Marshall Price Drops

[Badonkey Kong]

It doesn't , it's unique for the SJ.

Thanks! We have a contender!

 

[Tanax]

The thing is that most US brand prices in Europe aren't actually THAT overpriced, considering they are adding 25% VAT in my case (Sweden) to the US price.

The problem IMO is that US brands builds and prices their amps so darn high to begin with, even in the US.
Look at Friedman for instance, which is commonly compared to Marshall.

In Europe, a Marshall SC20H is 850€~ whereas a Friedman PT20 V2 is a whopping 1800€~.
In the US, the Marshall SC20H used be around $1700 if I'm not mistaken, whereas the Friedman PT20 V2 is like $1500?

This might make the Friedman a better deal in the US compared to Marshall.
But it's still A LOT more than the 850€ the Europeans pay for the SC20H. $1500 for a 20W amp is insane and the only reason US people think it's a good deal is because it's $200 less than $1700.

Having Marshall substantially lower their prices in the US will hopefully force Friedman (and possibly other amp brands as well) to lower their prices in order to compete. This will in turn lead to lower prices of these US brands in Europe as well.

 

[gearJunkie]

The thing is that most US brand prices in Europe aren't actually THAT overpriced, considering they are adding 25% VAT in my case (Sweden) to the US price.

The problem IMO is that US brands builds and prices their amps so darn high to begin with, even in the US.
Look at Friedman for instance, which is commonly compared to Marshall.

In Europe, a Marshall SC20H is 850€~ whereas a Friedman PT20 V2 is a whopping 1800€~.
In the US, the Marshall SC20H used be around $1700 if I'm not mistaken, whereas the Friedman PT20 V2 is like $1500?

This might make the Friedman a better deal in the US compared to Marshall.
But it's still A LOT more than the 850€ the Europeans pay for the SC20H. $1500 for a 20W amp is insane and the only reason US people think it's a good deal is because it's $200 less than $1700.

Having Marshall substantially lower their prices in the US will hopefully force Friedman (and possibly other amp brands as well) to lower their prices in order to compete. This will in turn lead to lower prices of these US brands in Europe as well.

We can only dream.

 

[Whizzinby]

Having Marshall substantially lower their prices in the US will hopefully force Friedman (and possibly other amp brands as well) to lower their prices in order to compete. This will in turn lead to lower prices of these US brands in Europe as well.

Yeah I was wondering about the knock-on effect for all amp makers with Marshall’s being sanely priced here now. There’s been a sub $2,500 safe zone for a lot of amps to exist in and boutique amps looked priced a lot more rationally when all the Marshalls were ridiculously overpriced.

I wonder if we won’t see some price movement from other brands as a result.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

The thing is that most US brand prices in Europe aren't actually THAT overpriced, considering they are adding 25% VAT in my case (Sweden) to the US price.

The problem IMO is that US brands builds and prices their amps so darn high to begin with, even in the US.
Look at Friedman for instance, which is commonly compared to Marshall.

In Europe, a Marshall SC20H is 850€~ whereas a Friedman PT20 V2 is a whopping 1800€~.
In the US, the Marshall SC20H used be around $1700 if I'm not mistaken, whereas the Friedman PT20 V2 is like $1500?

This might make the Friedman a better deal in the US compared to Marshall.
But it's still A LOT more than the 850€ the Europeans pay for the SC20H. $1500 for a 20W amp is insane and the only reason US people think it's a good deal is because it's $200 less than $1700.

Having Marshall substantially lower their prices in the US will hopefully force Friedman (and possibly other amp brands as well) to lower their prices in order to compete. This will in turn lead to lower prices of these US brands in Europe as well.

Marshall build stuff on such a different scale to Friedman that it’s hard to compare prices. Even Friedmans 20W amps and Runts which are made more to a budget are probably way more expensive to build than most of Marshalls product line. If they’re a similar price to buy, Friedman’s are much better value for what you get IMO (and I’m a Marshall nut).

 

[Badonkey Kong]

 

[Whizzinby]

There's a really good chance a purveyor of the official amp of TGF will have a price reduction very soon too, though not as much as Marshall's decrease. Just sayin'.

