Foolish


Stupid!
Dumb!
Ignorant!
Idiot!
Disbelief!
OK!
Excited!
Grinning!
Happy!
Smiling!
Goose Bumps!
Believer!
Whoah!

OK, the electrician just left my house after installing three dedicated AC lines, 1-15, & 2-20s. All I can say is Whoah! Cannot believe what I am hearing after the first 5 CDs. Everything in my system changed, well almost. Dynamics, effortless power, smoother but not the mellow kind of smoother, soundstage became wider, more real sounding, more like the musicians are in the room and not just a good sounding studio recording. I even opened up my 1960s Gibson Les Paul and jammed to Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, The Colour of Love CD, that’s how excited I got, sorry my Marshall 50 watt half stack is in storage for now. You should hear Pat Barber’s Café Blue, I am hearing details that I heard before but not like this, I think I can hear her lips coming apart on song umber 6; Wood is a Pleasant Thing, no really. You know the sound when your lips are moist and you open them up. I thought my system sounded good before but this is something new. I am glad I did this before upgrading my AC and speaker cables. I may have to rethink some of these. My Sony SCD-777ES does not have a hint of edginess anymore. The bass guitar on Ode to Billy Joe is so much more dynamic and real sounding, it sounds more like it is in my room then a good recording of one. If you play acoustic guitar and you slide you fingers on the strings and get the screech, I have always heard this sound very natural on my system but it did not sound like it was in the room (although I thought it did) until now, you know if you play guitar what I am describing here. The musicians seem to be more in the room than coming from within the speakers (the only way I can explain it at this moment). Cymbals are very crisp and natural, the snare drum sounds like the old 60s snare drum sound, with a real snap, I pulled out my old Rogers drum set also and compared, eerie.

Anyway, for you foolish audiophiles who are changing your cables and such, this was the best upgrade that I can recommend to you before buying any component or cable, etc. It cost me $225 for the three lines, and I have heard as much as $125 a line. So for $375, you would have to spend more than that on three AC cords, ICs and speaker cables. I know, I have the AZ Holograms here for an audition with the Audience and Shunyata speaker cables. I will post a review in about three or four weeks.

To all of the Agoners who replied to my forum post on Electrician coming over, you know who you are, we all do, and who put up with my endless questions, I wish I could buy you all a drink right now, hey it is only 11 am. The biggest thanks that I can give you is from my heart. You guys (gals???) are the greatest for taking the time to help me with all of this. Foolish I am no more!

Gotta go listen, I haven’t felt this way in a very long time!!!

Happy Listening.

Peter

Song 11 on Pat Barber is playing in the back ground with the drum solo and cymbals crashing, Whoah!
bigkidz
When I had a late-70's Marshall 50w master volume half-stack with a 1960 model bass cabinet of an older (late 60's/early 70's?) vintage, I often thought about leaving off the back panel, but didn't know that people did this, and didn't want to have to relocate the jack or expose the speakers to damage, so this is very interesting stuff to learn. I got sold it about 6 years ago, and have kind of been wanting to explore a Marashall combo or equivalent as an alternative to my regular 1964 Fender Super Reverb, because I'm not totally into the closed-back sound, but liked the way the Marshall head sounded through the Fender 4X10" cabinet. Then again, with all the different 'boutique' designer tube combos offered today, my head just spins.
There are tons of amps out there now, as you point out Zaikesman, but I've yet to hear anything better than a Fender Super (or Bassman) for Blues and than a Marshall head / 4x12 (I like the celestion vintage 30s) for rock.
There are tons of guitars available now, but I still only care for Les Paul / Strat / Tele / 335.
The oldies are certainly the goodies.
I own thirty guitars ranging from 60s LP, Strat, Tele, Gibson 335, 175 and LP Specials. I also own a number of reissues and custom shop stuff. The oldies are great but I cannot take them out to play so the relics are great, and if you play around with the pickups, they come very close. The Fender Vibro King is a great blues amp but as Seandtaylor99 said the SUper (or Bassman) is killer.

Still wondering what a power cord or JPS/Audience guitar cable will do for the sound.

Are you guys still players?? I get into NYC about three or four times a month to go to some jam sessions. My son Zachary (bigkidz) just told me that he wants to learn the guitar, probably to get chicks!!! So I ordered him a 3/4 length Strat from my friend at AXL guitars.

Did you guys go to guitargeek.com yet to check out the rigs? Just finished listening to Danny Gatton, Crusin' Deuces CD, if you don't know him or the CD, email me at bigkidz@optonline.net and I will burn and send one to you. The man could play the guitar like nobody. He was such a nice guy to, but I cannot do half the things he could.

Happy Listening and Playing.

Peter
I used to play(badly), but never sounded better than when I plugged my Strat(with Seymour Dunkan Vintage Staggered style pick ups) into a MESA/Boogie.

Zaikesman and I have talked about it a bit. It isn't his sound, but I loved it. It made me sound like I knew how to play the damn thing! They used to make a little 10" combo called the Subway Rocket that I would love to get my hands on if I ever decide to pick the guitar up again. All tubes and mostly point to point wiring. I love the tone that these amps have. These guys care about the sound their amps make and it shows.
Peter, I still play and own about 1/3 the number of guit's you do, but they are all a little more of the 'out' variety than the LP's, 335's, and Strat's. I live in the late Mr. Gatton's home base area of DC, and saw him play a few times live, even though his music overall was not my bag (if it had been, I could have seen him a thousand times I suppose); undeniably a unique talent (and no, I couldn't play anything like him even if I wanted to!).