Ian Iveson wrote:
"Paul D. Spiegel" wrote

Chris, remember that these posters are discussing guitar amps, not
hi-fi. They may like the distortion products created by the wrong
tube
performing at a non-linear operating point. It certainly isn't
what the
circuit designer intended, but whether they like it or not is
totally
subjective.

This is a popular but questionable view.

All musical instruments are easy to modify. You can put tin cans in
your piano, use a broken read for your saxophone, and put a dent in
your trumpet. Your new sound may excite for a while, but the novelty
soon fades and becomes irritating.

Clearly, orchestral instruments are standardised. Where the score
says "piano", it assumes a concert grand, not an upright stuffed
with tin cans. Some may argue that this is simply because the music
itself is externally specified, and so an orchestra is to some
extent like hi-fi: the aim is reproduction.

But there is more to it than that. Orchestral instruments were
developed over centuries. This refinement was opposed to
standardisation which therefore cannot explain it. Each instrument
was developed to have a sound that was *just right*, on its own and
in many combinations with others. This correctness was not just
subjective to the taste of its designer; it was and is a matter of
general, i.e. *social* perception. There is no such thing as private
music. It's a social movement with its own life that transcends the
individual artist, who can only contribute and develop, not invent.

Hence the iconic sounds of Hammond organ, Fender guitars, Marshall
and Fender amps. They produce the right basic palettes of sound,
with reasonable reliability.

A good guitar amp has a standard repertoire. Effects can be added,
but these are also generally standard.

Messing willy-nilly is unlikely to result in a musical sound.
Historic movements don't happen by chance. God doesn't play with
dice.

Designing an amp for mere reproduction is quite trivial. Producing
one that gets the performance *right* is much harder. This is true,
IMO, of both hi-fi and instruments.

So stick with the AU7 and play some proper music.

cheers, Ian

Yeah! And curse the Kinks for sticking pencils in their speakers to get
overdrive! If it it wasn't for them we would still be listening to jug
bands and old timey music like we should be!

Hyuck hyuck

Chris