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Post by jeremygillespie on Sept 23, 2023 8:14:37 GMT -6
Stam offer full tested 16 spare tube sets for a fair (lel) price. Joshua also tells me that in six years there has not been ONE issue with the MK1 tubes. Enjoy your Stamchild and do yourself the favor of getting a spare set of tubes from him. Who knows what the price of them will be in 5 years. |
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Post by Ward on Sept 23, 2023 10:51:29 GMT -6
Stam offer full tested 16 spare tube sets for a fair (lel) price. Joshua also tells me that in six years there has not been ONE issue with the MK1 tubes. Enjoy your Stamchild and do yourself the favor of getting a spare set of tubes from him. Who knows what the price of them will be in 5 years. Good advice! Always get spare tubes. I have a drawer full of spares and simply do not have enough |
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Post by lowlou on Sept 23, 2023 11:00:47 GMT -6
Yes next month I'll get two full sets. Thanks guys.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2023 12:38:49 GMT -6
This will get interesting...... BTW - Manley uses 6BA6's too in their Vari Mu. Makes me nervous. Time to call Manley and load up on some 6BA6's..... Manley uses 5760. Military tube. Lots of NOS GEs still available and when those run out there are lofi communist tubes still made for repairing Soviet era fighter jets. Tbar mod uses 6BA6. Analog mastering compressors sadly dying outside of diode bridges and that’s only because 33609 was switched so the people making cleaned up versions keep the switches. The GML and Foote VCAs are gone while faster optical sensors have parts issues so the new batch of 60 Maselecs might be the last ones. A lot of plugins don’t survive either. |
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Post by drumsound on Sept 23, 2023 12:54:11 GMT -6
I finally had tome to watch this. It's pretty interesting. I like Eric and I think modernizing the Fairchild is a really good idea.
Did he buy the HerChild just to compare, that's interesting.
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Post by thehightenor on Sept 23, 2023 13:03:55 GMT -6
Enjoy your Stamchild and do yourself the favor of getting a spare set of tubes from him. Who knows what the price of them will be in 5 years. Good advice! Always get spare tubes. I have a drawer full of spares and simply do not have enough You're making me nervous I have a lot of tube gear! |
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Post by lowlou on Sept 23, 2023 13:59:32 GMT -6
Yeah me too.
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Post by Ward on Sept 24, 2023 9:27:18 GMT -6
Good advice! Always get spare tubes. I have a drawer full of spares and simply do not have enough You're making me nervous I have a lot of tube gear! "The only safeguard to failure anxiety is preparation". That adage was true in high school, and it's true today in work life. |
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Post by niklas1073 on Sept 24, 2023 10:01:41 GMT -6
I would not be too nervous. I see a similar outcome as with 35mm film or vinyl records. There was a short time where it was due to extinction. When the original manufacturers finally runs down the production, you will shortly have a bunch of new producers filling the gap. It’s all about business. There’s enough tube equipment out there, amps, studio gear for a demand to be met and for someone to find business in producing valves.
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Post by Tbone81 on Sept 24, 2023 16:51:22 GMT -6
Didn’t yet watch the video but I don’t know why dealers/manufacturers giving spiffs is such a big deal? Most of the industry does that. It’s really just a commission to the sales rep (who makes shit money) for selling a product.
Does it incentivize the sales rep to sell one product over another? Sure…that’s what it’s supposed to do, so what? Everything in retail is there to incentivize the sale of xyz product.
