Internet versus reality

[Mad Axe]

Anyone else feel like your real life experiences are always at odds with prevailing opinion on most of the other gear forums or Facebook groups?

My latest experience with this phenomenon involves my ‘71 Marshall Super Tremolo. I have owned the amp since 2019 but rarely used it because it had no master volume and I didn’t really like it through an attenuator. I had thought about adding a master volume but read all the comments on various forums saying “it neuters the amp and won’t sound good” so I never did.

A few weeks ago I listed it for sale because I don’t use it much and figured it was better off going to someone else than getting “neutered”. I had it sold but then the buyer ended up backing out. After that happened I said f*ck it, I’m trying a simple pre phase inverter master volume. I only had to disturb one original solder joint and was able to use an existing hole in the chassis so I figured I could easily reverse it if it doesn’t sound good.

Guess what? Now the amp sounds great, exactly the way I hoped it would and is totally usable at all volumes! It’s like I got a new amp and I can’t stop playing it. If I had listened to the hive mind it would be gone and I’d be back down the amp shopping rabbit hole again..

 

[thegame]

Yes, everything.

 

[DanTravis62]

All the time. I assume it's because the hobby accumulated a lot of newbies and hobbyists during covid, and a lot of people on gear forums are using their gear differently than I would

It's not good or bad, it's just something to keep in mind

 

[Findthetone1]

The internet has seemingly created an entire world of "experts" on anything and everything. Don't even get me started on it creating at least 2 generations of mental level narcissists.
And yet, here I am, typing on the internet. I'm not so sure we're not all stuck in some bad 60's Sci-Fi movie.

 

[Smash]

A lot of people on gear forums are using their gear differently than I would

This. People use gear differently. Especially rock players use it way different than metal players. We really should take what kind of music people play into context

 

[Mad Axe]

All the time. I assume it's because the hobby accumulated a lot of newbies and hobbyists during covid, and a lot of people on gear forums are using their gear differently than I would

It's not good or bad, it's just something to keep in mind

I’ve picked up some good advice from forums over the years but yeah, the past 4 or 5 years I find myself scratching my head a lot .

 

[DanTravis62]

This. People use gear differently. Especially rock players use it way different than metal players. We really should take what kind of music people play into context

100% - Someone who plays exclusively Foghat or ZZTop covers is going to have an entirely different set of parameters as to what makes a piece of gear "work" or "sound good" than I am

I’ve picked up some good advice from forums over the years but yeah, the past 4 or 5 years I find myself scratching my head a lot .

Dude 100% I've heard some WILD ass stuff the last couple of years

 

[CrystalSky]

All the time. I assume it's because the hobby accumulated a lot of newbies and hobbyists during covid, and a lot of people on gear forums are using their gear differently than I would

It's not good or bad, it's just something to keep in mind

Definitely, I only use amps to heat the room

 

[DanTravis62]

Dfinitely, I only use amps to heat the room

Probably need one of those Bugeras, I hear they can heat a room really well

 

[SoooRad]

Take in the info that you get, but don't rely on it. There is no substitute for really trying something out yourself

 

[NowYou'rePlayingWithPower]

Outside of parroting; I feel like part of the problem is that people rarely state their purpose/needs/wants/budget so you have a lot of people chiming in with things that don't always make sense or fit the bill for the use case. I see this on all hobby forums from computers to motorcycles and of course musical gear. I suppose part of it is not knowing the right questions to ask, also.

"What's the best distortion pedal?" a hundred answers.
"What's best distortion pedal for this amp, style, and budget?" two or three answers.

 

[Smash]

The worst one for me is when people describe the quality of tube amps that dont play them at volume.

From gates, to feel, to fullness, an amp behaves completely different.

 

[RaceU4her]

I trust Ola as my YouTuber as I sound most similar to him when we play the same gear, and there’s really only a handful of guys on forums I absolutely trust who I’ve heard play and describe gear the same way I do. I see guys every day describing things literally polar opposite of what I’m hearing, I just saw a thread recently somewhere asking for a dry, tight and unforgiving amp, and half the responses were “Mesa marks”, like wtf?? lol

 

[dstroud]

Congrats man!! Glad you got what you want out of your amp man!!

 

[CrystalSky]

Probably need one of those Bugeras, I hear they can heat a room really well

Once and for all

 

[TheGreatGreen]

Dude 100% I've heard some WILD ass stuff the last couple of years

Oh come on dude it's not that wild, you can totally make a 20w amp sound EXACTLY like a 100w amp with some EQ.


I'm gonna run this joke into the ground and I'm always gonna think it's funny. Apologies in advance.

 

[DanTravis62]

Oh come on dude it's not that wild, you can totally make a 20w amp sound EXACTLY like a 100w amp with some EQ.


I'm gonna run this joke into the ground and I'm always gonna think it's funny. Apologies in advance.

Don't worry it's always going to be funny, because it's the exact sort of thing a beginner type guy would think - you can even understand their sort of twisted logic

"well for a gainy amp, the power amp section is just a make louder device anyways, so the power amp doesn't matter as long as you have enough volume to record it!"

 

[thegame]

Oh come on dude it's not that wild, you can totally make a 20w amp sound EXACTLY like a 100w amp with some EQ.

Oh yeah? I can make an OG 100w Mesa Mark 2 C+ sound like a puny 20w amp if I turn it's graphic EQ off.

 

[Smash]

Don't worry it's always going to be funny, because it's the exact sort of thing a beginner type guy would think - you can even understand their sort of twisted logic

"well for a gainy amp, the power amp section is just a make louder device anyways, so the power amp doesn't matter as long as you have enough volume to record it!"

This is so true. And i know the idea of a master volume was to allow this very situation. But even for metal guys, something special happens from the power section. And a tiny one doesnt have the punch

 

[TheGreatGreen]

Don't worry it's always going to be funny, because it's the exact sort of thing a beginner type guy would think - you can even understand their sort of twisted logic

"well for a gainy amp, the power amp section is just a make louder device anyways, so the power amp doesn't matter as long as you have enough volume to record it!"

You know, it's funny, because along with there being plenty of guys out there who think like that, there are also plenty of them on the opposite end of the spectrum who think stuff like "there's nothing that makes an amp more different than different power tubes" which they will confidently and proudly tell you because hey, one time they played a Twin with 6L6's and then another time they played a JCM 800 with EL34's and those amps sound different which can only be because the power tubes are different kinds, right?

To that end, I've learned the internet tends to greatly exaggerate degrees of difference and importance any specific ingredient makes. Of course a 20w and 100w version of the same amp are going to be irreconcilably different, absolutely... but take the same 100w preamp-centric high gainer and swap the 6L6's for EL34's. Sure, there's a difference, but in a lot of instances, you might have to go back and fourth more than once to hear it, while internet forums would have you believe these two instances of amp wouldn't even sound like they came from the same universe.