workhorse amps

[The Tone God]

R.G.: Why not sell the hubcaps by themselves if Visual is not going to be selling the amps ? You guys seem to put alot of work into them to just throw them away.

Andrew

[R.G.]

Im buying a Workhorse this weekend... whats the best way to record with them? That hub cap is interesting... but how do I mic it?

Because of the dispersion from the cone, mike positioning is much less critical than it is for many amps. You don't start running into sharp nodes a little ways in front of the amp.

We had in mind at one time to put a mike capsule in the hubcap itself, but decided that opinions on mikes are too divided - everyone would think a different mike was better.

[R.G.]

R.G.: Why not sell the hubcaps by themselves if Visual is not going to be selling the amps ? You guys seem to put alot of work into them to just throw them away.

Good idea! How many would you like?   

Actually, they're not being thrown away. We've had a couple of feelers from some other amp makers that want to license the technology.

[ibodog]

I've got one of those Workhorse Stallions (2x12).  Holy hell there's a big toroidial transformer on the back of the amp chassis!  Makes it way heavy.  I know why the Seventy Eighty was chosen for this amp now - they're relatively light for a speaker.  I got to see the transformer when I decided to replace one of the speakers with a Eminence Red White and Blue.  I just got in a Eminence Wizard to replace the other one this week.  When that's done I'll bet this amp's going to be pushing 80-90 lbs! 

Couple of observations should VS ever decide to resurrect the amp.  It's tough to use an attenuator with it because of the closed back.  You can't get the cables out to set the attenuator on the floor behind the amp and there's less room inside the amp to try to set one on the bottom because the speaker baffle is set back further than normal to accommodate the hubcaps.  I've got a 4ohm Hot Plate and I ended up removing the reverb tray so I could set it in the bottom of the amp.  I love a 2x12 sound but 60 watts is just too much so I attenuate about 8dB on the Hot Plate and I can get a nice full sound at a reasonable small band level now.  I didn't particularly like this spring reverb so it wasn't a big loss.  Now I'm using a Verbzilla set to the '63 spring setting out in front of the amp. 

Sounds great with the Bad Cat 2-tone as the preamp between my pedals and the amp.

[MikeH]

R.G.: Why not sell the hubcaps by themselves if Visual is not going to be selling the amps ? You guys seem to put alot of work into them to just throw them away.

Good idea! How many would you like?   

Well, I'll take 2 please.   

[R.G.]

Good idea! How many would you like?   

Well, I'll take 2 please.   

If you're serious, PM me. I can make that happen.

[R.G.]

Holy hell there's a big toroidial transformer on the back of the amp chassis! 

We didn't skimp on power supply... 

Couple of observations should VS ever decide to resurrect the amp.  It's tough to use an attenuator with it because of the closed back.  You can't get the cables out to set the attenuator on the floor behind the amp and there's less room inside the amp to try to set one on the bottom because the speaker baffle is set back further than normal to accommodate the hubcaps.

The metal mesh panels are there to eliminate the possibility of anyone from sticking their hands in and touching the sizzling hot output tubes. If you don't plan to be fondling hot output tubes, I can't advise you to remove the mesh, but if you decide to, I can't stop you.

I love a 2x12 sound but 60 watts is just too much

Yeah. We sold a boatload of the Ponys. That was a kind of a giant killer amp. Lots of thump and sound for "only" 30W and one 12. I think if/when we resurrect the Workhorse, we'd do a single 12 30W like the Pony, and a head plus either a 4x12 or two 2x12.

Sounds great with the Bad Cat 2-tone as the preamp between my pedals and the amp.

It was designed to. We deliberately tried to make it play well with effects in front of it. I'm glad it's working for you even if the compromises aren't all the way you'd like them.

[aziltz]

If you don't plan to be fondling hot output tubes, I can't advise you to remove the mesh,

quote of the day material?

[Taylor]

I have to admit that I have seen these amps and passed them over completely because of the hubcap. I never bothered to read what they were all about, and it's too bad, because the feature set is very interesting. It may be because of my age (young) but when I saw these things, I thought they were another goofy attempt to tap into "what the kids like these days", namely, shiny rims. Having seen toasters, shoes, t-shirts, necklaces, stereos, etc. with shiny fake spinner rims/wheels/hubcaps on them, it came as no surprise when I saw what appeared to be a guitar amp with them.

I'm probably in the minority on this one.  I hope so, anyway.

[Nasse]

Another bad decision was there was never a head only for those customers who already have a speaker cabinet, or have less money but could have it if the top could be had for less. imho that hubcab is like killing a fly with a cannon but if it works it works. I hate tube amps anyway and dont have the money so I dont care, and my wife would kill me if I spend any more money on gear. Don´t know if I could hide an amp top somewhere but she will certainly notice a combo amp.

If I remeber the colour was boring black, can´t understand why they dont do amps covered with blue jeans fabric and some other cool things. I did a speaker cab for my doughters boyfriend and we put camo finish on it and it was killer looks but my doughter dumped the guy. 

[Taylor]

Well, I think the hubcap is a great idea, I just don't think it should look like a hubcap.

[ayayay!]

Ahh, I can see your point of view as well Taylor.  I honestly thought it was a "spinner" gimmick the first time I saw it too.  That, unfortunately, was just a case of bad timing.  If it had come out 3-5 years prior, no one including myself would have thought that.

I totally forgot about the 9v power supply built into the amp.  I don't know if I would have used it...  I'm sure I probably would have found some good application for it, but it's a very nice gesture and forward thinking either way. 

I haven't seen a VS amp in a few years now, and wish I would have bought one, but today I am purchasing a Traynor YCV40.  And as I mentioned long ago in this thread, I don't even care for the OD channels on amps.  I'm just a stickler for high-headroom clean, like the Workhorses were. 

[R.G.]

... when I saw these things, I thought they were another goofy attempt to tap into "what the kids like these days", namely, shiny rims. Having seen toasters, shoes, t-shirts, necklaces, stereos, etc. with shiny fake spinner rims/wheels/hubcaps on them, it came as no surprise when I saw what appeared to be a guitar amp with them.
I'm probably in the minority on this one.  I hope so, anyway.

There were two opinions on the hubcaps, and no middle ground. People either loved them or hated them. The hate was almost always on the grounds that you describe. About half the people who hated the hubcaps and then listened to the amp found that they could get over it, the other half couldn't.

I did see lots of "what the kids like these days" speaker grilles at some of the trade shows that were non-functional, just ornament. Probably these will show up on guitar amps as you would expect.

The last round of these was shiny black, not metallic silver.

[ibodog]

R.G. did you try spinning these things?  I love spinning speakers!

I think I'll probably paint my hubcaps black this summer. 

[R.G.]

Roughly 97.3% of people, upon first seeing the hubcaps have said something like "Do you have a version with spinners on them?" 

[jefe]

I haven't seen a VS amp in a few years now, and wish I would have bought one, but today I am purchasing a Traynor YCV40.  And as I mentioned long ago in this thread, I don't even care for the OD channels on amps.  I'm just a stickler for high-headroom clean, like the Workhorses were. 

How are you liking the Traynor? I might want to check them out.

I feel the same way as you do about amps (I think?)... I like a clean amp, and get my dirt from pedals.

[ayayay!]

VERY impressed with the Traynor.  But, I don't like the dirty channel.  Which, again, is not why I bought it.  I think the Traynor's clean channel is quite close to the Workhorse's sound, but that was so long ago when I played the Workhorse that I may be off. 

I'll pm you the rest of the stuff on that amp...