Amp clones: What do you think about them?

[cacheek]

I was talking to an amplifier tech today, and we got on the subject of a lot of new amps being built in China. He convinced me that I probably wouldn't want to go that route for a new amp. As the conversation progressed, I brought up the idea of building an amp (which he would do for me). He's been in the amp business over 40 years and comes highly recommended from my professional and semi-professional friends.

I thought about having him build a Black Cat clone, not unlike the Stray Cat 30. My question is, how close do these clones get to the original? I don't want to spend thousands upon thousands for an amp, but I thought a clone might be a good option. Thoughts?

 

[charveldan]

Chinese amps suck.......old Marshalls FTW

 

[sahlomonic]

I have a Jet City JCA100H. I guess you can call it a Chinese clone of a Soldano Hot Rod +. Nothing wrong with its build quality or its tone. As I see it it is as solid as any other mainstream production amp.

 

[cardinal]

Resale value of a clone will probably be terrible. How close it gets to the original probably depends on the skill of the clone builder and the specifics of the amp being copied. For example, some amps use specific transformers that seem to be unique and available only to them (the SLO and the DeYoung transformers come to mind). It's hard to get a 100% clone if you can't get the parts used in the original.

With respect to amps made in China, I don't see what would inherently be wrong with the amp. Some of them are cheaply made, but they are cheaply priced. Not a bad idea to try to keep your money in the local economy by supporting a local builder, but I'm not sure fears of poor MIC quality would be my main motivating factor for that.

 

[Valtyr]

I don't have any hate for amp clones, but I know that with guitar clones I always eventually save up and get what I really want so I quit buying clones. I would think I'd exhibit the same behavior with regards to amp clones.

 

[fluff191]

According to this forum, cloning an amp is OK as long as:

- Its very expensive

- Not taking away U.S. jobs

- Is seemingly 'better' according to popular opinion

- Made anywhere but China (Germany is OK)

- Is named Cameron, Splawn, Friedman, Bogner, Ceriatone, Deizel, Soldano, etc.

- Company is not named Bugera

- Evokes references of '80's tone definitions including but not limited to 'brown', 'Lynch', 'Plexi', 'The first GnR record' and 'Unchained'.


I hope that helps.

 

[university81]

some great clones out there if you have a look

the resale value usually takes a hit , but clones like ceriatone don't fair too badly at all (built in malaysia but you can order amp kits) Nick over there is great to deal with and the work done is amazing for the money , had an OTS for quite a while, great little amp, and the chupacabra/yeti always tickles my GAS follicles

i had a Linnemann marshall JMP/2203 clone for a while in a small enclosure (amp builder in germany), using good components and sounded great, if anything you can even get more bang for the buck if you know the builder

more specifically to the made in china ones, i guess in this case bugera, the ones i've tried they're really not bad for the money and it's great that players have the choice out there, back in the day being able to afford a tube amp required a fair bit more cash,

but imo for the kind of money the bugera asks new you might as well pay a bit more and get something better on the used market

 

[Mr. Willy]

According to this forum, cloning an amp is OK as long as:

- Its very expensive

- Not taking away U.S. jobs

- Is seemingly 'better' according to popular opinion

- Made anywhere but China (Germany is OK)

- Is named Cameron, Splawn, Friedman, Bogner, Ceriatone, Deizel, Soldano, etc.

- Company is not named Bugera

- Evokes references of '80's tone definitions including but not limited to 'brown', 'Lynch', 'Plexi', 'The first GnR record' and 'Unchained'.


I hope that helps.

You mad?

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

According to this forum, cloning an amp is OK as long as:

- Its very expensive

- Not taking away U.S. jobs

- Is seemingly 'better' according to popular opinion

- Made anywhere but China (Germany is OK)

- Is named Cameron, Splawn, Friedman, Bogner, Ceriatone, Deizel, Soldano, etc.

- Company is not named Bugera

- Evokes references of '80's tone definitions including but not limited to 'brown', 'Lynch', 'Plexi', 'The first GnR record' and 'Unchained'.


I hope that helps.

You mad?

He's right on the money really... the only difference being that something made in Germany might hold it's value better than something made in China.

 

[Schaf]

According to this forum, cloning an amp is OK as long as:

- Its very expensive

- Not taking away U.S. jobs

- Is seemingly 'better' according to popular opinion

- Made anywhere but China (Germany is OK)

- Is named Cameron, Splawn, Friedman, Bogner, Ceriatone, Deizel, Soldano, etc.

- Company is not named Bugera

- Evokes references of '80's tone definitions including but not limited to 'brown', 'Lynch', 'Plexi', 'The first GnR record' and 'Unchained'.


I hope that helps.

. And Dan, just saying in a blanket statement that Chinese amps suck is just not true. Some are actually pretty good soem really do suck. Especially for the price. If I'm not mistaken, some Marshalls are made in China.

