New Komet
Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal
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Guest
Re: New Komet
Ken Volpe at Ultrasound told me it reminded him of a cross between an Express and a Plexi.
Re: New Komet
Not thinking about trying to clone it, just trying to decide if I should consider buying one. Thats a lot of money to spend on an amp you've never heard. My wife is in favor of it IF I replace most of my current silverface Fender and Traynor stash with the ONE amp.
Let that boy boogie woogie.
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Guest
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Guest
Re: New Komet
I am the one that asked about the Airbrake. I'm not trying to take away anyone's livelihood, but some of the prices of current equipment is ridiculous. I thought the whole point of this forum is to disperse information about the amps (and other stuff) we love for our own entertainment. From the interactions I've seen, no one here is trying to build commercial amps that might be in competition with Komet or Dr Z. It seems to me that everytime someone here builds an amp or otherwise, that most people who might hear the finished product will be interested in buyng rather than building. Let's face it,...the number of people who are willing to take the time to assemble this stuff rather than buying it, is a small fraction!
David Hicks
David Hicks
Re: New Komet
Dear David
I wouldn't get too worried about Rockets comments to you. Often many people find it is just to easy to criticise then to contribute. Regretably that does sound much worse then I intend it to sound, but I do appreciate all that you've done for us here.
For the record I do have info on the airbrake and I chose to buy the Weber unit as it has consistantly received better reviews then the airbrake. There just isn't any hard and fast rules on what people will do with information that is presented to them.
P.S. No flaming intended here.
I wouldn't get too worried about Rockets comments to you. Often many people find it is just to easy to criticise then to contribute. Regretably that does sound much worse then I intend it to sound, but I do appreciate all that you've done for us here.
For the record I do have info on the airbrake and I chose to buy the Weber unit as it has consistantly received better reviews then the airbrake. There just isn't any hard and fast rules on what people will do with information that is presented to them.
P.S. No flaming intended here.
Yours Sincerely
Mark Abbott
Mark Abbott
Re: New Komet
Hi, all!
I was the one who put the Airbrake picture up. I found it on the webpage of the german Z-dealer Pro Guitar. I figured if it's up there it's fair game.
Yes, I'm interested in cloning the airbrake for my own use. But ultimately I think I'm gonna buy one just to own one piece of TRAINWRECK tech even if it sets me back a lot of cash.
That raises the question again: how is the airbrake compared to other attenuators (soundwise)? I own a Weber MASS 100 and though it sounds quite good there is a wirly kind of buzz riding the notes on the more attenuated settings. Some sort of "speaker distorton/cone cry"? But it also has it with my 2watt TinyBluesExpress.
On another thread I hear the same complaint from someone with a 18Watt Liverpool-Clone. Mark what are your experiences?
Timo
I was the one who put the Airbrake picture up. I found it on the webpage of the german Z-dealer Pro Guitar. I figured if it's up there it's fair game.
Yes, I'm interested in cloning the airbrake for my own use. But ultimately I think I'm gonna buy one just to own one piece of TRAINWRECK tech even if it sets me back a lot of cash.
That raises the question again: how is the airbrake compared to other attenuators (soundwise)? I own a Weber MASS 100 and though it sounds quite good there is a wirly kind of buzz riding the notes on the more attenuated settings. Some sort of "speaker distorton/cone cry"? But it also has it with my 2watt TinyBluesExpress.
On another thread I hear the same complaint from someone with a 18Watt Liverpool-Clone. Mark what are your experiences?
Timo
Re: New Komet
Hi All,
Just to join the fray, I am the guy who provided the Komet pictures. I have yet to hear of anybody selling knock off clones based on those pics. Have you Rocket ?
The pictures provide an insight to a beautifully constructed amp. Having said that, I wouldn't pay $3700 bucks for one. As long as we are airing dirty laundry, one of the guys at Komet wasn't being very honest when he led alot of hobbyists astray with a load of BS about how trainwrecks were constructed (no shielded wire comes to mind). I agree totally with ampdoc1, not many people would try to build something like this from the ground up.
ODwan, for what it's worth, I have a THD hot plate that does the same thing as your Mass so I think it is just an attenuator thing.
Eric
Just to join the fray, I am the guy who provided the Komet pictures. I have yet to hear of anybody selling knock off clones based on those pics. Have you Rocket ?
