Boutique amplifier is a catch-all descriptor for any type of
instrument amplifier
An instrument amplifier is an electronic device that converts the often barely audible or purely electronic signal of a musical instrument into a larger electronic signal to feed to a loudspeaker. An instrument amplifier is used with musical ins ...
that is typically hand built with the intention of being much better than the mass-produced variety offered by large companies. In the majority of cases, this is reflected in the price. Sometimes they are ''clones'' of older designs, often with minor improvements or alterations in layout or circuit design; sometimes they are new designs altogether.
The boutique term are also used among effect pedals, such as the manufacturer Analog Man.
History
California company
Mesa Boogie
Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969.
Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a ...
can lay claim to being perhaps the earliest boutique amp company: their late 1960s
Mark series, based on the ubiquitous
Fender Princeton
The Fender Princeton was a guitar amplifier made by Fender. It was introduced in 1947 and discontinued in 1979. After Fender introduced the Champ Amp in 1948, the Princeton occupied the next to the bottom spot in the Fender line. Fender Princet ...
"study" amp but "hot-rodded", quickly established a reputation for tone and volume, and was used by, among others,
Carlos Santana.
Since the advent of the boutique amp age, larger companies have released reissues of their classic designs, touting their faithfulness to the original sound and the labor-intensive building process.
Common elements
Some common features of boutique amplifiers include
point-to-point or
turret board construction, heavy-duty chassis,
NOS vacuum tubes
A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied.
The type known as a ...
, and high-end electronic parts and speakers.
Notable manufacturers
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Gjika Amplification
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Bogner Amplification
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Fryette Amplification
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Carr Amplifiers
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65amps
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Matchless Amplifiers {{More citations needed, date=April 2022
Matchless Amplifiers is a Los Angeles-based company which designs and makes electric guitar amplifiers
A guitar amplifier (or amp) is an electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical sign ...
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Dumble Amplifiers
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Trainwreck Circuits
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Carol-Ann Amplifiers
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Van Weelden Amplifiers
See also
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Tube sound
Tube sound (or valve sound) is the characteristic sound associated with a vacuum tube amplifier (valve amplifier in British English), a vacuum tube-based audio amplifier. At first, the concept of ''tube sound'' did not exist, because practically ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boutique Amplifier
Instrument amplifiers