Topic: Let's talk about Oade mods....

[OFOTD]

Glad I saw this one.   Let me try and explain how I see the Oade policy on only modding gear purchased from him.

Thank you very much for this response.  It makes perfect sense.  In that respect, I'm glad that I did respond the way I did because it helped to bring out the issues that you have pointed out in your thread.  I see now very logically how it's really not simply an exclusivity issue like I assumed.  The way you explained makes total sense to me now so again thanks. 

As is often the case, there is often a very logical explanation behind peoples motives, even when sometimes it doesn't seem like it!

Glad I was able to help somewhat.

For me though, his policy caused me to decide to go with the busman mod and buy a third party 660 rather than buy a modded one from Oade.  Call it my own form of boycotting.  Course, I'm sure that and a dime gets me a cup of coffee!  Ha!

I hope that you would reconsider the Oade units now.   Assuming that your opinion of the exclusivity situation has possibly changed now you would be doing yourself an very big injustice by going with a sonically inferior unit.

[stevetoney]

Glad I saw this one.   Let me try and explain how I see the Oade policy on only modding gear purchased from him.

Thank you very much for this response.  It makes perfect sense.  In that respect, I'm glad that I did respond the way I did because it helped to bring out the issues that you have pointed out in your thread.  I see now very logically how it's really not simply an exclusivity issue like I assumed.  The way you explained makes total sense to me now so again thanks. 

As is often the case, there is often a very logical explanation behind peoples motives, even when sometimes it doesn't seem like it!

Glad I was able to help somewhat.

For me though, his policy caused me to decide to go with the busman mod and buy a third party 660 rather than buy a modded one from Oade.  Call it my own form of boycotting.  Course, I'm sure that and a dime gets me a cup of coffee!  Ha!

I hope that you would reconsider the Oade units now.   Assuming that your opinion of the exclusivity situation has possibly changed now you would be doing yourself an very big injustice by going with a sonically inferior unit.

I will in the future, but I'm already in nuts deep with a non-Oade 660.  I traded my R-09 for it (and some other stuff), so it went to Chris.  Once I get back home, I'll be comparing that against the Busman UA-5 and my SD MP2.  Believe me that I'm not committed to this.  I'm really having fun trying all this crap out.  For example, everyone on Gods green earth has said that the only preamp to go with my MBHO's is the SD MP2 and even though my listening tests on the archive were less than convincing, coincidently enough right about that time a nice priced MP2 came available on the YS, so I snatched it up.  Now, I love everything about the box...the contruction, the meters...the size...that is I love everything but the most important thing, the sound.  I just don't like how it sounds at all.  It's just too friggin' mushy for me.  I want a crisper response and while some people have claimed that the MP2 gives the HO's some of the needed warmth, I guess I'm not happy on that count either.  I guess there is a warmer bass tone provided by the MP2 than other preamps I've tried, but I prefer a nice chocolate-y bass, creamy and smoothe and the bass outta this box just sounds crappy to me.  I mean, I got just as good bass tones out of my AT-853 mics going through a battery box.  Maybe I'm just expecting too much out of the HOs, which I'm learning are defined by their more brittle higher end than other mics.  Anyway, the point to all this is, it's fun trying everything out and if the busman 660 ain't where it's at with these mics, then that's going on the junkpile along with the MP2.  (OK, going out to the front of the house for the yard sale.)  I'm actually thinking about just starting over almost from scratch and building a rig around some 480's or something that's a little more neutral across the whole sonic spectrum, but I'm not quite ready to go there yet. 

[J.T.L]

IMO...Pelusos + any Busman mod = stellar transparent results. Detailed mics backed up by a mod designed for detal, it is a crystal clear combo that a few of us have enjoyed and never went wrong with esp. when the subcards were utilized. But then alot of people like warmth over transparency. Also Pelusos > Bus660 would be a tight little rig...

EDIT: Sorry to Shaggy for the further derailment of the original topic, I was reading this whole thread backwards and just hit the first msg.

[BJ]

I hope that you would reconsider the Oade units now.   Assuming that your opinion of the exclusivity situation has possibly changed now you would be doing yourself an very big injustice by going with a sonically inferior unit.

just to clarify an ignorant statement...this is opinion, and not fact    Different yes, one superior?...prove it...

back to your reg scheduled Oade fluffing 

side note:  does anyone have a side by side comparison of the two?  same mics/location/cables to make an accurate comparison?  I would be very interested in hearing it(as I am sure alot of people would)

[Teen Wolf Blitzer]

While I'm not gonna give my opinions here...enough of the Busman bashing.  He's a friend of mine.  And OFOTD you are and very obviously at that an Oade fluffer.  Sorry for your troubles you had Tim.  And I have mods from neither gentlemen I just think the personal public attacks here are lame.

I might add I'll put my stock R4 w/ V2 and MiniMP up against any mod R4 anyday. 
If you like what it sounds like go with it.  Don't buy gear because 100 other
guys are running the same thing in the section.  While I've heard the ACM HDP2
mod and it sounds great I can't say it blows away my buddy Jeffs stock w/ V3. 
Just my two cents.



