Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
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XSSIVE
OCDologist
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
that's my problem man. i still haven't found an amp i can set and play. i always walk back to my amp at rehersals and turn a knob or two several times.
the amp i want is a diezel herbert and it is actually used on one of my favorite albums all over it and i love the tone but i can not in any way justify spending $4100 for a damn head. i know i'm shooting myself in the foot in a way by not buying what i really want but it just seems so wrong to me that i "need" to spend that to get the tone i'm looking for. sure i can afford to buy it but i just can't let myself do it.
-Mike
Scott_F said:
that's my problem man. i still haven't found an amp i can set and play. i always walk back to my amp at rehersals and turn a knob or two several times.
the amp i want is a diezel herbert and it is actually used on one of my favorite albums all over it and i love the tone but i can not in any way justify spending $4100 for a damn head. i know i'm shooting myself in the foot in a way by not buying what i really want but it just seems so wrong to me that i "need" to spend that to get the tone i'm looking for. sure i can afford to buy it but i just can't let myself do it.
-Mike
dd12939
New member
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
People are afraid of something that isn't the same old thing? I dunno. As has been said a million times, Marshall and Fender amps are tried and true. They have been doing it since the beginning, so when one thinks "rock guitar" they probably think LP into Marshall or something along those lines. Another reason is that the boutique makers aren't huge names. Some musicians are gear heads, some are not.
My favorite band (Porcupine Tree) uses Bad Cat.
People are afraid of something that isn't the same old thing? I dunno. As has been said a million times, Marshall and Fender amps are tried and true. They have been doing it since the beginning, so when one thinks "rock guitar" they probably think LP into Marshall or something along those lines. Another reason is that the boutique makers aren't huge names. Some musicians are gear heads, some are not.
My favorite band (Porcupine Tree) uses Bad Cat.
sosomething
Seymour Duncan Customer Support
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
In the old days it was Fender, Marshall, Vox, or possibly Orange. If you wanted something different, you had someone mod your amp for you.
Nowadays, don't kid yourself into thinking that records aren't recorded with boutique gear. Many, many of them are. Just because Johnny MTV is endorsing Marshall in Guitar World doesn't mean he isn't playing through a Bogner Shiva and a Diezel VH4 in the studio.
In the old days it was Fender, Marshall, Vox, or possibly Orange. If you wanted something different, you had someone mod your amp for you.
Nowadays, don't kid yourself into thinking that records aren't recorded with boutique gear. Many, many of them are. Just because Johnny MTV is endorsing Marshall in Guitar World doesn't mean he isn't playing through a Bogner Shiva and a Diezel VH4 in the studio.
Jonny R
Volcano Fireologist
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
Reading the history of Matchless, for example, it seemed a big part of the brand's origin was actually trying to make a Vox with some reliability, so guys could actually use them on the road in addition to in the studio.
Reading the history of Matchless, for example, it seemed a big part of the brand's origin was actually trying to make a Vox with some reliability, so guys could actually use them on the road in addition to in the studio.
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
A few boutique products are 'the models that never were', like a Double Deluxe, EL84 tweeds, 6V6/EL84 Marshalls, etc,etc,etc...but there was nothing boutique about Fender/Marshall---they used what was available at a good price and paid assembly line workers to hand-assemble the product. If they could have wave-soldered the boards and used Chinese components, they probably would have.
A few boutique products are 'the models that never were', like a Double Deluxe, EL84 tweeds, 6V6/EL84 Marshalls, etc,etc,etc...but there was nothing boutique about Fender/Marshall---they used what was available at a good price and paid assembly line workers to hand-assemble the product. If they could have wave-soldered the boards and used Chinese components, they probably would have.
tone?
New member
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
i have to say thank God for the boutique builders cause i agree that Marshall and Fender would probably have used cheaper parts.
the only reason they used good parts then is cause good parts were really only available.
Now that there are corners to cut, boy do they cut them!
i have to say thank God for the boutique builders cause i agree that Marshall and Fender would probably have used cheaper parts.
the only reason they used good parts then is cause good parts were really only available.
Now that there are corners to cut, boy do they cut them!
J Moose
New member
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
When I worked retail (long long ago) I had a couple of amp designers & reps tell me that "Features sell amps, not sound".
?!? :smack:
NOW you tell me!!! Thanks for that bit of information.
