Looking for In-Person Feedback on Design

YourGuitarist

YourGuitarist

Commercial User
Jan 31, 2024
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Denver
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Myself, Nothing ATM
#1
Hello,

I am an aspiring amp/fx designer. I'm building my first amp right now for which I am going to be looking for in person feedback to help me fine tune the voicing, controls and features. I've already run a preliminary survey not too long ago here:

The essence of my question here is: what sort of incentives would y'all appreciate as encouragement to come out and audition equipment?

What would make it exciting and interesting for you?

I live in the Denver metro region. My initial thought is to grab a pack of beers and buy some food for folks. What else?

As an aside if you know people who live in the area and you think would be interested, feel free to PM me.

Thank you.
 
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#2
I've used TB GTGs very successfully as a vehicle for user feedback on my DIY builds, and also as a reality check versus a wide variety of commercial amps and preamps. You might want to post in the GTG sub forum here once you have a plan. Wish I was closer, I'd love to compare notes! ;)

I do know a few people in your area too, I will see if I can scare up their contact info.
 
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#3
Passinwind said:
I've used TB GTGs very successfully as a vehicle for user feedback on my DIY builds, and also as a reality check versus a wide variety of commercial amps and preamps. You might want to post in the GTG sub forum here once you have a plan. Wish I was closer, I'd love to compare notes! ;)

I do know a few people in your area too, I will see if I can scare up their contact info.
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Thank you. While I've done a lot of research, simulation and breadboarding, there's not really a substitute for determining taste. At the end of the day, I'm inevitably biased towards certain EQs and voicings and so understanding how someone else would use it poses a challenge that is best answered in person. While it's important to have high hopes and be ambitious, there is a necessary humility you have to have to do these things well.
 
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#4
YourGuitarist said:
Thank you. While I've done a lot of research, simulation and breadboarding, there's not really a substitute for determining taste. At the end of the day, I'm inevitably biased towards certain EQs and voicings and so understanding how someone else would use it poses a challenge that is best answered in person. While it's important to have high hopes and be ambitious, there is a necessary humility you have to have to do these things well.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you get it. At one GTG showing of a newly built DIY amp the first guy who asked to try it was Michael Manring. At least he and I are both primarily fretless players, but...:cool:
 
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#7
I'd recommend starting small. Gathering too many data points at the onset can lead to a "design by committee" result, which is often disappointing. Start with a single data point, which is you, your intent and goals for the design, and your personal taste. From there reach out to a single player that you know to be proficient as a player and someone with an ear for tone and using gear. Invite them over, or take your design to them. Get their input, and only then would I widen out the search for additional input and opinions.
 
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#8
silky smoove said:
I'd recommend starting small. Gathering too many data points at the onset can lead to a "design by committee" result, which is often disappointing. Start with a single data point, which is you, your intent and goals for the design, and your personal taste. From there reach out to a single player that you know to be proficient as a player and someone with an ear for tone and using gear. Invite them over, or take your design to them. Get their input, and only then would I widen out the search for additional input and opinions.
Click to expand...

Hm, I've taken a good portion of the recording and production sequence at my Uni and so I figured its worth reaching out to the teacher and even students since who's got better ears than engineers...ooh that rhymes (must be true).

I think its a nice qualification here to suggest following my gut if you will. I have a long history of recording and production albeit mostly my own material but at the same time, said material was bass-guitar centric and pushed me to experiment with how to fit the instrument in the mix. I think its important to look at what already works and why, I've been measuring the frequency response of a lot of my equipment, especially once dialed in.

And as you said, feature-creep is a risk here when too many ideas are introduced but at the same time, the other end is thinking about how to voice your system for the most versatility.
 
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#13
YourGuitarist said:
I am an aspiring amp/fx designer. I'm building my first amp right now for which I am going to be looking for in person feedback to help me fine tune the voicing, controls and features.... I live in the Denver metro region.
Click to expand...
Does the amp have a specific genre orientation or tonal character?

For instance, Soldano and Bogner probably get better feedback from shredders than from guys playing jazz on hollowbody guitars.

If your amp is intended to as versatile as possible, pull in a wide range of players - if not, figure out the top local players in your target genre and just ask them for their input.

Most musicians are gear junkies - so I think many would be excited for the chance to demo a new design and work with a local builder.

Too bad I'm not in Denver any more...

Another thought:
TalkBass members often hold get togethers where everyone brings their basses (and to a lesser extent amps and cabs) and folks try out each others' gear.

Maybe organize a Denver TalkBass get-together and hear how your amp is received by different players and how it works with different speaker cabs?
 
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#14
groovaholic said:
Does the amp have a specific genre orientation or tonal character?

For instance, Soldano and Bogner probably get better feedback from shredders than from guys playing jazz on hollowbody guitars.

If your amp is intended to as versatile as possible, pull in a wide range of players - if not, figure out the top local players in your target genre and just ask them for their input.

Most musicians are gear junkies - so I think many would be excited for the chance to demo a new design and work with a local builder.

Too bad I'm not in Denver any more...

Another thought:
TalkBass members often hold get togethers where everyone brings their basses (and to a lesser extent amps and cabs) and folks try out each others' gear.

Maybe organize a Denver TalkBass get-together and hear how your amp is received by different players and how it works with different speaker cabs?
Click to expand...

Yeah I was thinking of doing it like a shin-dig if you will. I don't want to have a clinical atmosphere. It should be a dialogue. At the moment its hard to say who the audience is specifically. What I can say is the preamp is primarily intended to be clean and the cab voicing should be similar to a ACME cab. If simulation is accurate, the cabinet should have a very flat voicing. In the sense that there are deep lows, I expect metalheads and reggae players to appreciate it but the neutral voicing means I have to have a personable/versatile EQ section.
 
#16
YourGuitarist said:
Hello,

I am an aspiring amp/fx designer. I'm building my first amp right now for which I am going to be looking for in person feedback to help me fine tune the voicing, controls and features. I've already run a preliminary survey not too long ago here:

The essence of my question here is: what sort of incentives would y'all appreciate as encouragement to come out and audition equipment?

What would make it exciting and interesting for you?

I live in the Denver metro region. My initial thought is to grab a pack of beers and buy some food for folks. What else?

As an aside if you know people who live in the area and you think would be interested, feel free to PM me.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Colorado Club
 
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#18
gmarcus said:
It would be super useful if you could bring your amp to a Gig or Jam session so it can be heard at band volume.
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Makes perfect sense but one must be careful and make sure the acoustic of the room is good otherwise, even the best amps might sound average.

Below is the kind of room I would do a demo. It’s in the basement and most of the walls are brick or stone to avoid most of the reverb :

 
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#19
gmarcus said:
It would be super useful if you could bring your amp to a Gig or Jam session so it can be heard at band volume.
Click to expand...
gmarcus said:
It would be super useful if you could bring your amp to a Gig or Jam session so it can be heard at band volume.
Click to expand...

I agree, not to mention people may not take kindly to blasting 120dB in a non venue space.
 
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