 

[Tanax]

Marshall build stuff on such a different scale to Friedman that it’s hard to compare prices. Even Friedmans 20W amps and Runts which are made more to a budget are probably way more expensive to build than most of Marshalls product line. If they’re a similar price to buy, Friedman’s are much better value for what you get IMO (and I’m a Marshall nut).

I'm obviously not saying that Friedman PT V2 should be €850 like a Marshall SC20H. Friedman is more boutique (important to note though is that boutique doesn't mean higher quality, but more so that Friedman can't achieve economy of scale like you mentioned) and so higher prices are expected. But €850 vs €1800 is NOT an acceptable price difference.

If Marshall SC20H in US gets lowered to $850, I don't think $1500 for the Friedman is even acceptable.
But again, we'll see. I don't know what Marshall's current prices in the US are now after the drop, or if even all their lineup has dropped or only specific amps. But whatever it is, it will be interesting to see how the market reacts and if other brands will be forced to lower their prices too as a result :)

 

[laxu]

The thing is that most US brand prices in Europe aren't actually THAT overpriced, considering they are adding 25% VAT in my case (Sweden) to the US price.

Depends heavily on the brand. Mesas used to be insanely expensive until they did the same thing as Marshall have done now - changed distributors.

But there's still a lot of crazyness in pricing. There's no way to justify why a Suhr SL67 is 3999 € (incl 24% VAT) for a Superlead clone with a PPIMV and a few switches on it. That's 500 € more than a freakin' Diezel VHX!

A Friedman BE-100 Deluxe at 4699 € is also pretty hard to swallow despite its 3 channels and other bells and whistles. They of course have other amps that are a lot more acceptably priced.

Don't even get me started on anything Dumble-based. Those live in another price echelon with IMO no justification for the cost other than "people who want a Dumble tone will pay". Which is good business.

In general though, it's not worth buying US made amps in Europe and vice versa.

 

[Whizzinby]

Depends heavily on the brand. Mesas used to be insanely expensive until they did the same thing as Marshall have done now - changed distributors.

But there's still a lot of crazyness in pricing. There's no way to justify why a Suhr SL67 is 3999 € (incl 24% VAT) for a Superlead clone with a PPIMV and a few switches on it. That's 500 € more than a freakin' Diezel VHX!

A Friedman BE-100 Deluxe at 4699 € is also pretty hard to swallow despite its 3 channels and other bells and whistles. They of course have other amps that are a lot more acceptably priced.

Don't even get me started on anything Dumble-based. Those live in another price echelon with IMO no justification for the cost other than "people who want a Dumble tone will pay". Which is good business.

In general though, it's not worth buying US made amps in Europe and vice versa.

Friedman amps like the BE-100 Deluxe are stupidly priced here too. ($3,999)

My guess is Marshall is gonna start taking a big chunk out of everyone’s ass with these new prices.

 

[laxu]

Friedman amps like the BE-100 Deluxe are stupidly priced here too. ($3,999)

My guess is Marshall is gonna start taking a big chunk out of everyone’s ass with these new prices.

I'm interested in how that reflects on the European brands here in Europe, where a JVM410 is only 1290€ and e.g a Diezel VH4 for 2899 €. I would assume the pricing of the European brands is set somewhere in between their American counterparts and what the cheaper European brands (Marshall, Vox, Orange or ENGL) cost.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Friedman =

 

[spawnofthesith]

I don’t get the hype. But I do dig the big boy Dirty Shirley and Smallbox.

I think the tones are great, my issue is with the proprietor who I think is a c*nt. But that's just me holding a 15 year grudge

 

[MirrorProfiles]

The thing is that most US brand prices in Europe aren't actually THAT overpriced, considering they are adding 25% VAT in my case (Sweden) to the US price.

The problem IMO is that US brands builds and prices their amps so darn high to begin with, even in the US.
Look at Friedman for instance, which is commonly compared to Marshall.

In Europe, a Marshall SC20H is 850€~ whereas a Friedman PT20 V2 is a whopping 1800€~.
In the US, the Marshall SC20H used be around $1700 if I'm not mistaken, whereas the Friedman PT20 V2 is like $1500?

This might make the Friedman a better deal in the US compared to Marshall.
But it's still A LOT more than the 850€ the Europeans pay for the SC20H. $1500 for a 20W amp is insane and the only reason US people think it's a good deal is because it's $200 less than $1700.