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Post by Bat Lanyard on Sept 24, 2023 18:21:10 GMT -6
I’m sure you guys will sort this. I know I’m a Bay Area jerk, truth is Eric is clearly a super good guy, like so many great people in in the Bay. The thing is, it’s an area of extreme, extreme pressure to bring home the mega success. Poor kids at high schools near his old studio kill themselves every year if they happen to lose their 4.0 GPA. It’s so depressing! Eric is a success, not only did he do it for himself.. I’m here because of him. He MADE smashmouth sound like they could only dream. And so many other local bands, ones which long for that care and attention, and kept the bay scene going for decades after he left. And the hits he made, created careers. We are talking billions of dollars when you add it all up! Teams of talent, around the world, all because Eric made them a hit. It really hit home for me with the passing of Steve Harwell. Eric gave him the dream, the one we’d all want and it devoured the poor dude, like so many others. And with him ended careers of many. Anyway.. been wanting to say something of thanks, guess it’s whiskey and Friday night to bring it out. God bless you guys, these tools are awesome to have regardless That's one hell of a perspective and post. Thank you for this. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Sept 24, 2023 18:57:53 GMT -6
This will get interesting...... BTW - Manley uses 6BA6's too in their Vari Mu. Makes me nervous. Time to call Manley and load up on some 6BA6's..... I think there are 6BA6’s in the sta-level too. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Sept 24, 2023 19:06:08 GMT -6
This will get interesting...... BTW - Manley uses 6BA6's too in their Vari Mu. Makes me nervous. Time to call Manley and load up on some 6BA6's..... My Retro STA Level uses a pair of 6BA6 tubes. Are they only NOS? I got the impression they are readily available and nothing fancy. Unlike the NOS EF14 for my Wunder CM7 which I bought a spare A++ quality tube two years ago and it cost me $500 landed inc VAT and Duty!! 6BJ6’s will work too. |
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Post by drumsound on Sept 24, 2023 20:46:57 GMT -6
Didn’t yet watch the video but I don’t know why dealers/manufacturers giving spiffs is such a big deal? Most of the industry does that. It’s really just a commission to the sales rep (who makes shit money) for selling a product. Does it incentivize the sales rep to sell one product over another? Sure…that’s what it’s supposed to do, so what? Everything in retail is there to incentivize the sale of xyz product. It's not jsut the music great industy. Sales spiff have been in all industries for decades. And they are always temporary. That really is a non-issues. I think EV probably has never worked in sales or distribution, nor had anyone close to him in either. My old man was a salesman for most of his professional career. Spiff are VERY common. I worked in MI sales in the late 90s-early 2000s. Spiffs were great. Sometimes they were cash, sometimes merch. Either way they were a nice added bonus for 30-90 days. The things that REALLY incentivise sales people are killer products and GOOD MARGINS. Part of my Roland hatred was that their products had (I assume still have) more expensive wholesale prices. If I had the choice of selling one of two keyboards that both sold for $1000 (street price) and one cost the store $500 to buy and the other cost the store $600, and my commission was based on profit (and it was) I pushed the one that had an extra hundo in profit every day of the week. |
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Post by mike on Sept 28, 2023 13:38:26 GMT -6
Slightly off topic but since there were a couple mentions of 6BA6 tubes and the Manley T-bar, I thought I'd ask if anyone can fill me in on their experience with how the Manley 6BA6 T-Bar Tubes sound or any background on those penta laboratories 6BA6 tubes and how they sound compared to their 6BA6 counterparts, whether that's Phillips, RCA, Tele etc ?
Thanks,
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Post by drbill on Sept 28, 2023 15:01:44 GMT -6
Slightly off topic but since there were a couple mentions of 6BA6 tubes and the Manley T-bar, I thought I'd ask if anyone can fill me in on their experience with how the Manley 6BA6 T-Bar Tubes sound or any background on those penta laboratories 6BA6 tubes and how they sound compared to their 6BA6 counterparts, whether that's Phillips, RCA, Tele etc ? Thanks, Hey Mike! I have a Manley Vari-Mu with the T-Bar mod. Equipped with whatever 6BA6's it originally came with from Manley new, then retubed last year by Manley with (again) 6BA6's. I honestly have no idea what they put in them (first or second time) but they sound great. It's been awhile since I heard a 6386 equipped one, but I was thrilled with the VariMu when I got it. (6BA6 equipped) |
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Post by mike on Sept 28, 2023 15:44:08 GMT -6
Slightly off topic but since there were a couple mentions of 6BA6 tubes and the Manley T-bar, I thought I'd ask if anyone can fill me in on their experience with how the Manley 6BA6 T-Bar Tubes sound or any background on those penta laboratories 6BA6 tubes and how they sound compared to their 6BA6 counterparts, whether that's Phillips, RCA, Tele etc ? Thanks, Hey Mike! I have a Manley Vari-Mu with the T-Bar mod. Equipped with whatever 6BA6's it originally came with from Manley new, then retubed last year by Manley with (again) 6BA6's. I honestly have no idea what they put in them (first or second time) but they sound great. It's been awhile since I heard a 6386 equipped one, but I was thrilled with the VariMu when I got it. (6BA6 equipped) Thanks Dr. Bill, how great to be thrilled with the T-bar Mod sound when it came back! Though I don't know I'm right, it appears from both the Manley site and Front End Audio that Manley uses Penta laboratories 6BA6 tubes, I would guess them to be NOS, but don't know much about them or if they made their own or someone else made them for them. But more importantly I'm wondering how they might compare sonically to their Counterparts in a 6BA6 tube, as I find RCA 6BA6's a little more mid forward, Tele's to be the usual almost clinical pristine tight description and the Phillips to be more balanced with the older the tube usually the sweeter the sound. I didn't care for GE's in a 6BA6 tube, but have been wondering what the story is on these Penta laboratories 6BA6 tubes Manley uses and where they fall sonically .... |
