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paulyc
Well-known member
Nick has it…
A certain someone supposedly has a new shop in Cali and looks to be building amps again.....
RedPlated
Well-known member
These estimates of profits in amp building are way off, just FYI. $800 to build an amp with high end components and done the right way is never going to happen. Double that. Plus add all the wire, solder, shipping boxes, packing materials etc, etc…that you’ll be paying for. The profits are nowhere near what some of you guys are estimating.
Good transformers, tubes and a bare chassis will be over $700 by themselves, if you’re buying retail. Add $300 for a head shell. So you’re already at $1k. Then all the components, pots, PCB, fx loop, speaker and input jacks, power switches, face plates …the list goes on and on.
Parts and supplies are outrageously expensive compared to what they were just a couple years ago. Some have gone up 40% or more. A 1lb spool of good solder is $45 now.
Good transformers, tubes and a bare chassis will be over $700 by themselves, if you’re buying retail. Add $300 for a head shell. So you’re already at $1k. Then all the components, pots, PCB, fx loop, speaker and input jacks, power switches, face plates …the list goes on and on.
Parts and supplies are outrageously expensive compared to what they were just a couple years ago. Some have gone up 40% or more. A 1lb spool of good solder is $45 now.
FourT6and2
Well-known member
Agreed. That said, I'd build 50-watt Joses for people for $4K a pop lol.
the4thlast1
Well-known member
When you have guys like Jeremy (Ground Zero) and Shea (Monomyth) modding Marshall’s why would anyone roll the dice with Cameron?
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VonBonfire
Well-known member
"A fool and his money are soon parted".
thegame
Well-known member
A fool and his thoughts are soon posted in OT
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VonBonfire
Well-known member
For a guy who has gotten to live such a long life, you sure are a crotchety son of a gun in the mornings.
rsm
Well-known member
just get your favorite Marshall and a Boss SD-1.
Bram576
Well-known member
Because we have tone tweakers in here chasing the dragon.
Like other amps discussed I literally think it’s just confirmation bias, and the name attached to it. Blindfolded no one would be able to tell shit.
I’m on the same page as you. I have multiple builds from both guys, easy to work with, and sound great.
OUTLAW1969
Well-known member
If you are able to duplicate the sound and tone of the gain side of that Cameron modded JMP in the Jason Tong / HeadFirst clip, we definitely need to talk.
Not sure of how to describe it, but everyone knows "that" Cameron sound anyway.........note separation / articulation, slightly congested, and very "up front" / present tone.
This is very accurate regarding other clones and mods. The schematics are out there, even ones that are supposedly directly from Mark, but none have absolutely "nailed it". There are ALOT of Jose circuit replicas, and those are perfect representations of the schematics, but whatever Cameron does extra, is like the "icing on the cake".
I have other amps, from other builder's, that sound better than a Cameron Jose, but as far as that particular "flavor" that Mark's amps have, no one has duplicated it, yet.
So, like RacerXRated has stated, Mark obviously tweaks and experiments until he gets it right, but there also appears to be a missing link that no one (that I know of, at least), has stumbled upon. Alot of builders have gotten extremely close, but no one has perfected it yet.
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OUTLAW1969
Well-known member
I would also love to hear Nick's version of the Cameron HG Jose circuit, as other's have raved about the perfection of his mods.
RaceU4her
Well-known member
tonally i agree, but its the feel with mine that sets it apart from other amps, its the only amp ive played that has that addictive iic+ kind of bounce to it that is just so nice when really laying a thrash down. i read about the feel of both those amps for years for years and years and always kind of scoffed at it, but having both now i understand, its like having two equally hot chicks but one of them fucks you in a way that makes you fall in love instead of sending them back to the stable, whether that is marks tweaking of each amp or it is just a thing in my mind im not really sure, but it is a thing for me at least.
romanianreaper
Well-known member
Yep, it is a one of a kind. If I knew what that tone was, I already would have had someone make that for me.
It is a tone that gives you goosebumps when you hear it and you seek out. I've heard an Aldrich and Jose in person qnd both had that "to die for" tone.
Zachman used one of our buddy's Cameron (a Jose) with his rack full of goodies, and it absolutely smoked.
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VonBonfire
Well-known member
Hey do you know what ever happened to Zachman? He was the one who told me about rig talk in like 2007.....
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harddriver
Well-known member
If it were as simple as building a Jose Marshall following a reverse engineered Jose or Cameron Jose then the Ceriatone Chupacabra, Yeti and even the Molecular/Atomica clones would sound exactly like Mark's amps...yet they don't. I'm not saying they don't sound good, they don't exactly sound or feel like an authentic Cameron amp according to most that purchased them. Mark Cameron even modded a Chupacabra to get it to sound like his amps. By all accounts Ceriatone supposedly even has a reverse engineered CCV model King Kong and no one has ever posted a clip showing it nails the CCV tones.
If you can find one stock Ceriatone clip that sounds exactly like this clip I will retract my statement in full.
Here's a decent clip of the King Kong I found.
shar-vell Dan
Well-known member
RaceU4her
Well-known member
What pickups and speakers does mark use?
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braintheory
Well-known member
I wouldn’t go with Cameron anymore just because I found other amps that I feel are even better for that sound, but that being said, to be perfectly honest I would consider the Cameron’s I had on another level to those 2 in feel and sound (I had and played them too), but they’re also very different flavors and much more modern voiced than the Cameron’s being a lot more ‘80’s and juicy. I think the Cameron’s are voiced more for ‘80’s and wouldn’t really choose them for more modern styles other than the CCV and maybe the right Jose mod and donor amp behind it
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braintheory
Well-known member
Having had it side by side with 2 real Cameron Jose mods I felt the Atomica modded SLP I had (done by Friedman) did nail it and I liked the 2 Nick Mutant mod’s I’ve tried even better. Maybe it’s because they say he incorporates a little Uber flavor in their too (my favorite amp) and the Rev 1 Uber imo has even better feel and juiciness than any Cameron I’ve tried (over 20 now lol). All the Cameron’s I’ve played have been killer amps (no duds IME), but I still have come across a few other mods and amps I liked even more for that sound, so Cameron has been off my list since then, but still among the better high gainers for sure IME, especially for ‘80’s stuff