Advice on JCM800 clone

[Zigcat]

I just ordered all of the parts for a 50w plexi. Im at $500 in quality parts. This is excluding a cabinet, so that price seems very fair. The wiring could be cleaned up a bit, but it looks like a solid build. People are saying they wouldn't pay that price are expecting the builder to essentially make it for free, and give a discount on parts. Make an amp for $600, sell it for less? Not happening.

[AntKnee]

Thanks for the input everyone. To steer the thread back on track, right now I'm asking for thoughts on this clone. There's already plenty of jcm800 debate and commentary on the webz for me ro read.

[AntKnee]

I just ordered all of the parts for a 50w plexi. Im at $500 in quality parts. This is excluding a cabinet, so that price seems very fair. The wiring could be cleaned up a bit, but it looks like a solid build. People are saying they wouldn't pay that price are expecting the builder to essentially make it for free, and give a discount on parts. Make an amp for $600, sell it for less? Not happening.

Interesting. I was wondering how much it would cost if I just sourced all the parts myself. The markup on kits is kind of ridiculous. Did you find a kit, or source it all yourself?

[Zigcat]

Sourced all the parts. You can find complete kits, but they are, like you said, much more expensive. But it's a big parts list to compile. And then you have to spend hours and hours building it.

[Rockhorst]

People are saying they wouldn't pay that price are expecting the builder to essentially make it for free, and give a discount on parts. Make an amp for $600, sell it for less? Not happening.

Nobody said that actually, really no one did.

I once build an 18W kit from AmpMaker.com (great kits). That's about $400 in parts + shipping. It's housed in a combo cab by TAD, which alone is like $500. It's loaded with a Celestion Blue and Gold because...why not. So that's, in all $1300 in amp stuff, not counting any labour. I could probably resell the combo cab for $250, the speakers maybe $100 each and my loaded amp chassis is worth diddly squat. It's a 100% comparable to building up a kit guitar: worth more in parts than put together.

So is $650 reasonable for an amp head? It is more than that and could be considered cheap. But without knowing who build this thing and what his track record and street cred is, you should at least be aware of the above. Whether or not it swings your opinion is subjective and totally up to you. Could be a great amp. And if that is what you care about then that's awesome and you are mentally miles above TGP (which goes for about everybody on this board). If this amp reacts to your playing like none before, please buy it!

[Zigcat]

Nobody said that actually, really no one did.

$650 for a JCM Clone seems high to me.

[flanagan0718]

Ok well I also don't build amps just pedals. And he was asking for advice. Plus I haven't looked at an 800 in about 10 years. I was just putting in my 2 cents. Guess I'll stick to the pedal side of things.


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[cajone5]

Pedals isn't too different.  Many think that the cost of parts is a reasonable estimate for the cost of the completed project.  It sucks but it is what it is.

On the amp -- having built only one... I would guess he's not making much on the deal to recoup labor. However, there's always a question of whether or not it is built well and correctly so I would likely avoid it.  It's sad but without a good track record, I think you're stuck selling things at a loss.  Shoot, I still sell pedals for barely more than it costs to make them and I've sold a few dozen by now...

[stecykmi]

seems kind of weird that the tube heater wiring isn't twisted.

Correction: it's kind of out of view against the rear panel. up for debate.

[WormBoy]

Basically, that was my point of view also. If it doesn't make noise or oscillation, I really don't care about the wiring, to an extent.

In a tube amp, I would always worry about the wiring. These things have the capability to kill you. I would never buy one unless I know who built it (and who my partner can sue if it kills me anyway).

[pickdropper]

Nobody said that actually, really no one did.

$650 for a JCM Clone seems high to me.

I'd agree with Rockhorst, and for similar reasons.

DIY amps are just a tough sell.  It's one of the many reasons that I have rejected any requests to build amps for others.  Until you buy parts in decent quantity, it's tough to get the parts cost down far enough to make sense for commercial builds.  If I were to build a DIY JCM800, it could very well cost every bit of $650 in parts.  And, as you say, that doesn't factor in labor at all.  By the time I included the significant amount of time I'd put into it, it'd be totally reasonable to charge 1k+ for that amp.

The problem is that somebody can buy a real JCM800 for that.  And it would have a similar resale if they chose to sell it down the road.  And therein lies the rub.  AntKnee is looking at a somewhat roughly wired JCM800 clone for $650.  The parts are probably worth it, so it might be OK if he wants to throw some time at cleaning it up.  But for a few hundred dollars more, he can get a real one that is a known entity.

[Rockhorst]

Thanks for backing me up there PD

@AntKnee: If you want a JCM800 specifically, hunt one down. If it's more about the sound than the brand (which your post sort of indicates) I think there's a better way to satisfy your GAS. Start looking for a Marshall Valvestate Pro 120/120. It's a very sturdy 19" power amp that can be had for $150 - $250 second hand. Now plug some pedals in there. Any distortion with LED clipping should have enough output to drive that thing. Better yet: see if someone on the forum has a Grind Customs STM-800 build or kit and put that in front of it. You'll have all the JCM tone you'll need at the fraction of the cost.

Or buy a Plexi-ish 18W kit and build one yourself. It's really not that difficult if you've got a bit of a track record building complicated pedals.

Or buy the amp from the original post

Either way, let us know how it turns out.