Ceriatone 1987 Plexi clone, worth it?

[sambo]

Ok as part of my long-term amp plans, looking into the possibility of Marshall clones after many people have recommended me an old JCM/JMP for what I want.

So to get the ball rolling, Ceriatone!

The model I'm most interested in would be the '87 Plexi50 Lead. Not as a kit mind- complete amp.

http://www.ceriatone.com/productSubPages/BSPlexi50Lead/BSPlexi50.htm

Now if I've got my calculations correct, including shipping and customs e.t.c. from the states, it should be around £600.

So, are they the real deal? Am I better hunting around for a second-hand old Marshall in the hope of the saving some cash and getting the 'authentic' amp?


I know Dave (that's Twinfan dave), ordered a kit a while ago, any news?



Any opinions much appreciated as usual,


Sam.

[Will]

Why would you want to get one from the states :P I think they are somewhere in the Eastern land.

[sambo]

:oops:

Are they!?

I just saw all the prices in USD and assumed the States. Oopsies.



EDIT: ah yes indeed:

"Nik Shazwan Nik Azam
1206, Blok D, Rustica Condo,
Persiaran Meranti, Bandar Sri Damansara
52200 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia"

[Prawnik]

I've never built or used a Ceriatone amp, but they have a reputation as good value for money and Nik provides excellent service.

[jt]

:D Heres some clips people have posted of there amps worth checking out. Check out the Plexi 50 sounds they sound good to me. It might be cheaper to get the parts shipped as opposed to getting the amp put together then shipped [ just a thought ]

 :D  8)

 http://www.ceriatone.com/tlbrBorderSub/sound_clips_youtube.htm

[hunter]

Now if I've got my calculations correct, including shipping and customs e.t.c. from the states, it should be around £600.

If you ask me, I'd pay 50 GBP more and get the Marshall reissue instead.

Or if top end, Cornell, V-Plex, Makoamp or sth like that.

[Twinfan]

Have you ever played a Ceriatone, Hunter?  I find them to have a superior tone to the Marshall reissues, plus they're hand wired and cheaper.

My JTM45 and JTM45/10 are both Ceriatone based but assembled by Martin of Martamp.  Great value for money amps, top spec components, great tone, mods available for tiny extra cost (a master volume is $15 or something daft!) etc.  They're assembled in Malaysia and Nik uses locally made transformers and other components, hence the low cost.

If you're after a good sounding old Marshall, Ceriatone is a great 'new' option and they're very cost effective.  They won't have the resale of a Marshall, but I'm not planning on selling mine so that's not an issue to me  :)

[PhilKing]

I don't know if you factored in customs duty in your calculations, which might be as much as 25-30% of the cost.  In the States it is different, that's why I can't give you a good number.

I think it might be worth talking to Martin at Martamps (and now Matamp too), to see how much he would charge to put one together.  You can also get the cabinet from him I think, which might save money too.

I've just ordered 2 amps from Nik.  One is the Overtone Special and the other is a custom amp, which is something I was after for a while.  Basically it is the 18W EF86 TMB preamp with a JTM45 power amp.  For both of them I got the cabinets built here to save on the shipping.

[sambo]

Cheers, chaps. Thanks for the links to the sound clips Jt! Listening now.

Hunter by Marshall re-issue do you mean the ones with 'x' at the end of the model name? I'm not really familiar with modern Marshalls at all.



Dave, interesting stuff. Especially the ability to add options for such little extra cost. That makes it uber-muchly more attractive for some reason.

Just out of interest, how much does Martin charge to assemble an amp?



Cheers,

Sam.

[sambo]

Thanks Phil, missed your post.

I thought I had calculated shipping + customs/VAT roughly but wouldn't be surprised if I had messed it up! :oops: Will be sure to go over that again.

And when you say cabinet- you mean the enclosure for the head right? (Even though I will actually need a speaker cab in the future anyway!) I hadn't thought about doing that, as I assumed it would be too expensive to get one built elsewhere. Thanks for the suggestion- that's something else I will have to get a quote for! Might have to have a word with Martin.

[sgmypod]

keep looking at them and also some others would love to build...

[Twinfan]

Sam,

Martin's prices depend on the amp because the work involved varies.  Give him a shout via his website, he'll be more than happy to talk to you about the options  :)

[sambo]

^Will do! :)

[martinw]

As I'm passing...
My price is about £850 for either a JTM45 or a Plexi 50, in completely standard trim, supplied with a high quality birch ply cab, and with 12 months warranty.
Nik's prices don't include whatever import duties (and don't forget 17.5% VAT) you get hit with. his amps are very well built, but his cabs are not as good as my Matamp souced ones.
There's also the issue of warranty backup.

I don't buy the complete kits from Nik, only the chassis, front and rear plates, trannies and board. The rest I have in stock, or can get.

I also offer matching speaker cabs.  :)

[sambo]

Hi! :)

Thanks for all the info, that's fantastic.

I've already sent you an e-mail, but just out of interest while you're here;

What about extra options? For instance- a different colour cab, adding a master volume, reverb? It depends on the mod of course, but is anything other than bog-standard going to take the price up substantially? And a master volume for example, would you order that as part of the kit from Nik or do you mod/customise the kits yourself?

Getting tempted already! Eek.


Cheers,

Sam.