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#1
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"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 |
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#2
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"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 |
#3
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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 |
#4
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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 |
#5
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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. |
#6
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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 |
#7
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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 |
#8
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"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 |
#9
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#10
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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 |
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