It is not the economy that stuff is not moving IMO

[Gainzilla]

I think that there are a variety of factors in play here. For all of the people that are happy with what they have, there are just as many who arent. some of them can afford to keep flipping stuff in their quest for what works for them, some cant. Then there are others who just like trying out new stuff for shits and giggles and then flipping it for the next thing on their list. They incur little loss because they hold on to it for a very short amount of time and the fact that it usually involves preowned gear so its self sustaining by and large. Of course the economy itself is going to have an obvious effect on some and none on others, just like it always has on everything and everyone.

For me, the law of diminishing returns has alot to do with where Im at. Most of my gear is mid level stuff but I also have some high end gear that I love. Truth is that if I could have found mid level equivalents, I would have been perfectly happy. The whole gear thing has become like late night exercise program/equipment/magic diet/supplement commercials to me. People seem to spend a whole lot more money than they need to when the bottomline is that there is great quality gear out there that sounds incredible and doesnt put you into crazy debt. IMHO, it just clouds the real issue and thats putting emphasis on the wrong element; woodshedding and being a better player has little or nothing to do with gear...

 

[Schaf]

Actually I think it is all the economy.

I think it is the economy. Or at least the after effects. People are watching their money. It's just not amps that are not selling. My experience lately has been, if you can't buy it for $50, it may take a while.

 

[racerevlon]

I think you can only flip so much before you can land on the tone that works for you then you stick with it and break the cycle.

 

[Digital Jams]

Here is my challenge to the people saying it is NOT the economy................................

Wait till Randall releases the Natas based Satan amp and see what happens........................they will sell out.

Why?

New amp and many men will fight to be the first.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I respectfully disagree with OP , for those of us lucky enough to have employment, many salaries raises have been minimal, limited or frozen in the last few years while we watch our gas, electric and food bills grow 50-100%

+ 2. My raises over the last 4 years have been pathetic but my bills everywhere up went up to where my yearly raise should have been!

 

[mjtripper]

I went through a bunch of amps and pedals basically totally over hauling my rig every few months. Now that I have found stuff I really like though I don't see much out there that makes me want to pay for it. There is some stuff I'd like to try but I have other things I need to take care of first. I think the economy problems might be somewhat regional and industry related because around here the economy is still really bad. Both my wife and I have been laid off more then once in the past 5 years or so and are earning quite a bit less then we used to. Factor in the increased cost of so much such as food, gas, and utilities and our effective income is even lower. I've even sold off most of my 'extra' gear, well stuff actually - not just music gear, which was mainly the stuff that was just nice to have and I had laying around for future projects and/or tinkering. It helps that I really like my main rig but it took lots of buying and selling to find all the right parts for me. I'm amazed at the sheer number of amps and pedals that passed through my hands. I definitely think twice before spending any money these days.

 

[VESmedic]

Totally disagree...This place, sevenstring.org, thegearpage.net, HC etc, ALL get hundreds of new members everyday...It's not like this place is what it was 6 years ago, and it just those same members, and everyone is done flipping amps now. Hundreds of new members every day = constant newbies flipping amps....It IS the economy...

 

[ejecta]

IT IS NOT THE ECONOMY.

IMHO the economy slow down has definitely played a big part in that I'd bet my left nut that a bunch of gear was being bought with credit.... after the slow down people weren't as comfortable having stupid debt. Even if it wasn't guys paired down just have the available cash. Even with the idea of "man I've tried all there is gear wise "..... not being as sure about your fiscal future as you were will make that 10% of your tone not being right seem like 0%.

 

[threadkiller]

Yeah, I can't agree with this post. There's plenty of stuff I want/need or just want to try out. Current list includes a Germino classic 45 or similiar, 412 greenback, TopHat club royale combo, a line 6 relay g50, and a Dimarzio AT1, and that's just getting me started. At good used prices this is probably $3-4000 worth of gear at least. Current budget for said gear....$350. It's sitting lonely in my sock drawer waiting. At least for me, if I had the dough, I'd be buying.

 

[sjk]

Not really sure what it is but likely economy amongst other things. I will say it seemed like when I joined 6 months ago things were selling better than now, so has the economy gotten even worse in the last 6 months? not sure.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry but after years and years of people cycling through gear like there was some sort of cure for suck the buyer well is just dry, plain and simple. The buyers have bought and bought and there is just nothing left to buy other than some new things down the pipe or cool guitars that show up now and then.

There are just so many diodes to try out from different men.

This can be said for ALL types of amps, not just one brand by the way. As much hype as my Cali mod has been given I bet I would lose money on it and it would sit there in the tumble weeds that was once flipper heaven.

Guys from the days will remember GMW stratheads, they lasted minutes before being sold. No longer. Why? Market has dried up, nothing to do with the economy.

