Am I missing out on anything with boutique amps?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Metalhex
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Wow you want to open a can of worms. Read the replies. I’ll give you my .2 cents.
IMO you have your classic amps. New builders making various takes on classic amps. The IMO boutique amps fall into that unobtanium category like Train Wreck or similar offerings. Kind of like the original 58 les Paul’s in the amp world.

Depends on the tone you seek.

And how deeP your Wallet is.

I can do everything I need on a classic Marshall or Mesa Boogie. Having said that I have many other amps.
Beware once you start down the amp rabbit hole it’s very deep and expensive. My amp hoard has changed 2 or 3 times over the last three years when I got back into playing. I’m pretty close to done have a few bucket list stragglers I’ll eventually get. II guess boutique depends on your funds.

We are living in the greatest time ever for gear. From guitars to effects to amps.

Choose wisely. Take YouTube influencers with a grain of sand.
 
Tone Junkie said:
Wow you want to open a can of worms. Read the replies. I’ll give you my .2 cents.
Choose wisely. Take YouTube influencers with a grain of sand.
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This so much. The majority of my amps were manufactured from 1974-2005. The youngest is close to 20 years old and the oldest is pushing 50 years. Only one amp was made in 2015 and that is the metroplex.

Nothing, and I do mean nothing, has even remotely piqued my interest from paid infomercials from gear influencers. As someone else said invest your time in playing more than tweaking. I’m paying a lot more attention to my guitars and pickups/frets/wood combinations than amps now because it’s a major factor to my key tone when you strip everything away.

Be careful what you seek and add, it might take away or mask a problem you’re trying to solve in your signal chain.
 
Supro
Matchless
Park

Even though we take videos with a grain of salt, I would still expect that the tone can actually be recorded and heard by people with headphones without needing more than the equipment used in the demo. I would allow for some variations in analog gear, cab/mic placement but you should be able to get into the ballpark of what the demo does.

Amps of the same make and model off the same assembly line can be different enough to require different dialing points to the sound the same. So each amp is really their own character. That is why IRs and profiles can often be awesome when a choice unit was used in the profiling of cabs studios have used for decades. Choice gear from the population. Stuff basically we don't own nor can obtain only try to replicate. Or get the Profile/IR.

Boutiques and custom vary even more.
 
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Smashedguitarist said:
My bedroom volume is most people's gig volume. I have a Wizard. I played a lot of amps. I could go the rest of my life playing my randall rg150h or the evh 5150 amp i had before it. But that would be such a waste. The way a wizard sounds and especially feels is vastly different from the soldanos or diezels or anything i have tried. It breathes fire. I have never played a MTL or even a MCII. Mids on this aren't Marshall mids, but they are in a similar place. Definitely not hollow. My amp is loud and rude. I wouldn't recommend it if you aren't the type of guy to jump in a river and grab an alligator by the tail. But if you like to be on the edge of fuckin insanity, then it is there.
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It's like a man and his dog.
Lassie!!!! Awe...

To the OP, have you heard "Boutique=Shit"?
It's a "Boondock Saints" vendetta flavored' song
written for the dudes who make music with
their hands and not their walletts$$$,
like hangin' sheet rock..walk home boy!
Remember the end of the world came down
to Joe the Rag-Man figuring out the taproot
of artificial intelligence was as SIMPLE as
a F'n sprinkler valve SOLENOID.
BOUTIQUE THAT!

RIP Joey!!! F**K these pukes!!,
Blast beat their nuts into their brains!!
 
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TheToneDig said:
Matchless
Park
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Interesting! I dig your taste man.

I've always felt that Matchless have the most-sublime edge-of-breakup tones; they sound like a straight DI signal is blended in tastefully.

The there's Park. To me they sound like mellowed / matured Marshalls; just a bit of class added if you know what I mean - creamier, less harshness.
 
I’ve had horrible GAS and have accumulated several boutique amps over the last couple of years. Driftwood, Diezel, Bogner, KSR, etc. I am definitely addicted to trying new amps and then trading them for other new amps. I’ve learned that putting a good eq in your amp’s loop can give you tremendous tonal versatility. Also, plugins and modelers have come a long way. You could get a used kemper or a used Fractal FM3 and run in into the effects return of your 6505 into your cabs and get amazing results!
 
