Today's (7) Names For Quality Tube Amp Models, Quality, Etc.?

[arlum]

To explain this post ...... Example of "Names".
In the 1940's it was Gibson and a handful of low production quality builders.
The 50's opened the door to tube amplifiers yet the cream of the crop was initially limited to Gibson, Fender, Gretsch and a few others. By the late '50s you've got the addition of Vox and Magnatone.
The '60s brought in names like Marshall, Orange, Hiwatt, Ampeg, Kustom, etc.

In retrospect we can look back and note the true leaders of amp design, build quality and popularity for this early age in Electric Guitar Tube Amp Production. While all of these company's contributed the true stand outs were probably ......

Gibson
Fender
Vox
Marshall
Hiwatt
Orange


The '70s gave us Mesa Boogie. Sure. There were many others but how many stood the test of time and retained the mantle.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From that time right on through most of the '80s brands came and went. Many are still with us today but none of them have garnered the accolades or respect of the names already mentioned.

Starting in the mid to late '80s and moving forward to today boutique builders became a "thing". In the beginning people thought of them as "raised pinky fingers". Matchless, Badcat, Bruno, Cornford, etc. Even today some guitar players dismiss them. So be it. Today, if you're interested in Quality Tube Amp Builds it's mainly a boutique amplifiers landscape. Yes. A few who started out boutique now produce so many amps that it's hard to call them boutique but they're still relevant.

If I were to name seven Tube Amp Builders today who could challenge the seven names I listed above I would go with ........

Original list

Gibson
Fender
Vox
Marshall
Hiwatt
Orange
Mesa Boogie

Today's list



Tone King
Carr
Victoria
Swart
Mesa Boogie, yep. Still hanging in there.
Two Rock
Dr. Z

I'm sure opinions will vary. I'm not claiming my choices are correct. Look at my seven. Add or delete as you would like to come up with your own list of today's seven.

Thank you. I look forward to your posts. Honestly. This is my true opinion. No hassles . No Problems. I truly respect your opinions.

Rick (arlum).

 

[northernguitar]

Quality may have slipped, but I’d add Peavey to the list. And most Canadian guitarists know the quality and excellent tone in a Traynor.

 

[Highway 49]

I think mass production and Rock and Roll are entwined - Fender guitars with bolt on necks, amps made in factories, paint colours borrowed from popular cars, are all part of the history and glamour.
And affordability is important too - what young kids are going to be able to buy a Two Rock - however it sounds, however good the quality, it’s just a pointless, largely irrelevant great thing if you can’t afford it. For most people, it’s going to be Fender Blues Junior/Deluxe etc. or similarly priced Marshalls or other mass-produced amps, all the way

 

[68goldtop]

Hi!

Tone King
Carr
Victoria
Swart
Mesa Boogie, yep. Still hanging in there.
Two Rock
Dr. Z
...

I see no reason why Fender and Marshall shouldn´t top your "today´s list"
I´d say they´re still up there in terms of popularity, sales and quality.

cheers - 68.

 

[Guerilla Electro]

IMHO The Tone King is going way down in quality : the 90's ones were a work of art , but current ones are ordinary PCB amps at boutique price .
Dr Z seems overhyped to me ( why no gutshots ??? ) , but they have great variety of models and they offer uncommon tubes implement .

The highest quality builders still active (IMHO):
Tony Bruno
Reeves (Hiwatt )

Names that we could add to the list of current builders :

Bartel
Gladius
Matamp
Amplified Nation (Dumble style )

Here's a nice thread with tons of pictures of the most beautiful amp gutshots :
TheGearPage :Most beautiful Gut-Shots !


Louis Electric :

RedPlate BlackVerb :

Dr.Z Remedy : (only Dr.Z gutshot I could find )

Friedman Smallbox V3 :

PortCity Soulstice :

Matchless DC-30 less than stellar ! )

Matchless Lightning : (cleaner looking build, but still nothing to rave about )

 

[VintageSG]

Matamp : Audio art built by people who are proud of their work.

 

[Frodebro]

Hi!

I see no reason why Fender and Marshall shouldn´t top your "today´s list"
I´d say they´re still up there in terms of popularity, sales and quality.

cheers - 68.

