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John Paul Jones and Acoustic 360

#101
macmrkt said:
I think you'll be in for a bit of a happy surprise on the price.
Click to expand...

Brother, I certainly hope so.....When I spoke with George sometime back, I expressed my concern that (it seemed) as though the price point would scare a lot of would be buyers away.

Let's face a few facts here. (1) There will be the customary buyers who will buy for "old times sake" and those amps will probably never see the light of day - and that's OK. Then, there's (2) gigging musicians (like me) who are on the road quite a bit and would have trouble justifying a large outlay of cash for, yet another, amp. Then there is (3) Bass Players ,not unlike myself, who will purchase one simply for the namesake AND to be "the first on your block" to own one ;)

It is my hope (and I have to believe that someone like yourself, who has more insider info than me) that the price will not be SO restrictive as to limit opportunities for "younger" players (18-30 year olds) to own one, if they wish.

However, just so we're clear - I have already made a spot in my studio for the new 360........ and, I'm getting anxious as hell!

As a side note: Let me be clear that I have no altruistic interest whatsoever in the USA Acoustic brand. I actually was HIGHLY skeptical of all this talk, until I spoke with the company President and realized the passion this guy has for Acoustic. This man eats, breathes and sleeps Acoustic. He has spent countless hours and many thousands of dollars getting to THIS point. It WILL come to fruition and for that I am solidly behind the new company. I would much rather see them succeed, than fail. It's another great American comeback that we all, as bass players, should embrace......sorry for the rant.....
 
#102
Old vintage sound comes from junk guitars, junk amplifiers and junk speakers. THD Distorsion on those old things were going 3-10%, pick ups were buzzy, amps were sensitive on all kind of power junk, cables were poor... Than you have germanium tranzistors, caps, resistors, all kind of stuff... and that was the VINTAGE sound.

Sound guys were fighting badly to eliminate all of the things most of the time.

Friend of mine (sound genius) had run PA for Rolling Stones back in '70 around Europe. He told me such weird stories about things what are common thing today. In that time, it was a heroic act to eliminate feedback, sound level from different amps (most of the bass players were playing FLAT (no PA), drums were using just a 2-3 mics, monior speakers were unnecessary luxury... There was a couple of pedals (mostly wah-wah for guitar players and that was it. Miracles were pulled buy overdriving amps to the point of burning. Some youngsters have no conception what was the sound of '60s or '70s... It was a hard work with trillion burned speakers, amps, tubes and even burning speaker cables.. Grounding was sometimes ignored to the point of death for musicians....

It was some completelly different level of mind, music and electronics..... You cannot emulate that $h*** anymore...

That very same moment when THD was taken under 1%, music start dying and than started some other century...

Here are some examples:



Whole band is out of tune, feedback is uncontrolable...
 
#103
Buster Brown said:
I actually was HIGHLY skeptical of all this talk, until I spoke with the company President and realized the passion this guy has for Acoustic. This man eats, breathes and sleeps Acoustic. He has spent countless hours and many thousands of dollars getting to THIS point. It WILL come to fruition and for that I am solidly behind the new company. I would much rather see them succeed, than fail. It's another great American comeback that we all, as bass players, should embrace......sorry for the rant.....
Click to expand...
This is not only George's dream, it's the dream of all those that are supporting him including his wife who's as enthusiastic as George is - without her, this would never have made it. And yes, there are a bunch of great stories here, including Russ Allee's return to Acoustic, and a rust belt town region that's getting a bit of manufacturing back. George is as big a supporter of small town USA manufacturing as he is of Acoustic. It's all getting built within a small radius of his small town. We will be covering it all in the mag...
 
#104
macmrkt said:
This is not only George's dream, it's the dream of all those that are supporting him including his wife who's as enthusiastic as George is - without her, this would never have made it. And yes, there are a bunch of great stories here, including Russ Allee's return to Acoustic, and a rust belt town region that's getting a bit of manufacturing back. George is as big a supporter of small town USA manufacturing as he is of Acoustic. It's all getting built within a small radius of his small town. We will be covering it all in the mag...
Click to expand...

