I'm only 26...and sometimes I wish I wouldn't of got into it...chasing damn sound/sounds in my head constantly...a lot of harmonics/overtone's etc.
That is precisely it. If you want to do a ''business'' and measure success or failure based totally on economic bottom line, then it will be tough. If you have a means of other income and you do this because you have a passion, whether as a hobby, part time or retirement venture...whatever works for you..it can be in the garage, basement or a little corner of your place. Sometimes that grows to a bigger venture, and if not well try not to over extend yourself financially. AudioFreak, you got bitten by the bug and so do others, nothing wrong with chasing the dragon ;-) That's why we are all here.
Cheers
Cheers
If you have the skills to build you might want to start with repair. Services may be a better route if your in an area that has enough players.
I tried my hand at a few audio ventures. SE output transformers and foamed alu panels. The SE trannies were vintage manufactured and performed well but supporters disappeared and that market dried up. The Chinese took over and they even shrunk. I made some money, about a buck an hour. The foamed aluminum panels have some interest but prices are high so few sales. Light weight armor might be a better market for that material.
Niche markets with a few hundred thousand buyers are hard. If you look at "Shark Tank" they want cheap, clever, everyday products to sell to the masses at huge mark ups. Most of those who make it to "Shark Tank" have spent years and many thousands $$ to get there.
Be careful, protect yourself and keep your day job.
I tried my hand at a few audio ventures. SE output transformers and foamed alu panels. The SE trannies were vintage manufactured and performed well but supporters disappeared and that market dried up. The Chinese took over and they even shrunk. I made some money, about a buck an hour. The foamed aluminum panels have some interest but prices are high so few sales. Light weight armor might be a better market for that material.
Niche markets with a few hundred thousand buyers are hard. If you look at "Shark Tank" they want cheap, clever, everyday products to sell to the masses at huge mark ups. Most of those who make it to "Shark Tank" have spent years and many thousands $$ to get there.
Be careful, protect yourself and keep your day job.
The Market just isn't there its not like how it was anymore..and further don't want Tube anything anymore..all Digital age now....and what servicing there is is stuff that mostly will be a long time to worry about anyways all depending...no way that is going to be enough. and a good amount of owners/users are DIYers/service do all of it themselves too.
I don't know... how would one get started with this? talking like just re-cap's/tubes/clean jacks/sockets/xformers/circuit tweaks? I could do that...pretty common service stuff. it sounds to me like it would be a side Project mostly.
If I build something it's going to be something badass...but then would damn near be lucky to break even probably trying to sell it....
and be tempted keep it anyways xD
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The market for tube gear definitely exists. How to get noticed, build up a brand, and make a big enough profit to make all the effort worthwhile - that's the hard bit.
Build something for yourself that is "badass". Then build yourself a second one. Loan the better of the two to an interested and trustworthy friend. He may just buy it, or know somebody who will. That is how Tubelab got started. It helped that I worked in a large factory filled with technical people. Yes, 90% of them were under 30 years old and totally into iPods and wall shaking HT stuff. But there were maybe a fraction of a percent that were interested I tubes, and they were mostly guitar players. A fraction of a percent was enough when the combined population of all the south Florida factories were 5,000 people!
The key is to figure out what gadget will work with the largest population base that you can easily reach. In my case there were a lot of technical people in one place, and letting people borrow an amp of two was easy and low risk. I had lost track of a KT88 amp that I had loaned out, until someone that I barely knew came up to me and said that he had my amp, wanted to keep it, how much did I want for it?
Those days are indeed gone, because those factories are gone. Opportunities are still out there, they are just a bit less obvious. Tube amps are alive and well in the guitar world, you just need one that is different from all the rest....and not a one trick pony!
Look back at the 300B guitar amps linked a few posts back. Well done web site with plenty of sound files and a video or two. Cool looking amps, unique design, and very clean sound for a acoustic, rhythm, or blues player. They are a bit restricted in the variety of tones that you can get out of them, but......at up to $5000 each you don't have to sell many.
Trying to do something different circuit wise/tube guitar related now that's interesting. a lot of it still the same stuff nothing really groundbreaking going on you know.
Oddwatt srarted a few years ago and are having a good run at it. Bruce is over at diyaudioprojects. Look him up.