Compare a modern Fender to a Mesa and Fender doesn't even come close. But give it a couple of years, Gibson owns Mesa now and it's only a matter of time before their bean counters tell the engineers how they can cut costs and increase margins.

 

[brookdalebill]

Quality may have slipped, but I’d add Peavey to the list. And most Canadian guitarists know the quality and excellent tone in a Traynor.

Garnet amps were cool, too.
I covet a BTO model.

 

[brookdalebill]

Matamp : Audio art built by people who are proud of their work.

I had the immense pleasure of meeting Mr. Mat Mathias in 1975.
My then employer, Picker’s Paradise ordered a shipment of them.
I picked em’ up at the Houston ship channel.
I might the slight, but brilliant gentlemen, and had lunch with him and my then boss.
Old Matamps, and Orange (Matamp) are great sounding!

 

[VintageSG]

I had the immense pleasure of meeting Mr. Matt Mathias in 1975.
My then employer, Pickers’s Paradise ordered a shipment of them.
I picked em’ up at the Houston ship channel.
I might the slight, but brilliant gentlemen, and had lunch with him and my then boss.
Old Matamps, and Orange (Matamp) are great sounding!

I've done the workshop tour.
Their elves do amazing work.
An image I got from the Internet :




Surprisingly, there's one thing more impressive than their amps and cabs. Their tea making skills. I jest ( a little, their tea is amazing ). Little things that add up. Not visible in the picture are the transformers. These things cause gravitational anomalies, they're so whufty. The chassis' are folded and welded. The copper traces on the PCB's are visibly thick.
Old Orange and Matamps sounded amazing. New Matamps and their Green range continue that.

 

[brookdalebill]

I've done the workshop tour.
Their elves do amazing work.
An image I got from the Internet :


View attachment 1272844

Surprisingly, there's one thing more impressive than their amps and cabs. Their tea making skills. I jest ( a little, their tea is amazing ). Little things that add up. Not visible in the picture are the transformers. These things cause gravitational anomalies, they're so whufty. The chassis' are folded and welded. The copper traces on the PCB's are visibly thick.
Old Orange and Matamps sounded amazing. New Matamps and their Green range continue that.

The clean sound of British amps, particularly those that use EL34s is the best, most gorgeous sound of all, IMO.
Matamp, Orange, Hiwatt, and even Marshall excel at it.
I covet one.
I had Marshall’s and Orange amps when I was a teenage wannabe rocker.
I miss em’.

 

[W.L.Weller]

Matamp Series 3000 handmade valve guitar amp head | Matamp

Buy Matamp GT120 UK handmade valve guitar amplifier head direct from the UK factory. Unbeatable prices and free UK delivery.

www.matamp.co.uk

$2100 for the Matamp seems downright affordable if a current production JTM45 from Marshall is $1900.

As I said to a buddy last night, maybe someday I'll be skilled enough or rich enough to justify a four figure instrument. (Please don't ask me the total outlay for my current junk pile)

 

[68goldtop]

Hi!

Compare a modern Fender to a Mesa and Fender doesn't even come close...

Not quite sure what you mean...
In terms of features/quality vs. price?

Focussing on tube-amps, it seems like Fender offers a wide price-range from around $500 to $2500 (or more).
Mesa starts around 2K if I´m not mistaken...

cheers - 68.

 

[Frodebro]

Hi!

Not quite sure what you mean...
In terms of features/quality vs. price?

Focussing on tube-amps, it seems like Fender offers a wide price-range from around $500 to $2500 (or more).
Mesa starts around 2K if I´m not mistaken...

cheers - 68.

Quality.

 

[Cali Dude]

I'm happy to see that you included Carr amps, out of North Carolina. Of the modern boutique amps being produced today, they are my favorite. He has some traditional amps, but has some very unique designs as well.

 

[Thinlinebetween]

Compare a modern Fender to a Mesa and Fender doesn't even come close. But give it a couple of years, Gibson owns Mesa now and it's only a matter of time before their bean counters tell the engineers how they can cut costs and increase margins.

they are of to a helluva start in that direction by firing Randal, too bad, I live just south of Petaluma, would love to see their factory. I stopped in to Ruby Tubes and got a warm response , my dog is welcome there, as well as some great deals.

 

[zook]

View attachment 1273306

 

[Telecastoff1]

SAVAGE Amps...Great build quality and excellent tone. Several models to choose from, depending on what you're looking for.

