"Fiesta orange" spaceball for $425??? WTF?

What never ceases to amaze me about this 8 track thing is the love of
cheapo portables from the "disco era," like the Weltron "spaceball."
These things routinely sell for big bucks on sleazeBay, but this one
takes the cake:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...9761 138&rd=1

$425 for a piece of crap that sold for what, $39.95 new?? It doesn't
even have the matching "spaceball" speakers! I'll admit, this
particular product exudes the styling maxims of the era, and this
kitsch is probably what's driving value, since it's obviously NOT its
sonic abilities. Ditto the Panasonic "detonator" things with that
hopelessly useless spring loaded handle, an obvious Japanese attempt
at being "creative." These things rack up more bucks (especially the
blue one...rarity?) than they ever could new, when they sold for what,
$19.95 at your local drug store?

So, what's driving this appreciation? Same thing that made a really
mediocre car, the 1955/'57 Chevrolet, such an expensive "collectable"
over far better makes and models? I admit my tastes run far from the
mainstream in such matters as collecting vinyl (little rock, heavy on
the "early LP" stuff, especially prior to RIAA standardization), but I
just don't "get it." It's probably my disdain for what the masses and
even the counterculturists think is "cool," a constant in my life.
Admittedly, the "spaceball" is a neat conversation curio (would look
GREAT sitting upon the usual cinder block and pine board "bookcases" I
had in my college days), but I surely wouldn't want to listen to
anything for any length of time on one, unless I was back in the '70s,
a broke college student, with nothing else to listen to.

Even then, I had a nice pair of Heath W5-Ms with Mullard KT-66s, PAS-3
pre-amp, old Fisher tuner (with FM/AM stereo, if anyone remembers
THAT!), an EICO FM multiplex adapter and a Thorens TD-124 turntable,
driving some home brew bass reflex boxes with Altec drivers. Even
though I supported my undergrad days driving a school bus, I had
snazzy (if older) audio gear, even back then. Other kids would bring
their LPs ruined by too many passes on a crappy Voice of Music changer
with a worn sapphire stylus to hear how good they sounded with my
Shure M-44...it was all I could afford then, but sounded like heaven
to them! But, even as I progressed and started making serious money,
I NEVER had an 8 track. The girls at school ALL had them...no tape
threading, no tape spilling on the floor, just "plug 'n play." Those
portables always sounded like crap, even compared to what they'd do on
FM, and I think that, more than anything, warned me off of the 8 track
format. I had a brief flirtation with Muntz 4 track in my '55 Olds
Super 88, but it got stolen at Venice beach in short order, and I
never bothered with car tape again until cassette started to become a
music format. Then, I went for a Roberts...NOT too good. I figured
car audio was a bust (I could barely hear that Roberts, even cranked
to the max, when driving, due to those 30" glass packs on that 324
Olds), so I never gave it much thought at all.

Thus, I never considered 8 track to be a "musical" format at all until
recently, and never saw any value in those crappy Japanese portables.
Evidently, someone does, however, as the sleazeBay prices would so
indicate! To be fair, the Japanese (and Taiwanese, and Singaporian)
cassette portables which replaced them weren't any better at all,
although they had the advantages of not breaking down all the time, a
hallmark of 8 track, and I found that the higher priced Sonys could
sound pretty fair through a decent amp and speakers...not "good," mind
you, but "fair." What's interesting, though, is that I'm finding
there WAS musical merit to 8 track, moreso than cassette prior to
Dolby "B", but it's obvious that it was never either fully or properly
exploited, relegated mostly to cheap car decks and even cheaper,
lousier portables. Thus, there's a cachet of "collectability" to
these colorful hunks of plastic...probably having more to do with the
esthetic of the era from whence they came rather than any musical
credentials.

dB

"DeserTBoB" wrote in message
...
What never ceases to amaze me about this 8 track thing is the love of
cheapo portables from the "disco era," like the Weltron "spaceball."
These things routinely sell for big bucks on sleazeBay, but this one
takes the cake:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...9761 138&rd=1


I've seen them (orange ones) go for 700 bucks. The orange ones are
extremely valuable. Those Weltrons have some serious ballsy sound for a
portable, and are built like a tank.


winnard

On Fri, 5 Nov 2004 21:40:03 -0600, "winnard"
wrote:

I've seen them (orange ones) go for 700 bucks. snip

YOIKES! Who woulda thunk? Any value to those competing
"Aqua-somethingoranothers" that were around about the same time? I
remember they were cheaper. Come to think of it, I DO remember chicks
in college having either a spaceball or a Panasonic "all in one"
stereo in their rooms. Maybe it's them who are now cashing in on this
"Weltron fad!" Still, fads are fads, and disappear as quickly as they
appear. Remember the "pet rock?"