Mark.  (a firm believer in a nice preamp)

[BJ]

While I'm not gonna give my opinions here...enough of the Busman bashing.  He's a friend of mine.  And OFOTD you are and very obviously at that an Oade fluffer.  Sorry for your troubles you had Tim.  And I have mods from neither gentlemen I just think the personal public attacks here are lame.

+t

[Teen Wolf Blitzer]

I was more referring to OFOTD Tim.  I could pull up 100 posts of him saying negative stuff about Busman modded gear yet he owns none of it.  Not trying to bust your balls OFOTD (what's yer name by the way.  lol).  But there been plenty of negative Oade threads here.  Heck Skalinder got his HDP2 and R4 from Oade.  I believe both had problems if I remeber correctly.  Tim I can say nothing to your situation but that sucks indeed.  No doubt about it.  To mod or not to mod...that is the question.   

[OFOTD]

I was more referring to OFOTD

Sorry if anyone has taken me as a hater of Busman or of launching personal attacks on the man.  I do not know him personally and as Tim said I am sure he's a good guy.  As for his mods I am sorry but personally I feel like his mods are behind Doug's both quality wise as well as sonically.  (my opinion not fact)

If you read though previous threads you will see that there have been lots of reported problems with units that he's modified.  Now in fairness to him people have been quick to point out that he has been quick to offer help.  I'll give him that.  But still the vast majority of those problems should not have happened in the first place.  Take the Op Amp issue as an example.  Secondly how often when you hear about great sounding tapes do you hear it attributed to his mods?   

Look the guy is providing a service to the community sure.  You read quite a bit about people going with his mods because Doug does or doesn't work on outside gear or they use the Busman mods because he's available or a whole other host of reasons.  Valid ones at that.  But again I never hear anyone talking going with his mods because of the sound and that to me is the biggest difference between him and Doug.

I also think that the other difference between the two modders is experience.  Not their experience but the experience of the customers who buy their gear for the most part.  Doug seems to have more seasoned clients, Busman seems to have a different group of clients.  I have not read one post where Doug has messed up a mod.  Problems with clients yes but never modding problems.  Additionally when have you ever read a thread where an owner couldn't tell the difference between different sounding Oade mods. 

So if people are buying Busman's mods at a great price it doesn't surprise me but I think the marketplace is a good indicator of quality.  Traditionally the Oade modded units retain alot more value.

I know there are alot of Busman fans out there and i'm not trying to disparage him or piss people off but I believe we need to question our vendors vigoriously if there are reported problems.  I can assure you that if Doug was putting out sub standard stuff I'd be on his ass just as hard. 

To justify sloppy or substandard work just because Chris or Doug are nice guys is total bullshit to me.   Sorry but if i'm paying  $500 or more dollars I expect demand higher quality.  Up until this point Busman has not been able to do that consistantly.

yet he owns none of it. 

The above is why I don't.  If I felt that Busman or anyone else for that matter was putting out great sounding quality mods then i'm on it like stink on shit.  But I will not spend my hard earned money just because the modder is a nice guy.

(what's yer name by the way.  lol).

David 

[Brian Skalinder]

Heck Skalinder got his HDP2 and R4 from Oade.  I believe both had problems if I remeber correctly.

My ACM HD-P2 has a known slow firewire connectivity / transfer issue, as noted here.  This is a Tascam issue, not an Oade issue, though obviously due to the mod voiding the warranty Doug's going to resolve it for me.  Additionally, I experienced odd symptoms with my ACM HD-P2 I've since been unable to duplicate, as noted here.  IME, this is again a Tascam issue, not an Oade issue, but at this point I'm chalking these up to a fluke as I'm completely unable to replicate.  Finally, I had problems recording with this unit - noted here - that I believe are media-related.  Suffice it to say my HD-P2 experiences have not been terribly positive so far, but based on the testing I've done, I'm confident my issues are Tascam / media related and have nothing to do with the Oade mods.  Doug's customer service and willingness to work with me to address manufacturer's issues is one of the reasons I go with his mods.

My R4 had ch4 polarity inverted relative to ch1-3.  This was a known Edirol issue.  They fixed it by simply re-wiring the units affected, of which I got one.  When Doug implemented his T-mods on ch3-4, he modded as though the R4 was stock, i.e. wired correctly in the first place, effectively un-doing the Edirol fix for the inverted ch4.  AFAIK, my R4 has not had this problem resolved, but it's through no fault of Doug's - he offered to fix the unit immediately upon discovery of the issue, but I simply didn't have a convenient opportunity to do so before I sold it, and neither, it seems, has the new owner.  As soon as the new owner sees fit to send it in, Doug will re-fix the Edirol fix.

[Teen Wolf Blitzer]

If you read though previous threads you will see that there have been lots of reported problems with units that he's modified.  Now in fairness to him people have been quick to point out that he has been quick to offer help.  I'll give him that.  But still the vast majority of those problems should not have happened in the first place.  Take the Op Amp issue as an example.  Secondly how often when you hear about great sounding tapes do you hear it attributed to his mods? 


