Re: [Harp-L] "boutique" amps

["10hole" <10hole@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Actually Bret, the Meteor is only $1550. (I know, only ????????) To be
perfectly honest with you,
making amps pay's about $3 an hour. If you figure in all of the parts, the
time to build them, all of the
business overhead (phone, heat, tools & equiptment, office supplies, gas to
get to all of the places you
have to frequent when having parts made, etc....) it's not as glamorous as
it might sound. I'm lucky in
the fact that I can do all of the work in house except for building the
cab's, the sheet metal work & the screen
printing. Even still it costs a lot. I know that Sonny pays a lot more than
I do to build his amp and it's
reflected in the price. We often joke about getting a job at McDonalds to
pay the bill's. The reason that
we do this isnt for the cash. Shure, we both like to think that there's a
big break of some sort in our future
but the reality of it is that we like what we do and who we have the
opportunity to deal with. I get to talk
to people of all skill levels from all over the world. Better yet, I get
calls from a lot of them telling me how happy
they are. That right there is the payment. I play in a band and I know that
theres no money in gigging. I'm
a gear junkie and I cant afford the gear that I want. My whole idea was to
put some cash back in the players
pocket. My original sale price was going to be $1100. It didnt take long to
realize that at that price I would
be paying people to have one of my amps. I guess that this whole rant is
just to say that although it sounds like
a lot to buy a boutique amp, you really get a lot of value from it. If I can
get big like Fender and buy
parts by the truck load at deep discounts, I promise that it will be
reflected in the re-sale price.

Scooter




>
> Hey, all-
>
> As someone who feels that he has never gotten a great sound out of an
> amp, I've been following the Meteor thread w/ interest. The
> description of these amps sound like the bomb! However, aren't these
> amps (and the Sonny Jr's and the Hollands, etc.) around $2000.00?
>
> I have a vintage Deluxe Reverb that needs around $300 for repairs, and
> I'm having a tough time coming up w/ the dough for that. I also have a
> little Gibson GA 5 that I used w/ the Deluxe to give more rip on the
> high end (my deluxe is VERY base-y), but it was getting so beat-up at
> the jams I had to take it off the road. I've had these amps and a
> broken Gibson Falcon for about twenty years now.
>
> Music generally brings in about $350 a month. Factor in harp-
> replacement, (I usually have to replace at least one harp each week)
> the cost of customised harps (which should be repaired for free if I
> could just get them back to my customizer in time, which I can't)
> upgrading the PA, getting to the gigs, etc and there's not a lot left.
>
> The guys who come to my gigs w/ these beautiful boutique amps never
> seem to be working musicians, but mostly weekend warriors with no kids
> and decent jobs and plenty of disposable income! In fact, here in DC,
> I don't know one single pro harp player who can afford a boutique amp.
>
> Either the economics of playing gigs mean little to the lucky Meteor
> owners or I'm not asking for enough money for my efforts.
>
> I would love to have a 50 watt amp that still ripped at low volume. My
> harp customizer brought in a Sonny Jr one night and there it was! What
> a sound! And all I have to do is withdraw my two kids from college and
> sell the house! For the time I played through that amp, it seemed
> worth it. Now, I'm not so sure.
>
> Best,
> Bret
>
>
>
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