Happy BDay Will - I'd forget the Low Fat, count yer Teaspoons of sugar, take the taste out of life thinking and enjoy the hell out if it for today.
All the best sport - Cheers Maurie.
All the best sport - Cheers Maurie.
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Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"
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Al Kraft
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- May 2, 2016
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60 seemed like the only really significant birthday I had since 18 or 21, I guess because at 60 there was no question at all that I had a good bit more road behind me than ahead. I'm guessing 65 will be sort of the same since that's one where you move to medicare and there ain't no denying that's an old person thing.
But as a good friend always responds when I say it's good to see him, it's better to be seen than viewed!
Good morning GOF's. ROLL CALL!!! Everyone check fingers and toes, all there-- present and accounted for LOL....
Well my friends, today I'm 66. Odd, I sure don't feel like those old codgers I used to see when I was young. I think the boomer generation is going to redefine what getting older means. It doesn't mean high pants with suspenders and buttermilk anymore. But I guess we kind of changed a lot of things in our lifetime didn't we?
Wife Carey's making me homemade BBQ pork ribs with coleslaw and baked beans. She wants to bake a cake today but with just two of us here I feel like that's a lot of sugar to have hanging around for the rest of the week. I'm happy to be alive when I've lost so many friends through the years. I lost my kid brother when he was 53, that was hard. But today it's good to be alive!
Happy birthday, @alaskaleftybass! And many, many more.
- Feb 12, 2006
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- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
No, no, no dude, that's not slightly below 4 ohms, AND it's not 3 ohms but 2.66 ohms. that's 34% less than 4 ohms and if the amp is not rated for 2 ohms or 2.67 ohms minimum load then what happened to you is EXACTLY what is supposed to happen... the protection circuit worked to prevent damage to your amp!!! In the good 'ol days, even with class AB amps, the results are just as likely to have been failure.
THIS is a great example of WHY we put so much effort into protecting amplifiers from user mis-use. It's unfortunately a necessity because the alternative is failure.
Why are we paying attention to that McCartney fella? What a hack! Doesn’t even know how to hold a bass!! 
(Just kidding Paul.)
(Just kidding Paul.)
Confession time. I asked @Passinwind how much damage it would cause to use 4 x 8 ohm small PA cabs with a mono powered mixer rated at 4 ohms minimum.
He stated emphatically that was not a good idea.... I believe a lot of failures are still due to I-D-10-T errors, including my own...
.I've since decided to order a stereo mixer with 2 power amps each rated 4 ohm minimum load...
I knew better but had a moment of weakness. If I haven't learned much here I've learned not to disobey the oHm Gods... LOL...
Thanks for the math, I knew I was off.
One of the old A/B amps I'm considering is the Peavey Mark 4 Series 2 channel, it takes 2Ω speaker loads, 300 watts into 2Ω. I tried to sell me old Peavey Sheffield 4Ω 115 cabinet but no takers, so I'm using it with a 112 8Ω cabinet I have as well. Works in series but then it totals 12Ω, not using the full power of the amp.
Brother do you realise this thread is for we grumpy old farts and has nothing to do with any class of amp?
- Feb 12, 2006
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Then IF you wish to use these two cabinets together, you simply need an amp that is rated to drive a 2.66 ohm minimum load... the right tool for the job. There are class D amps that will do this all day long without breaking a sweat.
We grumpy ole farts hold on to ye olden amps, we buy ye olden amps.
Al Kraft
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Those old, bread and butter equations that are foundational to the engineering and physics disciplines define some absolutes that you can rarely ignore without paying a rather immediate price IME.
And the currency is usually butt tissue. To be clear, not soft TP, butt skin.
Sure seems convenience has replaced intrinsic value in the gear we use. Do we really use the disposable lightweight stuff because it sounds better or because it’s easier to move and pay for?
After writing, erasing, writing, erasing, at least 2500 words here, let’s just say that while a text is more convenient, no one remembers them. A phone call, however, can last a lifetime. Value vs convenience - work it out.
