More exciting news about Bachmann K4

[peteski]

I was going to add this to the original lengthy K4 thread but it was locked. 

Ernie Poole who hosted the Bachmann's video let me know (via email) that he thought the 7 or so locomotives they used in the video ran smoothly, but he wasn't too impressed with the sound. He didn't elaborate on the details.  We all know that unlike mechanical running properties, sound is a very subjective matter.

[Dave V]

Well, there's only so much you can do to get decent sound out of such a tiny space.  Good chance I'll be keeping the volume down.

Thanks for the news on the running quality!

Now...is anybody taking pre-orders for this thing yet?   

[Bob Bufkin]

Have not seem it listed anywhere as yet.  When I do I'll order a couple.

[eric220]

In regards to availability, remember that it hasn't been officially announced yet. That should come this weekend.

[reinhardtjh]

I was going to add this to the original lengthy K4 thread but it was locked. 

Ernie Poole who hosted the Bachmann's video let me know (via email) that he thought the 7 or so locomotives they used in the video ran smoothly, but he wasn't too impressed with the sound. He didn't elaborate on the details.  We all know that unlike mechanical running properties, sound is a very subjective matter.

Did you find out when that was?  Was it while you were on vacation?  I seem to remember you posting about being gone for a week about a month or 6 weeks ago?

Interesting that they had that many models available for the PR shots that long ago.  Make me think they will really be available in October en masse!  I can't wait!  If BLI gets the M1 here on November it's going to be a very Pennsy Christmas!

[peteski]

Did you find out when that was?  Was it while you were on vacation?  I seem to remember you posting about being gone for a week about a month or 6 weeks ago?

Interesting that they had that many models available for the PR shots that long ago.  Make me think they will really be available in October en masse!  I can't wait!  If BLI gets the M1 here on November it's going to be a very Pennsy Christmas!

It wasn't all that long ago.  I didn't ask Ernie for the specific date - I can still ask him.  I visited him last in mid-July (and that is when he told me that he was asked if he would let them use his layout).  The guys who did the video brought the locos and all the freight cars with them, took the videos and left.   The Bachmann ad being circulated states "shipping now" so I expect that "now" will be very soon.

Funny how this reminds me of the announcement about the Trainworx move-based trucks.  There was no official announcement anywhere (including Trainworx website).  IIRC, Carter (from the N Scale Vehicles Association) posted the official Trainworx flyer.  Then, few days later,  the trucks showed up at various retailers.   Now they're all gone and fetching astronomical prices on eBay. Will the same happen with K4s?  Only time will tell... 

[victor miranda]

..snip... Will the same happen with K4s?  Only time will tell... 

the last thread was locked... for too much negative vibes...
please refrain from asking questions that may lead to reasoning and too much negativity.

I am sure the new loco will have no quality control issues what so ever.
they will sound every bit as good as any recording of any PRR k4 steam engine.

I can only hope I can afford all that goodness.

victor

[peteski]

Ok, to keep the vibes positive, instead of just paraphrasing Ernie (the first modeler to see these in-person) which I did in my initial post, his exact words were: The locos are actually quite decent, and ran quite well.  The sound was just OK, but for N scale, not too bad.

[Blazeman]

Economically, this could be a challenge for suppliers. Figuring most PRR friendly modelers will want two, there's a $600 investment. Takes a bit of money out of circulation for a few months that would be spent on other items.

Looks like Walthers and MBK gearing up for that by sudden price cuts on many items.

[soo]

(((((((((((((YAWN))))))))))))))


Long live the midwest RR's,, yeah so what they are gone,,but still better than pennsy.


wyt

[nscaler711]

(((((((((((((YAWN))))))))))))))


Long live the midwest RR's,, yeah so what they are gone,,but still better than pennsy.


wyt

this is the negativity that got the last one locked...

oh and FYI KCS is still around... and its a midwest rr that went transcon... so... 

[towl1996]

I was going to add this to the original lengthy K4 thread but it was locked. 

Yeah right, 

I assume it was me that got the thread locked, since I was the one scolded for being "non-constructive". So my apologies to those involved with the thread, I had no intent on getting the thread locked.  All I did was re-tweet and echo the sentiment of the moderator and mimic Bachmann's attitude of disdain. Whatever..., no worries, at the end of the day we're only talking about toys, expensive toys, but toys nonetheless. Ah, first world problems. 

Glad to hear that the engine ran well, there is hope. 

[Blazeman]

Long live the midwest RR's,, yeah so what they are gone,,

Most of the RR's we talk about here are gone. As far as "not as good as" that's an endless debate with no right answer or winning argument. The "best" RR is the one you like. I've heard guys say they "hate" a certain RR. I can't figure how one works up that kind of emotion unless there's a personal/family story with a tragic or sad connotation or being out of a job after a merger.

[jdcolombo]

Well, there's only so much you can do to get decent sound out of such a tiny space.  Good chance I'll be keeping the volume down.

Thanks for the news on the running quality!

Now...is anybody taking pre-orders for this thing yet?   

Actually, Dave, there's a lot you can do with sound in even a small space, like the K4 tender.  I'm not a Pennsy guy, so I don't know that tender's dimensions, but I doubt it is any smaller than the tender that I have on the back of my Bachmann 2-8-0:

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The problem with almost all factory sound installations is the speaker.  The manufacturers (all of them, not just Bachmann), use a cheap 15mm round speaker set in a recessed hole in the bottom of the tender without its own sealed enclosure, hoping to use the tender shell itself as the baffle.  This just never works, and the sound ends up "thin" and "tinny" even taking into account the small speaker size.  I'm not suggesting you will ever get any real bass in an N scale sound install.  That is just not physically possible - bass simply requires bigger speakers that can move a lot of air at low frequencies.   But you can recreate a more balanced tone with considerable "body" by using one of the modern cell-phone type speakers made by Knowles Acoustics in a custom sealed enclosure that has 1 cubic centimeter of space inside (what they use to test their speakers).  I'm pretty sure a 9x16mm Knowles Wildcat or 11x15mm Knowles Donau in such an enclosure would fit in the K4's tender, though it will probably require completely stripping out Bachmann's circuit boards and hard-wiring the electrical pickups to the tender trucks or tender truck pickup strips as I did in the Connie or in my Bachmann Berk:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=36608.0

I realize the manufacturers need to keep assembly processes as simple as possible to keep costs down, but it really shouldn't be all that hard to put in an improved speaker.  Rapido Trains did it with their N scale GMD1 and got excellent results.  And if they REALLY want to keep costs down, just sell the engine without sound and let us modelers roll our own - isn't that part of what "modeling" is all about?   (Again, not singling out Bachmann here; the sound install in my Athearn Challenger and Big Boy is no better, and there's enough room in the UP Centipede tender to park a VW Beetle inside - and you can't buy either one of those without the factory sound install, either).

John C.

[Puddington]

If I've never said this in plain language then please let me correct that oversight, any success we had with sound for our GMD-1 is due in no small part to what we learned by studying John's work on N scale sound. We spoke to him, listened to his guidance and followed it.... the result was, at least we believe, a very good sounding N scale unit. Thanks John!