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previous: andyfuchs Steve" While I agree with you (some... -- 6/8/2000 12:29 PM

Re: Shopping for Dumble Clones: 2 Rock and Fuchs Audio

6/9/2000 4:31 AM
Steve Ahola	Re: Shopping for Dumble Clones: 2 Rock and Fuchs Audio Andy: Don't tell me that you are a "pothead", too! I guess I let the two subjects run together, but getting to the original point, if the amp builder really hasn't worked the bugs out yet and is changing the design every week I think that it is wrong to expect the customer to pay through the nose to be a "beta tester" ($4k for the amp plus $400 for each "update"). That doesn't necessarily apply if you are building "one-off" custom amps for select customers; in that case you wouldn't expect every amp to deliver the same performance. But for an amp with a model name you would expect some consistency from amp to amp; you hear one in a store or at a friend's house so you special order one and when it arrives you find that the amp sounds completely different... As for the potting issue, I think I read that you offer your customers one "free" revoicing... If your amps are potted, isn't it a real hassle to re-tweak one of your amps? Or do you have a big jar of "super-solvent" to unpot your boards? Even for doing routine maintenance items and voltage checks, doesn't the potting material get in the way? Back in the early 70's there were hippie communes in Northern California that would produce really trippy stomp boxes. A friend bought a Sea Moon Funk Machine, which was built in the body of a Foxx wah pedal (with the fuzzy velour-type coating!). This was a combination wah pedal/envelope follower and you could get some really strange things going with it. So I took the back off to see what the circuit looked like and it was all encapsulated in something like casting resin. In a case like this, if your Funk Machine was under warranty and a problem developed they would just take out the old "glob" and solder a new one in- right? Since the circuit was apparently very simple and probably used only a few bucks worth of parts they could afford to build disposable modules. So how do you plan to handle the warranty on your amps if they are potted, Andy? In a perfect world the people you were selling your amps to would be like your friends, and they would gladly agree to keep the amp you built away from prying eyes (and digital cameras!)— all with a handshake agreement instead of several pages of legal clauses. But only a perfect fool would expect the world to be perfect... To pot or not to pot... that is your call, but it seems like the top priority should be seeing that your paying customer doesn't get stuck with an amp that has to be shipped back to you for basic repairs... it would be like buying a car that has to be shipped back to Detroit (or Japan!) for a simple tune-up! --Thanks! Steve Ahola

6/9/2000 4:31 AM

Steve Ahola

Re: Shopping for Dumble Clones: 2 Rock and Fuchs Audio

Andy:

Don't tell me that you are a "pothead", too!

    I guess I let the two subjects run together, but getting to the original point, if the amp builder really hasn't worked the bugs out yet and is changing the design every week I think that it is wrong to expect the customer to pay through the nose to be a "beta tester" ($4k for the amp plus $400 for each "update").

    That doesn't necessarily apply if you are building "one-off" custom amps for select customers; in that case you wouldn't expect every amp to deliver the same performance. But for an amp with a model name you would expect some consistency from amp to amp; you hear one in a store or at a friend's house so you special order one and when it arrives you find that the amp sounds completely different...

    As for the potting issue, I think I read that you offer your customers one "free" revoicing... If your amps are potted, isn't it a real hassle to re-tweak one of your amps? Or do you have a big jar of "super-solvent" to unpot your boards? Even for doing routine maintenance items and voltage checks, doesn't the potting material get in the way?

    Back in the early 70's there were hippie communes in Northern California that would produce really trippy stomp boxes. A friend bought a Sea Moon Funk Machine, which was built in the body of a Foxx wah pedal (with the fuzzy velour-type coating!). This was a combination wah pedal/envelope follower and you could get some really strange things going with it. So I took the back off to see what the circuit looked like and it was all encapsulated in something like casting resin.

In a case like this, if your Funk Machine was under warranty and a problem developed they would just take out the old "glob" and solder a new one in- right? Since the circuit was apparently very simple and probably used only a few bucks worth of parts they could afford to build disposable modules. So how do you plan to handle the warranty on your amps if they are potted, Andy?

In a perfect world the people you were selling your amps to would be like your friends, and they would gladly agree to keep the amp you built away from prying eyes (and digital cameras!)— all with a handshake agreement instead of several pages of legal clauses. But only a perfect fool would expect the world to be perfect...

To pot or not to pot... that is your call, but it seems like the top priority should be seeing that your paying customer doesn't get stuck with an amp that has to be shipped back to you for basic repairs... it would be like buying a car that has to be shipped back to Detroit (or Japan!) for a simple tune-up!

--Thanks!

Steve Ahola