Cost of a Valve head

[Kevin Dean]

A friend of mine designs circuit boards & knows quite a bit about electrical stuff & he was saying that He didn't understand why valve amps are so much more expensive when the components are so cheap & are easy to put together . So Why are they ?

[Beer of the Bass]

Transformers aren't cheap, essentially. Companies like Bugera keep costs down as far as possible through economy of scale and keeping everything in-house in their Chinese plant, and that's about as cheap as they can be made. Even then they've had to discontinue models that presumably weren't paying their way, like the SVT knock-off.
I build valve amps as a hobby, and I don't think I could buy new decent quality parts for a 50 watt head for any less than about £300, and that's with a lot of shopping around. Ok, that's at retail price, but it gives you some idea.

[Billy Apple]

Putting one together in a bedroom might be one thing, running a business might be another

[Chienmortbb]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1486761829' post='3234477']
Transformers aren't cheap, essentially. Companies like Bugera keep costs down as far as possible through economy of scale and keeping everything in-house in their Chinese plant, and that's about as cheap as they can be made. Even then they've had to discontinue models that presumably weren't paying their way, like the SVT knock-off.
I build valve amps as a hobby, and I don't think I could buy new decent quality parts for a 50 watt head for any less than about £300, and that's with a lot of shopping around. Ok, that's at retail price, but it gives you some idea.
[/quote]Go for 100W and you can up that by a sizeable amount twice as many output valves and double the VA on the two transformers. The transformers are done in small runs , unlike the ones in say a solid state A/B head where the transformers are off the shelf. There is no reason on earth that I can see why anyone would start a new business selling Valve heads. There is a joke that goes like this.

How do ups make a small fortune owning a football club? Start off with a large fortune.

I suspect you could replace football club with Valve amp maker. Of course there are some enticed by the mystique of the odd boutique make and will pay more than I think they should but it is not a volume business for a new entrant to the market.

Edited February 10, 2017 by Chienmortbb

[taunton-hobbit]

I was chatting with Jeff (Matamp) Lewis a while back & he 'priced' my original Partridge transformer sets (300 watts) at well over £1200. - Add in a sturdy metal chassis (around 100+), and that's before you've added the bits & bottles.



Edit - Worth a visit to the new Matamp website - it's all gone a bit thing up t'north..........

Edited February 11, 2017 by taunton-hobbit

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1486765745' post='3234510']
Go for 100W and you can up that by a sizeable amount twice as many output valves and double the VA on the two transformers. The transformers are done in small runs , unlike the ones in say a solid state A/B head where the transformers are off the shelf. There is no reason on earth that I can see why anyone would start a new business selling Valve heads.
[/quote]

Yes, things get more expensive as the power goes up, even more so when you get outside the standard guitar amp size transformers which are available off the shelf. I went for 50 watts as an example because I built a 2x EL34 50 watt amp last summer, so I'm somewhat familiar with what's available. Given that the price of parts is usually only a fraction of the sale price of the product, I can see how things get expensive. I get the impression that for small, recently started companies to be successful they have to go for specific niche audiences and price things at the "boutique" end of the market. There are many small builders selling low-powered valve amps to gearhead guitarists, and very few selling higher powered bass amps.

[doomed]

[quote name='taunton-hobbit' timestamp='1486827972' post='3234841']
I was chatting with Jeff (Matamp) Lewis a while back & he 'priced' my original Partridge transformer sets (300 watts) at well over £1200. - Add in a sturdy metal chassis (around 100+), and that's before you've added the bits & bottles.


[/quote]

Reassuring to hear, I'm waiting on a GT200 at the moment 😁

[Billy Apple]

I had a GT200 built by Matamp and just the fact that it's all built by hand, regardless of the parts justified the price tag, IMO. What irks me are these vintage reissue Ampegs that when you open them up are all PCB's.
My two outstanding pieces are my hand-built Marshall Superbass and Burman MPA and both of them for £400 and under. The Marshall is signed by Jim's Missus and the Burman would kick your teeth out in the pub car park.. but very cleanly!

[Basszilla]

You can't go wrong with a gt200. They are fabulous amps, just a proper meaty tone. Worth every penny without a doubt.

I was up at Matamp last weekend picking up my mk1 after it had a service and new valves, I've owned mine since 2009.

Recorded my band's debut with it recently which is coming out on vinyl soon (shameless plug). I just used a mic on my cab and it gave a great thunderous tone.

Proper amps ✌️😎