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From the moment that one of my favorite guitar companys, Gretsch, announced that they would be offering a line of all tube hand-wired I was stoked. Victoria amp company is the maker but who in the heck would pay this for the amps?:

from : localhost/I mean, I'm sure they sound great, but I had no idea they would put this kinda $$$$ on them.

I wouldn't call them a disappointment just because they quot;cost alotquot;. I mean lots of great amps are out of my price range and to be honest there are also a lot of amps that cost WAY more than the new Gretsch amps...

If they're made by Victoria the price surprises you?

Victoria amps are incredible, and they cost a lot of money. As TGWIF said, be disappointed if they sound like crap, not because of the cost.

I remember playing a couple of old little Gretsch combos- I want to say they had an 8quot; and a 6quot; in them. Amazing little Valco sounding amps.


Originally Posted by the guy who invented fireI wouldn't call them a disappointment just because they quot;cost alotquot;. I mean lots of great amps are out of my price range and to be honest there are also a lot of amps that cost WAY more than the new Gretsch amps...

I agree with you, but you have to keep in mind my history with Gretsch. I have owned tons of Gretschs. My disapointment comes from the fact that I have known about them and have anticipated their release for some time and to see how unatainable one will be for me really bumbs me out. I am sure without a doubt they will sound great, but it kinda stinks that they are so expensive. I have a sick facination with Gretsch so naturally if they make something out of my reach it will totally suck.

Hey look on the bright side, I may just have to wait 3 or 4 years!! lol

I'm sure they sound great but these quot;booteekquot; amp prices are gettin outta control. 3K for a little 15 watt combo?

I played a bunch of the big name booteeks in the spring/early summer and as anal as I am about tone, I didn't find any of them *that* spectacular. Very nice indeed, but not quot;all thatquot;. I find the MESA LoneStar special will hang with any of those 5-30 watt class A boutique amps tonewise for half the price. And a Rivera/Splawn/Voodoo will do the same against the Marshall and Fender boutique clones.

IMO of course.

they do sound really really good though......i played through 2 of them at NAMM


Originally Posted by JeffBI'm sure they sound great but these quot;booteekquot; amp prices are gettin outta control. 3K for a little 15 watt combo?

I played a bunch of the big name booteeks in the spring/early summer and as anal as I am about tone, I didn't find any of them *that* spectacular. Very nice indeed, but not quot;all thatquot;. I find the MESA LoneStar special will hang with any of those 5-30 watt class A boutique amps tonewise for half the price. And a Rivera/Splawn/Voodoo will do the same against the Marshall and Fender boutique clones.

IMO of course.

You can always hope you luck into finding an old Flot-A-Tone for $50.


Originally Posted by The Golden BoyYou can always hope you luck into finding an old Flot-A-Tone for $50.

Humor the redneck, please...whats a flot-a-tone?

Personally I think Trace builds as good a quot;plexiquot; as anyone charging twice his price. I tried the Fargen's amp; a Bogner (classic?) and they were sweet, but not *that* sweet. I've played vintage plexi's amp; metal-faces that would stomp all over the Fargen amp; Bogner


Originally Posted by JeffBHumor the redneck, please...whats a flot-a-tone?

Flot-A-Tone was a company that made accordion amps. They sound ridiculously good with a Tele or a LP Jr. I used to see them all around town for $50-$100. In like 97-98, GE Smith did this cool spread in Guitar World or something of a bunch of his cool guitars around a combo amp- you guessed it- Flot-A-Tone. I don't think I've seen one in 5 years. They were all over, they were dirt cheap, they sounded great- I didn't get one because it said Flot-A-Tone.



The ones I've seen were all 2 tone- cream/brown, creme/turquoise. But all had the same metal badges on the front.

I hadn't seen one like this either.

I'm a fan of boutique amps, but I do agree that they overprice themselves, mostly to avoid being lumped in with lesser amps.....in how the public percieves the amp.

An unfortunate example is the Blues Pearl Amp Co. They were perhaps the best Fender style amps ever made....even superior to Victoria. The owner wanted regular musicians to be able to afford them, so he priced them between $700 and $1400. He actually shot himself in the foot by doing that, since people didn't realize they should have been $2000 amps. People lumped them in with lesser amps. Matchless, Diezel, Bad Cat, and Bogner didn't do that......they kept the price high, and people consider them 'the best' because of that.

My advise? Seek out the best amps, but make sure the original owner took a huge loss, and made it your gain. Then, no matter what they cost, you can always cash out for the same price.


Originally Posted by GearjoneserMy advise? Seek out the best amps, but make sure the original owner took a huge loss, and made it your gain. Then, no matter what they cost, you can always cash out for the same price.

Buy used and play for free.


Originally Posted by alecleeBuy used and play for free. that is the Gearjoneser way!

I paid $300 for my Gretsch 6150 and it just ROCKS. Using my strat I can get a lot of the Zeppelin I and II sounds pretty dang close.

Got a real old late 40's or early 50's Gretsch Electromatic. The transformer is mounted right on the speaker! Sounds real clean and nice. Not loud at all but sounds good. All original too except for the cord. Paid $180 plus another $100 for repairs to get her working. I think the value may be in the older amps and not the new ones, unless you want a Fender clone with a Gretsch logo on it. I may be wrong, but that is what I imagine the Victoria amps to be. Just want to make it clear, I've never heard one.

I would give them a listen before you call them a dissapointment. They might not be worth what they're asking for but they just might be. Sometimes you need to pay a little extra for what you get. For the record I wouldn't buy one because I can't afford it but I might start saving if it sounded good.