Robben Ford Discussion

soultostrings · Newbie Joined: 24 Jul 2008 Posts: 2

I have recently added a gear section to my page that you might find interesting.
www.soultostrings.com/gear.asp

How many of you guys have boutique amps?

I will also add that I recently acquired a FUCHS ODS-50 amp. As you probably know they are modeled after the famous Dumble. Has anyone played one of these yet? I am loving mine.

STS
www.cdbaby.com/cd/soultostrings
www.cdbaby.com/cd/soultostrings2
www.guitar9.com/soultostrings.html
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Melodic Instrumental Guitar Music

AlChuck · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 12:14 pm Post subject:

No boutique amps in my rig, I'm lucky I have any amps at all with the cost of living around here... I have had the opportunity to play through a Fuchs ODS-30 combo a couple of times though, and was very impressed with how good it sounded.

Leftbender · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:40 pm Post subject:

I have some difficulties with the expression 'Boutique Amp'. When is an amp a boutique amp?
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"Don't play what's there, play what's not there" Miles Davis

Millibobs · Senior Member Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 291

Boutique amps can be be found for sale in most upmarket dress shops. They are typically played by Austin Powers look-alikes who say things like, 'yeah baby, it's got 12 6L6's, 8 12AX7's, 4 12AT7's, a tube rectifier, tube powered reverb, twin effects loops and a drinks cabinet'.

Boutique amps are owned mainly by high salary executives who can play basic riffs for visitors at cocktail parties, celebrities who can buy anything they want, some working musicians who live on beans and water to fund their tone and a numbeer of amateurs who actually know how to use them and who sold various internal organs to raise the money to buy them. Boutique amps typically have as many controls on the rear panel as they do on the front. Boutique amps are generally designed and built in countries with warm climates, the most favoured location being California or surrounding regions.

In most cases, boutique amps are owned for less than one year, after which it is discovered that there is a better boutique amp that just came out and which must be urgently acquired. Boutique amps are like cars - if you wait a year, you get the benefit of someone else's depreciation and can then buy a second hand boutique amp for around 50-70% of its original sale value. Tubes for boutique amps are cleverly priced so that when you buy a branded, matched pair, you need to sell another vital organ or perhaps a spare boutique pedal to pay for them.

There is another category of amp, known as 'Great Amps'. Great Amps are sometimes designated as boutique but in fact they can fall below boutique pricing levels or sit far in excess of boutique pricing levels. Some examples:

Marshall Plexi's - old 45/50 watters are lovely (and expensive)
Fender blackface models like my DRRI reissue
Fender Bassman '59 LTD reissue
Marshall Vintage Modern - any model, KT66's - a mighty sound for relatively low cost
Roland JC120
Cornford Roadhouse series - budget brilliance
Blackstar - ex-Marshall tone masters have scored a bullseye
Dumble - 'nuff said
Fuchs - unbelievable, not boutique, just unbelievable
Two Rock - listen to Joe Bonamassa or Matt Schofield

Just a few examples of new and old stuff but in all cases, fantastic platforms for playing great music in any genre by plugging a guitar straight in. On the other hand, you can then turn your attention to pedals and have the same boutique/Great Pedal debate!

Builders like Victoria and Cornell can replicate and add to the tone of great amps and the prices reflect this. Boutique? Depends on your point of view. Desireable? Oh yeah......

The nature of 60's and 70's boutique shops was that they sold fashion items of the moment. Stuff came and went . Great Amps arrive and stay for the duration.

The only boutique I am likely to frequent is the one with the sign in the window saying, 'New, Robben Ford manicure - we can make your fingers work like Robben's!!' Form a disorderly queue..............

Just pocking some gentle fun at people who can buy more expensive amps than I can, all remarks are intended to be humorous and non-litigious......

JohnnyZ · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 6:35 am Post subject:

Great post, MilliBombs! Laughing

Leftbender · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:49 am Post subject:

Exactly the kind of answer I've expected Milibobs! Laughing

I fully agree with you! I never understood what purpose a 10 Watts guitar amp doing $2000,- could have. Perhaps playing it in the toilet. So let's talk about "great amps" in the future. (no matter how expensive or cheap they are)
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"Don't play what's there, play what's not there" Miles Davis

AlChuck · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 11:34 am Post subject:

Hilarious description of "boutique" amps to answer the man's question!

While I have no pricey Matchless or Victoria or Carr or any other such, I do have one great amp - a '64 Fender Deluxe Reverb that I bought in the early 70's for $110 - and one very good amp, a Reverend HellHound I bought recently off eBay...

JohnnyZ · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 11:50 am Post subject:

Well, I will step forward at the risk of having rotten tomatoes tossed. I have a boutique amp, and I'm damn proud of it. I have a DrZ Maz-18 Jr. 2 (different Celestions) x 12 combo, and I'm damn proud of it. I still sound like crap, and I'm damn proud of it! Any questions?

Millibobs · Senior Member Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 291

JZ, that is not a boutique amp, that is a Great Amp. I know the infernal beast in question and will sooner or later add one to my arsenal of sonic weaponry. Am currently engrossed in my latest epic (but not the one with the nun, the quiche and the shrooms....) which will post later this week on my myspace page. It started off a bit Bruce Sprinsteen but has veered off into some sort of Buena Vista Social Club outing. This is what Merlot does for you.....(Merlot was the bloke who taught King Arthur the value of fine wines......)..........hic......

JohnnyZ · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 4:02 pm Post subject:

I love Merlot with 'shrooms, and I'm damn proud of it! Any questions?! Laughing

Millibobs · Senior Member Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 291

If you ferment shrooms, you get merlotshrooms..........

Leftbender · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:58 pm Post subject:

PierreL · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 11:32 pm Post subject:

I have a Fuchs ODS, and it's a great amp, definitely.
But actually I don't care if it's boutique or not, I just know what kind of tones I'm looking, so it could be a 200$ amp that would be the same for me.

Leftbender · Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:21 am Post subject:

FatTeleTom · Senior Member Joined: 12 May 2004 Posts: 191

I'd like to be a boutique player. Then it wouldn't matter which amp I used!