Hey everybody , Im new to G-scale so please bear with me. I don't want to run without sound ,
and I know MTH has locos. with proto sound already installed. Do most of the Aristo- craft locomotives come with out sound? From what I have seen. , I just want to know which is the best way to go. Thanks for your time!!
Carl
Age is only a state of mind, keep the mind active and enjoy life
Aristocraft's locos come without sound for the most part. There are a couple steam trains that have a simple chuff built in, but it's not all that good. They come with speakers already wired in, but no sound card. If you want sound,you have to choose an aftermarket sound card. Phoenix is good but pricey, sierra is good and a little less pricey, there are a couple other choices. I have an aristo mikado with a Phoenix sound card--it sounds great but installing it was not a trivial amount of work. Adding the phoenix card and remote control to the aristo brought it to just about the same price as an MTH Hudson. But they have a good low starting price and they make it as easy as possible
MTH makes locos with sound already installed, and it's first rate. There are two downsides to MTH. One is they are in a different scale than most other G scale stuff. "G" is a generic term, and it includes 1:20 scale, 1:22, 1:24, 1:29 (aristocraft) and 1:32. MTH uses 1:32, which is the smallest scale. See here http://www.madcattoys.com/miva/madcattoys_scaleviewer.html for a good idea of scale and the difference it makes. MTH stuff often looks too small with other people's equipment. See note below for further complications.
Two is that their control systm is proprietary--you only get the full benefit of their sound and control if you buy their "DCS" system, which incudes a hand held remote and a track interface box. But it has more features than any other system, including the ability to control the couplers.
Speaking for myself I wish I had started with MTH. I've spent enormous amounts of time trying to figure out how to get the different parts to work together. I have mostly Aristo stuff and it's good stuff and priced right. But there was steep learning curve. And it often looks too big, even at 1:29, for my layout, which is on the small side.
With MTH you have an extremely sophisticated control system that works out of the box, including sound, and you get excellent models with a high level of function. You pay more up front, but the loco already has all the things you're going to want to add--remote control, and sound. And they look better, to my eyes, on most people's layouts
Note: most G scale trains in 1:20, 1:22 or 1:24 scale are models of "narrow gage" trains. Narrow gage trains were especially common in the West at the turn of the last century. They have an "old west" look. In real life, narrow gage trains were smaller and went on tighter curves and steeper grades. Standard gage is the rail you see everywhere today. Models based on standard gauge use 1:29 or 1:32. 1:32 is the correct gauge to use, in fact, and MTH does not make an narrown gauge models. In real life, standard gauge trains were WAY bigger than narrow gauge trains. But in the Garden Railway world, 1:20 narrow gauge locos are bigger than 1:32 locos, which is wierd. Modeling narrow gage looks better on small layouts. I like standard gage stuff, but have a small layout. MTH would have been the way to go
Lownote, Don't forget to mention the smoke system in the MTH is first rate also!!!!
I run my MTH engines w/ rolling stock from USA, and Aristocraft, some LGB cars. I think AML and Accucraft would look great also. Just some Bachmann cars I owned have been parked because of size. Joe Paonessa
Thanks for the good info guys , ILL check it out. MTH sounds like the way to go. As far as sound and all... already installed.
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