Draloric Resistors - Before and After - Video Demo

[martin manning]

Yes, specifically a Blackface Deluxe. At 31:25 he says HAD's answer was "Sound-wise, no difference." He also says HAD mentioned the appearance of the old parts as being like a 1960's Fender, which would imply CC resistors. That's a little surprising if he's saying there is no difference between CF say, and CC. Resistor noise is both measurable and audible, so I accept that as real. I have wondered if that isn't what people are hearing, and describing with more flowery language? Or, perhaps if the presence of more or less noise affects the psycho-acoustic perception of the sound. Everyone is free to do as they please, of course, and anyway keeping those old pre-ROHS parts out of landfills is a good thing ;^)

[ijedouglas]

I have to respectfully disagree. Noise may impact frequency response and CC may have far more noise than a MF but it does not explain the difference between two resistors of similar construction. A Sprague Q-line 1/2W sounds VERY different from a Xicon 1/2W CF. An old shiny NTE 1/2W flameproof sounds VERY different from a current dull coating NTE 1/2W flameproof.
I agree, this matters to some and less to others. Each to their own

[ayan]

For me it's hard to ignore the significance of what Georg Birkmaier says in the 7 March Guitar Wank podcast. It's a first hand account, and he recalls it very clearly: No difference in the sound of old vs. new parts, just cosmetic appearance and better reliability for new. HAD was fastidious about many other things, but this detail he left to the customer's personal preference.

That is hearsay by definition, right? In the last episode of the GuitarWank podcast, RF talked about his two ODSs and shared that he sold the second one he had bought when he got a divorce a few years ago, etc. At some point, he goes on to say Dumble got them as close sounding as he could, and RF stated that the two amps sounded "identical." I've heard both amps on numerous occasions and, to me, the second one sounded nothing like the first one. Just yesterday, I came across this Vertex YT video entitled "The Only Pedal Dumble Approved Of." Right out of the gate, Mason started saying that Dumbles are historically known to be the least pedal friendly amps ever, "a fact that Dumble had pointed out himself" (paraphrased), etc. He makes the same claim a good ten times during the video. I doubt Dumble ever said that, for one, and then I think Mason... ah, nevermind. At the end of the day, people saying something doesn't necessarily make it so, regardless of who's speaking the words.

G.

[Chris Brown]

I did get the sense that Georg was making those statements completely in good faith. He is one of the few guests that isn't involved in the industry at all. Nothing to market and nothing to promote... no personal image to uphold.

[martin manning]

It also seems clear that they had a close relationship, and that Dumble trusted him. Imagine, this amp was delivered with no silicone on the preamp board, and a schematic?

[ayan]

I did get the sense that Georg was making those statements completely in good faith. He is one of the few guests that isn't involved in the industry at all. Nothing to market and nothing to promote... no personal image to uphold.

I realize my point was poorly made, Chris. I am sure Georg had the conversation with HAD and I didn't meant to imply he was making it up, mea culpa. What we don't have is the context. For example, it could have been that for someone like Georg, HAD felt the parts wouldn't make a difference. I've also seen plenty of people review their amps on YT and talk about "great sensitivity and dynamic range," and then they start to play the amp and one sees they might as well be playing through a transistor radio because they're still at that stage of their development as players. To counter Georg's conversation, we also have the documented conversation -- also recently quoted during another GuitarWank episode -- between EJ and HAD, where after replacing some components in EJ's amp with Radio Shack parts, HAD told EJ "I now know you like the sound of cheap parts."

[bepone]

I have to respectfully disagree. Noise may impact frequency response and CC may have far more noise than a MF but it does not explain the difference between two resistors of similar construction. A Sprague Q-line 1/2W sounds VERY different from a Xicon 1/2W CF. An old shiny NTE 1/2W flameproof sounds VERY different from a current dull coating NTE 1/2W flameproof.
I agree, this matters to some and less to others. Each to their own

like paradox ,
CC is the quietest resistor in the gate of high transconductance devices like mosfets are, and MF can be most dangerous and noisy (oscillation prone/ antenna/) on this position
so CC is the main cure for oscillations (because non inductive) and still has a long life and use in modern era

[talbany]

Then we have the Ben Harper comment "he measured my chassis before he made the amp and found the right one. He showed me the meter " .

Tony

[bepone]

when i'm thinking about "Eric Johnson cheap parts",15 min solution.. this can be only something with cheap ceramic cap in treble circuits, when listening to EJ tone , highs are too suppresed, tone is too smooth, change is noticeable when passing from mica; MKP; MKT; MKC; PP or other film caps.. ceramic removes spikey treble irritation instantly!

[Reeltarded]

"he measured my chassis before he made the [redacted] and found the right one. He showed me the meter " .

Tony

That's what she said.

[pottedplant]

Then we have the Ben Harper comment "he measured my chassis before he made the amp and found the right one. He showed me the meter " .

Tony

I've often wondered about this statement. It's like a game of telephone right? If we assume Ben isn't lying about that interaction occuring but rather just misunderstood him (which it's very obvious that if it did happen, it was a misunderstanding because he said the chassis had no "charge") then shouldn't we wonder what he actually meant? I wonder what it was that Dumble was showing him that got misinterpreted in a game of telephone... you know? Was Dumble measuring chassis resistance between ground lugs or something along those lines? I want to believe that Ben isn't lying but just misunderstood Dumble being that he's not an electronics technician but rather a musician.

Any speculations on your behalf about what might have actually been said during that interaction?

[ijedouglas]

Then we have the Ben Harper comment "he measured my chassis before he made the amp and found the right one. He showed me the meter " .

Tony

I've often wondered about this statement. It's like a game of telephone right? If we assume Ben isn't lying about that interaction occuring but rather just misunderstood him (which it's very obvious that if it did happen, it was a misunderstanding because he said the chassis had no "charge") then shouldn't we wonder what he actually meant? I wonder what it was that Dumble was showing him that got misinterpreted in a game of telephone... you know? Was Dumble measuring chassis resistance between ground lugs or something along those lines? I want to believe that Ben isn't lying but just misunderstood Dumble being that he's not an electronics technician but rather a musician.

Any speculations on your behalf about what might have actually been said during that interaction?

I think Dumble knew exactly what he was doing when building amps. I think he also knew exactly what he was doing in the marketing space

[talbany]

"sanding the chassis to perfection and measuring the charge" means 50.21



Tony

[Charlie Wilson]

He must be measuring the resistance across the chassis. zero ohms. Tony, I'm going to say this real quiet, so Martin doesn't hear me, we did talk about how some chassis (grade of steel?) make for a bad sounding amplifier.
CW

[talbany]

He must be measuring the resistance across the chassis. zero ohms. Tony, I'm going to say this real quiet, so Martin doesn't hear me, we did talk about how some chassis (grade of steel?) make for a bad sounding amplifier.
CW

CW
True but he doesn't say he was measuring ohms he says " Charge" and "Perfectly Sanded"
We've already speculated about what all this means here.
https://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 62#p390362

I am not doubting Dumbles expertise it's the vague comments made by guitar players (with no technical background) with very little to no context that raises my B.S meter.
As far as what i think I find it hard to believe Dumble would ask such a thing and then respond? For cosmetic reasons only ( inside the amp) So I am calling B.S on this one

Btw.What is your take on Dumble's comment about old vs new?

Tony