That's great!! Here's raising a glass to him ( and everyone associated with the new USA Acoustic) and wishing them all the success in the world!!
 
#107
This is becoming the most wonderful thread.

We have the 361 vs. the 371

We have if Acoustic was reliable (that of the old legends)

And we have the talk of the new Chinese Acoustic

And we have the talk of the new Acoustic USA

Not to mention someone trying to cop JPJ Bass tone

Having heard the new stuff you see at GC (Chinese), and hearing most the new stuff at Acoustic USA (see my write up), and that I have retired my SLM Ampeg (SVT 4Pro and 610 HLF)

All I can say is that the new Acoustic USA will wow you. The Chinese stuff at GC is a great bargain for entry level. And the vintage, it is great. If it is not perfect. Well, if you bought a used car that was 30 years old and all the other owners refused to get a tune up, Caps change value, solder joints, fade, and the bumps and bruises. I can tell you that 370 runs better than that car. Mine is getting a rework while a 320 holds the fort. 300 Acoustic watts are same as 1200 modern watts. And no - I don't know why. It is not just volume but "Impact".

We can do the 361 vs. 371 soon :-)

- Ziggy -
 
#108
ZiggyDude said:
This is becoming the most wonderful thread.

We have the 361 vs. the 371

We have if Acoustic was reliable (that of the old legends)

And we have the talk of the new ChaiCom Acoustic

And we have the talk of the new Acoustic USA

Not to mention someone trying to cop JPJ Bass tone

Having heard the new stuff you see at GC (Chinese), and hearing most the new stuff at Acoustic USA (see my write up), and that I have retired my SLM Ampeg (SVT 4Pro and 610 HLF)

All I can say is that the new Acoustic USA will wow you. The Chinese stuff at GC is a great bargain for entry level. And the vintage, it is great. If it is not perfect. Well, if you bought a used car that was 30 years old and all the other owners refused to get a tune up, Caps change value, solder joints, fade, and the bumps and bruises. I can tell you that 370 runs better than that car. Mine is getting a rework while a 320 holds the fort. 300 Acoustic watts are same as 1200 modern watts. And no - I don't know why. It is not just volume but "Impact".

We can do the 361 vs. 371 soon :-)

- Ziggy -
Click to expand...

You're right! It is becoming something well...uh....nice!!

Folks think that guys like you and me are nut jobs for all the enthusiasm, But I have to cop to being a nut job...I have not been this excited about a roll-out (Acoustic) in more years than I care to remember. I am genuinely EXCITED! Look, back in the day, when Ampeg rolled out there SVT - it was, frankly, cool as hell. Still is. But unfortunately, to me, Ampeg has run it's course with me with their business practices. They have every right in the world to conduct business as they see fit - and I have every right to walk away from them.

With the unfortunate demise of Michael Jackson, I couldn't help but see many of the old clips of the J5. Those Acoustic cabinets were there, center stage, for all to see. Brought back a lot of memories. And STILL, every time I see one, whether an old clip or an actual rig, I get goose bumps. Acoustic always had that effect on me. They just always IMO looked cool as hell (not to mention sound) sitting on a stage.

Back in, like 1970, I happened to be in Washington, DC....you know, being one of those long-haired hippies and all - had to protest SOMETHING! :D Anyway, there on the mall, was a band (and I hate to admit it, but I "think" it was Sweetwater, but I couldn't be sure - I was too interested in a young lady that happened to be there!)anyway, I have never, in all my life seen such an abundance of Acoustic gear...from PA coulmns like 10 on each side of the stage to bass rigs and guitar rigs....enough to make any sane man drool....

Anyway, I'm sold. All I hope is that it happens SOON...and as I understand it....it will be sooner, rather than later..:D

Damn, didn't mean to prattle on...
 