 

[RockyRules]

To explain this post ...... Example of "Names".
In the 1940's it was Gibson and a handful of low production quality builders.
The 50's opened the door to tube amplifiers yet the cream of the crop was initially limited to Gibson, Fender, Gretsch and a few others. By the late '50s you've got the addition of Vox and Magnatone.
The '60s brought in names like Marshall, Orange, Hiwatt, Ampeg, Kustom, etc.

In retrospect we can look back and note the true leaders of amp design, build quality and popularity for this early age in Electric Guitar Tube Amp Production. While all of these company's contributed the true stand outs were probably ......

Gibson
Fender
Vox
Marshall
Hiwatt
Orange


The '70s gave us Mesa Boogie. Sure. There were many others but how many stood the test of time and retained the mantle.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From that time right on through most of the '80s brands came and went. Many are still with us today but none of them have garnered the accolades or respect of the names already mentioned.

Starting in the mid to late '80s and moving forward to today boutique builders became a "thing". In the beginning people thought of them as "raised pinky fingers". Matchless, Badcat, Bruno, Cornford, etc. Even today some guitar players dismiss them. So be it. Today, if you're interested in Quality Tube Amp Builds it's mainly a boutique amplifiers landscape. Yes. A few who started out boutique now produce so many amps that it's hard to call them boutique but they're still relevant.

If I were to name seven Tube Amp Builders today who could challenge the seven names I listed above I would go with ........

Original list

Gibson
Fender
Vox
Marshall
Hiwatt
Orange
Mesa Boogie

Today's list



Tone King
Carr
Victoria
Swart
Mesa Boogie, yep. Still hanging in there.
Two Rock
Dr. Z

I'm sure opinions will vary. I'm not claiming my choices are correct. Look at my seven. Add or delete as you would like to come up with your own list of today's seven.

Thank you. I look forward to your posts. Honestly. This is my true opinion. No hassles . No Problems. I truly respect your opinions.

Rick (arlum).

What does "quality" mean ?

 

[Hiwatts-n-Gibsons]

To explain this post ...... Example of "Names".
In the 1940's it was Gibson and a handful of low production quality builders.
The 50's opened the door to tube amplifiers yet the cream of the crop was initially limited to Gibson, Fender, Gretsch and a few others. By the late '50s you've got the addition of Vox and Magnatone.
The '60s brought in names like Marshall, Orange, Hiwatt, Ampeg, Kustom, etc.

In retrospect we can look back and note the true leaders of amp design, build quality and popularity for this early age in Electric Guitar Tube Amp Production. While all of these company's contributed the true stand outs were probably ......

Gibson
Fender
Vox
Marshall
Hiwatt
Orange


The '70s gave us Mesa Boogie. Sure. There were many others but how many stood the test of time and retained the mantle.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From that time right on through most of the '80s brands came and went. Many are still with us today but none of them have garnered the accolades or respect of the names already mentioned.

Starting in the mid to late '80s and moving forward to today boutique builders became a "thing". In the beginning people thought of them as "raised pinky fingers". Matchless, Badcat, Bruno, Cornford, etc. Even today some guitar players dismiss them. So be it. Today, if you're interested in Quality Tube Amp Builds it's mainly a boutique amplifiers landscape. Yes. A few who started out boutique now produce so many amps that it's hard to call them boutique but they're still relevant.

If I were to name seven Tube Amp Builders today who could challenge the seven names I listed above I would go with ........

Original list

Gibson
Fender
Vox
Marshall
Hiwatt
Orange
Mesa Boogie

Today's list



Tone King
Carr
Victoria
Swart
Mesa Boogie, yep. Still hanging in there.
Two Rock
Dr. Z

I'm sure opinions will vary. I'm not claiming my choices are correct. Look at my seven. Add or delete as you would like to come up with your own list of today's seven.

Thank you. I look forward to your posts. Honestly. This is my true opinion. No hassles . No Problems. I truly respect your opinions.

Rick (arlum).

With Hiwatt on your original list I don't see why both they and Reeves don't get in on the second list. I own a modern 2022 Hiwatt Custom Shop Custom 100 DR103, and a Reeves DR504 based Custom 100. They are along with Hitone the best built and best sounding amps I have ever played through.