Hafler T2?

[VENTGtr]

Anyone familiar with the Hafler T2 Guitar preamp? Pros, cons, good, bad, reliable?

[metalchurch]

I've never heard of that brand before. I looked it up and read some reviews, and I read nothing but good things about it.

Do you have one? What does it sound like to you?

[bassist_25]

Yeah, I knew that Hafler made power amps - we actually use them at my day gig - but I didn't know that they made a preamp.

There's one on Ebay right now for fifty bucks.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hafler-T2-Multi-Tub ... dZViewItem

[metalchurch]

I was looking at that also. It looks really cool and dare I say 'vintage' looking.
I like the look on non-digital units, they look like they are built better to me.

[VENTGtr]

That one's pretty cool. Don't have one, actually. Sold my TubeWorks preamp a few
months ago and have been debating getting another one (STUPID, STUPID, STUPID
idea selling it).

I've been watching a few of those as well but saw a different Hafler than the one
linked and did some research. Mostly found good things but was wondering if anyone
on here had any actual experience. Most "reviews" seem start with "I've only been
playing an hour or two, but...".

LAST thing I need to do is go buing more gear (I'm also on the market for a good,
low-priced CryBaby Original Wah if anyone one sitting around) but ya know, sometimes
you get than stupid itch and it's hard to quelch it.

Mebbe it's fleas...or maybe I need to pick up a new preamp. I dunno.

[metalchurch]

Yeah I hear that. I'm always buying,selling, building and trading something.

I've been fortunate so far with not being let down by a purchase of something that I wasn't familiar with.
Besides, that's the great thing about ebay (if there is one) you can always sell it and get your money back, and buy something else. I've done that all this year.
It's an easy way to try stuff out for a while.

You need another preamp, you might as well buy it!

[VENTGtr]

MC,

True. If I can get it at a reasonable price, definitely.

I just got a pickup that I've been looking for for years a coupl'a weeks ago.

Put it in. Nothing. Dead. Just a capacitor anymore. In the midst of trying
to get that sorted out. The one really bad thing about E-Bay.

[metalchurch]

I know what you mean about that for sure.
I bought a few things that weren't accurately described, and some things I never received at all.
I usually try to look at their feedback rating before I buy, but that's not always a safe bet either.

Luckily for me, it's all been things lower than $50.00 so, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Just about a month ago, I got this email from ebay saying that someone hacked into my a ebay account and was trying to sell a Jet Ski.

Oh and I got this other email about 4 days ago from Ebay saying that Pennsylvania wants to pass a law, making anyone who sells on Ebay to have a business liscense first.

They want their cut of the pie too. It's bad enough that PayPal takes the percentage that they do.

What pickup did you buy for your guitar, anyway?

[VENTGtr]

Got an older S.D. HotRails. I don't like humbuckers but need something a little
thicker than single coils (Though I love the sound strats of all, I just need to fill
out more space).

The Hot Rails are supposed to be like humbuckers, and I guess the new ones
are. But, the older ones (At least early 90s versions) aren't. They have more
midrange, no more sustain than a single coil strat pickup, etc. so they're perfect
for what I like to hear.

Ah ya. Ended up passing on the Hafler. In the images I didn't see any place for
channel switching. E-Mailed the guy and he said he didn't see anything. SO, I
went back to the idea of getting another TubeWorks 922. LOVED that thing. In
the midst of it all saw a Hughes&Kettner that looked pretty cool and got that. Figured
I'd try something I knew was good (Played through one these a few years ago and
liked it) and will look around for some British Series speakers sometime and build
a 2x12 or 2x10 cab.

SO, with a new wah, couple of new pedals, etc. will have a different rig AGAIN.
Criminy. Used the same setup for years and have been messing with different
things since moving away from it. I think I was better served as a curmudgeon.

[metalchurch]

What model of Hughes&Kettner did you get?

What do you think of that thing?
It is tubed right?
I don't really know much about H&K, so I'll be looking forward to hearing any and all info that you want to share about it.

