear. There's a lot, i mean a LOT to be said for the materials and the actual techniques used. Tubes are put together by hand and there's a lot more that goes into them than people realize. Even tubes from the exact same batch have different bias, noise levels, gas, etc. Substitute different materials, techniques, staff, and you have a different tube.
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Post by bowie on Jul 28, 2019 6:44:00 GMT -6
Well we all know who to summon when we want the scoop... bowie Happy to help out. To avoid shifting focus, I won't comment on the sonic differences in the tubes but I'll just establish a couple of facts. When making component comparisons, it's important to eliminate variables, such as the tube, because that can make a significant difference and you won't just be comparing capsules. Siemens factory EF86s are rare so when we're talking about a Siemens EF86, 99% of the time we're talking about a tube that was made by someone else, but branded for Siemens. Siemens rebranded just about every make of EF86 ranging from the very best to the absolute worst. A Siemens EF86 could be a valuable Telefunken or a $5 Russian tube. If the Siemens was made by Telefunken, it's still not safe to assume it will sound exactly the same as a Tele EF806s as there were different revisions of the Tele EF86/EF806s and they sound different. Not to mention that the tubes will behave differently if they bias differently. Though they will likely be in the same ballpark, when critically comparing components I wouldn't feel comfortable judging a capsule unless I knew the tubes were a properly matched pair from the same production period. Hope that helps!
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Post by bowie on Jul 26, 2019 17:56:56 GMT -6
bowie , isn't the GE6072 considered to be 'THE' tube for any 251? Yes and no. It's a very desirable tube for vintage 251s but there's a number of factors that might make another tube preferred. One being that modern clones never sound exactly like the originals (and some originals have drifted a bit in sound) so the tube is a great way to fine tune the sound to your liking. And, even if a mic sounds original or is an original, many vintage mic owners find themselves liking tubes that are not the original types used. So, I encourage people to think of tubes in terms of being individual personalities and not so much in terms of a scale of quality.
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Post by bowie on Jul 23, 2019 21:11:44 GMT -6
Bowie, how would you compare the NOS 5751? Thanks, Chris The 5751 will be the next step up in gain. You will have slightly less headroom and a little more midrange push/compression. There are a few types of 5751s. The RCA black-plate 5751 will sound a little like the Mullard 12AT7 from the clip, as will the 1950s GE 5751. Both have a wide soundstagw in the mids and "warm" sound, rich in overtones. Early Sylvanias are a little more airy but they've become so overpriced that I think there's better options right now. Later GE and RCA 5751s are reasonably balanced, with a little more emphasis on the mids. Later Sylvanias are pretty rough.
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Post by bowie on Jul 23, 2019 16:12:30 GMT -6
One thing to keep in mind is that the tubes are different models. The Mullard is a 12AT7, the EH is likely a 6072(?). The 6072 is going to be a little brighter and have more headroom. I recommend the Mullard when someone wants a warmer tone with a more mellow top end. I'm not someplace where I can hear the clips right now but most find the EH 6072 to be a little gritty up top and undefined in the low-mids. A GE 6072 was the standard upgrade for a long time but they are very expensive now so alternatives like the Mullard 12AT7 are offered as they are a fraction of the price of a mic grade GE 6072. When the Mullard is too warm, the GE is often worth the investment, though there are some other alternatives as well.
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