The pictures provide an insight to a beautifully constructed amp. Having said that, I wouldn't pay $3700 bucks for one. As long as we are airing dirty laundry, one of the guys at Komet wasn't being very honest when he led alot of hobbyists astray with a load of BS about how trainwrecks were constructed (no shielded wire comes to mind). I agree totally with ampdoc1, not many people would try to build something like this from the ground up. ODwan, for what it's worth, I have a THD hot plate that does the same thing as your Mass so I think it is just an attenuator thing.
Eric
Re: New Komet
I thank you for the pics but at the same time, I don't think you can really blame them for disinformation as a sort of "copy protection".
Re: New Komet
No offense intended to Rocket or anyone else, but the public dissemination of internal pics and schematics of Trainwrecks, Komets and Airbrakes are not going to hurt Ken Fischer's pocket book in any measurable amount.
For one example, if you do a quick Internet search, you can find a gut-shot pic or schematic for every Fender and Marshall amp ever made. In addition to all the homebrewers who have access to this information, there are numerous "boutique" manufacturers that flat-out copy Fender and Marshall circuits and compete directly with Fender and Marshall for business. Neither one of those two giants appear to be hurting for business. A brand-new '59 Bassman reissue will still make Fender rich, yet you hardly hear anyone saying it is not cool to clone a Bassman because it is a current production amp. Same is true of a Marshall 1987 or JTM-45. Having a real Fender or Marshall product still carries a great deal of weight, which is why you still see folks paying thousands of dollars for a new hand-wired Marshall or Custom Shop Fender tweed when a guy with a soldering iron could build the same complete amp for $500 to $750.
But Trainwreck/Komet and Ken Fischer are not really comparable to mass-producers like Fender and Marshall, right? Well, how about a comparison to Dumble. I can find at least 20 Internet sites with detailed pics of Dumble innards and various schematics including voltages, part numbers, component composition, etc. Tons of homebrew folks have access to this info and try to build Dumbles everyday. Even several manufacturers -- Bruno, Fuchs, Two Rock, Omega, etc. -- make Dumble-like amps that are copies either in whole or in part. But has that made Dumble a poor man? Has the price of his amps plummeted from $10,000 each to $500 because of this exposure of his secrets? Are real Dumbles any less desirable? No, because having a real Dumble touched by the man himself is still worth those thousands of bucks to many artists and players. The same is true of Mike Soldano, who had his best amp outright copied and mass-produced by Peavey at a lower price-point. Which one do you think is the more desirable amp?
Pics and schematics of Trainwrecks, Komets and Airbrakes are certainly going to inspire some homebrewers to try to build their own. But homebrewers are still a minority of the music world. Homebrewers who actually have the resources to mass-produce amps that would realistically compete with Komets and Trainwrecks on the open market are even fewer in number. Even assuming there is a homebrewer out there who makes a Komet/Trainwreck/Airbrake clone based on the pics and schematics on the Internet and has enough resources to mass-produce the amp and compete with Komet or Trainwreck, which would be more desirable: the clone or the real thing? Do you think a real Trainwreck is going to drop to $500 in price just because a cheaper clone becomes available? It certainly has not happened yet in the years that Fuchs, Bruno, Two Rock, Alessandro, Callaham, etc. have all been selling 'Wreck clones.
At the end of the day, name and reputation still count for something in the music equipment world. No matter how knowledgeable, resourceful and self-important we think we are, we the homebrewing community make very little impact on the amp-manufacturing business. At best, we have helped create an amp-kit market for amp manufacturers to make more money on. At worst, our obsession with hand-wiring and top-shelf components has allowed Marshall and Fender to make a lot more money selling their same, simple $1,000 amps in a hand-wired, limited-release format. Building your own amps and circuits is fun and educational, and I doubt even Ken Fischer would try to discourage anyone from learning about amps and how they work by tracking down schematics, pics and other information. After all, Fischer is a homebrewer too.
For one example, if you do a quick Internet search, you can find a gut-shot pic or schematic for every Fender and Marshall amp ever made. In addition to all the homebrewers who have access to this information, there are numerous "boutique" manufacturers that flat-out copy Fender and Marshall circuits and compete directly with Fender and Marshall for business. Neither one of those two giants appear to be hurting for business. A brand-new '59 Bassman reissue will still make Fender rich, yet you hardly hear anyone saying it is not cool to clone a Bassman because it is a current production amp. Same is true of a Marshall 1987 or JTM-45. Having a real Fender or Marshall product still carries a great deal of weight, which is why you still see folks paying thousands of dollars for a new hand-wired Marshall or Custom Shop Fender tweed when a guy with a soldering iron could build the same complete amp for $500 to $750.
