Marshall Astoria Discontinued?

[MistaGuitah]

The Astoria was an answer to a question no one asked. "What brand new Marshall can I pay $3000 for?" Any of the tones from the Astoria line could be had from vintage amps for less. Why pay so much for a red Astoria when jcm800s are available for half?

This. Some great tones coming out of those amps but why would I pay $3k for a Marshall when there's a massive marketplace of great boutique marshall-voiced amps for less cash and will hold their value just as well (and sound just as good)?

Hold on, I don't agree with that logic. Why can't Marshall build a boutique and compete with the prices of the other boutiques? If anything, Marshall has earned the right more than anyone to command high prices and compete with anyone they want. Isn't Marshall the largest, longest running amp king in the history of amps next to Fender? The question is why should some piddledeedoo boutique builder come out of nowhere and be able to ask $3600 for a single channel amp and Marshall can't?

Besides, have you even really looked at the features of the Astoria Dual? Here, I'll list some of them:

1. Dual Channels - clean & overdriven
2. Power Reduction - from 30 to 5 watts
3. FX Loop - manual toggle and footswitchable. when disengaged, loop level acts as a 2nd master volume.
4. Cathode Biased - swap any octal tube without needing to rebias.
5. No Load Master Volume - when the master is 100% turned up, it disengages and turns it into a non-master volume amp.
6. High and Low Inputs - -6DB low input

It's a handwired boutique amp from Marshall, and those are some pretty damn cool features I must say, so I don't get all the criticism. Perhaps the tolex did it in, but if someone judges an amp by the tolex, then they probably don't know how to use an amp anyway. Either way it's pretty cool that Marshall offered their customers something at a time when boutique amps were soaring. It makes no sense to criticize them for that. It makes not sense to criticize the prices when this forum discusses more expensive amps all day long by builders who've only been around a fraction of the time Marshall has.

As far as holding value, have you seen the prices original Silver Jubilees, Slash JCM800s, and all kinds of vintage Marshalls go for? That 5w SL-5 Marshall used to make in China has been discontinued for years and sell for more now than it did when it was in production. People can shit on the price all day, but in a few years I'll be the Astorias will be missed and you won't be able to get them for less than $3k.

The difference here, is, the other Marshalls you mention were big sellers. They flew off the shelves because they were affordable at the time, and desirable. These were out of the norm, top dollar, aesthetically unappealing, and a flop, hence discontinued. I would guess 20 years down the road, interest in them will still be zero.

Great features, yes. Sounds good? I'M SURE! But, they shot themselves in the foot with the design/look, and did a poor job marketing it. I don't think the designer even works for Marshall anymore. He, like Santiago, both left.

OK thanks for your opinion.

Buy one. Who cares what others think?

It was just a topic for discussion dude. Isn't that what a discussion board is for? Posting a topic doesn't have anything to do with how much I care for people's opinions. I will tell you this: I don't listen to people who are so opinionated that they make outrageous statements. I have a lot more respect for opinions which are rational, objective, and logical. If you don't want to actually discuss the topic and only have negative stuff to say, then maybe you should find another topic.

 

[lespaul6]

They really do sound fucking great... I like the custom, I would buy one and rock the hell out of it

 

[napalmdeath]

"Posting a topic doesn't have anything to do with how much I care for people's opinions"...

"I don't listen to people who are so opinionated that they make outrageous statements. I have a lot more respect for opinions which are rational, objective, and logical"

MistaGuitah = SavageRiffer alright.... He's the only logical one here!

 

[errrrrl]

 

[Exo-metal]

 

[Rick Lee]

I have too many Marshalls already, but this thread prompted me to take a look at used Astorias on Reverb and eBay. They're still well north of $2k, so no one appears to be blowing them out yet. If they pull a Silver Jubilee RI and blow them out for $999, I'll snag one. They do look and sound great. But Marshall should have been able to make plenty of margin on these while underpricing the boutique builders. No one has the infrastructure Marshall has to build economies of scale, thus making the unit cost pretty low and margin high. Shouldn't need to price them >$2500 to make lots of profit. At that price boutique builders become pretty competitive and you can call most of them on the phone and have a personal discussion about what mods you want and check in on your build.

 

[lespaul6]

I'm hoping that we can get a renegotiated trade agreement with Britian after Brexit.. if that actually happens. The prices really went crazy after the mid 90's and not just due to the exchange rate

 

[311boogieman]

At that price boutique builders become pretty competitive and you can call most of them on the phone and have a personal discussion about what mods you want and check in on your build.

Exactly.


PS: There is tone dem racing stripes

 

[jama]

Hello fellows...
I have been reading some of these comments few years and noticed people talk lot about colours and images about guitars and amps...well thats fine...to me..and as I understand my idols ...these are tools for playing and only thing matters how good these things are for you when you use them.
so just saying I have astoria custom combo and that is superb combo.
I have also fender super reverb,fender deluxe reverb,marshall bluesbreaker,mesa boogie lonestar.
I have recorded and played gigs since 1981 and these works wonderfull for me.
I think astoria is gonna take its place in history of great amps.
keep on enjoying music.

T:Jama

 

[blackba]

Marshall really can't win these days. If they put out another reissue, than people say they are not innovative. If they put out a cheap line of Asia build amps like the new DSL and Origin, people say they are not built in the UK. If they put out a boutique line like the Astoria, people say they are too expensive and they will just buy a vintage Marshall.

For me the Astoria never gathered my attention in the looks or price department. Once you price well about $2k USD, you have a pretty limited market. On the Forums we see expensive amps, but out in the wild, I rarely see anything this expensive used live.

As far as long term pricing we will see, but I don't see a very bright future for amps in general as the trends to go direct will make amps in general less sought after.