Pink Unicorn Horsey
Megä Pöny Rÿdr
I had what I consider to be a personally embarrassing experience just yesterday, and I want to relate it to y'all to get other perspectives and thoughts.
(NOTE: My particular situation deals with tweed amps, but the quandry relates to any amp, guitar or other piece of gear. Tune in.)
I'm starting to look into getting myself a tweed amp, because I love the tone of those amps so much -- so I think, based on my limited experience with them. So I decided to go to a local boutique shop with my Tele and try out a couple amps they had in stock: a Victoria Amps 20112 and what looked like a vintage tweed Fender Deluxe. This was great, because I wanted to do an apples-to-apples comparison and see if the Victoria amp held up to the real deal (i.e., the vintage Fender).
After playing through the Vic, the salesman hooks me up to the Fender. Two minutes into it, he walks by me and says, "Big difference, huh? They're like night and day. No comparison." I need to spend more time with both amps, so I bring 'em into their soundproof room and start doing a real A/B comparison. I don't have much time, so I only get to spend five or so minutes with each one. However, in that amount of time, I'm thinking to myself, "Yeah, the Fender sound a lot better. More crunch, fuller tone, etc." Then, as I'm unplugging the amps, I look at the Fender to figure out just what it is, and I see this brand-new metal plate with "Blues Junior" stamped on it. The amp itself looks like it's something straight from the sixties, so I'm a little confused now.
Not wanting to look like a fool, I ask the salesman on the way out, "How much are those two amps, by the way?" He tells me the Victoria is $1,500 and the "relic'd Blues Junior" is $500. Now I feel like a total loser because I liked the tone of the Blues Junior better than the Victoria. Maybe I'd like the Vic more if I had a chance to really get to know each of the amps -- I liked the Vic a lot -- but I came away feeling like I've got bad taste. Now I'm all down on myself about it. I think any other guitarist should be able to pick the Victoria over the Blues Junior in a Pepsi challenge.
Thoughts?
- Keith
(NOTE: My particular situation deals with tweed amps, but the quandry relates to any amp, guitar or other piece of gear. Tune in.)
I'm starting to look into getting myself a tweed amp, because I love the tone of those amps so much -- so I think, based on my limited experience with them. So I decided to go to a local boutique shop with my Tele and try out a couple amps they had in stock: a Victoria Amps 20112 and what looked like a vintage tweed Fender Deluxe. This was great, because I wanted to do an apples-to-apples comparison and see if the Victoria amp held up to the real deal (i.e., the vintage Fender).
After playing through the Vic, the salesman hooks me up to the Fender. Two minutes into it, he walks by me and says, "Big difference, huh? They're like night and day. No comparison." I need to spend more time with both amps, so I bring 'em into their soundproof room and start doing a real A/B comparison. I don't have much time, so I only get to spend five or so minutes with each one. However, in that amount of time, I'm thinking to myself, "Yeah, the Fender sound a lot better. More crunch, fuller tone, etc." Then, as I'm unplugging the amps, I look at the Fender to figure out just what it is, and I see this brand-new metal plate with "Blues Junior" stamped on it. The amp itself looks like it's something straight from the sixties, so I'm a little confused now.
Not wanting to look like a fool, I ask the salesman on the way out, "How much are those two amps, by the way?" He tells me the Victoria is $1,500 and the "relic'd Blues Junior" is $500. Now I feel like a total loser because I liked the tone of the Blues Junior better than the Victoria. Maybe I'd like the Vic more if I had a chance to really get to know each of the amps -- I liked the Vic a lot -- but I came away feeling like I've got bad taste. Now I'm all down on myself about it. I think any other guitarist should be able to pick the Victoria over the Blues Junior in a Pepsi challenge.
Thoughts?
- Keith
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. In my opinion, boutique amps do sound very good and usually better than some production amps, but a $2000 better? no $1500 better? no $1000 better? still no, at least not to my ears. And thats the key, its all about what your ears like. Its all your own taste. When your talking about tube amps, unless its a very cheap junky tube amp, its probably going to sound good, and how much you like it just depends on your own taste
