Why are amplifiers so expensive now?

[glip22]

It's Bush's fault....

Completely agree. Bush put extra taxes on the amp imports which is why the usually cheaper imports now cost more. You used to be able to get an amp for much less than a grand but now as the op states, its 1200 plus. So it must be the economy regardless that the OP's company is hiring and growing and giving out great bonuses.

 

[rocknrolla]

Free market. Supply and demand set the market value. If you don't like it you can always go to electronics school, tool up, learn how to build an awesome lineup of amps that are in high demand and will sell as fast as you build them, without infringing on any patented circuits, and sell them for what you think they should be worth.

 

[glassjaw7]

I didn't read through so this may have been said, but here's my input on this:

Amps now are cheaper than ever! Guitarists can get an all-tube head or combo for a few hundred bucks! Of course, I'm talking about amp lines like Jet City and the like, but c'mon, in the real world that's a bargain. They sound good/great and can gig no problem. To the bedroom wankers and cork sniffers who have to have the $4000 amp to crank out some power chords, well...

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE quality gear and I like products that are made in the USA, but inflation plus the fact that most of the amps we rave about here are made with high quality parts adds up to the current market prices. To get the really high quality stuff you have to pay for it. A couple decades ago, a Les Paul was about 25% the cost that it is now. Just the nature of the beast. It's not amps, it's everything!

Most importantly, a great player/song writer can gig with a $500 amp and kick all kinds of ass while a dude can sit in his bedroom and play Enter Sandman out of tune with a Diezel or Fortin or whatever... (love both lines, just saying)

 

[Meathead]

...a great player/song writer can gig with a $500 amp and kick all kinds of ass while a dude can sit in his bedroom and play Enter Sandman out of tune with a Diezel or Fortin or whatever... (love both lines, just saying)

+1

Stop dreaming about owning expensive gear and start dreaming about playing and writing great music.

 

[glassjaw7]

...a great player/song writer can gig with a $500 amp and kick all kinds of ass while a dude can sit in his bedroom and play Enter Sandman out of tune with a Diezel or Fortin or whatever... (love both lines, just saying)

+1

Stop dreaming about owning expensive gear and start dreaming about playing and writing great music.

Yup!

And as far as the "future of our children" bs, give me a break! So the 14 year old kid (from an average middle class fam) who has been playing for a couple years and wants to start playing a tube amp has to have a $2000 amp to support USA production???? Um, no. They're gonna get the Blackstar or Jet City because their parents can afford it. It's not our job to buy only USA-made products just because China can do it cheaper. It's the country's leadership who need to fix these problems.

Of course there's always Carvin or those certain US made amps that can be had for semi-cheap on ebay, but the majority of parents buying musical instruments for their kids don't know enough to seek out these products. They are going to buy what's highly reviewed in Musician's Friend and what's affordable, and they shouldn't be expected to know about Carvin or cheap Mark IIIs and JCM 900s on ebay.

 

[D-Rock]

Expensive is purely perception based.

I also don't think the internet or forums plays as big of a role on gear pricing as some may think. There are tonnes of players with top notch gear and amps that have never even seen a gear forum.

 

[glassjaw7]

Expensive is purely perception based.

I also don't think the internet or forums plays as big of a role on gear pricing as some may think. There are tonnes of players with top notch gear and amps that have never even seen a gear forum.

Agreed, I don't think forums play any role in gear pricing, save for some of the exclusive deals that Brad gives us.

 

[ratter]

It's not our job to buy only USA-made products just because China can do it cheaper. It's the country's leadership who need to fix these problems.

Good luck with that.

 

[rlord1974]

And as far as the "future of our children" bs, give me a break! So the 14 year old kid (from an average middle class fam) who has been playing for a couple years and wants to start playing a tube amp has to have a $2000 amp to support USA production???? Um, no. They're gonna get the Line6 or the Jet City because their parents can afford it. It's not our job to buy only USA-made products just because China can do it cheaper. It's the country's leadership who need to fix these problems.

I understand that some people can't or don't want to spend $2k or $3k on an amp, so there is a real market for lower-priced options. The point is simply that, when you buy an amp produced in China, 75% of the purchase price stays in China. The only thing being repatrioted to the U.S.A. (assuming we're talking about a U.S. company whose production is in China) is the profit margin on the sale.

I choose to buy North American made goods as often as possible to support OUR economies, and to protect OUR jobs. The more manufacturing that gets sent overseas, the more unemployment you will have in your own backyard.

And how is the country's leadership going to fix these problems exactly? The reason we can't produce an amp for $400 in North America is we're all fat from rampant consumerism and a general culture of entitlement. North American workers don't want to work 14 hours a day for $1 or $2 an hour.

Furthermore, this completely ignores the ethics of the manufacturing industries in a great number of the Asian economies; which, by the way, are repulsive.

Rant over. I don't want to get too off topic here!

 

[Meathead]

It's not our job to buy only USA-made products just because China can do it cheaper. It's the country's leadership who need to fix these problems.

Good luck with that.

Hey, I just noticed something...everything I use is made in North America.

Amps...
Budda SD18 combo
Peters Polaris combo
Carvin Legacy combo

Guitars...
Fender USA strat
Charvel USA single pickup strat
Peavey USA Wolfgang

This wasn't on-purpose buying, but it says something to me about products made here. They are pretty damn good and it didn't cost me a ton.

 

[rlord1974]

I also don't think the internet or forums plays as big of a role on gear pricing as some may think. The majority of guitar players have never even seen a gear forum.

Agreed, and FIXED.

