Craig 2 Watt valve amp

eugey · 2012-04-05T18:17:17+00:00

Craig Amps presents the Lil'Big: 2 watt classic push/pull amp Cathode Bias 12AU7 Output Classic "Marshall" valve tone in a small package, but don't under estimate the power of this little 2watter. For more info please contact Benjamin on 082 708 7511

Sean

IceCreamMan wrote btw , the componenets of this amp have been assumed to be best of the best , not actually proven as yet. Each to their own ...

Proof? Well, that is pretty funny ? You could always contact the builder and ask him to "prove" it, but then, you don't really care ICM, right? ?

You're right about one thing though; is there a market for these amps? I hope so. In fact, we should all be hoping that more guys like Bottledtone and Neon Gecko try and make a go of it. More interesting options for us guitarists locally, although *gasp* at a higher price than the mass produced stuff. But in our local economic environment (possibly hostile market ???) , its going to be incredibly tough for them.

guidothepimmp

Well I think Icecreams statement about the proof is fair game considering the arguments used to justify the price was based on top components (whatever that means)

Whether he cares about top quality components is irrelevant.

I'm still curious to know what makes craigs amps far superior quality to jc le roux amps..

shaunf

IceCreamMan wrote ... for my blood 4k for a 2 watt amp is too much..

I don't really understand this correlation you are making between the wattage of the amp and the cost. Are you saying that that lower wattage amps should be cheaper than higher wattage ones? I would think this would be true to a certain point, due to a reduction in parts required, size of chassis etc, but I would also think that there comes a point which one crosses that this is no longer true or in fact even the opposite becomes true. We all know that in most cases for most situations, valve amps are way too loud for the way most people use them, and so when it comes to building or designing these amps, providing enough power or volume is not the issue, rather controlling the volume, while maintaining tone is the biggest issue. Amp builders and designers have for years struggled to build or design really low wattage amps, and so I would think that an amp of this nature is actually quite an achievement in my book. Also, in my mind, if I compare this amp to something like a Marshall Class 5, they're pretty similar in price, even though the Class 5 is mass produced. All I know, is that if I was in the market for a small amp, I know I'd rather have one that an actual person put some care an attention into when it was built, and that it would be easily repairable if something when wrong, compared to a chassis filled with green PC board, and that requires the skill of a brain surgeon to repair, that is if it can actually be repaired.

Sean

guidothepimmp wrote Well I think Icecreams statement about the proof is fair game considering the arguments used to justify the price was based on top components (whatever that means)

Whether he cares about top quality components is irrelevant.

I meant I suspect he doesn't really care to find out...anyway, the option is of course also open to you to pm bottedtone and to ask him ?

Manfred-Klose

well look on the bright side, at least craigamps got a lot of free marketing in this thread now

MikeM

About the J.C Le Roux thing, having seen an amp of his in person, I am talking about quality of components and craftsmanship, particularly of his cabs and enclosures. I got a quote from him for a cab a while back and was disgusted to see how they were mashed together for what he charges.

guidothepimmp

Well I certainly wouldn't mind knowing what components are in there, mainly curiosity though, so if Bottledtone, you happen to read this, and don't mind letting me know, would appreciate it.

Personally, I can't afford to drop 4 large on an amp..

Quality is all personal anyways..

Keira-WitherKay

Custom built , hand wired amps are always gonna be speciality items , and yes i bet you can buy a new cube 80 for that money But in my mind there will always be a market out there for the admittedly more pricey but custom build gear be it guitars ,? just ask Roy ? or amps . And if you select your amp builder well you will own an amp or guitar which is without doubt a cut above production models but you pay for it . And to those who are attracted to custom builds that extra is well worth it for a limited produced item thats hand made , the world is full of exclusive brands be it cars , watch's , jewelry guitars or amps for people who enjoy that exclusivity and for those that don't there's the mass production market . So 4 k for a hand wired amp built totally by hand is not a lot , so if you have an upset over price go buy a cube but no need to crit craig amps , do you slate the guitar builder who charges 40 k for a hand made build or the collector who pays R100 000 for some rare vintage guitar ? only last week i saw a 30's gibson acoustic with a 60k price tag and i'm sure some might hear the gibson and reckon their 5 k tak sounds almost as good ? and who would spend that money on that old guitar , well there is a market for exclusive items ?

MikeM

If it's good enough for Patlansky, it's more than good enough for almost everyone on this forum ?

ezietsman

MikeM wrote If it's good enough for Patlansky, it's more than good enough for ~~almost~~ everyone on this forum ?

Fixed that for ya.

Wizard

"Goedkoop is duurkoop".

IF you're going to end up with the dream item anyway, it can be an expensive journey to get there if you keep buying low-end stuff and selling it at a loss on the way.

Applying this to my woodwork hobby, my most expensive tools so far have been the cheapest ones.
... as I've subsequently sold them at a loss or abandoned them and ended up buying the high-end item in the end anyway.