Already getting just sick/detailed sound out of the Stealth anyways...doesn't mean I'm still not thinking about building something though xD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdioAXPVlxQ
interesting how them ICs/Transistors/RC/CF can change so many things/response.
still few things need to adjust though...doing some wild stuff 10 speakers etc haha
it's ignorant haha
still few thing I want to try...it's never ending with this circuit or any for that matter.
better players than me would love this thing now haha
don't mind bad playing and that one stupid note I didn't hit right/annoying...
sure can show some sloppy playing I tell ya.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdioAXPVlxQ
interesting how them ICs/Transistors/RC/CF can change so many things/response.
still few things need to adjust though...doing some wild stuff 10 speakers etc haha
it's ignorant haha
still few thing I want to try...it's never ending with this circuit or any for that matter.
better players than me would love this thing now haha
don't mind bad playing and that one stupid note I didn't hit right/annoying...
sure can show some sloppy playing I tell ya.
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Look at Ashdown amps for an example. They figured out a way to compete with fender and the other big boys, and there expensive. Fits a niche. As far as digital for guitars, it still sucks. A friend had a line 6 guitar amp till he heard an real analogue tube amp (for the same money). He cant believe he took so long to figure that out.
Well the Nicer Digital is going to be like Axe fx or the Kemper etc...rather overpriced if you ask me...only because of considering numerous tube amps can all do the same sounds. depends what it is...some are more "One-Trick-Pony" than others.
but I mean, it's whatever you like/want I suppose. Find/do what you like, ears guiding you etc...that's what I do anymore.
preamp related yeah can go insane with clipping but output section is a bit different more like being used/manipulated for certain tubes/OPT harmonic character/characteristic's.
Semiconductor/transistors implemented, can actually sound pretty good though believe it or not...Maybe it's a preference thing...but I don't mind some of it.
some Digital stuff is actually pretty good. Kemper is definitely one of them.
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Kemper is fine - until you try to twiddle the controls... It doesn't model the way the real amp responds to control inputs and that severely restricts its use a creative tool.
Even when a model sounds pretty close to the real thing, it never "feels" like the real thing. Part of that may be the few ms delay it takes for the model to render the sound, I don't know, but it just doesn't feel the same playing into an amp model. I don't feel it in my gut the way I feel a real tube amp. The response just isn't right.
Check out Overloud's TH2. It is an amp/cabinet simulator that resides in your PC.
You need a decent soundcard that will accept a guitar level signal and an external amp/speaker system. I use a MOTU Micro Book II interface which has a guitar and a mic input as well as line level inputs for a keyboard. There are headphone and line level outputs which are usually plugged into one of my tube amps.
There are a dozen or so virtual pedals and several amps. You connect them all up with virtual cables. It is possible to connect up two different signal chains with different amps and cabinets and morph between them with a MIDI pedal.
There is a 15 day trial and it is a totally cool way to waste a few days playing around.
Peavey Revalver MKIII is another PC based virtual amp simulator with a unique twist. You can chose an amp to simulate, and then dig into the amps internals and change parts. You want to unplug the 12AX7 and try a 12AU7, go for it. You cab change resistor and cap values too. There are virtual scopes and "frequency analyzers" to see the harmonic structure changing as you hear the results.
Revalver has been "totally redone' for version 4 and I am not sure if the "tube tweak" features have been retained. I got version 3 cheap from Musicians Friend last year. Again another way to tinker away a day or two.
Here is a SS soft limiter circuit that comes the nearest to valve type distortion have found. You can alter the tone with the pot. It benefits from a presence/treble control after it to increase bite.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Limiters trip me out though/messing with that...trying to do a balancing thing/hacking/cutting off frequencies/abrupt like response...kinda like compressor's where some more quieter/laid back frequencies can abruptly become loud as hell/db change etc.
In a way sounds kinda fake to me, hard to explain...because it's like reducing/counteracting a more open/natural sound.
I don't know I can't begin to explain how I hear things/responses.
You tell me, trip's me out...wonder further how others hear things. I think it gets aggravating/abrupt/startles me being able always notice/super sensitive DB changes, all over frequency/harmonic spectrum.
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