J.B.

And isn't Mako going to boards now anyway?

Originally posted by maz_master Only saw pics and descriptions of the Mako and Herbert. Without knowing more detail regarding the mounting structure and thickness of the Herbert PCB (to support PCB-mounted power tubes), it's hard to compare the two. They can easily be equally hardy. Build quality is more than PTP layout and chassis-mounted tubes. For example, my first Shiva was built like a tank and generally used all of the techniques recognized as contributing to low failure rate in the field. However, the power tubes used extremely high plate voltages for EL34s/6L6s (around 520V) and were biased at near the max idle plate dissipation (Class AB should not run much beyond 60-70%). Yet, when I found other design problems in the amp (discussed below), Reinhold admitted to me that the hot bias and high voltage resulted in a lot of failures in the field. So, on future Shivas (one of which I owned), they reduced both (which also affected the tone, IMO). You can't see plate voltages and idle currents in a picture, so how can you compare that parameter? Another example of poor quality on the early Shivas was the low relay coil current-limiting resistor which resulted in burned out channel and boost switching relay coils. Can't see that in a picture either. Another example of poor quality on the early Shivas was the excessively low resistance of the current limiting resistors in series with the LEDs in the footswitch. They eventually caused the LEDs to burn out or become intermittent, thus opening the circuit and causing channel switching oscillation during gigs!!! This happened to me at two packed gigs! Bogner had no clue why this was happening. They initially denied it completely but after I spent the better part of a weekend finding that problem and offering them a circuit (which required simultaneous equations to solve) which properly sized the current limiting resistors for both the boost and gain LEDs, Reinhold called me at home, thanked me for finding the problem and then finally admitted they were seeing a lot of these failures in the field. First of all, the LEDs should not be in the switching path, but if they are, they should be properly limited for current! Bogner did neither. Can't see that kind of thing in a picture either. So, it's impossible to simply look at pics of the Herbert and Mako and predict which will be more reliable on the road! There's just too much else going on with component values and circuit architecture. An improperly sized resistor in a PTP MIL-SPEC layout will fail just as readily as one in a cheap PCB circuit! Yes, there are some general things to look for in a pic (like chassis-mounted power tubes, pots, switches, jacks, etc), but it only tells part of the story. But, knowing the reps of both Andrew and Peter, I'd bet my next paycheck that both products are equally road-worthy. Wow, excellent post.

Originally posted by Def_Pearl_Pilot I have a Recto and Herbert and the Herbert slays the recto. Definitelyworth the money for me. When I had my '92 Recto, I compared it side by side with a friends Herbert. We played the Recto first and both thought it sounded great. Then we played and Herbert and WOW!! Then we went back to the Recto, and it didn't sound very good at all.

Originally posted by mctallica1 I am leaning that way. I think it is kinda funny that JB is the voice of reason:D LOL!! Well, I did own that amp, and it completely kicks ass. I regret letting it go. It seams I didn't realize what a gem I had until it was gone. If there was a way for me to get it back, I would do it. I know you will regret letting it go if you do. It's special. Note: Sorry to the guys that want to buy it, but Tony's a friend and I'm just being friendly.