I can think of a few but not the vast quantity of problems you seem to imply.  Ok...Are there comps?  Perhaps it's because Doug had done a whole lot more modded units than Busman.  Ie.  way more in the market place.


Look the guy is providing a service to the community sure.  You read quite a bit about people going with his mods because Doug does or doesn't work on outside gear or they use the Busman mods because he's available or a whole other host of reasons.  Valid ones at that.  But again I never hear anyone talking going with his mods because of the sound and that to me is the biggest difference between him and Doug.

From your point of view or have you taken a poll?  lol

I also think that the other difference between the two modders is experience.  Not their experience but the experience of the customers who buy their gear for the most part.  Doug seems to have more seasoned clients, Busman seems to have a different group of clients.  I have not read one post where Doug has messed up a mod.  Problems with clients yes but never modding problems.  Additionally when have you ever read a thread where an owner couldn't tell the difference between different sounding Oade mods. 

Wow.  Pretty elitest of you.

So if people are buying Busman's mods at a great price it doesn't surprise me but I think the marketplace is a good indicator of quality.  Traditionally the Oade modded units retain alot more value.

Ya right.  I lost a total of $600 bones upon selling my Wmod UA5 and Dmod UA5 than what a paid for em.



I know there are alot of Busman fans out there and i'm not trying to disparage him or piss people off but I believe we need to question our vendors vigoriously if there are reported problems.  I can assure you that if Doug was putting out sub standard stuff I'd be on his ass just as hard. 

Again what are all these vast problems?




The above is why I don't.  If I felt that Busman or anyone else for that matter was putting out great sounding quality mods then i'm on it like stink on shit.  But I will not spend my hard earned money just because the modder is a nice guy.

Never said that bra.  If you read the title of the thread..  Let's talk about Oade mods....  It doesn't say "and bash other modders" Seems inappropriate.



David 

Hey Dave!   Nice to meet ya.  :0)

[shaggy]

I really hope we all aired that out.  This thread is not meant to bash, only to examine the progression of Doug's mods and point out some of his best achievements.  I appreciate the replies concerning the mods and people's opinions of them, let's not stop now over some personal taste issues.

I have to admit that I came close to purchasing the first Busman UA-5 mod.  Chris ran some samples by me he made with a T+ and what would eventually become the BMP+ mod (those 'Althea' samples from 'Without a Net' on his home stereo).  There was a noticable difference despite Chris using the Oade T+ mod as a guide for the sound he was trying to emulate.  The highs were not as strident and the lo-end more extended with the Oade version.  The overall effect Chris was trying to achieve came thru, mainly that the transient detail was improved and the noise floor lowered.  But between the Oade and BM there is definitely a reason for the price difference.  

I liked Brian's comments, since he has had an oportunity to sample alot of Doug's wares over the past few years.  Thanks for the input.  Brian was pretty instrumental for pushing me over the edge to get the T+, I trust alot of what he says.  

[goodcooker]

interesting thread....I bought tonedeaf's Oade DMod UA5 and I think I'm just gonna sit on it and run the stock V3. Maybe later on I'll send it to Doug to get the W+ mod for it....anybody know what this mod runs?
His website seems to only have prices for new gear. Unless I'm looking in the wrong place?

 

[stevetoney]

interesting thread....I bought tonedeaf's Oade DMod UA5 and I think I'm just gonna sit on it and run the stock V3. Maybe later on I'll send it to Doug to get the W+ mod for it....anybody know what this mod runs?
His website seems to only have prices for new gear. Unless I'm looking in the wrong place?

 

Well, that's kinda the kicker.  The W+ mod costs about $350.  I assume the other Oade 'plus' mods probably run the same cost.  The Busman mod is $160.  So, for my purposes, if the ONLY consideration were the sound, then I'd probably have kept the UA-5 box and sent it to Doug, because the W+ is one of my favorites out there.  But sound was not the only consideration...mine sound plus resale value.  In my own case (I had two unmodded UA-5s, one non-Oade and one Oade), I could get back out what I put into a Busman modded box, but not on the Oade modded box.  So, besides the fact that I also liked the sound out of the busman (just not as much as the W+), that was a sway factor in me deciding to go with the busman mod instead of the Oade mod.

[willndmb]

i have a question for those of you who have been around a while and have better ears then me
What mod, in your opinion, is the best for akg 480s?

as for oade vs bm i have a bm ua5 because by the time i got it the ua5 was not being made and oade will not mod units not got from him
thus a cheap ebay find went to bm
i have not had any probs with bm and i feel the work is good
that in no way is to say oades isn't i just have not owned anything by doug

thanks for the mod w/480 opinions

[sygdwm]

i have a question for those of you who have been around a while and have better ears then me
What mod, in your opinion, is the best for akg 480s?

as for oade vs bm i have a bm ua5 because by the time i got it the ua5 was not being made and oade will not mod units not got from him
thus a cheap ebay find went to bm
i have not had any probs with bm and i feel the work is good
that in no way is to say oades isn't i just have not owned anything by doug

thanks for the mod w/480 opinions

its been said that the wmod was tailored to the 480's. the bm does not suck however.