 

[sahlomonic]

According to this forum, cloning an amp is OK as long as:

- Its very expensive

- Not taking away U.S. jobs

- Is seemingly 'better' according to popular opinion

- Made anywhere but China (Germany is OK)

- Is named Cameron, Splawn, Friedman, Bogner, Ceriatone, Deizel, Soldano, etc.

- Company is not named Bugera

- Evokes references of '80's tone definitions including but not limited to 'brown', 'Lynch', 'Plexi', 'The first GnR record' and 'Unchained'.


I hope that helps.

. And Dan, just saying in a blanket statement that Chinese amps suck is just not true. Some are actually pretty good soem really do suck. Especially for the price. If I'm not mistaken, some Marshalls are made in China.

You expect Dan to have a rational thought?

Fluff you made me chuckle there. Sometimes we stick our noses up and don't realize it. Thanks for bringing us back to Earth.

 

[fluff191]

 

[Jer]

LOL Fluff....good stuff!

I have limited clone experience but I've only run into two types of clone:

- Cloned head tone not close enough to original head tone
- Cloned head price too high compared to that of original head

That being said, Fatbagg's SLO clone sounds pretty damn nice to me; In fact it's the only clone I've ever considered buying.

 

[Doughboy]

A good amp is a good amp is a good amp regardless of it's country of origin...as long as the builder is skilled, the components top notch & the player none biased.

 

[SLOgriff]

Speaking of clones...

 

[Zachman]

What's more impressive-- someone w/ huge amounts of expensive vintage gear sounding lame or someone able to make a Squire through an everyday pedestrian piece of gear sound great? Just saying... Back in the 70's and 80's I always thought the designer label jeans crowd were kinda lame, because they seemed to be more focused on image/form over substance.

ALL gear are mere tools. Use whatever it takes to achieve your goals, regardless of how someone else feels about the gear snob level of acceptance of your choices.

 

[Michi]

ALL gear are mere tools. Use whatever it takes to achieve your goals, regardless of how someone else feels about the gear snob level of acceptance of your choices.

This here is exactly how I feel and think about clones. Very well said brother Zach .

I've had a feww Boogeras, they sound ok and work well for their purpose (well, at least 1 of them did for the time I had it ), had a seventies plexi clone too, that one was A GREAT amp.

 

[charveldan]

According to this forum, cloning an amp is OK as long as:

- Its very expensive

- Not taking away U.S. jobs

- Is seemingly 'better' according to popular opinion

- Made anywhere but China (Germany is OK)

- Is named Cameron, Splawn, Friedman, Bogner, Ceriatone, Deizel, Soldano, etc.

- Company is not named Bugera

- Evokes references of '80's tone definitions including but not limited to 'brown', 'Lynch', 'Plexi', 'The first GnR record' and 'Unchained'.


I hope that helps.

. And Dan, just saying in a blanket statement that Chinese amps suck is just not true. Some are actually pretty good soem really do suck. Especially for the price. If I'm not mistaken, some Marshalls are made in China.

I see ur point. Jet City are decent and MIC as far as i know but there is alot of shit that comes outta that country.

I had a Behringer V-amp pro that the on/off button just fell off inside wen i went to turn it on one day. It was lightly glued in place with no clips, screws or brackets holding it in place. Had to hardwire it "on" and unplug it to turn on & off. Then there was the B52 AT100 i got from a friend. I put so much money into it getting it to sound good i could have bought another 70's JMP.
Utter shit. No thanks.

Ive heard some SLO clones that were good not sure if MIC tho. One in particular on YT blew me away, was for sale and would have bought it in a heartbeat if i had the cash.

Bottomline its hard to beat chinese products for home furnishings, house wares, textiles and that stuff. But for cutting edge music gear they're on the bottom of my list.

 

[josechu]

Nik at Ceriatone did a phenomenal job building me a Plexi replica. My tech says the soldering stuff was clean. Nik's customer service is incredible as well. Every time I emailed him, he would respond almost immediately (except when it is sleepy time in Malasya.) I have had the amp for 3 yrs. Aside from normal maintenance, nothing else has needed to be done on the amp!

 

[Carol-AnnAmps]

Something to bear in mind when buying from overseas.

The US Govt has started to clamp down on the practice of falsifying import documentation, the fines are huge for any found to be fraudulent. The problem for the customer who sees it as just saving a buck is that it is legally their responsibility as the importers and the US tax payer to declare the correct value of the goods. If you buy an amp or guitar for $2000 and have paid $2000 and the commercial invoice states $500 as the declared value, then it is the customers responsibility to highlight that discrepancy and pay the duties on the full value paid. If you don't , you are committing fraud against the US Govt. It's not exactly difficult to find out the true value or cost of an item, you just need an observant customs guy with an internet connection.

The other way around, I get asked by non-commercial buyers to down value goods being exported. While I totally understand the duties and VAT in some Countries, especially in Europe is quite the burden, I just can't do it. The commercial invoice has to reflect the true values paid. Given everything is done electronically, it's not exactly difficult to figure out the actual price paid. Some Countries like Italy, literally validate the commercial invoice line by line to ensure it is correct to the penny.


Alan.