New amps will continue to sell, I am sure Steve will have great sucess with his launch and many men will be romancing ralph and mike when it is time for the Randalls to launch.

The old stuff though? The well is dry so just play your amp and enjoy it.

IT IS NOT THE ECONOMY.

Couple of things:

1.) I think you are looking at a microcosm of forum behavior and generalizing it to a macro trend. I agree a lot of people here seem satisfied with what they have and that is great, and I am seeing things languish in the classifieds that would be snapped up in minutes before, but we are talking about a very small amount of the total market, and there are other factors like Brad getting Cameron going with new amps available on the market. Also, GMW strat heads aren't as exciting anymore when you can get a nice japanese Charvel strat head for $500-600 used, which, let's face it, is what GMW was all about. I also think the economy has more effect on things than you are giving it credit for - more people are being cautious with their money because there is so much uncertainty, especially the impact of Europe. I'll also say that, clipping circuits aside, I've heard/played a number of Friedman, Cameron, my own amps, etc., and the still all have their own thing going on that will appeal to a certain buyer. Everyone is making tweaks and providing features and cosmetics that are different, even if there are some diodes in the amps somewhere in the circuit. I think it is a great time for amp buyers and they have a lot of flavors and choices and they are just not all the same to my ears and eyes. Whether anyone wants to pony up the cash right now in the face of economic uncertainty is another issue...

2.) It is very nice of you to say you think my amp line's launch will be successful, but I have extremely realistic thoughts on what that means given the current economy. I face the very real possibility that I'll build a run of these amps on my own dime and there may not be buyers at my price point at the current time. Look, I'd love nothing more than to put out a tweet saying I've got a run of amps come and get 'em and have them sold out in a day or two, but I realize that would be impractical. I'm doing everything within my means and if it takes a long time to sell them, then that is what it takes. As I've said from the beginning of this journey, this has been a labor of love for me about bringing my ultimate, no compromises amp to market. If the market is not ready at this time, I'll have the coolest looking spare bedroom in existence until it is...

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

I am a firm believer there is a market availiable to builders of good products. That is one of the things that keep me motivated and vigilant to build custom amps. I believe there is a place in the world for quality handmade USA products.

+1 brother!

Steve

 

[loudgtr]

I think some of it is the economy but honestly I think certain amps like modded Marshalls that dont sell might be because the mod is not as desiable as it once was...and guitarists are figuring out there is more than one way to get a certain sound, w/pedal etc. Or that Chupa amp or whatever is out there as well.

Quote from Digi: "There are just so many diodes to try out from different men. "

Good amps will always be in demand, they just might not fetch the same $ they used to because we have a lot more products/options out there.

 

[steve_k]

I hate to break up this little tea party you all have going on Scott, but yes, the economy is shit and disposable income just isn't what it was with some folks several years ago. It is a bit bigger than the gear market. People that don't understand that may not be exposed to it. Take a look around. Looking at things on a global scale or to the US from abroad....yeah, its bad.

 

[Anonymous]

People seem to spend a whole lot more money than they need to when the bottomline is that there is great quality gear out there that sounds incredible and doesnt put you into crazy debt.

It depends on what you mean by "need". If you are saying could I play gigs with a used JVM (or other nice sounding, low priced amp) and be happy with the tone, I'm sure that is the case. I'm not building my amps to compete for that market for many reasons, but truthfully, I couldn't if I wanted to. Marshall can bring an amp to market like that at a cost I could never compete with building 10-20 at a time. I'm building my amps for people who want something that has been built with no compromises with features that you can't get from the mass produced market. Something unique in looks, parts/build quality, and hand built in the USA with great tone that people will want to keep forever (I hope). This isn't about need, it is about want.... No one should put themselves in debt buying an amp for some magic tone that they can't afford. It is my hope that the folks who buy my amps can comfortably afford them and understand what goes into what I'm doing and appreciate that...

Steve

 

[Bob Savage]

I think it's mostly the weather. With the whole global warming thing you just can't expect people to keep buying heat generating tube amps.

 

[se7en]

I think it's mostly the weather. With the whole global warming thing you just can't expect people to keep buying heat generating tube amps.

 

[zuel69]

Pure gold.

I think it's mostly the weather. With the whole global warming thing you just can't expect people to keep buying heat generating tube amps.

 

[Gainfreak]

I think it's mostly the weather. With the whole global warming thing you just can't expect people to keep buying heat generating tube amps.

Oddly enough I was just typing the same reply ,but thanks to that killer feature that we have where you get to see posts that were posted ahead of your post I saw your post first . (I also wanted to see how many times I could get the word post in this post)

 

[Gainzilla]

I am a firm believer there is a market availiable to builders of good products. That is one of the things that keep me motivated and vigilant to build custom amps. I believe there is a place in the world for quality handmade USA products.

+1 brother!

Steve

Agreed, The niche market place that guys like you operate in will always exist...