I’m a real pup in this shaping and glassing business, but as I was reading through several posts and debates about “new tech” (Surftech, EPS/Epoxy, etc.) vs. “old tech” (polyester, polyurethane etc.) I was struck by an analogy that I thought was worth sharing. Just substitute “surfboard” for “guitar amp” and you’ll see what I’m saying…
I’ve been a musician and guitar player for about 15 years, and the same thing happening in the surf industry today happened in the music industry in the early '70s-- new-tech, solid-state transistor-powered guitar amps began to replace the old-tech, vaccum-tube driven amps that had been in use since the '30’s. The new amps cost much less to produce, had less-expensive components, and even weighed much less. They also lent themselves to production-line techniques, versus the more traditional hand-built and soldered tube amps. Because the newer amps required less skill and knowledge to build, they were often outsourced overseas to take advantage of lower production costs.
However, many claimed that they didn’t sound as good, weren’t as adjustable, and didn’t have the same “soul” as the older tube-driven models, but fashion and economics dictated that the newer amps were economically better for the big labels to produce. In time, most of the big manufacturers, even legends such as Marshall and Fender, switched the majority of their production over to solid-state technology, but there were always those holdouts among musicians that hoarded their old amps and scoured garage sales for vaccum tubes and refused to play their music on the industry’s terms. Interest in the old amps never really fully went away, however, and a few small backyard builders began to make their own tube-driven amps for customers who were also into the old sounds. They gathered enough enthusiasts that many of the backyard builders were able to go into business, handbuilding amps the old-fashioned way for discerning customers. In time, enough of these amps were built and played and enough “noise” made that the bigger labels took notice and began to reintroduce classic models from the past-some even went as far as to dedicate large portions of their factories into custom shops that hand-built amps using the same techniques that they had largely abandoned just a few years prior. Consumer interest rebounded, and in interesting culture was formed–solid-state amps were fine for beginners and casual players, but you weren’t a serious, dedicated guitarist unless you had a tube amp or two lying around. Nowdays the market is split about 50-50 between the old and new, and most amp makers have several models powered by either technology available.
Hopefully our future will be similar-new tech usurps the old, which is shuffled off to the margins only to soon be “rediscovered” and reexamined by a newer generation, who wishes to have a more complete experience than what is offered by the industry. At the core of it all is a small minority who never changed at all, but just went along doing what felt right, regardless of economics or fashion. In time, the two technologies eventually co-exist, and maybe even share the better points of each to reach a new pinnacle of craftsmanship and function. Hopefully!