[VENTGtr]

MC,

Got one of the Attax 100s. Has the features I liked most out of everything (With the
notable exception that the channel switching cable uses a Midi-type connector
rather than a 1/4". Stupid! But, that's a small thing, provided it never goes bad.
Wonder if that's replaceable with a 1/4"? Time to call Dave Sarge?

Hasn't arrived yet, actually. It's a combo with a 12" but I'll prolly tear it apart and
use it with a cab and 2x10s or a 10&12.

Always heard good stuff about the H&Ks as well and in mucking around with a
few of them I've been pretty impressed. Tube pre/SS Power, to which I'm partial
so this is perfect. Has 12AX7s so if that's pushing too much (I honestly don't need
100Ws anyway, but this also has the 3 channels, which I dig) I'll swap out different
tubes to bring things down and tone it up.

I'll probably just end up tooling around until I get the same sound I've gotten from
TubeWorks, Fenders, Line6, Randall, etc. Always mean to find something JUST
a bit different, but never do.

I'll definitely let you know what I think of it. Actually, it's always cool to read
people's impressions of gear on here. Glad you mentioned that.

[songsmith]

I have an Attax 80, from about 10 years ago... other than an incident where a receptacle was wired 220V at a club, it's been pretty bulletproof. It blew a fuse when that happened, and after tearing the entire chassis out to get to the fuse, I installed a rear-panel-mounted fuseholder. Since then, zero problems. It's got a pretty good modern crunch channel, but I played in rock & country bands, so I used the classic overdrive channel mostly.
The only thing I don't like about it is the the taper on the main volume. 6 was never loud enough and 7 was too loud. Of course, the wide range on the controls add to it's tonal flexibility. Other than that, it's been a real champ for me. That reminds me, mine's an Attax 80, and if I remember correctly, it's 80 watts solid-state using just the internal speaker, BUT the power rating goes to 100W if an extension cab is used. I'd be willing to bet the Attax 100 is the same.---->JMS

[VENTGtr]

SS,

Incidentally, I looked on here when considering the H&K and saw what you had
to say in a "What's Your Setup" discussion of some kind. Made an impression on
my decision, especially that you found it reliable. So i should say "Thanks". Thanks!

The 100 is, I believe, 120W. Like you said, probably when the ext. cab is used.

"The only thing I don't like about it is the the taper on the main volume. 6 was never
loud enough and 7 was too loud."

That's been a problem with almost every amp I've ever had (At least anything with
tubes) and was a big reason I moved away from the Fender Bassman. A separate
power attenuator would be a cool addition to be able to turn the preamp up and limit
the power amp output. Then again...if I tried to do that myself I'd end up being
KeithRelf-icised.

Really, at the moment I'm using a 30W amp and it's been great at getting reasonable
stage volume yet being easy to mix. Even with a seriously loud drummer. The
120W is way more than I wanted, but still. Seemed more reliable than a Fender HotRod
Deluxe, which I've been diggin', and was comparable in price, albeit used.

[bassist_25]

I've always been impressed with what I've heard from H&K.

The trend really does seem to be leaning towards module rigs. It makes a lot of sense to go with lower-powered rigs when tubes in the power section are involved.

[VENTGtr]

I've always been impressed with what I've heard from H&K.

The trend really does seem to be leaning towards module rigs. It makes a lot of sense
to go with lower-powered rigs when tubes in the power section are involved.

Also, replacing 1 or 2 AX7s is a lot cheaper than replacing a bunch of EL84s. I'm cheap.

Ya, the H&K rep has been good and consistent for years as solid and high quality. Their
stuff was really about the only one I looked at that didn't get mixed reviews in some forum
or another. Certainly outside of the several grand range which is just unnecessary.

I've played through Mesas, etc. and liked them enough. Just too loud when you get to
a nice sound. A Mkiv with a power soak would be cool, but still.

[metalchurch]

Could you guys explain that Power Soak, or Power Brake, as I believe Marshall calls it?

