Those in the know used good stuff, and good sounding stuff to build tube amps for both sides of the glass. There were some really great mono and stereo “hi-fi” amps built back then that are still considered gems today, and also some really special instrument amplifiers. Whoosh… Transporter to the present!!!

There are some fantastic boutique amplifiers available today that rival or even eclipse some of yester-years tube porn. We now know what makes those great amps tick, and with proper attention to detail and the money spent on the right components, which include specially built high end transformers, these amps can be excellent.

There are also many very fine after market pick-up makers who make superb devices that come awfully close to creating the tones of the tastiest old vintage guitars we desire, yet seem to be short on the cash to afford.

I believe we really went wrong is moving into the digital domain. We are interpolating the sounds the microphones are picking up (after converting them), and then attempting to process them with virtual components that have no errors or harmonic distortion within the components that are absent from the circuitry that does not exist.

Then we compress the heck out of everything, remove every semblance of dynamics, dither it down to the measly MP3 format and wonder why it doesn’t sound quite like it did… Or as so many folks scare me with the comment, “It sounds way better than any album… It’s quiet (no pops or clicks), way louder and I can put a lot more songs on a CD than you can fit on a record or a tape!” *barf*

My search for good tone led me to learning guitar repair. Not so much a deliberate decision as the outgrowth of constant tweaking in search of tone. I focused then and now on the non-wiring issues–making sure I had “good connection” and set-up between all parts. When I felt I had exhausted that approach, I began experimenting with pickups. I feel very satisfied with my equipment at this point, but there is still mystery involved. I have cheap guitars that sound great, and have sold mid-end guitars that sounded awful. I’ve been amazed at the difference between one and another identical guitar in stores and would willingly travel hundreds of miles if there were a place where I could try out 30 of the same guitar. My point is that I feel nothing has changed. If you have a barrel full of bold-on necks (as I do) and rap each one, some will ring like a bell and give you an identifiable note. Others will just go “Thud.” Next step: get a pickup rewinder. One more point, a good guitar in 1957 would have set you back in real dollars as much as you would pay today. I think what you’re getting in a vintage instrument is at least partially the result of aging of wood (some glues and finishes harden and alter the acoustics) and electronics. Matching the tone of a vintage instrument can be hard but can be done.