Am I missing out on anything with boutique amps?
- Thread starter Metalhex
- Start date
TheGreatGreen
Well-known member
Boutique gear isn’t necessarily better or worse, but it is different. Is it different enough in a way that’s catered to you personally for you to justify the extra cost? That’s entirely up to you.
If you’re happy with what you have though, why bother looking?
If you’re happy with what you have though, why bother looking?
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easstudios
Well-known member
boutique is much more about how it’s built and (hopefully) the service you get. a circuit is a circuit and will always have a bigger impact on the tone than the brand of components or how it’s constructed. Things like bias and cab choice will also have way more bearing on tone than hearing the differences between different capacitor or resistor brands.
if you want something made in US with top spec parts, and potentially tweaked and designed to your own needs then it’s going to cost more than a mass produced amp made to fit a budget.
try building an amp yourself and when you factor in the cost of parts and labour, boutique stuff suddenly doesn’t seem too expensive (for the most part, some companies are just expensive IMO).
Owning something that’s built with care and attention to detail and without compromise is a nicer thing to own. Is it guaranteed to sound better? No, that’s down to personal preference, and a circuit is a circuit. Just because an amp is made on a budget, it doesn’t mean it can’t sound amazing.
How many classic tones are from Marshall/Fender/Peavey etc?
I think it’s amazing that things can be built so well and so cheap these days, but I wouldn’t use the mass produced stuff as a benchmark for what things should cost. A lot of the tonal things we like come from things that aren’t technically high spec either - carbon comp resistors, lots of transformers in Marshalls aren’t really high spec or boutique parts.
IMO the main appeal of a boutique product is you’d hope that whoever signs it off is giving their seal of approval that they’re happy to put their name on it.
Also worth remembering now that amps like Plexi’s were never designed to be boutique - they used off the shelf components and were made to meet a price point. They happened to sound good and became the reference point for many others, but it’s worth remembering they didn’t set out to make a no compromise high spec amp. It was all about shifting as many units as possible and maximising profit
I think it’s a bit naive to tell yourself that every boutique amp sounds better than every mass produced one, there’s just too many other variables involved to make statements like that and the most glaring counter argument is the vast majority of recorded tones come from run of the mill amps.
Another thing to remember is some of the coolest and most recognisable tones have come from abusing gear rather than using it as intended. Coming up with a sound that’s fresh and original counts for WAY more.
if you want something made in US with top spec parts, and potentially tweaked and designed to your own needs then it’s going to cost more than a mass produced amp made to fit a budget.
try building an amp yourself and when you factor in the cost of parts and labour, boutique stuff suddenly doesn’t seem too expensive (for the most part, some companies are just expensive IMO).
Owning something that’s built with care and attention to detail and without compromise is a nicer thing to own. Is it guaranteed to sound better? No, that’s down to personal preference, and a circuit is a circuit. Just because an amp is made on a budget, it doesn’t mean it can’t sound amazing.
How many classic tones are from Marshall/Fender/Peavey etc?
I think it’s amazing that things can be built so well and so cheap these days, but I wouldn’t use the mass produced stuff as a benchmark for what things should cost. A lot of the tonal things we like come from things that aren’t technically high spec either - carbon comp resistors, lots of transformers in Marshalls aren’t really high spec or boutique parts.
IMO the main appeal of a boutique product is you’d hope that whoever signs it off is giving their seal of approval that they’re happy to put their name on it.
Also worth remembering now that amps like Plexi’s were never designed to be boutique - they used off the shelf components and were made to meet a price point. They happened to sound good and became the reference point for many others, but it’s worth remembering they didn’t set out to make a no compromise high spec amp. It was all about shifting as many units as possible and maximising profit
I think it’s a bit naive to tell yourself that every boutique amp sounds better than every mass produced one, there’s just too many other variables involved to make statements like that and the most glaring counter argument is the vast majority of recorded tones come from run of the mill amps.
Another thing to remember is some of the coolest and most recognisable tones have come from abusing gear rather than using it as intended. Coming up with a sound that’s fresh and original counts for WAY more.
Arch Stanton
Dollar Store Satriani
I dunno about this..
I have built amps, pre-amps , effect pedals for a fraction of the cost of what the exact same circuit(s) would cost buying it outright from a boutique seller.
The only part I agree on is when you say "labor", because that encompasses the time spent researching circuits and learning electromechanical assembly.
In my humble opinion, that's time & money better spent, rather than this constant cycle of buying/flipping gear.
ymmv
easstudios
Well-known member
There’s definitely some circuits that can be built fairly cheap, but it’s stuff like the chassis+drilling, higher spec transformers, capacitors and pots, head cabs, valves etc which add quite a lot of cost. Manufacturers buying those parts in bigger quantities can get the cost down a bit.
Not saying you won’t save a bit doing it yourself, but you have to do all the work, testing, problem solving etc and end up with something with less retail value than a boutique brand.
