The Great Outdoor Cranked Amp Test : 20w vs. 50w Shoot-Out!

CoreyT

CoreyT

PRS Addiction
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
5,204
Location
Auburn, WA. USA
I bet TTK's neighbors loved this test.
Les's favorite demonstrator of tone :D


Kind of a cool test, but better done where there are no houses on your side, or within several blocks for that matter.
When I take my guitars to my front deck to play, I have to be careful the sound does not travel far.
Do not want to piss off the natives.

PS, watch his dachshund jump at 9:30 when he hits a chord with the amp on full volume and gain.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
CoreyT said:
Les's favorite demonstrator of tone :D
Click to expand...

What can I say? This guy literally invented Tone. I mean, he's the King of it, right? :)

Except for the hilarity of seeing the guy's chunky legs in shorts in his backyard, this is the second most useless of the Tone King's many videos that I've watched.

His show consisting of unboxing of every size of pedal trains where he slowly goes through what's in every box, and except for size they're all identical, is the single most useless guitar video of all time. So this one just misses.

If the guy had a brain in his head, all he had to do was say that doubling the power of an amplifier results in a volume increase of only 3 db. Considering that the decibel is the smallest volume level change the human ear can supposedly detect reliably, 3 db ain't much. The larger transformers on a more powerful amp probably result in a larger audible difference.

The walking back and forth switching from one amp to the other kind of kills the comparison. Too much time for an AB test to be valid.,.
 
Last edited:
As for me, I would have preferred hearing just an ARCHON 100watt DOUBLE STACK played wide open vs any other similar amp config. Now that would bring the authorities...
 
WeFixFlats said:
As for me, I would have preferred hearing just an ARCHON 100watt DOUBLE STACK played wide open vs any other similar amp config. Now that would bring the authorities...
Click to expand...

The wooden deck he had the double stack setting on would burst into flames!
 
I find the videos fascinating in that he seems to always try to outdo himself in the horrible guitar tone department. He's like evil anti-tone that can make even the nicest gear sound awful.

And the comparison is silly on top of poorly executed. As Les said, the volume difference is less than people think. I pretty regularly play through a Twin sitting next to a Carvin V16 at my buddy's house, and dimed there is very little difference in perceived volume. They are both stupid, call-the-cops loud.
 
I remember a while back tons of players seemed to want to cop Robben Ford's tone. Well, OK, Robben Ford, right?

But, "Wow, I've got to cop The Tone King's Tone!"? Not going to happen.

That's what's so silly about these videos. You've got a guy who demonstrates no ability to find good tone pontificating on how to get good tone, and concocting all kinds of demos and tests. I just don't understand posting this stuff. I've watched them hoping that something would convince me otherwise, but they are uniformly a complete waste of bandwidth, time and brain cells.
 
RATT in a Box ~ Baroni Lab Rat'n Box


I do like that low riffage he has going on after the 4 minute mark where he slides the riff back and forth.
I have watched a ton of his videos, and I really do not think he is trying to come across as a rock star or anything, he is just a guy having fun, and this is more of a hobby to him than anything else.
I guess I can relate as I am not a gigger, I just play at home, maybe jam with some others one day, but I mostly do it as a hobby as I find it relaxing, and I was into playing when I was quite young.

I have to hand it to him though for doing lots of reviews on pedals, guitars, and amps.
And I do look forward to his coverage of the NAMM stuff each year when he interviews the manufacturers.

But yeah, I can tell his tone/playing style if I was blindfolded, as it pretty much sounds the same with any guitar or amp he is playing through.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
CoreyT said:
But yeah, I can tell his tone/playing style if I was blindfolded, as it pretty much sounds the same with any guitar or amp he is playing through.
Click to expand...

Here's my feeling. The PRS Forum is a quality site, and we have fun and share good information here. Admittedly, not all of it is on topic, and not all of it is "important," but at least it's us having a good time.

With Mr. Tone King, there are never positive comments. In fact, all the comments I've read have been negative, so I know I'm not alone in thinking that links to this dude aren't really helpful (let alone wanted!).

There are guys like Pete Thorn who are doing absolutely stellar product demos, and he's a world class player with great tone who tours and records with the best. So why reward this bad player with bad tone, who has no idea how to demo a product, and has nothing useful to say, with links to his videos and give him the clicks (and the resultant money)?

1. Not PRS related.
2. Demos are utterly useless.
3. Bad sound and bad tone.

Go watch one of Pete Thorn's video demos for Vintage King and see how well a product demo can be done. Here's a link to a random review on their site so you can easily find it, very typical of Pete's demos that feature real playing, give you a good idea of what the product can do, etc.:

http://vintageking.com/suhr-koji-comp
 
Last edited:
CoreyT said:
RATT in a Box ~ Baroni Lab Rat'n Box

I do like that low riffage he has going on after the 4 minute mark where he slides the riff back and forth.
Click to expand...

"Lay It Down" by Ratt.

And I hear ya on the hobbyist/home player part of it. That's me these days - haven't stepped on a stage since somewhere around 1997 - but I don't feel like every hack should be spreading the gospel of crappy guitar tone throughout the interwebs when, as Les mentions, there are many sources of excellent information that are examples of good playing and good tone. This guy is not as annoying but in my mind is in the same category as Mr. Grove.
 
Thanks G, have not heard that song before.
Shoot, I have not been on a stage since '74 when I was in a local band :D


Les, have not seen any of Pete's videos before, thanks.
But I do read his column monthly in Premier Guitar.
Just finished his column Wednesday night, and had read is is touring with a very hard working/perfectionist guitar player in Japan.
http://www.peterthorn.com/home/blog/headed-to-japan-tour-with-tsuyoshi-nagabuchi
 
Last edited by a moderator:
CoreyT said:
Les, have not seen any of Pete's videos before, thanks.
But I do read his column monthly in Premier Guitar.i
Click to expand...

I didn't know he had a column, thanks for that info!

His demos are really informative, right? What I like is that he's got great skills, superb tone, and he's experienced at setting a pedal or amp or whatever to get these great sounds, and show us how to get them. That's golden.

Also, he's doing this with very nicely played musical examples that sound good. That's so useful when I'm thinking about a product I might be interested in! He's also done similar videos with musical examples for TC Electronic.

The decision to bring someone like Pete Thorn in on a track I was producing would be a pretty easy one! Mr. Tone King? Well...
 
Last edited:
Hey it's 2014, and all you need is a camera, some gear and the interweb and you're an expert.

I have nothing against Tone King or anyone else out there, and often time I find myself entertained by their presentation, hijinks and once in awhile information (when it's accurate).

But when I want to hear a demo I want great tone (no matter the guitar), great playing and to walk away with the feeling that I heard the guitar or amp being demonstrated. As soon as someone starts out talking about tone while playing through a metal zone pedal I'm gone.
https://www.youtube.com/user/GregsGuitars
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top