 

[skoora]

I find the price of new doesn't jump nearly as much as the used market. I used to be able to get JMP and JCM 2203's for 4-500 dollars, easily in the late 90's. That price has almost tripled in 15 years. 70's and 80's Gibsons (les pauls'SG's etc) used to be under 1000 all the time and now sandwich body, maple neck deluxes from the early 70's are over 3K. Having owned a few 70's Gibson's I'd buy a new Historic any day over the highly inflated "vintage" price for a Norlins one.
Not even 10 years ago early 70's Hiwatt's were easily bought for $1200 or less. Now, Marshall though had a big price bump on new in the last 10 years that I think outpaced inflation (higher import duty?). Over 2K for a JCM800 re-issue....I'd get an original or clone for much less any day.
Tone preference aside, to think Mesa gives you the Mark V or a Roadster for what a JCM800 reissue costs, says a lot for what quality can still be bought reasonably in the USA.

Higher prices than Mesa on much simpler handwired designs to me is just marketing. Gibson does the same. When they were hurting in the early 90's they came out of it by raising prices, creating an image of if it costs more it must be special. If you're only going to make 2-4 amps a month you would want to create a market of prestige and exclusivity to make a living.

 

['63-Strat]

Yeah as said I really don't think amps are more expensive now, actually.

And like Ventura said, we all need a reality check once in awhile because most of our heroes did it with a strat/lp into a few pedals and a fender or marshall amp. Adjusting for inflation, the cost on those is really not that different now than they have been ever. Even a $4000 amp is not that ridiculous compared to other hobbies, and you certainly don't "need" a $4000 amp to play well or write a good song either.

That said, I definitely bought the vast majority of my gear used, even high-end guitars, has saved a LOT of money.

 

[drewiv]

I understand that some people can't or don't want to spend $2k or $3k on an amp, so there is a real market for lower-priced options. The point is simply that, when you buy an amp produced in China, 75% of the purchase price stays in China. The only thing being repatrioted to the U.S.A. (assuming we're talking about a U.S. company whose production is in China) is the profit margin on the sale.

I choose to buy North American made goods as often as possible to support OUR economies, and to protect OUR jobs. The more manufacturing that gets sent overseas, the more unemployment you will have in your own backyard.

And how is the country's leadership going to fix these problems exactly? The reason we can't produce an amp for $400 in North America is we're all fat from rampant consumerism and a general culture of entitlement. North American workers don't want to work 14 hours a day for $1 or $2 an hour.

Furthermore, this completely ignores the ethics of the manufacturing industries in a great number of the Asian economies; which, by the way, are repulsive.

Rant over. I don't want to get too off topic here!

As an American manufacturer, I could not have said it better myself. I don't think you're off topic at all. This IS the topic, or at least the reason the question was asked...

 

[Tone Zone]

Amps now are cheaper than ever! Guitarists can get an all-tube head or combo for a few hundred bucks! Of course, I'm talking about amp lines like Jet City and the like, but c'mon, in the real world that's a bargain. They sound good/great and can gig no problem. To the bedroom wankers and cork sniffers who have to have the $4000 amp to crank out some power chords, well...

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE quality gear and I like products that are made in the USA, but inflation plus the fact that most of the amps we rave about here are made with high quality parts adds up to the current market prices. To get the really high quality stuff you have to pay for it. A couple decades ago, a Les Paul was about 25% the cost that it is now. Just the nature of the beast. It's not amps, it's everything!

Most importantly, a great player/song writer can gig with a $500 amp and kick all kinds of ass while a dude can sit in his bedroom and play Enter Sandman out of tune with a Diezel or Fortin or whatever... (love both lines, just saying)

Well said!

 

[glassjaw7]

It's not our job to buy only USA-made products just because China can do it cheaper. It's the country's leadership who need to fix these problems.

Good luck with that.

Hey, I just noticed something...everything I use is made in North America.

Amps...
Budda SD18 combo
Peters Polaris combo
Carvin Legacy combo

Guitars...
Fender USA strat
Charvel USA single pickup strat
Peavey USA Wolfgang

This wasn't on-purpose buying, but it says something to me about products made here. They are pretty damn good and it didn't cost me a ton.

I have some USA stuff and some Korean axes. Hmm, both of my amps as well as my LP and G&L are made in USA. I guess I might have been over reacting but I'm just saying that there is a nice selection out there across all price points. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Korean made axe. In fact my Schecter is one of my most beloved and most stable pieces. Thing rocks!

 

[Shiny_Surface]

One angle I find interesting about the whole MIA argument is, do these manufacturers/builders give as much of a shit about your well being in the economy? For some (not all of course ) I don't think so at all. They just expect you to tow the line and use "shame" techniques on forums to promote their interests.

 

[311boogieman]

It seems like amp prices have gotten out of control! You can't get an American made high end, well built, great sounding high gain EL-34 or 6L6 amps new for less than $1800 and you can't get one used for less than $1200 if you are lucky.

Since when were they affordable

But yeah - here are 2 that come to mind

Baron
CEC Amplification

Buy a Splawn......I have tried every amp out there and the 2012 Splawns are the winner for me and they are had at great prices

Splawns are not exactly cheap. That said, I have seen a Nitro and a Quick Rod for $900 once

Because of nerds on forums!

 

[chunktone]

I find this question a bit odd.
why are highend amps expensive?

I personally can't recall any point in time when high-end amps sold in the same price range as low-end amps. I could be wrong, but I don't think it's a spike it the treble frequencies that makes amps "high-end".

 

[Heritage Softail]

I find this question a bit odd.
why are highend amps expensive?

I personally can't recall any point in time when high-end amps sold in the same price range as low-end amps. I could be wrong, but I don't think it's a spike it the treble frequencies that makes amps "high-end".

So true

It's like bitching cuz a set of tires for my 370 is gonna run about 1600 bucks and last a year.

You play, you pay... And not just high end amps/hookers...