Another fad among musicians that rose, peaked, and fell ...Hammond
organs, especially B-3s. The bottom's dropped out of their prices
now, although good Leslie 122s are still worth their weight in
spaceballs. I remember selling a 1961 B-3 I'd restored for almost $8K
a few years ago; same organ now would be lucky to fetch less than half
that now. Reason? Digital poseurs improved to the point where
aspiring band players with half a brain realize they don't have to lug
around all the wood, iron and steel to get "that" sound anymore. The
Leslie speaker, however, is still the key, and good Leslies now can
cost more than a good B-3.

dB

Digital poseurs improved to the point where
aspiring band players with half a brain realize they don't have to lug
around all the wood, iron and steel to get "that" sound anymore.

A friend of mine recently got a digital modelling guitar amp. What this thing
will do is amazing. You can even control it from a computer. Want it to sound
like a Blackface Fender Twin? No problem. A Marshall stack? Easy. A Vox AC-30
Topboost? Cake. Plus users can add their own programs and they can be traded
online. And not only does it model amps, it models mics and mic placement. Want
it to sound like it's running through an SM57, or a 421 off-axis? It's there.
It's kind of creepy in a way. This friend of mine owns and runs a recording
studio, so he's had his exposure to all these amps and mics for real, and he's
impressed with it. It may not be perfect, but it's closer than not having it,
and for a live situation where the soundman is going to ruin your sound anyway,
it's more than enough. (I considered bringing different basses for different
sounds until I realized that they all sound the same through the PA.)
They still can't model the tactile differences though . . .

--Bob Farace

"I only believe in fire." --Anais Nin

DeserTBoB wrote in message . ..
What never ceases to amaze me about this 8 track thing is the love of
cheapo portables from the "disco era," like the Weltron "spaceball."
These things routinely sell for big bucks on sleazeBay, but this one
takes the cake:


Best ones I ever heard were those blue and red GE's with the singalong
mic input, and a MacDonald that sounded so damn good I almost kept
it...

For small, portable, plug-in sound, the Mark 8 Stereo RCA's with built
in speakers and wooden cabinet are pretty cool- I keep one on top of
my computer desk. Looks good there too, and sounds good.

It may not be perfect, but it's closer than not having it,
and for a live situation where the soundman is going to ruin your sound
anyway,
it's more than enough.

Live sound is the best place for modeling amps. btw, you may have noticed that
Line6 is on the verge of bringing out a modeling EBG (electric bass guitar).
later, ron

btw, you may have noticed that
Line6 is on the verge of bringing out a modeling EBG (electric bass guitar).

My buddy told me about that. It's amazing that this stuff can be done, but I'll
tell you, they can't model the tactile differences, and those tactile
differences have more effect on the sound of a bass than many people will
understand. My '70 Dan Armstrong/See Through wants to be played a certain way,
and certain styles of playing just don't work on it. My Hagstrom 8-string wants
to be played a much different way. My Fenders are different from each other.
The Guild Ashbory is probably the most extremely different. All these sounds
will no doubt be available on the modelling bass, but the feel of them won't.
Each draws a certain way of playing out of the player and sometimes inspires
discovery and invention. Can't have every cool bass on the planet, though, and
having the sounds of, say, a Rickenbacker 4005 hollowbody or a Vox Phantom at
the touch of a switch might be pretty neat.

--Bob Farace

"I only believe in fire." --Anais Nin

"Yodedude2" wrote in message
...
It may not be perfect, but it's closer than not having it,
and for a live situation where the soundman is going to ruin your sound
anyway,
it's more than enough.

Live sound is the best place for modeling amps. btw, you may have noticed
that
Line6 is on the verge of bringing out a modeling EBG (electric bass
guitar).
later, ron

I'm currently playing thru a Line 6 POD. Although it sounds incredible
thru headphones,
it will NEVER sound as good as my 72 Marshall did. Modeling amps sound
really really terrible live. They will never take the place of a good old
tube amp. The sound from a modler isn't in the same ballpark, and never
will be.

winnard

On 10 Nov 2004 00:34:19 GMT, (Bluemuse) wrote:

My buddy told me about that. It's amazing that this stuff can be done, but I'll
tell you, they can't model the tactile differences, and those tactile
differences have more effect on the sound of a bass than many people will
understand. snip Can't have every cool bass on the planet, though, and
having the sounds of, say, a Rickenbacker 4005 hollowbody or a Vox Phantom at
the touch of a switch might be pretty neat. snip

That's how Hammond/Suzuki, Voce, and others did it...modeling various
Hammond models, so you can have ANY Hammond you want built since 1935
at the touch of a button, basically. All these various models can
have slight differences (some more than others, or course), but the
new digiboxes can do 'em all...fairly convincingly when played though
your basic 22-type Leslie, I might add. This is why prices on
"authentic" B-3s have dropped like a rock of late.

dB

I'm currently playing thru a Line 6 POD. Although it sounds incredible
thru headphones,
it will NEVER sound as good as my 72 Marshall did. Modeling amps sound
really really terrible live. They will never take the place of a good old
tube amp. The sound from a modler isn't in the same ballpark, and never
will be.

winnard


That's wild. For me it's just the opposite. It's when doing really critical
listening, like say through headphones, that the differences between the
modelers and the tubers stand out. Live, there doesn't seem to be as much
difference--then again, there's crowd noise, room noise, plus I'm playing my
own instrument, so I'm not concentrating on those subtle differences. later,
ron