About the Gear Influencers:

My youngest kid loves to watch YouTube videos of these guys opening new toys and talking about them and what not. It's absurd, and the YouTube guys talking about the latest pedal or Synergy module are doing the same thing. It can be fun, sure, but really need to keep our heads on right when this stuff pops up.
 
Monkey Man said:
Interesting! I dig your taste man.

I've always felt that Matchless have the most-sublime edge-of-breakup tones; they sound like a straight DI signal is blended in tastefully.

The there's Park. To me they sound like mellowed / matured Marshalls; just a bit of class added if you know what I mean - creamier, less harshness.
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Even then Matchless = Vox AC30 AC50
 
And man I much preferred the AC30HW to the Matchless DC30 I had. Wasn't even close. Matchless was so unpleasant sounding.
 
On VOX vs Matchless... The Matchless DC30 is the most unforgiving amp I've ever played. Unlike the AC circuit, the DC can be harsh, and it lacks the compression of the VOX circuit. If your chops aren't nailed-down tight, the DC30 will expose you without mercy. These days I use VOX AC15 Heritage + Marshall SJ 25/50. If I didn't have the AC15, I'd pair the SJ with a Matchless Clubman.
 
As others have said, if you are happy with what you have then stand down and don’t worry about anything else gear related.
But, if you are like most of us and wonder if any other amp would give you 10-20% more of what you like in your current rig, then try to narrow down your absolute fav tone and go for an amp that will get you there. For me, a 6505 is a decent amp that sounds good enough; I’ve played a few on back lines long ago. But if you dig that tone then try the SLO, with a boost in front. For me comparing the two it’s simply no contest. SLO has better clarity, punch and blooms like no other save for a Wizard or vintage Superlead.
But that’s just my experience.
 
If you feel you are nailing the sound you want with the gear you have, just leave it. Your wallet will thank you.

I have told this story before here so sorry to everyone who has heard it. I didn't have any amps for years and was all Axe FX. Then I got a couple cool amps (Silver Jubilee, old super lead etc) and then shit went to hell and I started buying. I did not have experience with a lot of boutique amps (my generation was basically buy a Mesa). So I started going through stuff, which was very cool, and still didn't feel I had it. My GAS was insane and I bought basically every amp I had curiosity about to shoot them all out at once so I could make sure I wasn't missing anything. I had 25-30 tube amps in one room for a couple of months and sold what I didn't like. It basically cured my GAS and I rarely buy heads any more, but I have 2 more amps coming just to mix it up. Also I still haven't found something I am 100% happy with (probably never will), but I am really damn close with a few of them. I'm probably just looking for something that doesn't exist haha.

To add to it: I really like all my amps and they basically are almost all boutique, however, I would be happy with a 2203 and a boost. Still, to me, my favorite sounding amp. Though they are basically boutique prices now.
 
Racerxrated said:
As others have said, if you are happy with what you have then stand down and don’t worry about anything else gear related.
But, if you are like most of us and wonder if any other amp would give you 10-20% more of what you like in your current rig, then try to narrow down your absolute fav tone and go for an amp that will get you there. For me, a 6505 is a decent amp that sounds good enough; I’ve played a few on back lines long ago. But if you dig that tone then try the SLO, with a boost in front. For me comparing the two it’s simply no contest. SLO has better clarity, punch and blooms like no other save for a Wizard or vintage Superlead.
But that’s just my experience.
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I thought I was happy with my amps, until I scored the ones that sound 20% better. :D
Now, for the tones I dig, these beasts have crushed anything else I’ve tried, rendering me virtually free of GAS, for amps anyway…
 
The metroplex ended my search for something that can do vintage 68 plexi to modded Marshall all in the same amp. I’ve literally not looked for anything else since - it’s pure masterpiece.
 
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Boutique amps have turned out to have little to no benefits and will have you getting a new one every 6 months, probably for a long time.
 
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