Is £2000 for an amp "painfully expensive"?

[hunter]

Well I am all for amps anyways, so I don't think 2K is too much for a great amp. The problem with the Venus will more be resale value as there is not so much demand for them.

Then I'd rather go for this Fandango for 1199 at Coda Music ;o)

http://www.coda-music.com/product_info.php?cPath=170&products_id=4708

[nfe]

I'd prefer the blonde bassman - but for a pro or serious pub gigger amp workhorse £2k isn't that much

But you tend to find the serious semi-pros don't spend much money on gear. Sure some do, but the VAST majority have one strat/LP/Tele and one decent Fender, Vox or Marshall. They've probably got a fairly expensive PA, though.

Most pros I deal with are similar, but maybe it's one PRS and a Boogie, or in fact, cheap as hell gear cause the barely earn any money.

Most high end gear goes to serious hobbyists.

I'm generalising, but that's roughly how it usually goes.

[OldGitarist]

I kind of have to agree with the last comment- I have just shelled out £2.5k on a Matchless-  I'm only an occasional weekend 'warrior' (which gives me much pleasure I might add).  Having owned just about every make and model of amp over the years, a high end guitar amp really is a luxury item admittedly - But I justify it personally as it has the greatest tone of any amp I've ever owned - and I've had several vintage plexi's , Vox's etc...etc... for me personally I'd rather spend my hard earned money on great guitars & amps than an expensive car that depreciates at frankly obscene rates... Hence, I choose to drive a cr@ppy el cheapo  Nissan... as ever, you pays yer money & you makes yer choice...

[tomjackson]

It´s Painfully expensive for a Rivera, try and get some email support and you´ll see what I mean!

You are paying so much for the name, the guy invented an okay Fender amp in the 80´s and he seems to have become the last name in amp design....

I´m not saying this is not a good amp, I´m sure it´s the well designed, well engineered mass produced amp I think it is.....

I´m sure you could get better value for your 2k.....

I don´t think 2k is painfully expensive for an amp though, just this one....

[mikeluke]

Most of the crowds in the pubs that we play could not tell the difference between a £2K Rivera and a £200 tranny amp....

I keep telling the guitarists that the only people that notice the tone is them - the audience are basically tone deaf....

IMHO - if you spend that sort of money on your amp it is because you are paying for the sound/tone/fit for the music that you play and also for the 'durability; - i.e. you expect it to last a long time! Hence, for a pro musician they get the value from it - if you gig once in a blue moon then you are buying it for yourself, not for the band/crowd.

Mike

PS - stands well back and puts on flame-proof keks....

[dave_mc]

^ i agree. if you ask me, anything you buy, you're more or less buying for yourself. as long as you realise that, it's fine.

Van Weeldon Twinkle Land is just under £5k

you'd think for £5k they could come up with a less lame name.

Hence, I choose to drive a cr@ppy el cheapo  Nissan... as ever, you pays yer money & you makes yer choice...

:lol: that could almost be identity theft... :D

[Philly Q]

Most of the crowds in the pubs that we play could not tell the difference between a £2K Rivera and a £200 tranny amp....

I keep telling the guitarists that the only people that notice the tone is them - the audience are basically tone deaf....

PS - stands well back and puts on flame-proof keks....

No, I agree.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, the sound quality at most gigs is bloody awful and FAR TOO LOUD.  It reaches a point where your ears are ringing so much from the volume and harsh distortion that the band could be playing through Squier starter kits (assuming they made 50W starter kits...) and it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference.

[dave_mc]

i agree about its being far too loud. I still have slight ringing in my right ear from the extreme gig about 6 months ago- in my defence, the support band was actually really quiet, so idiot me thought, "if it's going to be as quiet as this i might as well try to get close to the front". Then extreme comes on at about twice the volume. o_O I got to the back as quickly as i could through the crowd, but the damage had already been done :(

I also completely don't buy the argument about getting into it more if it's ridiculously loud. I don't see how you can get into it more if it's so loud you can't $%&#ing hear it.

EDIT: what doesn't seem to help is that there are always plenty of guys at the front apparently oblivious to the extreme volume. :lol: their ears must be completely shot, which'd be funny and poetic justice if they didn't seem to be the guys making up the rules for how loud things should be... :(

[shobet]

The pros I've come across usually get their gear for free if they bother to mention it somewhere and have usually have enough money so that a room full of vintage guitars and amps is the norm. So I guess £2000 is sweet $%&# all to them comparatively if they actually had to buy it.

Then again so is a chalet in Switzerland, a penthouse overlooking Central Park, another chalet in Aspen, a house on Regents Park road and another in the LA hills.

What I'd be asking myself is that amp worth £2000 smackers to me. If it gives me the sound in my head then it's worth it, if it does not then it's not worth the money. Simples, click, click...

[HTH AMPS]

Most of the crowds in the pubs that we play could not tell the difference between a £2K Rivera and a £200 tranny amp....

I keep telling the guitarists that the only people that notice the tone is them - the audience are basically tone deaf....

IMHO - if you spend that sort of money on your amp it is because you are paying for the sound/tone/fit for the music that you play and also for the 'durability; - i.e. you expect it to last a long time! Hence, for a pro musician they get the value from it - if you gig once in a blue moon then you are buying it for yourself, not for the band/crowd.

Mike

PS - stands well back and puts on flame-proof keks....

For me personally, I want the best tone I can get for me not the punters in the pub.  I can't get into it if my tone isn't happening.

You can argue that most people can't tell the difference between a £2k Rivera and a £200 tranny amp, but using that rationale we should all be playing Korean Squires and BKP shouldn't exist. 

[dave_mc]

^ agreed. I only play at home, and i have thousands of pounds worth of kit. Plenty of people would think I'm mad, but then I think they're mad with the stuff they buy... :lol:

[Twinfan]

For me personally, I want the best tone I can get for me not the punters in the pub.  I can't get into it if my tone isn't happening.

+1000

[martinw]

Classic fallacious conclusion: "The sound at most pub gigs is poor, so there's no point buying decent gear."
 :lol:

[Ian Price]

Classic fallacious conclusion: "The sound at most pub gigs is poor, so there's no point buying decent gear."
 :lol:

 :lol: So according to that logic, and my partner, I should be okay with Line 6 stuff from now on  :o

[kevinr]

The sounds that we play around with at home in most cases do not work on the live gig! after many years of playing big live venues I found that all these so called "do everything" amps just don't work on the gig, and working in a music shop by day I  could test all this first hand (and did for a short while) I always came back to a valve Marshall through a quad box with Celestions, a few good pedals or quality multi effects unit.