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Sept 28, 2023 15:59:08 GMT -6
I would not be too nervous. I see a similar outcome as with 35mm film or vinyl records. There was a short time where it was due to extinction. When the original manufacturers finally runs down the production, you will shortly have a bunch of new producers filling the gap. It’s all about business. There’s enough tube equipment out there, amps, studio gear for a demand to be met and for someone to find business in producing valves. The difference is this, when film was being discarded there were small companies buying the equipment at pennies on the dollar to serve a niche and they got the old hands from the major manufacturers involved. With tubes the equipment that was used to produce many of those NOS tubes was melted down for scrap. Nobody cared at the time to curate the knowledge base of those old hands. I remember the estimate in the millions 30 years ago to build a line for a single model of pre amp tube, for some of the very rare tubes it was mind boggling. One of the biggest things was that I was told was that most tubes seam to require their own dedicated line. I was told by some guys at Kodak that with film like tape you can use the same line with some minor changes for most products. |
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Post by thehightenor on Sept 29, 2023 0:39:32 GMT -6
Didn’t yet watch the video but I don’t know why dealers/manufacturers giving spiffs is such a big deal? Most of the industry does that. It’s really just a commission to the sales rep (who makes shit money) for selling a product. Does it incentivize the sales rep to sell one product over another? Sure…that’s what it’s supposed to do, so what? Everything in retail is there to incentivize the sale of xyz product. It's not jsut the music great industy. Sales spiff have been in all industries for decades. And they are always temporary. That really is a non-issues. I think EV probably has never worked in sales or distribution, nor had anyone close to him in either. My old man was a salesman for most of his professional career. Spiff are VERY common. I worked in MI sales in the late 90s-early 2000s. Spiffs were great. Sometimes they were cash, sometimes merch. Either way they were a nice added bonus for 30-90 days. The things that REALLY incentivise sales people are killer products and GOOD MARGINS. Part of my Roland hatred was that their products had (I assume still have) more expensive wholesale prices. If I had the choice of selling one of two keyboards that both sold for $1000 (street price) and one cost the store $500 to buy and the other cost the store $600, and my commission was based on profit (and it was) I pushed the one that had an extra hundo in profit every day of the week. But that can be an issue for the consumer. When I phoned my pro dealer to ask about two tube EQ’s that were the same price, he strongly favoured one brand immediately. I know the reason, and so I had to take his advise with a pinch of salt. The brand he always focuses on is the brand I happen to know he makes the most profit on as he buys it in cheaper than the other brand. Another pro dealer I buy from doesn’t do this and just focuses on what will sound best for the customer. It’s certainly something to be aware of when dealing with dealers and asking for advice. |
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Post by niklas1073 on Sept 29, 2023 2:29:27 GMT -6
I would not be too nervous. I see a similar outcome as with 35mm film or vinyl records. There was a short time where it was due to extinction. When the original manufacturers finally runs down the production, you will shortly have a bunch of new producers filling the gap. It’s all about business. There’s enough tube equipment out there, amps, studio gear for a demand to be met and for someone to find business in producing valves. The difference is this, when film was being discarded there were small companies buying the equipment at pennies on the dollar to serve a niche and they got the old hands from the major manufacturers involved. With tubes the equipment that was used to produce many of those NOS tubes was melted down for scrap. Nobody cared at the time to curate the knowledge base of those old hands. I remember the estimate in the millions 30 years ago to build a line for a single model of pre amp tube, for some of the very rare tubes it was mind boggling. One of the biggest things was that I was told was that most tubes seam to require their own dedicated line. I was told by some guys at Kodak that with film like tape you can use the same line with some minor changes for most products. That is very true that it’s a more cumbersome process. But when there is a market void I believe there are always people to take advantage of them. Hopefully we are that much wiser in these days that there are entrepreneurs scouting for these production lines before they get scrapped in the future. Economically to take over such a line would of course require some more resources that the small boutiques probably has. But I would think some mid sized companies or big ones like Gibson or such could take over some of the remaining machinery if there is better money to sell the equipment than scrap it. |