But ... if that super-duper boutique item is not part of your future, then stop worrying about it.
Just don't entertain the thought ... but don't discredit it either.

rikus

I know this might sounds slightly cork sniffy, but you get an appreciation of the effort once you've built your own amp. Attention to detail and working neatly is time consuming.

My 5watt Fender Tweed Princeton Clone ended up costing me north of R5k (and I sourced my own speaker as well as all the parts for the tweed cab and build the cab myself). Karel Mars built me the amp chassis. Point to point wired, quality components. OCD level neatness. The result speak for themselves. I had it at Nick's place the other day and he was surprised at how quiet it was (quiet as in no hiss/hum). He said he didn't even realise it was on. It nails the tone that I was looking for.

Sure I could have gotten away muuuch cheaper (laney cub comes to mind), but mine has mojo and flavour I didn't feel from a laney.

Norman86

Considering the Marshall 1 watt amps, that wont be as exclusive as these Craig amps, i dont think the Craig's are that expensive!

I still maintain its the labour thats the killer.
but in terms of what would be the most expensive parts, im guessing its somewhere in this order:

Labour, Speaker(s), Transformers, Tubes, snake oil, everything else.

Im going to quote probably the best thing i have ever read ever from tdpri:

Ron Kirn wrote http://www.tdpri.com/forum/4092212-post58.html

something to consider,,, and this is how these things work...

y’all start going on about caps….

The marketing “trolls” out there start seeing the “chatter”… they get together with the discrete component electronics manufacturers and see how good a price they can get on a hundred gross of some artsy fartsy super esoteric looking cap… and start marketing it to YOU….

Some other marketing geek, sees the 10.00 caps and approaches another discrete component electronics manufacturer and gets a price on yet another even more artsy fartsy super esoteric looking cap… and he starts marketing it to youze guys for 20 bux a pop…. Then the next marketing creap in the 5,000.00 suit sees opportunity knocking…. And it continues…

At the present rate, it will not be long before you start seeing 100.00…. 200.00 caps out there… and an evaporation of the Orange Drops etc….cause a bunch of people think a tachyon film in smooth sonic soup cap with oxygen free silver litz wire leads is the defining component that will elevate their performance above the competition’s.

Why do you think there are 300.00 pickups, 600.00 bridges??? 50.00 pots? It’s cause some spent a good part of their childhood being bounced on their head off a hard floor and will spend that kinda money on nothing more than a shot at "being cool" or appearing so.

Y’all beech ‘n whine about the cost of stuff, but ya never realize y’allz the reason for ‘em.

Why wasn’t any one saying anything back in the 80’s or 90’? Huh?? There were cheep Chinese caps available then, there were expensive precision audio grade caps available then... AND…. We were all 25 years younger… and strangely, so was our ears…. And ability to hear all this psudo psycho schidt… anyone notice back then?? Noooo…. Not until some marketing type, looking to expand market share began to proliferate another shovel full of internet bull…

Remember this…. It will save you bundles…. The number one biggie in marketing is…. CREAT A NEED…. If you guys think you need it…. The next “pet rock” is born, and if you think you need it, you have probably been suckered in to their "net" said the spider to the fly...

I trust by now, you all do know how to REALLY gain what you think the high priced caps are supposed to give ya dontcha? Good… just checking…

Ron Kirn

what has that got to do with the price of eggs?! its not just about caps... its everything... Marketing is an amazing tool! ?

MikeM

Ron's post there is valid and can be condensed to: More expensive isn't always better.

Still disagree with you about labour.

ezietsman

MikeM wrote Ron's post there is valid and can be condensed to: More expensive isn't always better.

Still disagree with you about labour.

Labour can make up a significant part. You and Makepeace are not correct in general about labour being 'cheap'. Also, parts are not always expensive. The major reason most manufacturing moved to China is because labour is cheap there. To build amps you need schooled labour, people with skills and they're more expensive to hire. South African skilled labour is very 'not cheap'. Also, everything else being equal, a printed circuit board amp will be cheaper than a handwired one. Always. That is the main reason why custom hand built amps are more expensive than a run of the mill factory amps.

This is manufacturing 101. If you can make many products easily, the main cost is parts. However, if the manufacturing is labour-intensive, as is the case with handwired amps, the parts do not make up the bulk of the cost of anymore. So the actual ratio of (parts cost)/(labour cost) depends on various factors.

MikeM

We are not talking about general cases here.

I am saying that one would not be paying R2k labour for this amp.

ezietsman

Right. In this case I do agree. I don't see anyone paying only R2k in parts for an entire once-off (practically) working amp head. So yeah, Craig is not charging much labour on this, if any.

IceCreamMan

MikeM wrote If it's good enough for Patlansky, it's more than good enough for almost everyone on this forum ?

foul , no one is questioning the goodness of the amp.

MikeM

Yea, lets tear things out of context some more!! ?

Arno-West

MikeM wrote Yea, lets tear things out of context some more!! ?

J.C. le Roux?? Does it give you headache the next morning? Forgive my ignorance but I didn't know they make bubbly and amps...

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