They want a dude to walk in there with their hard earned 'bucks and all the clerk has to do is pick a price point and show 'em two amps while pointing out all the stuff they can do. "Look bro, it's got a tuner & built in digital effects, recording compensated outputs, a drum machine, 8-track recorder, digital outputs, TWO 300 watt power amps and can sound like 400 different amps...and it's only $1500!!!" :eek13:
The idjit buys it because he doesn't know any better and 'Johnny X' uses 'em, says so right here in this ad! And yeah...maybe it kinda sounds like something 'Johnny X' uses but who can really tell after all the 'studio magik' but hey! That's built INTO the amp!!!
IMO, a big reason for the boutique thing (at least with repros of old amps) is the reliabilty factor. Most of the old amps just aren't anything that you could or would want to gig with. Like the old Marshall that needs to warm up for at least 10 minutes before it comes off standby or it freaks out. Or the AC30 that lets out a puff of smoke and goes into the shop every four days. Sure, they sound GREAT when they work but are nuttin' but a headache the rest of the time. Personally I want a reliable tool, not a collectors piece and not some 'magik do-it-all' box that can get 200 different sounds, but none of 'em are good.
As fer recordin'...people use ALL KINDS of stuff these days. I've worked on modern rock records where we've used everything int he course of one album. There's a Boogie Rectum Fryer for the sound it makes, old Fenders for their thang, various Marshalls for their mojos, Matchless, VHT, Selmer, Hughes & Kettner, no-name solid state practice amps, Bogners, Dr Z and yes...even a POD all on the same record. It's about creating a pallete and set of textrues to create a landscape of guitar tones, and whatever gets the job done is valid.
Gr8Scott said:
When I worked retail (long long ago) I had a couple of amp designers & reps tell me that "Features sell amps, not sound".
?!? :smack:
NOW you tell me!!! Thanks for that bit of information.
They want a dude to walk in there with their hard earned 'bucks and all the clerk has to do is pick a price point and show 'em two amps while pointing out all the stuff they can do. "Look bro, it's got a tuner & built in digital effects, recording compensated outputs, a drum machine, 8-track recorder, digital outputs, TWO 300 watt power amps and can sound like 400 different amps...and it's only $1500!!!" :eek13:
The idjit buys it because he doesn't know any better and 'Johnny X' uses 'em, says so right here in this ad! And yeah...maybe it kinda sounds like something 'Johnny X' uses but who can really tell after all the 'studio magik' but hey! That's built INTO the amp!!!
IMO, a big reason for the boutique thing (at least with repros of old amps) is the reliabilty factor. Most of the old amps just aren't anything that you could or would want to gig with. Like the old Marshall that needs to warm up for at least 10 minutes before it comes off standby or it freaks out. Or the AC30 that lets out a puff of smoke and goes into the shop every four days. Sure, they sound GREAT when they work but are nuttin' but a headache the rest of the time. Personally I want a reliable tool, not a collectors piece and not some 'magik do-it-all' box that can get 200 different sounds, but none of 'em are good.
As fer recordin'...people use ALL KINDS of stuff these days. I've worked on modern rock records where we've used everything int he course of one album. There's a Boogie Rectum Fryer for the sound it makes, old Fenders for their thang, various Marshalls for their mojos, Matchless, VHT, Selmer, Hughes & Kettner, no-name solid state practice amps, Bogners, Dr Z and yes...even a POD all on the same record. It's about creating a pallete and set of textrues to create a landscape of guitar tones, and whatever gets the job done is valid.
aleclee
Major General GAS
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
For a long time I chose gear based on spec sheets. Now I prefer to let my ears and hands decide. If I sufficiently like an item's sound & feel, find the price acceptable, and am confident in its reliability, I'll buy it. Buying something because it has comparable specs to the item you really want and is cheaper is a great way to waste money 'cause you're probably gonna take it in the shorts when you decide that it's not really what you wanted.
I suspect if people would buy things based on their ears and hands rather than on buzz, hype and specs, there's be a lot less stuff listed on eBay.