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Post by drumsound on Sept 29, 2023 9:25:37 GMT -6
It's not jsut the music great industy. Sales spiff have been in all industries for decades. And they are always temporary. That really is a non-issues. I think EV probably has never worked in sales or distribution, nor had anyone close to him in either. My old man was a salesman for most of his professional career. Spiff are VERY common. I worked in MI sales in the late 90s-early 2000s. Spiffs were great. Sometimes they were cash, sometimes merch. Either way they were a nice added bonus for 30-90 days. The things that REALLY incentivise sales people are killer products and GOOD MARGINS. Part of my Roland hatred was that their products had (I assume still have) more expensive wholesale prices. If I had the choice of selling one of two keyboards that both sold for $1000 (street price) and one cost the store $500 to buy and the other cost the store $600, and my commission was based on profit (and it was) I pushed the one that had an extra hundo in profit every day of the week. But that can be an issue for the consumer. When I phoned my pro dealer to ask about two tube EQ’s that were the same price, he strongly favoured one brand immediately. I know the reason, and so I had to take his advise with a pinch of salt. The brand he always focuses on is the brand I happen to know he makes the most profit on as he buys it in cheaper than the other brand. Another pro dealer I buy from doesn’t do this and just focuses on what will sound best for the customer. It’s certainly something to be aware of when dealing with dealers and asking for advice. That's just the perils of commission sales. People are making a living based on what they sell. Appliances, cars, gear, homes, you just have to know that's in their mind. |
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Sept 29, 2023 14:12:32 GMT -6
It's not jsut the music great industy. Sales spiff have been in all industries for decades. And they are always temporary. That really is a non-issues. I think EV probably has never worked in sales or distribution, nor had anyone close to him in either. My old man was a salesman for most of his professional career. Spiff are VERY common. I worked in MI sales in the late 90s-early 2000s. Spiffs were great. Sometimes they were cash, sometimes merch. Either way they were a nice added bonus for 30-90 days. The things that REALLY incentivise sales people are killer products and GOOD MARGINS. Part of my Roland hatred was that their products had (I assume still have) more expensive wholesale prices. If I had the choice of selling one of two keyboards that both sold for $1000 (street price) and one cost the store $500 to buy and the other cost the store $600, and my commission was based on profit (and it was) I pushed the one that had an extra hundo in profit every day of the week. But that can be an issue for the consumer. When I phoned my pro dealer to ask about two tube EQ’s that were the same price, he strongly favoured one brand immediately. I know the reason, and so I had to take his advise with a pinch of salt. The brand he always focuses on is the brand I happen to know he makes the most profit on as he buys it in cheaper than the other brand. Another pro dealer I buy from doesn’t do this and just focuses on what will sound best for the customer. It’s certainly something to be aware of when dealing with dealers and asking for advice. First a guys got to pay his bills, sorry don’t care what the industry decisions are made based on someone making some coin. Second unless the actual seller said he was recommending one because of a Spiff you only think you know, lots of recommendations are made for reasons you will never know, it could be as simple as the manufacturer standing next to him as he talks to you or that manufacturer is actually shipping product. Spiff s are no different than giving product to a famous individual to promote a specific product, hell Ill argue that world is far more dirty. Next time your in the grocery store look at how often you reach for a product “ on sale” then remember that about half of those products are on sale because the manufacturer has provided a discount or rebate to the store, a Spiff in essence to the owner. How often have you gone out and bought based on a dealer having a lower price ? Guess what they have an incentive based discount program based on volume! Hell I was just laughing at what a mom and pop pay for a SM57LC, because I know that even with a Spiff payout I can buy it for less retail. |
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Post by spindrift on Sept 29, 2023 14:32:04 GMT -6
Who takes audio advice from gear dealers???
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Post by Ward on Sept 29, 2023 15:57:42 GMT -6
Who takes audio advice from gear dealers??? Why, homes recordists. The same people who cut their own hair and do their own dental work. |
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Sept 29, 2023 17:20:11 GMT -6
Who takes audio advice from gear dealers??? Grammy, Oscar Emmy, Noble prize, Super Bowl, NBA, NCAA, NASCAR, Peabody winners. Multi platinum artist, world acclaimed architects, Cruise Lines Touring Companies, Churches. Some of the most influential producers AE’s and musicians in the world. And if you have ever bought something because of something I have said you😁 Most of the guys who do this for a living don’t spend time on forums, they are to busy working or spending what time they do have with family. |
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