Re: Your best & worst boutique amps.....

Jets · Post by **Jets** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 4:34 am

Oh yeah, also:
http://www.martamp.com/amps.html

He'll build ceriatone kits for you as well.

It's either the guy who builds amps at matamp now, or used to. Have you checked out matamp london? They have my vote for coolest modern amp logo:
http://www.matamplondon.com/photos.htm

PorkyPrimeCut · Post by **PorkyPrimeCut** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 4:58 am

Jets wrote: Oh yeah, also:
http://www.martamp.com/amps.html

He'll build ceriatone kits for you as well.

Thanks.

I just got off the phone to him. That green combo amp shown is gorgeous. Its a basically a Matchless DC-30.

Unfortunately they're going up in price steadily because of the exchange rate (our turn to feel the pinch) & now cost around £1200.

Jets · Post by **Jets** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 5:05 am

Ouch! The fluctuating exchange rate has been a real pain recently. :-\ It's added about £300 to something i have on order from America.

PorkyPrimeCut · Post by **PorkyPrimeCut** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 5:10 am

Yeah. I'm so glad I bought my ES-125 & the Vox Ultrasonic when I did.

They'd each cost £300 more as well.

LHR · Post by **LHR** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 5:18 am

I did not read through all the posts, sorry if this one has been mentioned. I played through two amps lately that surprised me quite a bit, both by Rivera and both awfully nice-sounding: the Pubster (the smaller one, as I think it was called) and the Clubster. Same basic deal with both these except available power and speaker size. Are these considered boutique enough for you?

If not, forgive me. I am a hack. Anyhow I think that my obviously so cookie cutter Blues Jr. is about all the boutique (read: good, small) I personally need in an amp. Simply because I would have to be out of my mind to bring a handmade, large amp to the gigs I play.

Edit: Wait, now... That's not entirely true. I dream of owning a modern Standel 25L15 and that is about as boutique as it comes, in my book.

Another edit: Okay, I am complete liar: I need a Gomez amp of some kind. Preferably the Showman clone. This guy is making brownface Fender reproductions the old-fashioned way. Buyers just rave about these amps and I am jealous.

Jets · Post by **Jets** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 5:38 am

I don't know what your price limit is but i do know that there is an incredibly rare Vampower - I have an earlier one and I think it's the best amp I've ever played - for sale that has recently been completely overhauled by my amp tech (john chambers) and so is working perfectly. It has reverb and tremolo and rates at 100 watts. There were also less than 250 made and interest in them has been on the up in recent years. Heres some info on them: www.vampower.com and the amplifier in question: http://www.rockonmusic.co.uk/Mainamps.htm It's vintage, and they've had it for a while, so you might be able to offer them slightly lower and still get it.

Otherwise there are loads of vintage british amps that would be great buys. you often see watkins dominators V-front on ebay for £600-£800 and some of the smaller models (like the scout) for around £300. Also many of these amps didn't change in circuitry just in cosmetic ( though the quality on some went down as the years went by) so look at selmers and the like.

Sites like www.vintagehofner.co.uk and www.twotribesmusic.co.uk are good for checking out different models that you might not have heard of.

If you're after a vox in particular then this is a great book to have:

http://www.voxguidebook.com/

Nearly 700 pages long and the deluxe edition comes with the schematics for 70 different vox amps.

Jets · Post by **Jets** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 6:04 am

Another thing to note about the vamp is that it a model that they called the Jak-Pak range. The reason for this is that the preamp and front panel are one unit can be slid out and replaced with another preamp and front panel for different sounds. Although it'll be basically impossible to find another vamp module, I imagine it would be possible to get a company like matamp to make you up modules for all sorts of sounds.

PorkyPrimeCut · Post by **PorkyPrimeCut** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 7:05 am

I've just seen a Vox AC30CC2X finish without a bid on eBay. I reckon the guy would take £550 for it.

Does anyone know how possible it would be to get it looked over & have the crappy parts replaced with top-notch stuff. Maybe even re-wiring it by hand?

How much of a job is this? Are some parts un-replacable?

This would be a great option for me. I could give a recommended amp tech up to £200 for parts & labour. Seems reasonable but is it possible?

By doing this I'd be close to "boutique" without breaking the bank (too much).