I’m all for DIY builds btw but they don’t end up saving THAT much if you try and do things like for like
Arch Stanton
Dollar Store Satriani
Disagree.
Compare to buying/flipping gear, or buying booteek..
It's no contest.
As far as testing & problem solving.. that's is the great thing about these (AmpGarage, Hoffman, etc) forums. You have people who are willing and able to help you, no matter what your skill level is.
"Retail value" is a complete non-issue when you're building gear for your own use. That only applies to people who are buying/flipping gear.
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DennisTheMenace
New member
And a manufacturer usually has to adhere to norms and regulations which do cost money like for example a CE certification or using lead-free solder (RoHS) for products sold in the EEA and EU. Some boutique builders and most hobbyists don't even think about this stuff. Boutique is a marketing buzzword first and foremost anyways and it means different things to different people. I had boutique amps on my bench that I could only describe as a 'life endangering accident' waiting to happen.
cragginshred77
Well-known member
Do you tame or add more mids to the MC II? Which EQ?
MetalHeadMike
Well-known member
MXR 10 band goes in the loop of all my amps with pretty much the same exact settings regardless of amp. I boost, lows, upper and lower mids and cut those fizzy high end freqs. Then I smack the front with a good OD and boost the mids some more.
The MCII mids knob is the best knob on the amp IMO. Not that the rest of the controls don't have a huge impact because they do, just something the mids knob does on those amps...besides the obvious, it's like the higher you push the mids knob, the more articulate and clear everything gets.
I am late to the party here but have to chime in.
I think boutique amps are worth it to at least have 1 in your life time, so you know what it is like to buy something that you know will sound good to your ears and have the extra quality and typically articulate transparent sounds they have. It is worth it for the experience to see whether it really is for you, or not.
I think boutique amps are worth it to at least have 1 in your life time, so you know what it is like to buy something that you know will sound good to your ears and have the extra quality and typically articulate transparent sounds they have. It is worth it for the experience to see whether it really is for you, or not.
JpGerv
New member
What doesn’t kill one only makes them rock godder. Take a walk on the wild side,
Get the wizard
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the4thlast1
Well-known member
You have a 6505+ , it’s a great amp for metal and rock stuff. Hard to beat actually. I’ve had all the boutique amps, you name it. Never sold my 6505+. Sure it’s fun to try the higher end stuff but it can get crazy if you aren’t careful, gas is a bitch.
JpGerv
New member
Yeah bad nuff gas can actually kill a guy.
Your right some inexpensive amps sound amazing and maybe in some scenarios as good as the more expensive amps..
The thing about a 6505 and other less expensive PCB style amps is, once they reach a certain age and need actual service or repair it’s very expensive and most techs won’t work on them.
For instance Mesas MK V and Peavey Classic 30 , amps like this are notoriously difficult to work on and all originally built with planned obsolescence in mind.
RaceU4her
Well-known member
we had an ampfest years ago with all sorts gear, the best sounding rig out of all of them was a mexican tele into a 6505+. im always saying how it kind of pisses me off how good my $500 DSL hangs just fine with a good boost next to my "better" amps. id rather play my boutique and modded amps more than the same ol' run of the mill 5150/DSL/rectifier's, but those amps are classics for a reason
I'm getting some experience with this myself right now. My VK100 is probably one of the easier peavey's to work on I'd think, but it's crazy easy to lift traces. I'm starting to suspect that just the suction from my soldapult is enough to pull a pad once the solder melts.
RaceU4her
Well-known member
i dont know about that, most big touring bands i knew used Marshalls, 5150s and other readily available amps because there were techs in every big city should something go wrong on the road. if you have a custom whatever amp that blows with no schematic you could be in trouble
glpg80
Well-known member
As someone who doesn’t mind tearing into amps for repair and maintenance, the only amps that truely bother me are bogners and mesas. Neither are designed for routine maintenance to be easy whether it’s intentional or not. 5150’s actually aren’t that bad to completely gut to repair anything on the main board.
JpGerv
New member
Are you serious? Why are you disappointed?
rsm
Well-known member
If I had time to learn how to build my own amps...
with limited free time, I'd rather do other things than learn how to build and build an amp.
I like my amps, Marshall, Mesa, Engl. The only reason I'm having a custom amp built is because no one makes a Vox AC-100 MkII, and the closest is based on the Vox AC-80/100, aka MkI, IIRC; and I don't want to deal with a vintage amp, finding vintage parts...
with limited free time, I'd rather do other things than learn how to build and build an amp.
I like my amps, Marshall, Mesa, Engl. The only reason I'm having a custom amp built is because no one makes a Vox AC-100 MkII, and the closest is based on the Vox AC-80/100, aka MkI, IIRC; and I don't want to deal with a vintage amp, finding vintage parts...