#112
Back in the day, I ended up owning just about everything that Acoustic made, including bass, guitar and PA gear. All their high-end stuff. I still fondly remember playing the So Cal club circuit with a 360 and dual 361 cabinets. Nothing like it, even today. Later on, I 'upgraded' to an Ampeg SVT with two 8x10 cabinets. We were loud back then! The Ampeg had better definition on stage due to the projection qualities cabinet. Acoustic's folded horn 18, however, was much better at filling the room, just needed some room to bloom.

I'm not sure that I'd want to go back to a folded horn 18" design unless I was playing at large venues. For my current work, this old back uses a Bose L1.

To the OP - I saw Zeppelin at every performance in Los Angeles and JPJ's live tone was not wonderful. Maybe good for him on stage, but out front it was crap. I was at the concerts that made up the "How The West Was Won" DVD/CD. Believe me when I tell you, those have been heavily fixed and tweaked in every way.

For a tribute band, you need to replicate his recorded sound. That is the sound that your audience will relate to. Even Zep's live recordings are adjusted and processed. Just about any professional quality modern amp will get that tone for you. Just keep turning knobs. Use the SR system to fill the room. If you really need the look, build a dummy cabinet.
 
#113
Hey All,

I've been away for awhile. Good to see everyone's still up for the USA Acoustic 360. I'm sure George will make it worth the wait and the value for those like myself who are looking forward to being a part of this.:hyper:

Play on!:bassist:

Bassmore
 
#115
billfitzmaurice said:
Run a Fender Jazz through a Neve console, monitored through BBC monitors. :)

Even on live alblums the sound you hear is seldom that of a mic'd amp and speaker.
Click to expand...

I was going to say something similar to this myself. NONE of the Zeppelin stuff was ever recorded live, it was all studio. I'd guess the only reason he used one of the 360's is because they were about the best , most powerfull amp of the time. Todays stuff, will blow it away. I wouldn't waste time and money babying one of those old things around. I used to have one of the 360's and a 370/371 setup. They are very hard to hear on stage. If you use one, you'll see. I'd get another front loaded cab as a monitor, so you can hear yourself better.
 
#116
Used to cover Zeppelin in my old Band - just a few songs - Thank you, Rock and Roll, and Over the Hills and Far Away, but I played my 65 Jazz through a GK800RB using a Scholtz BassMan as the Preamp - the the Cab was an EAW with JBL E140's if my memory serves me correctly - the Drummer Played Ludwig Vistalites and the Guitarist played LP Custom and I could say we channeled that sound. If you must have the look then get the 360 - you can always play through something else with the 360 Rig on Stage for the look. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
 
#117
As much as I liked the sound of the 360 when I had one in the '70s, I think most of todays amps can match the sound without the bulk. The thing about the 360 was that it was one of the first bass amps that could be loud and clean. However, with a folded horn cab, you have to understand that the sound of the bass actually happens about 20 feet in front of the cabinet. That's great for a big venue, but not so great for a small club. I don't see the need today to have high stage volume if you have a PA that is working correctly. I'm running a GB Shuttle 6.0 with two 1x12 cabs and it gives me all the bottom and volume I'll ever need. I have no doubt that if the technology had been available in the '70s. it would have given the 360 a run for its money.
 
#119
Wait a second, for five stringers, for low "B" I get for the wave length:
1125fps / 30.867hz = 36.4458641 feet
That would the closest anybody could get to a folded horn before they heard it
Sound travels like you draw it on paper. Up and down like a picture of a sine wave. You'd have to draw a sine wave over 36ft away to see the full sine wave. Sound is not a pressure wave or anything like that.
You should put up a rope barrier to where people could actually hear you. Like "Stand hear or farther back to hear the bass". I think I've seen yellow tape for this purpose.
Or it could be the bass player has really bad BO and nobody could stand any closer
Oh and headphones don't work either.






/sarcasm :hiding:
 

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