MadAsAHatter
Well-known member
I never posted about this because I was irritated at the time and I really don't want to badmouth a builder, but it kinda came back up again an pissed me off.
The backstory... Back in 2022 I came across Iron Horse amps and was really interested in them. I talked to the owner Key Philips and we discussed his Copperhead model. We worked out the details of what I wanted; which wasn't far off of the standard features and I put down a deposit. The only real custom thing was the faceplate. I wanted certain colors and control labels. As far as the circuit it was mainly picking from the offered options.
My order was finalized in mid March 2022 with a stated completion date of April 30, 2022. Obviously that didn't come through. From excuses of needing circuit revisions, to employees quitting, to health problems, to family deaths, I kept the faith for over a year that my amp would be delivered. Keep in mind this was a production model which should have had an established circuit, not a full one-off custom build. Every update was "it's almost ready, just another week to test things out." When a week passed it was back to another excuse and just one more week or two.
While I waited I ended up buying a couple of other ground up build amps; namely my Headfirst Alta and Evo TM-50. Now I'm thinking okay, Jason and Rob respectively can get me a ground up development amp built in a matter of weeks, but Iron Horse couldn't deliver their established circuit for over a year. I didn't have any issues getting my money back from from Key, but it was definitely disappointing and irritating that he couldn't deliver.
Part of why I never posted about this is because I really wanted to give the benefit of the doubt that shit happens and sometimes things don't work out as planned. Well, fast forward to now. I'm browsing amp listings and come across what looks like would have been my amp minus the custom faceplate along with advertising this model in general. This just brought up all the old frustrations and kind of pissed me off....
I get that it's been a while since my incident and the amp very well could have been straightened out; but really, my amp couldn't be delivered with over a years worth of work, but now here it is for sale like it was put together no problem. It makes me think that other unsuspecting customers will make an order and constantly get excuses like I did. I hate the thought of that. I can't say that everyone would have my same experience, but buyer beware and all that.
I don't want to shit all over Iron Horse because it seems like others have had decent experiences. But those people also appeared to order the Heritage model, which is a Fender style clean amp. Mine was a Copperhead; a high gain Marshall style amp. That may not be the Iron Horse forte. As said, it just frustrates me and I don't want to see others getting the run around on an amp that they're excited for that won't be delivered.
The backstory... Back in 2022 I came across Iron Horse amps and was really interested in them. I talked to the owner Key Philips and we discussed his Copperhead model. We worked out the details of what I wanted; which wasn't far off of the standard features and I put down a deposit. The only real custom thing was the faceplate. I wanted certain colors and control labels. As far as the circuit it was mainly picking from the offered options.
My order was finalized in mid March 2022 with a stated completion date of April 30, 2022. Obviously that didn't come through. From excuses of needing circuit revisions, to employees quitting, to health problems, to family deaths, I kept the faith for over a year that my amp would be delivered. Keep in mind this was a production model which should have had an established circuit, not a full one-off custom build. Every update was "it's almost ready, just another week to test things out." When a week passed it was back to another excuse and just one more week or two.
While I waited I ended up buying a couple of other ground up build amps; namely my Headfirst Alta and Evo TM-50. Now I'm thinking okay, Jason and Rob respectively can get me a ground up development amp built in a matter of weeks, but Iron Horse couldn't deliver their established circuit for over a year. I didn't have any issues getting my money back from from Key, but it was definitely disappointing and irritating that he couldn't deliver.
Part of why I never posted about this is because I really wanted to give the benefit of the doubt that shit happens and sometimes things don't work out as planned. Well, fast forward to now. I'm browsing amp listings and come across what looks like would have been my amp minus the custom faceplate along with advertising this model in general. This just brought up all the old frustrations and kind of pissed me off....
I get that it's been a while since my incident and the amp very well could have been straightened out; but really, my amp couldn't be delivered with over a years worth of work, but now here it is for sale like it was put together no problem. It makes me think that other unsuspecting customers will make an order and constantly get excuses like I did. I hate the thought of that. I can't say that everyone would have my same experience, but buyer beware and all that.
I don't want to shit all over Iron Horse because it seems like others have had decent experiences. But those people also appeared to order the Heritage model, which is a Fender style clean amp. Mine was a Copperhead; a high gain Marshall style amp. That may not be the Iron Horse forte. As said, it just frustrates me and I don't want to see others getting the run around on an amp that they're excited for that won't be delivered.