After writing, erasing, writing, erasing, at least 2500 words here, let’s just say that while a text is more convenient, no one remembers them. A phone call, however, can last a lifetime. Value vs convenience - work it out.
I was just ruminating on another thread where the OP was lamenting the loss of the great lead sleds of yesteryear and vehemently ranking on how poor Class D sounds compared to an old whatever. In my lifetime, I started out in the early 60's with a borrowed 610 Sears bass amp. It was made out of particleboard and had volume and tone. Look at what's available today. Like everything else, technology has advanced in light years.
And yet, my wife, like @Ken Morgan would really like it if the kids would pick up a phone sometimes and "chat" with their mom. Young people, even middle aged now, are too busy to talk on the phone. Everyone thinks in "twitter" time. I read a story on how they chose the guy before Jimmy Kimmel for the Tonight Show quite a few years ago. They decided that Johnny Carson's show was dying off, like Carson. So they changed the format. They did a study and found that most people of the 'net generation think in terms of 30 seconds or less. So they hired that comedian as the new host of the show and from that point on, the Tonight Show went from having conversational guests and serious discussions to hundreds of soundbytes and short appearances between cellphone ads.
I remember my mom needing to make a call and yelling at someone on a 'party line' because they talked so much! This is no joke-- in Wrangell Alaska our first phone number was 93! Now people I know in Sitka don't even have a phone number from Alaska anymore. Distance doesn't matter. I remember when Blade Runner came out and I thought the future and technology would be such a wondrous thing. Well it's here, and I think it's caused as many problems as it's solved. I'm yammering. I'll step off my soapbox.... 
And yet, my wife, like @Ken Morgan would really like it if the kids would pick up a phone sometimes and "chat" with their mom. Young people, even middle aged now, are too busy to talk on the phone. Everyone thinks in "twitter" time. I read a story on how they chose the guy before Jimmy Kimmel for the Tonight Show quite a few years ago. They decided that Johnny Carson's show was dying off, like Carson. So they changed the format. They did a study and found that most people of the 'net generation think in terms of 30 seconds or less. So they hired that comedian as the new host of the show and from that point on, the Tonight Show went from having conversational guests and serious discussions to hundreds of soundbytes and short appearances between cellphone ads.
I remember my mom needing to make a call and yelling at someone on a 'party line' because they talked so much!
This is no joke-- in Wrangell Alaska our first phone number was 93! Now people I know in Sitka don't even have a phone number from Alaska anymore. Distance doesn't matter. I remember when Blade Runner came out and I thought the future and technology would be such a wondrous thing. Well it's here, and I think it's caused as many problems as it's solved. I'm yammering. I'll step off my soapbox....
Al Kraft
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With respect Ken, I think the answer to the question in the first paragraph is a little of both for many of us. Some of the newer light weight gear will prove every bit as good (or better) and reliable (once again better) over time as the older/different (not necessarily better or worse) generation of technology it replaces. Although I will admit that cheap throw away junk is symptomatic of more pervasive cultural problems in the world in general where I share your concern.
As for people not taking time to compose thoughts and write or even just take a moment to reach out in person to call, I see nothing but negative consequences coming from that. There's a reason we don't simply text air traffic control information, but have people talking to people. On important and/or complex matters, committing to show-up, and making an effort to show-up prepared to engage with skin in the game is an essential skill we are no longer developing in the younger and upcoming workforce IMO.
Some of the brighter young folks get it, but many simply live in the virtual world of shortcuts and throw-away convenience without truly making choices to invest in anything. However, on behalf of those more committed and invested younger folks, I will say that the engineers and scientists I work with are smarter than I've ever been and live many of my core values better than I do. That's where I see something to celebrate in terms of the future.
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- Feb 12, 2006
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- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Wait a minute, I designed some of the old lead sled amps as well as the new light weight amps. Without a doubt from my perspective, the newer products are better examples of my efforts and abilities as a designer.
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