Nick Carr likes his music gear to be old school, which explains why he was groping in a box for a vintage guitar effects pedal during a liquidation sale at the Groove Tubes factory in San Fernando this week.
That kind of equipment -- pedals, speakers, microphones and, of course, tubes -- was in abundant supply at Groove Tubes, which was sold to industry giant Fender Musical Instrument Corp. in June and is closing its inventory sale today.
“I use old vintage gear for the sound -- the new, digital chips just aren't the same," said Carr, a musician who works as a TV sound engineer. “GT is quite well known in the industry, so there's a little sense of nostalgia too. And people here are trying to get a piece of that."
Groove Tubes had drawn a cult following in its 30 years of producing vacuum tubes, which musicians and audiophiles prize for their warm sound. Rick Benson, 57, started as Groove Tube sales manager 20 years ago but still gets giddy talking about getting calls from Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top and Eddie Van Halen.
He got even more animated while explaining the allure of tubes, which powered a wide variety of electronics before being rendered almost obsolete by transistors.
Minute differences in tubes can dramatically alter sound dynamics to achieve the grainy distortion favored by rock bands; the fat, sweet tones of bluesmen; or the pure twang of jazz and country musicians, Benson said.
“A specific tone is something you look for your entire life," he said. “It's like the warmth of human touch. Tube has soul and fire in it."
