Vintage gear - do you buy it? (1 Viewer)

[Oggy Pip]

Say you saw an amp which was thirty years old, it cost €300 more than the current new model which is replicated from the old designs.

The vintage amp is working fine but its likely to break down in the coming years and will need more maintenance. On the other hand it looks great. Its worn looking and it smells like your Grandads old boots. Provided you look after it you might up that €300 in years to come.

Would you pay the extra money or go with the new model?

Can you really tell the difference in sound and quality between the old factory build gear compared to the soulless mass produced new equipment?

Do you hold any nostalgia in things like this or is new/2nd hand gear all the way?

Your thoughts

 

[Goodbye]

"soulless mass produced new equipment"

??

 

[ann post]

everyone knows that inanimate objects develop a human soul after lying about in practice spaces for 30 years. it also helps if the marketing department is better funded then R+D, that way you can almost guarantee that the equipment itself is the actual creative force behind the music, and not the mindless drone celebrities* who have become the public face for these amazing devices, and build careers out of being connected to them.


*jimi hendrix, robert plant, pete townshend.

 

[Oggy Pip]

"soulless mass produced new equipment"

??

I might be exaggerating slightly but its just to spark a few opinions.

The point is that vintage gear has a history, whether you know what it is or not. It adds a bit of character that new gear wouldn't have, but is that enough to sway the buyer?

 

[damien]

it seems to me to be fairly generally accepted that, among the major manufacturors at least, the standards and quality were higher in the 60s and 70s then they are today. plus vintage stuff holds its value pretty well and even appreciates if you keep it in top nick.

it's obvious you have something exact in mind here, why don't you post examples of what you're talking about.

 

[RED(tape)MENACE]

Try both.
See which sounds best.

 

[ann post]

theres also the option of checking out the more obscure recent makes of amp. theres a few companies out there who build very good stuff, brand new that might be better then both.

saw one of these in action a while back and was very impresssed.

http://www.matamp.co.uk/home.htm

 

[PaoloJM]

I've played, gigged and owned many "modern" amps and modern vintage recreations; Dual Rectifier Solo, 5150 series 1 and 2, Powerball, DSL and TSL, modern Champ/GA5s, AC30CC etc. but my current amps are a '71 JMP 50, '65 Vox AC50 and an '81 JCM 800.
Not 'cos I'm some kind of vintage gear freak, but they just happen to be what I choose to buy.
I got the Vox for a great price as it needed a lot of work which I can do myself. It has some of the sweetest clean and mild overdrive tones I've heard. The JCM 800 was also a great price as it had been modded, which I promptly removed and did my own so I have a geniune hot rodded metal machine 800 for next to no money. The JMP I had to buy when I heard it, it's most increadable classic Plexi-style crunch tones I'd ever heard.

I've nothing against modern amps or PCBs, some are very well made, are reliable, sound awesome and are realtively easy to service. IMO It's just like it was back in the 60s and 70s; a lot of great gear and even more sh*te.
The Mark series Mesa's as well as some of the Dual Rec series, early 5150 series Peaveys, SLO and Soldanos in general are some semi vintage gear that are currently transitioning to that iconic status that the Plexi era Marshalls have. I'm guessing amps like the Diezels (VH4, Herbert), Bogners and possibly the Framus stuff will do the same in years to come while sh*te like the MG, DSL/TSL series Marshalls will be long forgotten.

 

[GARYXKNIFEDX]

If I had the money,I'd happily buy a new version of my Marshalls. The two I have I bought when they were still cheap enough,but they aren't the most reliable.
As for guitars,I wouldn't spend the extra. I know I'm gonna wreck it,at least aesthetically so i'm not gonna buy something vintage to hold or increase value.
I don't for a second believe most people can tell the difference in sound. At least not in the environment they'd be hearing it in.

 

[Kermit McDermott]

Does 20 years old could as vintage?

My amp is a Marshall JCM800 4211 made in 1989.

 

[GARYXKNIFEDX]

I think it's 25 for instruments. But that was a long time ago. They probably have changed it since then.

 

[Space]

theres also the option of checking out the more obscure recent makes of amp. theres a few companies out there who build very good stuff, brand new that might be better then both.

saw one of these in action a while back and was very impresssed.

http://www.matamp.co.uk/home.htm

Matamp have been around for a very long time, like 40 years or something. You should see the prices of Vintage Matamp.

I'd definitely rather buy a new amp over a vintage one as long as it's well made with decent components. Atthe moment I'd like a Meatsmoke from these guys:

http://www.verellenamplifiers.com/verellen.html

 

[shower another shower]

Have a set of 100+ y.o. tabla. Sound lovely. The low drum, the bayan, made out of brass sounds great. The high drum, the dayan, made from wood, has an amazing sound and has aged well.
Nice to have vintage gear passed down.

 

[Space]

Probably the only piece of vintage gear I'd like to own is an Ampeg B15.

 

[the departed]

certain amps can have a huge difference in sound over age.

moreso however, pedals can be totally different.

ive had vintage EHX pedals side by side with modern ones. the only thing they shared was the design of the casing and in most cases all metal parts had become plastic.

or even, a very a clear example; i had an mxr distortion+ side by side vintage and modern.
completely different sound. hard to say which was 'better' but the older one had more character in the sound. the modern one was more generic.

also, drums sound completely different as the wood ages etc.

similarly, neumann mics like the km184, u87 etc are all completely redesigned versions of classics and sounds totally different.
as pete said, see which sounds better, but more importantly, as gary said, in most cases you wont have anyone doing any sort of close comparisons.

 

[Goodbye]

I played a 1971 fender Mustang in 30th St Guitars in NYC.
I have never forgotten it.

 

[shower another shower]

Probably the only piece of vintage gear I'd like to own is an Ampeg B15.

amazing amp. Even the re-issues from 10 odd years back were very nice.
My BS12 is still available to the right buyer, btw.

 

[Tony Ramone]

The thing about old equipment is that all the components are probably gonna be way past their use by date - things like the capacitors will probably have leaked etc., so when you replace them with newer parts it's gonna have a big effect on the sound.
In other words, when you hear a vintage amp now, it's probably nothing like what it sounded like originally

 

[sparse]

I don't buy old gear for value, most of my stuff is wrecked and most of it I got pretty cheap. I'd have no problem using a reissue, single channel class A valve amps should sound good the minute you plug in, they're pretty simple machines.

I like to think that the components used in old amps are of a higher quality than modern stuff, ranges aren't as clearly defined. Seemingly the first Les Pauls the pickup output vary wildly as they weren't made to any standard.

I've got a '77 Marshall 50W JMP, A Fender Bassman 100 (72-76) & a Marmac XJ-60 (still have to repair)