StrummersOfThunder wrote: ↑Sat Dec 10, 2022 8:25 am
bender wrote: ↑Sat Dec 10, 2022 8:16 am
StrummersOfThunder wrote: ↑Sat Dec 10, 2022 7:28 am
Old as amps were fairly simple transistor amps with not much else going on
Quick non evidence based and inheritantly biased Google search does question the life expectancy of digital amps and points out lots of ways they fail. Now, the same goes for tube Amps but again, these are far more self serviceable or amp techable.
I could be totally wrong but I doubt very much reverb will be populated with fender tone masters from 2022 in the year 2042 let alone 2082 !
Back to my initial point. I think these need to be priced for what they are, not what they are trying to be.
You’re not wrong. I can’t see these kinds of amps having a useable lifespan of more than 10 years. I’m just saying that they hopefully wouldn’t need much in the way of servicing in the medium term.
I’d much rather have something that is easier to service indefinitely though.
I get at this stage it's too early to tell. But if my experience with techy shit like phones and laptops is anything to go by, they don't get any better with age !
I've followed this with interest. A Bandmate has a DR Tonemaster bought on my recommendation. I stand by that even though I'm unlikely ever to buy one myself. He loves the light weight. Tonally, he gets a sound he's used to and never changes so it's set and forget for him. He's older, set in his ways and an amp is just something to make his guitar louder. He doesn't want to think about anything beyond brand confidence and he has the budget to support the attitude.
Fender Tonemaster is a no brainer choice.
But it's disposable tech rather than hand built circuits. Fender has no reason to fund a supply of circuit boards for the next 50 years and I'll put money on the fact that they won't. The most encouraging thing about this product line is that it will offer a steady supply of Fender combo cabs for folks like MikeC to house real amps in.
These things are cellphones; use it until the next shiny thing comes along then bin it.
The one exception I can think of is a long series of well paid gigs where light weight is valuable and the amp is funded as part of tour costs.
They work well, sound good and if you're happy to apply the same fiscal reasoning to your amp that you do to your phone, Fender thanks you for your massively profitable purchase and looks forward to your custom again in the near future.
Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.