They're absolutely right, and the booteek guys are just as bad as the big boys. How often have you heard an aspiring cork sniffer demand that a guitar/amp/pedal have:J Moose said:
- true bypass switching
- no CNC carving
- PTP wiring
- chassis mounted tube sockets
- post phase inverter master volume (or no MV at all)
- umpty-way switching
- at least three channels
- no transistors
- oxygen-free cable
For a long time I chose gear based on spec sheets. Now I prefer to let my ears and hands decide. If I sufficiently like an item's sound & feel, find the price acceptable, and am confident in its reliability, I'll buy it. Buying something because it has comparable specs to the item you really want and is cheaper is a great way to waste money 'cause you're probably gonna take it in the shorts when you decide that it's not really what you wanted.
I suspect if people would buy things based on their ears and hands rather than on buzz, hype and specs, there's be a lot less stuff listed on eBay.
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Hot _Grits
Buttery Toneologist
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
I guess nowadays you can write off such behavior as 'research'...
Scott_F said:
I guess nowadays you can write off such behavior as 'research'...
Hot _Grits
Buttery Toneologist
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
It's a very cool way to sample what's out there...
Scott_F said:Haha! Busted! Tax writeoffs for my amp purchases these days. I'm about to trade my Hot Cat for a Matchless Clubman Reverb. More research on mt upcoming Franklin 35. Plus it has an FX loop.
It's a very cool way to sample what's out there...
That90'sGuy
DyzaBoyzologist
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
I think this is a very mature outlook. I, too, have been doing the same thing for the past year. I'm not so concerned about hype anymore and I know that there are certain times when I can go cheaper without any compromise in my mind (as soon as I had played my Crate V32 Palomino, I knew it was something special, even though it didn't have a high pricetag or fancy name... hell, it's a CRATE :laugh2: ).
aleclee said:
I think this is a very mature outlook. I, too, have been doing the same thing for the past year. I'm not so concerned about hype anymore and I know that there are certain times when I can go cheaper without any compromise in my mind (as soon as I had played my Crate V32 Palomino, I knew it was something special, even though it didn't have a high pricetag or fancy name... hell, it's a CRATE :laugh2: ).
That90'sGuy
DyzaBoyzologist
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
Scott, I really feel you're doing a great thing here :fing2:. I think it's very cool that you're looking at different top of the line amps and you're dissecting what makes them so good and looking to add your own touches to things. I'm glad you're taking up my advice on a higher wattage Franklin, I'm sure you'll have plenty of interest (heck, I may need to give in myself if you can find your own touch between Matchless and Vox... I hate Bad Cat
).
Scott_F said:Haha! Busted! Tax writeoffs for my amp purchases these days. I'm about to trade my Hot Cat for a Matchless Clubman Reverb. More research on mt upcoming Franklin 35. Plus it has an FX loop.
Scott, I really feel you're doing a great thing here :fing2:. I think it's very cool that you're looking at different top of the line amps and you're dissecting what makes them so good and looking to add your own touches to things. I'm glad you're taking up my advice on a higher wattage Franklin, I'm sure you'll have plenty of interest (heck, I may need to give in myself if you can find your own touch between Matchless and Vox... I hate Bad Cat
).
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
A Lightning front end paired up with a Clubman's power section, with fx loop and maybe reverb is my dream amp (I think).
And I just dropped the hammer on the Hot Cat for a Clubman Reverb trade! Shipping out tomorrow.
A Lightning front end paired up with a Clubman's power section, with fx loop and maybe reverb is my dream amp (I think).
And I just dropped the hammer on the Hot Cat for a Clubman Reverb trade! Shipping out tomorrow.
J Moose
New member
Re: Why arent boutique amps used for all our favorite recordings??
Well the next version might! :laugh2:
Seriously though...isn't there some preamp or somethin' out there with an 8-track or a drum machine in it? Maybe a Zoom box or whatever? I totally remember some kid showing me one at a Guitarget while I was trying to buy a regular 'ol stompbox. I'll be damned if I can remember what make it was though! LOL
Scott F - That better be a footswitchable FX loop...just send on/off so 'verbs & delay tails don't get cut off on the return. :fingersx:
75lespaul said:
Well the next version might! :laugh2:
Seriously though...isn't there some preamp or somethin' out there with an 8-track or a drum machine in it? Maybe a Zoom box or whatever? I totally remember some kid showing me one at a Guitarget while I was trying to buy a regular 'ol stompbox. I'll be damned if I can remember what make it was though! LOL
Scott F - That better be a footswitchable FX loop...just send on/off so 'verbs & delay tails don't get cut off on the return. :fingersx:
