Budget VS Boutique

[Tor]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

My sort of currency is very well favored in terms of dollars, which is a big reason for why I tend to look more on the boutique end of the scale, given a certain budget of course.. Maybe more specifically, it's somewhere in the gray zone of hi end mass produced and limited production stuff... Buying boutique domestically, no way.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Really? I wanna move to where you are. Fryettes and Splawns outprice Marshall by almost double the price and mesas by a bit.

Here's an example in the States..........

A brand new Fryette Deliverance Sixty costs $1,600 and a Splawn Nitro 120 costs $2000 while a brand new Marshall JCM 800 cost $2350 and a Mesa Dual Recto costs $2000.

 

[Toe-Knee]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Here's an example in the States..........

A brand new Fryette Deliverance Sixty costs $1,600 and a Splawn Nitro 120 costs $2000 while a brand new Marshall JCM 800 cost $2350 and a Mesa Dual Recto costs $2000.

Wow that is insane.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Wow that is insane.

Tell me about it.

That was just a quick research I did for an example. I could go on.

Besides the fact I prefer Splawn over Marshall (for that type of sound) and I'm a huge fan of Fryette, it makes sense for me to go Boutique over "Budget/Mass Produced."

Not only is it the sound I'm after, it's less common and also less expensive.

 

[Toe-Knee]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Tell me about it.

That was just a quick research I did for an example. I could go on.

Besides the fact I prefer Splawn over Marshall (for that type of sound) and I'm a huge fan of Fryette, it makes sense for me to go Boutique over "Budget/Mass Produced."

Not only is it the sound I'm after, it's less common and also less expensive.

That makes perfect sense.

To be fair most amps need a lot of work to get them into an area where they would fit my liking. High end/boutique is one area that generally doesnt.

This is why i got into building amps so i could get myself into the same area without spending a fortune as over here a marshall is around £500 and a splawn around £1400 and a VHT about £1600

 

[Brow]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

That makes perfect sense.

To be fair most amps need a lot of work to get them into an area where they would fit my liking. High end/boutique is one area that generally doesnt.

This is why i got into building amps so i could get myself into the same area without spending a fortune as over here a marshall is around £500 and a splawn around £1400 and a VHT about £1600

Add a few more hundreds onto the Splawn mate!

But hell, we get DSLs for about £500 so it's not all bad

 

[Toe-Knee]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Add a few more hundreds onto the Splawn mate!

But hell, we get DSLs for about £500 so it's not all bad

Well it is because the DSL isnt exactly amazing

out of all the channel switching marshalls the only one id actually touch is the JVM and id probably still tinker with that too.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

That makes perfect sense.

To be fair most amps need a lot of work to get them into an area where they would fit my liking. High end/boutique is one area that generally doesnt.

This is why i got into building amps so i could get myself into the same area without spending a fortune as over here a marshall is around £500 and a splawn around £1400 and a VHT about £1600

I really dug the look over your self built amp on the amp shootout thread. Small suggestion if I may.... CHicken Head Knobs. Dead serious.

 

[Toe-Knee]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

I had chickenheads on there initially and didn't get along with them. I like how the collet knobs lock around the entire shaft of the pot so they cant slip at all whereas the chickenheads just lock at one side.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

I had chickenheads on there initially and didn't get along with them. I like how the collet knobs lock around the entire shaft of the pot so they cant slip at all whereas the chickenheads just lock at one side.

Fair enough.

You going design a logo or anything to put on there?

If not, some blue or red colored tubes would look awesome in it.

 

[Toe-Knee]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Fair enough.

You going design a logo or anything to put on there?

If not, some blue or red colored tubes would look awesome in it.

Well the next one that im doing that is an experimentation build more than anything is going to have a black chassis and most likely white chickenheads with black markers.

As for a logo i have a huge issue there of being crap at graphics. I would like to get something done but just need to find the right person.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Well the next one that im doing that is an experimentation build more than anything is going to have a black chassis and most likely white chickenheads with black markers.

As for a logo i have a huge issue there of being crap at graphics. I would like to get something done but just need to find the right person.

You got any ideas?

Shoot me a PM, I wouldn't mind taking a stab at it. Worse case scenario, you don't like it and I waste company time. No loss hahahaha.

 

[schecterplayer]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

It really comes down to what you need and how much work you are willing to put into it, with budget stuff you've gotta do your homework, try out all the options, be willing to swap the tubes and maybe some other components as well as deal with occasional maintenance issues. At the end of the day, you can get some very usable and great-sounding gear without spending too much money. However, if you are willing and able to drop a couple thousand dollars, you will know 100% that you are getting an amp that will work and sound great with no effort beyond learning the controls, and is often backed by an extremely good warranty. In the end, you are paying for a bit better tone, but mostly for the convenience of a well built, professional grade piece of gear. Whether that is worth the money depends just how reliable you need your equipment to be.

 

[FretFire]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

I haven't read the rest of the thread yet, I'll catch up. But, I have two amps:

1. A vintage Fender Bandmaster I got for <$400
2. A 65 Amps Memphis that I traded for.

I used to say I'd never pay the new asking price for boutique stuff like the 65. Here's how I got it - bought a used Mesa Lonestar head for ~$1000. Traded it for a PRS Singlecut after I found the Fender. Eventually raded the PRS for the 65 head.

Granted, I'd say I traded up both times but I am *extremely* happy to have the 65 in my stable. The two amps do very different things, but do them both very well. The Fender is my clean, loud amp and the 65 is my versatile piece that can break up more and has a usable master.

Overall the 65 is undoubtedly the better *quality* amp. Neither amp has circuit boards, but the 65 has that military spec point-to-point wiring and crazy attention to detail that's a beauty to look at, high end transformers, etc.

 

[Phantasmagoria]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Budget all the way for me...lol. I'm pretty happy with the tones I get from cheap stuff..

 

[Davidandrew]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

I would say Boutique hands down. I like the fact you are getting a hand built product. I alsolike the fact that I can take my Badcat to james and have him tweak it and create the sound I want. You can not do that with budget amps you get what you get. You get more of a unique experience with boutique.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

Classy or not - it doesn't really matter. Playing does.

 

[richard parker]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

I've been gigging since 1975. I'm not dirt poor but I've also never had the money I would have liked to be able to spend on gear. Over the years I've managed to upgrade my stuff by looking out for good deals on used gear, a little trading and sometimes spending more than I could really afford. My main gigging rig now consists of a Cornford Roadhouse combo and a Gibson Firebird Studio with Bareknuckle Rebel Yell pups. The pups are the only items that might be considered boutique. This set up plays and sounds tremendous and I couldn't improve on it without spending a phenomenal amount of cash and even then it might not be any better.

Having spent many years playing stuff that was not as good as I have now I think I can get a good sound out of just about anything that isn't a pile of complete junk. I don't think I would have got to this stage if I'd been able to have anything I wanted from day one. I remember a few rich kids whose parents bought them Les Pauls and Marshall stacks when they'd just started playing. These are the kids who couldn't understand why they didn't sound like Jimmy Page after they'd been playing for a whole three months - after all, they had the same gear didn't they ?

So I'd say budget can be every bit as good as boutique in the right hands - apart from pickups. You have to have the right pickups for the job or your PRS/LP through a Bogner/Matchless will still sound like crap. That's why we're all on this forum.

 

[Left_Hand_Strat]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

i go for budget.

Why? cause I aint got heaps of money.

I also live by the principals of 'if it aint broke don't fix it' and that sorta stuff. so to me, I see my HT-5 as a nice affordable workhorse which will take abuse and give me a great range of tones. Why should I spend $$$$ more on a booteek amp which will just amplify a signal as well? if you like the amp and the sound, looks, specs the lot, then buy it, regardless of what it is (unless money or space is an issue)

I don't want to offend anyone who builds/plays boutique amps here*, but to me, sometimes you get cases of gear snobbery where guys will just buy a mega expensive one off amp or something just cause they have money or they want to be dicks and look big.

* You boutique guys here as a whole are good guys who speak a lot of sense and do it because it's your passion or you want a specific tone. I have come across people before though, that use boutique amps as a type of male sex limb extension.

 

[Hoss]

Re: Budget VS Boutique

My rule of thumb, is to buy the absolute best piece of gear you can get your hands on, with the money you have in your hands.