As far as I can tell it's basically a bottle neck effect, which allows you to crank your 100W amp up and 'soaks' the power to only let out say 50 Watts?

Not sure if I have the right idea about this, but I always wondered about it, just kind of never looked into it.

That's great that you found something that you're happy with, not too get that far off subject.
I had a SS head w/ a tube pre before, and it had a nice sound.
Less maintenance, and less to worry about.
It also had a more consistent sound because of it.

[bassist_25]

As far as I can tell it's basically a bottle neck effect, which allows you to crank your 100W amp up and 'soaks' the power to only let out say 50 Watts?

Yeah, it's pretty much a dummy impedance load. Lonewolf could probably explain more. (I always pass this stuff off to Jeff LOL)

[VENTGtr]

Ya, that's pretty much it. They can be harmful to certain types of amps. I don't
remember the whole problem in some cases. A real tech guy probably knows
all on these.

I saw something where a guy had hooked something similar up to a Fender that
was, basically, just like a dial. NO idea how it worked but it seemed really cool.

I agree with the consistency with the Tube Pre/SS Power. And, really, SS technology
has come so far anyway. Cripes, the Line6 stuff, etc. is all models. They're great
and you, for the most part, get the sound you want at most volume levels (Ya, loud
is always better, but sound guys yammer).

Marshalls are extremely inconsistent insofar as their sounds (Which is what makes
the great ones great, but leaves a lot of lousy ones hanging around) so tube or not
there can be issues.

If it wasn't for the fact that I liked having the amp behind me and liked getting feedback
on demand I'd probably just use a Pod of some kind. As a matter of fact, we're doing
a private party in a couple of weeks and I'm just going to use the Line6 and run it
directly into the board, have our bass player do the same and we'll use the mons.

Can keep the volume down more easily (Calv, from SJ, uses Roland(?) drum pads.
These are pretty excellent. If our drummer could afford them I'd be all over it. Guess
that's pretty off-topic, huh?

[metalchurch]

I'll try looking it up to get a 'definition' of what it is, and hopefully find more info on it.

It's your thread, so you can talk about whatever you want! LOL

Not that it stops any of us from hijacking.
So easy to do that on here, cause someone mentions something besides their original point, and then leaves it out there w/ no other explaination.

And of course that makes us even more curious about it. LOL

[VENTGtr]

True enough. But geez. To go off talking about drums? Drums?! Dang...

[Ron]

I was talking about power soaks in the other thread.
Basically they are an L-Pad or T-Pad, which are basically high power handling resistor based volume controls which maintain a steady input impedence despite the volume position. They go between the speaker output jack and the cabinets.
They can be expensive, not because of design, but they take special high wattage variable resistors to construct. They will also get HOT, and if they fail they could take your tube amp's output transformer with them.
But they will pull the best sound out of any tube amp, without a doubt.

[VENTGtr]

Ron,

Thanks for the info. So...someone making their own should be good at more than
just solderin'. Not that I was planning on it. Like I said, the electrocution thing, but
ya know.

[songsmith]

Don't quote me on this, but the ones I've seen either had giant ceramic block resistors, or weird, retro-looking ceramic cylinder resistors, wrapped in nichrome wire. When you dump a 100 watts of tubey goodness into them, that power's got to go somewhere, and it's dissipated as heat energy. Galaxy Audio used to have a Bunnertronic Dummy Load, custom made by Steve Koehle, out of spare parts from God-knows-where.
We used it for testing PA amps, and you could damn near heat your house with it.
Barry Russell from Black Angel had a Marshall Power Brake back in the day, but I don't remember him actually using it. Owning one then was usually a sign that you had enough money to buy Marshall accessories, because turning down wasn't a viable option at that time.------>JMS

[metalchurch]

Songsmith wrote:

....because turning down wasn't a viable option at that time.------>JMS

What happened to those times?

Who's Black Angel? were they local? Just wondering, that is an awesome name, and I'm assuming they were metal?