I really appreciate the input I'm getting from this thread. Sorry if I seem a little Vox-obsessed. There's just something about them.

nsnyder6 · Post by **nsnyder6** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 7:15 am

I have a Rivera Clubster 45, its not bad. Not quite the Fender cleans but pretty good and the distortion channel is pretty much marshall quality with a gain boost. I've played everything from their base models to their new high-end class A heads and cabs. They all were pretty decent. I got my Clubster used for about $800 but that was also when the price tag was 1400. Now, they have gone a little commercial but still good quality. I've even spoken with Mr. Rivera and his son, they are good friends with my local dealer back home, great guys and very willing to help when I had a simple tube problem. Might want to give them a look and see if they might be for you. Good luck.

PorkyPrimeCut · Post by **PorkyPrimeCut** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 7:15 am

Further to what I just said, I've spoken with an amp tech I know.

He's already done what I'm thinking to 7 or 8 new Vox amps this year.

The valves need changing & some kind of rectifier (I forget what he said exactly) needs to be put in. There're a couple of other small bit that can be changed too.

Apparently this'll make a huge difference to the amps performance. One of the parts is solid-state (I seem to remember this being a dirty word to some amp fanatics) but makes no difference to the sound.

The re-wiring issue is impossible & pointless. It's all circuit-board built.

He quoted me £90 for parts & labour.

Jaguar018 · Post by **Jaguar018** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 8:09 am

Sorry for the clarification stuff earlier.

The more I read up on boutique amps in forums the more I realize that it's all a bit of a rabbit hole. Most boutique amp companies off nice handmade versions of vintage amps that were already handmade back in the day. All of the differences become so subtle that only the most finicky of people can tell the difference between all the nice components on offer.

I'm glad to see that your're honing in on the Vox sound as what you're looking for. Matchless, and their ilk seem to be chasing that tone. That Martamp stuff looks really cool.

Post by **Jay** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 9:09 am

I think the one advantage a new amp cloning a vintage amp has over the real deal is a level of reliability that one might expect from something that doesn't have 40 year old parts involved. You also have to consider that you've no real knowledge of the provenance (without taking someones word for it at best) and so unless you have a good eye and/or the ability to repair yourself, you could end up with something that winds up being a much larger hassle and/or even more expensive in the long run. Personally, if I were gigging with something regularly and couldn't afford to have multiple backups around, I would look for a solidly built clone of my favorite vintage amp (which is what I did over a decade ago). Seeing as how I'm pretty much a bedroom warrior these days I'm not so concerned about that anymore.

glimmertwin · Post by **glimmertwin** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 9:20 am

Since Vox/Matchless came up, I'll throw in the Bad Cat amps. I used to own a Bad Cat Cub II - wasn't my flavor really but it's a really nice amp that's built like a tank, has some great lows, and has good stage volume that really cuts in a mix. Actually I liked everything about it except the attack on it doesn't leave much room for error as it picks up everything - very sensitive and precise... It sounded good, I just never felt like I was a good enough guitar player to play through it at the time(maybe now, but not then).

Anyway, the Bad Cats are designed by the guy who designed the original Matchless circuits(Mark Samson) and many of the Bad Cat models are updated versions of the popular matchless designs. The Cub is an updated version of the Matchless Lightning made to be more versatile. New they are expensive, but I noticed the used market for them is considerably softer. I bought mine on ebay for around $1000 and they are worth every penny at that price. Plus they are built so freaking sturdy it's insane - like I would consider jumping up and down on the top of mine it was so sturdy. I know shipping/duty makes things pretty expensive for you, but if your considering spending close to that to have something shipped from Ceriatone, you should also consider the Bad Cat stuff.... Good luck!

Kilgore Trout · Post by **Kilgore Trout** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 10:23 am

Jay wrote: I think the one advantage a new amp cloning a vintage amp has over the real deal is a level of reliability that one might expect from something that doesn't have 40 year old parts involved. You also have to consider that you've no real knowledge of the provenance (without taking someones word for it at best) and so unless you have a good eye and/or the ability to repair yourself, you could end up with something that winds up being a much larger hassle and/or even more expensive in the long run. Personally, if I were gigging with something regularly and couldn't afford to have multiple backups around, I would look for a solidly built clone of my favorite vintage amp (which is what I did over a decade ago). Seeing as how I'm pretty much a bedroom warrior these days I'm not so concerned about that anymore.

That was my thinking when I decided to buy my Reeves (a Hiwatt clone) instead of a vintage Hiwatt. Well, that and the fact that a vintage Hiwatt would have cost me about the same (or even more).

Jaguar018 · Post by **Jaguar018** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:04 am

I basically agree with the 'well made, reliable boutique clone' idea, and I love my over-priced boutique amps for that very reason.

The only counter point I'd make is that most of the vintage amps are easy to repair, there are plenty of parts, and lots of people can fix them. With some of the boutique amps you might have to send it back to the builder.