Having Marshall substantially lower their prices in the US will hopefully force Friedman (and possibly other amp brands as well) to lower their prices in order to compete. This will in turn lead to lower prices of these US brands in Europe as well.

I don't disagree really, but I think being made in USA, on a smaller scale and using higher spec parts really does add up.

Talking used prices here, but I paid about £2k used for my BE100, the 20W amps and Runts go for about £1000 used. If I were to source my own parts for one of those circuits it wouldn’t come out much less, and it would still take someone to built it. 20W Marshalls are maybe £500-600 used, the 100W vary depending on model and year (DSL/JVM can be dirt cheap, Jubilee reissues are £750-800, 1959SLP/1987/£900-1000, 2203x £1500, vintage ones a little more). I think the used Friedman prices are in line with that at least.

The fact Marshall and Ceriatone can build them cheaper doesn’t mean the boutique brands are necessarily a ripoff - they just have different margins to work in and certain compromises may have no bearing on how the user feels about them.

The Ecstasy below costs nearly £5000z

Buy the Bogner Ecstasy 20th Anniversary Head 100W 6L6 Comet/Salt and Pepper Valve Amp Head

The Bogner Ecstasy 20th Anniversary Head lives up to it's name providing pure tonal bliss from it's 3 channel all tube design.

www.guitarguitar.co.uk

SLO100 is £4000, JP2C and Mark VII are over £4000 too. Two Rock and Magnatone are on another level beyond that.

 

[Byrdman]

I don't disagree really, but I think being made in USA, on a smaller scale and using higher spec parts really does add up.

Talking used prices here, but I paid about £2k used for my BE100, the 20W amps and Runts go for about £1000 used. If I were to source my own parts for one of those circuits it wouldn’t come out much less, and it would still take someone to built it. 20W Marshalls are maybe £500-600 used, the 100W vary depending on model and year (DSL/JVM can be dirt cheap, Jubilee reissues are £750-800, 1959SLP/1987/£900-1000, 2203x £1500, vintage ones a little more). I think the used Friedman prices are in line with that at least.

The fact Marshall and Ceriatone can build them cheaper doesn’t mean the boutique brands are necessarily a ripoff - they just have different margins to work in and certain compromises may have no bearing on how the user feels about them.

The Ecstasy below costs nearly £5000z

Buy the Bogner Ecstasy 20th Anniversary Head 100W 6L6 Comet/Salt and Pepper Valve Amp Head

The Bogner Ecstasy 20th Anniversary Head lives up to it's name providing pure tonal bliss from it's 3 channel all tube design.

www.guitarguitar.co.uk

SLO100 is £4000, JP2C and Mark VII are over £4000 too. Two Rock and Magnatone are on another level beyond that.

But who is really buying those amps for those prices and how many are they selling? I dont disagree that their not worth it to someone, but who is their target audience? I would think more Pro Level Rock Stars are buying Marshalls, Mesa's, Fender's, etc. than those amps, but I could be wrong. I have seen a lot of rig rundowns on all the bands I like and I have never seen those being used by touring musicians. Maybe Pro Studios have them available for recording, but IMO, it would probably be a lot cheaper to rent than own.

 

[GuitarBilly74]

I like Friedman amps but they're different than Marshalls. Same DNA but more hi-fi and polished. Which could be a good thing depending on what you want.

But there is a rawness you get from pushing a plexi or 800 that the Friedmans can't get.

Again I like them, but they're not Marshalls.

 

[GuitarBilly74]

As you say, they're different. But I'd rather have a Marshall than most Friedmans. Even a DSL.

Yeah I currently have 3 Marshalls and no Friedmans so I have to agree.

I had the Runt 50 and the DS40, and they were both great amps. I really have nothing negative to say about them but next to any good Marshall, they sound polished and tame.

 

[Mongillo19]

I'll say it again that I love these price drops but when was the last time SW had one of big boy 800, silver jub etc in stock?

Genuinely curious

 

[Mongillo19]

Oh, you wanted to be able to buy it too? Picky, picky.

Probably for the best they stay out of stock

 

[Mongillo19]

I'm just glad we barely had any in stock, because with these price drops, we'd get fucked on the cost. I mean, yay consumer. But it sucks when the buy-in is at the old cost.

Yeah I bet. Especially with such a juicy price drop.