Are tube amps the new vinyl?

[MatrixClaw]

I bet if you more had friends who bought cd’s and avoided vinyl this would read different though. I pay for streaming to listen to cd’s im not digging out (and occasionally finally check out new releases and recs).

I used to buy CDs and have a pretty huge collection. I didn't listen to streaming in the car because I liked listening to CDs front to back. Now, most cars don't even come with them, so it's the same product as a vinyl player in the home. If your choice is between vinyl or CDs and you don't already have a large collection of CDs, I don't think many people would pick them over vinyl when streaming is already available

 

[budda]

I used to buy CDs and have a pretty huge collection. I didn't listen to streaming in the car because I liked listening to CDs front to back. Now, most cars don't even come with them, so it's the same product as a vinyl player in the home. If your choice is between vinyl or CDs and you don't already have a large collection of CDs, I don't think many people would pick them over vinyl when streaming is already available

Vinyl warps, costs more and takes up more room, so i dunno.

 

[MatrixClaw]

Vinyl warps, costs more and takes up more room, so i dunno.

Very true, but why even buy CDs when you can stream at the same quality? My point is that, if someone is looking for physical media and has no equipment to play them yet, the attractiveness of CDs is much, much lower.

People used to have DVD or Blu-ray players that could play CDs. Now a lot of people don't even own physical movies. Game systems all used to have drives you could play CDs in. Now only the expensive versions have them because digital purchases outsell physical. Cars used to have CD players, now they have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay so you can stream your music. We used to have portable CD players, now I don't even know if they make them anymore.

The reason cassette tapes and CDs were even invented in the first place is because no one's going to carry around a huge record player with the large vinyl records to listen to outside their home. Now that CD players really only exist in the home, there is very little point to them existing at all.

 

[Shorts_Mike]

I bet if you more had friends who bought cd’s and avoided vinyl this would read different though. I pay for streaming to listen to cd’s im not digging out (and occasionally finally check out new releases and recs).

People also want physical things. As somebody else said earlier, look at all of the NGDs, etc on this forum and others (myself included). Theres very little sense of satisfaction in digital purchases.

 

[budda]

People also want physical things. As somebody else said earlier, look at all of the NGDs, etc on this forum and others (myself included). Theres very little sense of satisfaction in digital purchases.

Buying a CD is physical?

 

[TedEH]

lotta players will dismiss it an axe/helix/qc thing

I guess my thinking is that the opposite crowd, the "tube amps are for olds" types would be all over it.

 

[Shorts_Mike]

Buying a CD is physical?

You physically have ownership of the medium. Comes with art, etc. Alot of people want a sense of ownership that doesn't exist with the strictly digital.

 

[budda]

You physically have ownership of the medium. Comes with art, etc. Alot of people want a sense of ownership.

Yes. Im saying streamers are more likely to buy cd’s if they want physical over vinyl.

 

[Shorts_Mike]

Yes. Im saying streamers are more likely to buy cd’s if they want physical over vinyl.

I'd be interested to know the stats. Personally, I'm in the camp where, if I'm buying a physical copy, I'm buying vinyl. Something cooler about it and my media player can do both.

 

[Shask]

You physically have ownership of the medium. Comes with art, etc. Alot of people want a sense of ownership that doesn't exist with the strictly digital.

"You will own nothing and be happy about it..."

Seems to be a quote coming true these days. Don't pay your monthly bill, or your iLok goes on the fritz, see how much you can use your stuff.

 

[budda]

I'd be interested to know the stats. Personally, I'm in the camp where, if I'm buying a physical copy, I'm buying vinyl. Something cooler about it and my media player can do both.

Im buying a shirt because cd or vinyl wont get opened lol

 

[Shorts_Mike]

Im buying a shirt because cd or vinyl wont get opened lol

I buy the shirt, poster and vinyl lol.

 

[TedEH]

"You will own nothing and be happy about it..."

I'm calling it now -> the next big modeller will be a subscription service. $24.99/mo to continue having access to the premium amps.

