Done Dirty by an Amp Builder!

[Steinmetzify]

I know you haven't heard horror stories from everyone...... There is too many for that to be true. And there are good builders out there.

First and foremost, you cannot make a living making boutique amps period long term. The margins are too small and the customer base is even smaller. The music industry is a flash in the pan industry, today's best gear and music is tomorrows has-been.

And yes it is a crap shoot on boutique builders, their are very good ones out there and bad ones. You have to do research and sometimes that isn't enough.

I will agree and amend the statement to say that I've heard horror stories about every boutique modder I've heard of on the forums. I know there are tons out there I haven't heard of, but every one that's big enough to be discussed on forums, I've heard of a problem with.

 

[Anonymous]

I will agree and amend the statement to say that I've heard horror stories about every boutique modder I've heard of on the forums. I know there are tons out there I haven't heard of, but every one that's big enough to be discussed on forums, I've heard of a problem with.

Even with guys with a great reputation like Fortin and Peters?

 

[baron55]

I know you haven't heard horror stories from everyone...... There is too many for that to be true. And there are good builders out there.

First and foremost, you cannot make a living making boutique amps period long term. The margins are too small and the customer base is even smaller. The music industry is a flash in the pan industry, today's best gear and music is tomorrows has-been.

And yes it is a crap shoot on boutique builders, their are very good ones out there and bad ones. You have to do research and sometimes that isn't enough.

I will agree and amend the statement to say that I've heard horror stories about every boutique modder I've heard of on the forums. I know there are tons out there I haven't heard of, but every one that's big enough to be discussed on forums, I've heard of a problem with.

I know you didn't mean all, just wanted to clarify . But there have been a bunch of bad stories the past year or so it is easy to assume most.

 

[ibenhad]

Too bad people play these guys up and because someone says the amp sounds awesome creates a demand for a product that can't be delivered in the numbers coming in. Guy gets overwhelmed and people get screwed. Hate to say it but that's why I try and stay with the known good entities with more than 10 amps on the street. VooDoo, Bogner, Top Hat, Bad Cat, Fargen and so many others. I know sometimes we just want that "holy grail tone" amp but man to wait 2 years with nothing isn't worth it. In fact I'm pretty sure if you really wanted to you could build a pretty decent tube amp yourself in 2 years with the right books, videos and tools. Some electrical background wouldn't hurt. Just my 2 cents. Sorry you got burned man. Hate reading this shit.

 

[21_guitars]

No more for me, if I get a second run ccv and the amp that friedman has been working on for 20 months.
I'm fucking done with the bullshit!

I don't understand how people can treat others this way.

Sorry to vent, but I hope somehow it works out for you.
Good luck!

 

[Steinmetzify]

No more for me, if I get a second run ccv and the amp that friedman has been working on for 20 months.
I'm fucking done with the bullshit!

I don't understand how people can treat others this way.

Sorry to vent, but I hope somehow it works out for you.
Good luck!

See, this is what I meant.....I have a ton of friends that went this route, and not one of them has anything nice to say about their experiences.....the amps? Yeah. The experiences? No. I know ONE guy that would be willing to do what he did again; everyone else says that the bad experiences turned them off sending amps out to get modded for good. I know there are more out there that would be willing to do it again but I only personally know one, and between that and the stuff like this that I read here, I'd never do it.

How in the hell can you be so busy that you walk past an amp you're supposed to be working on for TWENTY MONTHS and think your customers are going to be ok with that kind of a wait? I've had guitars, motorcycles and entire cars built in way less time, with repeated phone calls/emails/texts from the builders with progress reports and input from them to make the end product better.

For me, if I took a job and a month went by and I couldn't get to it, I'd call the guy and tell him what's up and offer to ship it back at my expense. Or, you know.....not take the job at all.

You guys have a Zen Buddhist like approach when it comes to this stuff. I'd be completely incensed if I had to wait for a guy to do something he's done a thousand times before and it took him years to do it. My attorney would be involved after 2 months, max.

 

[JerEvil]

Too bad people play these guys up and because someone says the amp sounds awesome creates a demand for a product that can't be delivered in the numbers coming in. Guy gets overwhelmed and people get screwed. Hate to say it but that's why I try and stay with the known good entities with more than 10 amps on the street. VooDoo, Bogner, Top Hat, Bad Cat, Fargen and so many others. I know sometimes we just want that "holy grail tone" amp but man to wait 2 years with nothing isn't worth it. In fact I'm pretty sure if you really wanted to you could build a pretty decent tube amp yourself in 2 years with the right books, videos and tools. Some electrical background wouldn't hurt. Just my 2 cents. Sorry you got burned man. Hate reading this shit.

Well yo be fair, there were quite a few Titans working at the time and 2+ years ago no one was feeding up to issues. It was supposed to take 4 - 6 months.

 

[magh8]

so shitty that this is still going on Jer' I hope Zack gets his shit together and gets you that fkn amp already

 

[Erock]

Well yo be fair, there were quite a few Titans working at the time and 2+ years ago no one was feeding up to issues. It was supposed to take 4 - 6 months.

Man, sorry to hear about that Jer, hope you get your amp or money back. I know of at least 3 of the early amps that were damaged in shipping straight from Zach. Two of them were guys I knew, and I ended up getting one of the rebuilds. I don't know when he changed his methods, but his early packing looked like it was stuff he had laying around, with pieced together boxes from other products. I'm sure many of the first models got trashed during shipping if they were packed like that.

 

[JerEvil]

so shitty that this is still going on Jer' I hope Zack gets his shit together and gets you that fkn amp already

Thanks bro. Me too.