But Trainwreck/Komet and Ken Fischer are not really comparable to mass-producers like Fender and Marshall, right? Well, how about a comparison to Dumble. I can find at least 20 Internet sites with detailed pics of Dumble innards and various schematics including voltages, part numbers, component composition, etc. Tons of homebrew folks have access to this info and try to build Dumbles everyday. Even several manufacturers -- Bruno, Fuchs, Two Rock, Omega, etc. -- make Dumble-like amps that are copies either in whole or in part. But has that made Dumble a poor man? Has the price of his amps plummeted from $10,000 each to $500 because of this exposure of his secrets? Are real Dumbles any less desirable? No, because having a real Dumble touched by the man himself is still worth those thousands of bucks to many artists and players. The same is true of Mike Soldano, who had his best amp outright copied and mass-produced by Peavey at a lower price-point. Which one do you think is the more desirable amp?
Pics and schematics of Trainwrecks, Komets and Airbrakes are certainly going to inspire some homebrewers to try to build their own. But homebrewers are still a minority of the music world. Homebrewers who actually have the resources to mass-produce amps that would realistically compete with Komets and Trainwrecks on the open market are even fewer in number. Even assuming there is a homebrewer out there who makes a Komet/Trainwreck/Airbrake clone based on the pics and schematics on the Internet and has enough resources to mass-produce the amp and compete with Komet or Trainwreck, which would be more desirable: the clone or the real thing? Do you think a real Trainwreck is going to drop to $500 in price just because a cheaper clone becomes available? It certainly has not happened yet in the years that Fuchs, Bruno, Two Rock, Alessandro, Callaham, etc. have all been selling 'Wreck clones.
At the end of the day, name and reputation still count for something in the music equipment world. No matter how knowledgeable, resourceful and self-important we think we are, we the homebrewing community make very little impact on the amp-manufacturing business. At best, we have helped create an amp-kit market for amp manufacturers to make more money on. At worst, our obsession with hand-wiring and top-shelf components has allowed Marshall and Fender to make a lot more money selling their same, simple $1,000 amps in a hand-wired, limited-release format. Building your own amps and circuits is fun and educational, and I doubt even Ken Fischer would try to discourage anyone from learning about amps and how they work by tracking down schematics, pics and other information. After all, Fischer is a homebrewer too.
Re: New Komet
Well, I got my name on the list for one of the Komet Limiteds. I'm not guaranteed to get one because there are already more than 30 people signed up, but I might get lucky if a significant percentage of those people can't come up with the money when the call comes. Of course with the amount of money involved I myself might well sober up and decide its a stupid thing for me to do. Part of the deal will involve selling off a number of my Fenders, Traynors, guitars etc. probably on Ebay. I'll let you guys know how things turn out.
Let that boy boogie woogie.
Re: New Komet
For the record I have had correspondence with Ken Fischer. He does not have a problem with home brewers building clones. However, he does not like people selling them as such. He didn't mention anyone by name though.
I can see both sides of the fence on this one. Here's a creative guy who designs an amp that is desirable to a lot of people. Why should someone else make money off of his designs? As far as the pics of Francesca are concerned I don't think any harm was done by posting them. The Schem was already out there and several companies have already cloned the Express anyway. That along with the fact that they are no longer built.
As for the Komet.....I feel that since it is still in production that it is off limits. You can't deny the potential loss to Hogy and Komet Amplifiers. If Fuchs started building them it would certainly put a dent into Hogy's sales.
I can see both sides of the fence on this one. Here's a creative guy who designs an amp that is desirable to a lot of people. Why should someone else make money off of his designs? As far as the pics of Francesca are concerned I don't think any harm was done by posting them. The Schem was already out there and several companies have already cloned the Express anyway. That along with the fact that they are no longer built.
As for the Komet.....I feel that since it is still in production that it is off limits. You can't deny the potential loss to Hogy and Komet Amplifiers. If Fuchs started building them it would certainly put a dent into Hogy's sales.
Last edited by HeeBGB on Mon Nov 21, 2005 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Guest
Re: New Komet
"As far as the pics of Francesca are concerned I don't think any harm was done by posting them. "
I strongly disagree. Everything you see in these pictures down to every bend in a wire is the result of countless hours of Ken's work.
You guys just gave that away for free on Ken's behalf.
People here claim to have great respect for Ken, well, contact him and ask him how he feels about this.
Rheingold
I strongly disagree. Everything you see in these pictures down to every bend in a wire is the result of countless hours of Ken's work.
You guys just gave that away for free on Ken's behalf.
People here claim to have great respect for Ken, well, contact him and ask him how he feels about this.
Rheingold