Amp Builders/Tech: Have you ever considered becoming an amp builder

Arkless_Electronics

I do make high end hi-fi amps on a small scale, hand built etc and agree with all the above!
The main problem is customers.... lack of them.....  and the fact that they want the moon on a stick.... are obsessed with brand names... VERY conservative etc etc.

Take something like a 20W made in China practice amp selling for £100, the likes of me can't buy the components for what the finished amp sells for in the music shop after the manufacturer, distributor and dealer have all had their cut! (assuming "one off" quantities).

At the opposite end of the market people such as myself can often undercut something commercially made which is £3500 and do it for maybe £2700, but then people won't buy it because with such an expensive purchase they worry that only a big brand name will keep any resale value....

Building true one off's at the top end is something I do offer, things such as ultimate sound quality mic pre amps for recording, but it is very rare to get any trade from this as, by the nature of a one off, you can't try before you buy!! Doh!!

Sporky

jpfamps said:

As Sporky alludes to, if you are building amps, how much of the building do you do in house?

It doesn't bother me if some/many parts are bought in (I bought in undrilled enclosures and all the pots and ohter components, made my own CNC'd PCBs), though I do expect a bit of transparency. Similarly it doesn't bother me if the circuit is derivative, it's the sound and reliability that matter (also the blue tolex).

It was more a comment on people wanting the mass produced look and price with all the clever bits that the factory pedals don't have and a bit more personality - but not too much.

There seems to be a disconnect between understanding that building things one at a time in the UK is more expensive, and the thing I've read here a lot that's along the lines of "at that price I want..." and a list of features that are the result of being built in bulk.

The parallel that often occurs to me is that it's a lot easier to build 100,000 of something than it is to build just one. Anyone who doesn't believe me should try making an entirely DIY laptop. Or even a saucepan.

Cabicular

Same thing in any industry though
Sometimes people don't understand why it costs £250,000 for a bit of bespoke software when they can by Microsoft office for a few hundred quid ...

jpfamps

I think the "boutique" amp and pedal market only survives because the amp and pedal market is very small, and thus the economy of scale hasn't brought the price down to a level where the prices a one man band in the UK have to charge are not completely out of kilter with the rest of the industry.

As Sporky says, try making a "handmade" laptop. Or a car.

One thing I do find amusing is that a lot of builders make a point that they build stuff "one at a time", ie using the most inefficient and error prone method.