CaseyJones wrote: ... We're the heirs to Ken's legacy...
Exactly His legacy will be much greater because of the discussion here If Ken were to be alive building amps today, he would be able to sell all he could make at ANY price and not be adversely affected by the TW inspired amps we build. Emulation is the testament to Ken's greatness
The Vintage Guitar interview with Ken indicates a much nicer guy than all that. He did say he prefers folks that can use what came before and run with it on their own. He mentioned too that he was friends with the Carmen Ghia dude. His name has run off into busted synapse land.... Dangit. Is that guy from New Jersey or just a psychopath?
The Last of the World's Great Human Beings
Seek immediate medical attention if you suddenly go either deaf or blind.
If you put the Federal Government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in five years time there would be a shortage of sand.
skyboltone wrote:He mentioned too that he was friends with the Carmen Ghia dude. His name has run off into busted synapse land.... Dangit.
Mike Zaite. Got the go-ahead from KF to call his attenuator a "Trainwreck". Then again Gerald Weber got the go-ahead too until GW's thing turned out to be more a Kendrick and less a Trainwreck.
skyboltone wrote:Is that guy from New Jersey or just a psychopath?
The only psychopath from New Jersey in this picture would be me...
When people die, they either leave good ripples or bad ripples. Mark Durham left good ripples and his family is deserving. There's so much noise around KF, it leads me to think that he suffered fools gladly. ymmv.
jaysg wrote:When people die, they either leave good ripples or bad ripples. Mark Durham left good ripples and his family is deserving. There's so much noise around KF, it leads me to think that he suffered fools gladly. ymmv.
+1 Bolded for truth.
Also remember KF suffered from CFS. Which if he was surrounded by idiots and hanger-ons could have attributed to his futher sickening.
I have known and know of many people who were cured of CFS. But negative vibes from others never helped them.
Tubetwang wrote:i do not understand why this TrainWreck's rep would be upset by me building an Express and a Liverpool...
He writes that they sound nothing like the real TrainWreck...
He's only concerned for your welfare. To be deluded into thinking you have something that sounds like a Trainwreck, only for your musical soul to be crushed when you hear a real one.
gearhead wrote:He's only concerned for your welfare. To be deluded into thinking you have something that sounds like a Trainwreck, only for your musical soul to be crushed when you hear a real one.
So it's the Nick Lowe concept...you've gotta be cruel to be kind. I guess that makes it all okay.
The part I take issue with most is that K.F. was the only preson who could make a Trainwreck sound like a Trainwreck. I've seen this in industry, IMHO there isn't wide latitude... either the process (amp) is controllable or it isn't. If the process isn't controllable the only way to build reliable product (amps) is by serendipity, make a big pile of junk and then just by accident make one unit out of the whole pile that's just magic. Ken was of course supportive of the happy accident, don't laugh... most people are accidents! (The actual percentage is around 50%.) Obviously Ken's process was more or less controllable although no two amps are exactly alike.
Another possibility is that there are a couple key ingredients to the tone and that no one caught on to what those key ingredients are. Well, it's not called a Trainwreck for nuthin'... it's just barely controllable. There's a ton of gain available and no grid blockers so a sloppy build is gonna sound like a medicine show, the amp will roll around on the floor speaking in tongues (so to speak). A little nudge here and a tweak there with the ol' hand-me-down chopstick brings it right into the zone. As far as "suffering fools / not suffering fools" goes had The Sorcerer himself taken on a proper Apprentice there's no doubt in my mind that by now the student would be the master.
More likely "There's only one person who can make a Trainwreck sound like a Trainwreck" (and he's dead!) is a big fib. That might have been a useful piece of urban legend when Mr. Fischer was alive, for lack of anything else it protected his enterprise. There are at least half a dozen builders here with the technical chops required to build authentic Trainwreck replicas, it ain't rocket science. Further, let's all embrace the happy accident. With a little knowledge, a set of more or less correct parts and a network available to compare notes even those lacking The Right Stuff can achieve satisfactory results.
The rest, in polite terms, is smoke and mirrors. Or total bullshit in impolite terms!
I was referred to this site by some folks over at AX84.com. I was interested in an amp that could cover a lot of territory from chimey sounds to in your face power chords. I never would have learned of Ken F. or 'wrecks without ampgarage. I have since learned a lot about 'wrecks in the last several years and about Ken's legacy. I think everyone here will agree he would have been a cool guy to know. Even though I don't think a wreck is for me (too loud), I have had a great opportunity to hear some great sound clips (esp. Glen Kykendall), and see some excellent amp building here; clones and originals. The helpful nature of the forum members here is rivaled by very few web forums.
To contrast this, I have learned absolutely nothing from the TW site. Nothing about Ken F. the person, or his creations. The originator hasn't the guts to create a forum. What a joke! He is doing nothing but a complete disservice to Ken F's legacy and his creations.
Allynmey wrote:I just goes to show the lack of class of the hangers on. Being personally involved with the KF Memorial Amp as well as a number of members here, I can tell you that this guy has a future as a government propagandist!
To set the record straight, Hogy and CPA posted threads in various forums stating that a fund was setup to help with the costs of Ken's funeral. A number of us decided to build an amp WITH OUR OWN MONEY and donate 100% of the proceeds to Ken's Mother. That amp was the KF Memorial Amp. The amp was built and an auction was decided on. Vintage Guitar Magazine caught wind of the project and inquired of Billy Yates if they could tie it in with a piece they were going to run on the life of Ken. Thousands of dollars worth of authentic parts were donated and a special cabinet of ancient Kauri wood was made by Bob Burt. Some of Ken's family were interviewed for the piece. The night (Sunday) of the deadline date at the magazine, the family pulled out stating a disagreement with Vintage Guitar over the name of the article. The typical Fischer family spin machine went into full gear as well as the usual suspects of sycophants like this website revisionist, and denounced the project. Within a few days, the group went from well wishing amp enthusiats who wanted to do something to help Ken's mother to the usual evil cloners taking advantage of Kens designs.
I will say it here and everywhere... I have never met such a group of classless people in my life as all the "family and friends" of KF. It is no wonder why he was not a "public" person.
I know this will sit hard with a few here. It is a hard truth though. The only true friend of Ken I have met through this whole ordeal was CPA (Hubie). He is a true gentleman.
Allyn
Wow Allyn - that really sucks.
With a site like that TW one I just go "yeah whatever - another internet eegit". Didn't know about the memorial amp and the crap around it. That puts another perspective on things entirely.
Well, I called Stephen (The TW website creator) tonight. I talked for about a half hour with him and filled him in about the misinformation. He said he hasn't read about the controversy on the forums rather was told a very jaded story by some people connected to Ken. He agrees that he should remove the cloners page. Actually to his credit, he was thinking of doing it before I called. I think it's another person caught up in this KF wirlwind that makes us all crazy. He seems like a reasonable guy. Hopefully it will be taken care of soon.
Allyn
Update...the site has been updated Thank you Stephen.
Wow that was a quick update to the site! His statements like "Trainwreck amp cloners are simply people without good ears" were definitely way off base and not very thought out. Kudos to Allymey for the call.
His legacy will be much greater because of the discussion here 
I guess that makes it all okay.