Or does that already exist? I bet that already exists.

 

[Shask]

I'm calling it now -> the next big modeller will be a subscription service. $24.99/mo to continue having access to the premium amps.

Or does that already exist? I bet that already exists.

Oh, it will be coming. You already see plugin suites going this way.

I know Neural has some sort of cloud thing they could monetize, but I dont know much about it. I refuse to use this type of gear.

 

[budda]

I'm calling it now -> the next big modeller will be a subscription service. $24.99/mo to continue having access to the premium amps.

Or does that already exist? I bet that already exists.

Neural will be first.

 

[Stiman]

I'm calling it now -> the next big modeller will be a subscription service. $24.99/mo to continue having access to the premium amps.

Or does that already exist? I bet that already exists.

When modelling seeks to recreate old as shit amps, and stuff like AxeFx, Helix, Quad Cortex already recreate those amps successfully, why would anyone move from full ownership of these units to a subscription based model? I suppose the only reason would be once these units die off and you can no longer buy them. Hopefully they stand the test of time. And then more and more real tube amps are incorporating TwoNotes Captors into their amps. So you have those options.

I can't imagine something new being release under a subscription based model that would draw people away from what we currently have. Something tells me gear snobs are slightly more repulsed by subscription based models than the general population (that's a pure guess, I don't actually know this, just a hunch).

 

[MatrixClaw]

I'm calling it now -> the next big modeller will be a subscription service. $24.99/mo to continue having access to the premium amps.

Or does that already exist? I bet that already exists.

Yep. STL Tonehub.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I didn't know there were combos - I thought the Tone Master was a floorboard and powered speaker combo, just like you'd do with a Helix and powercab or whatever matches that one.

It's weird to me that the "Tone Master Combo" isn't just a Tone Master jammed into a combo so that you don't need to buy the cab seperately. Why not put ALL the models in the combo? They used to do that with Line 6 stuff and behringer stuff before modelling got good, and now.... we stopped doing that? I don't get it. I could easily see a market for a single lightweight combo amp that's capable of being a 5150 and a Marshall and a Mesa and whatever other obscure thing at the press of a button without having to assemble the rig component-wise like you'd do now.

I'd still be concerned that a 100w solid-state combo driven by a digital model is still going to be eaten for lunch by the equivalent 100w tube combo. I know everyone loves to say a watt is a watt, but that's not a useful comparison. Tube watts are able to be driven above their rating, you're not "limited" to 100 watts on a 100 watt tube amp. Solid state watts have a hard cap on headroom instead. So the "usable" portion of those watts is not comparable. Tubes that "go to 11" will sound good when they reach 11. Solid state amps played at 11, if they don't die from some thermal protection feature, will sound like a gnarly farty clipped mess.

Word is a Tone Master Combo is on the way. At least it's been hinted at some point.

You can totally still get a 200w Catalyst or 240w Spider V combo for like $500.

 

[MatrixClaw]

Word is a Tone Master Combo is on the way. At least it's been hinted at some point.

You can totally still get a 200w Catalyst or 240w Spider V combo for like $500.

They already have Tone Master amps. They'd either have to price the full Tone Master combo way higher than the price of their FRFR cab and the floorboard, or I feel like they'd really risk devaluing their other TM products. I get the point of those amps is to have a simple setup that replaces a tube amp someone might already have, but if you can spend $500 more and have ALL the amps, plus a ton of great effects in the same size box, what's the point?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

They already have Tone Master amps. They'd either have to price the full Tone Master combo way higher than the price of their FRFR cab and the floorboard, or I feel like they'd really risk devaluing their other TM products. I get the point of those amps is to have a simple setup that replaces a tube amp someone might already have, but if you can spend $500 more and have ALL the amps, plus a ton of great effects in the same size box, what's the point?

I mean, almost every modeler has a suite of classic Fender amps that sound damn good. The whole point of the Tone Master combos is to be simple, and frankly less scary. That's why they came first vs. the floorboard.