Hey guys. Long time lurker, first time poster. Just thought I'd chime in here with my opinion on matters.
I know absolutely nothing about the tech of amps, so I certainly can't argue with any technical points or how well something was built, etc. I also think anyone would be foolish to argue about the weight! Though Vox AC30s aren't exactly free of heft and they're still pretty popular.
Couple of points I would like to touch on though:
- In terms of them still being on the market, I think that makes sense for all businesses, but obviously that's not how things are usually done. So, for example, there's no shortage of people who love 1964 Corvette Stingray Coupes. But you can't get them anymore. As far as manufacturers, it is true that with a company like Fender you can get current production models of old blackface (and now silverface) models of the 60s. And they're really good! But that hasn't always been the case. And my guess is that Fender's amp department is doing much better because of it. But remember they used to have stuff like the Princeton verb II, and the red knob Rivera stuff. And didn't they only just start carrying the tweed bassman again? People love the blonde amps, and to my knowledge there's none of those. Same with Marshall. Now they have the 800 series again, and plexi reissues, but there was a long time that their models were what was going on at that time. JCM900, DSLs, or whatever it was.
The thing to keep in mind about that is that Mesa had enormous success with their modern lines for a long time. So, through a lot of the 90s and 2000s the Recto series took them a long way and was one of the most popular amps out there. So, really, in a lot of ways they were doing better than those other companies prior to them resting on the laurels of the old days. So..it's a rather detailed point, but I think important that when he says " Fender and Marshall still make their old school amps," that it's incorrect. They CURRENTLY make old school amps. That's not always been the case.
- As far as too many knobs/settings/dialing in good tones, I can also agree with that to some extent depending on how you view it. My Boogie amps are currently a Studio Pre that I sometimes take for rehearsals, but mostly use it at home for recording and practicing, and a Mark I RI I use for a lot of gigs. Obviously the MkI doesn't have many knobs, and no eq, so it doesn't take much. I see a lot of people get frustrated with these amps though because they look at something like an Ecstasy or TSL and think, "Well, I have 3 channels of eq and gain on those, what's wrong with my Boogie?" And if that's someone's view of amps, I would suggest the Mark series is not for them. The other amps I regularly gig with besides a Mark I are a Tophat Club Royale (Single Channel AC30 flavored amp), and a Fender Pro Jr. Both single channel amps with very limited options. That's what I love, and I view my MkI as the exact same thing. I have two channels I can choose from, but I do have to CHOOSE. I usually use the channel 1 (dirty channel), with very low gain. It stays there all night. If I need some more juice, I kick in a Boost, or my fulldrive, or a Rat or something. If I need to clean it up, I back off on my volume knob. Same as I do with every other amp I have. The Studio Pre does take me a lot longer to dial in tones I like. But, even though a thousand tones are probably available from it, I use about two of them, and know where to set my knobs and eq to get them. If I had a Mark V, I would probably keep it on one channel and possibly switch modes once or something. I like a good tone. Not a hundred. But it's great, because I love that Boogie Clean channel too, and I've used it. So, I look at it as almost having two amps and I have to decide which one to bring, rather than a single amp that's a pain in the butt to channel switch.
This is somewhat related to a lot of people who really want the Fender in one channel and Marshall in the other. I knew a Rivera enthusiast who was always on about how their amps were better than Boogies because of that. I played with his amp a lot, and I think he's 100% right. He had blackface nailed on the clean channel and JCM800 on the dirt. I don't really see that as a superior thing. I love the clean channel of my Boogie. I don't wish it sounded more like a Twin. I wish Twins sounded more like the Boogie. It's like a twin but has this thicker, fatter sound that I'm in love with. And the dirt sound also has its own character. And keep in mind, since I'm not a metal guy, it has nothing to do with how much distortion they can get, because I don't use much of it. I just love the sound of what it delivers.
