Is £2000 for an amp "painfully expensive"?

[Twinfan]

So have you then, as looking at your avatar you've got nearly £2 grands worth of gear there   :P

[FELINEGUITARS]

Like with posh cars it is true that for slight increments in quality past a certain point you pay heavily
But it is the same with guitars too -

What you are referring to is called the point of diminishing returns -- maximum increase in money for minimal increases in performance. It occurs in any market where things are manufactured.

Yes - that was the phrase I needed
For some players it will be worthwhile spending the extra - or Trainwreck , Dumble etc wouldn't exist

[Plexi Ken]

Most guitarists I know wouldn't even consider (or be allowed to by the other-half) an amp for £2,000  They often have MIK or MIM guitars and amps that cost less than £200 and 'dream' of owning an American made guitar or valve amp. When I tell them the gear I have, most think I'm pulling-their-leg.

IMO Guitarist have used the term 'painfully' in a sensational way to up the attention of the reader... looks like it worked 

On another issue, I can't believe the number of BMW X5 I see when walking the dog, don't they cost £40,000   That's 'painfully' expensive for something that you'll trade-in with 60% depreciation in 3 years.

[Lew]

So have you then, as looking at your avatar you've got nearly £2 grands worth of gear there   :P

Oh for sure, the guitar alone is 2.5k  :lol: :lol:

[JDC]

You're viewing the world from your own perspective

pretty much exactly as I was going to say, to a person (not me ;) ) who thinks solidstate harsh buzzy digital stuff sounds alright, it's a lot of money

I don't know much about the tone of this rivera but going purely off the specs, an engl screamer is much cheaper and probably has at least 90% as much tone

[Twinfan]

The actual make and model of the amp doesn't actually matter for this discussion.  It's partly the old "I'll pay loads for a guitar but pence for an amp" conversation.

I find it really interesting to see people's opinions.

[Sifu Ben]

Guitars are more labour intensive, and have multiple price variables, whereas amps are fairly straightforward to manufacture and have a finite production cost. Did the Rivera cost £700 more to make, or take 4 times as long to make as a Marshall DSL 50 combo? I doubt it.

[FELINEGUITARS]

The actual make and model of the amp doesn't actually matter for this discussion.  It's partly the old "I'll pay loads for a guitar but pence for an amp" conversation.

I find it really interesting to see people's opinions.

Dave - you're almost touching on the expensive guitar , expensive amp, expensive pedals and cheap leads

I hate paying a fortune for 2" of patch cable but your sound will only be as good as the weakest link allows it to be

[martinw]

Guitars are more labour intensive, and have multiple price variables, whereas amps are fairly straightforward to manufacture and have a finite production cost. Did the Rivera cost £700 more to make, or take 4 times as long to make as a Marshall DSL 50 combo? I doubt it.

All amps should cost the same then?

Amps have plenty of "price variables", some are plenty labour intensive (I have no doubt that the Rivera has many more hours in it than the DSL50), and do NOT have a finite production cost. The biggest factor affecting this is almost certainly quantity. Think about how many DSL50s are made versus the Rivera.
Compare an Orange Tiny terror, a Suhr Badger, a Matchless Lightning and an Alessandro Black'n'Tan.


I suppose it's ok for guitars to range from a Pacifica to Custom shop, but an amp's just a amp?

[_tom_]

2 grand for an amp is painfully expensive to me. As Spitfire says, I think its because I tend to get more out of cheaper gear (well, my amp was about £500 I think if you call that cheap). And I've sort of stopped caring about good tone as much now. So long as it doesnt sound TOO shitee/sterile/fake and has a british voicing then it should be ok for me :)

The only reason I would consider a more expensive amp is reliability and less noise (GH50L seems to be quite noisy).

[Sifu Ben]

Guitars are more labour intensive, and have multiple price variables, whereas amps are fairly straightforward to manufacture and have a finite production cost. Did the Rivera cost £700 more to make, or take 4 times as long to make as a Marshall DSL 50 combo? I doubt it.

All amps should cost the same then?

Amps have plenty of "price variables", some are plenty labour intensive (I have no doubt that the Rivera has many more hours in it than the DSL50), and do NOT have a finite production cost. The biggest factor affecting this is almost certainly quantity. Think about how many DSL50s are made versus the Rivera.
Compare an Orange Tiny terror, a Suhr Badger, a Matchless Lightning and an Alessandro Black'n'Tan.


I suppose it's ok for guitars to range from a Pacifica to Custom shop, but an amp's just a amp?

Not at all,I have no issue with amps being whatever they cost, my point was that people are less squeamish about laying down big bucks for a guitar because (in most cases) you can see the added value, whereas one birch box with some valves and circuit boards in looks very much like any other. I have no intention of belittling what you do Martin, amp manufacture is a dark art where few of us would dare to venture, but as has already been mentioned, boutique amps are subject to diminishing returns, especially as the thing people are after with boutique amps is an intangible.

[Sifu Ben]

Maybe do amps with figured Claro casings and brazillian rosewood front panels and people will gladly pay 2K plus :D

[martinw]

I don't think of Rivera as a boutique amp. They are high quality, but still PCB amps.
They are, if you like, the BMW to the DSL50's Mondeo. No-one would object to paying more for an Audi or BMW than the equivalent Ford or Vauxhall.

The Rivera is aimed at pros and semi-pros. I have one customer , a professional musician, who's had a Rivera combo for over 10 years that he uses 3 or 4 times a week. I gave it it's first ever service a few months back, and it needed no attention, other than a clean.

"Painfully expensive" does suggest overpriced to me, which I wouldn't say the Rivera is.

To my cost, I often come across the squeamishness about spending big money on an amp!  :(   
Maybe you're right about the bling. Walnut cab anyone?  :)

[JDC]

It's partly the old "I'll pay loads for a guitar but pence for an amp" conversation.

there is certainly something to be said about a guitar being a lot more tangible than an amp

guitars have tons of shapes, sizes, and feel different, most amps are cosmetically a box with knobs on the front, you still have different looking amps but not in the same way as a guitar

[Ratrod]

£2000 is way over the top. This amp was for sale for $1500, including the cab.



It's a 1961 Blonde Bassman.