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Drasp's Lil' Chuckster Site Went Live (9V mini amp)


Jumbo Fuzz

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I'm not trying to hate at all...this is just honest questions, but..


6 inch speaker 1 watt battery powered SS map - $375...what am I missing here?
:freak:

 

He had mentioned the speaker is fairly expensive as are the combo shells.

 

Is this a noisy cricket derivative? They can actually sound pretty good. Price is too high for me considering you can get into silverface fenders for not much more but I think a lot of people will dig it.

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I'm not trying to hate at all...this is just honest questions, but..


6 inch speaker 1 watt battery powered SS map - $375...what am I missing here?
:freak:

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

After watching Bobby's demo's and checking out the site it looks and sounds great but that price point is a bit steep for me.

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Definitely a specialty amp, not for everyone. If I could build it the way I want it, and sell it for cheaper, I would. Any cheaper on the selling price & I could probably write it off as charity. If these ever start selling like hotcakes, I'll have to rethink the whole thing & look at ways of streamlining the materials & processes.

 

As it is, this amp is the culmination of MUCH time + money.

 

Not to dig too far, as this isn't an amp for penny pinchers, but if you consider that there are VERY few 100% USA hand built, hand finished stomp boxes selling for less than $150-200, then add a hand built, one-at-a-time cabinet, ~$50 to finish it, ~$50 for the speaker + grille material, handles, feet, stainless hardware, time to hand sand & polish the cast aluminum enclosure the circuit lives in, hand etched PCBs from an awesome builder (John Lyons) + the list goes on. Then totally factor out economies of scale as these are built to order & I'm paying shipping on small batches from a number of suppliers (all top notch small businesses in their own right) - you get the point, or you don't. Bottom line is, the amp isn't cheap to make, and isn't cheap to sell. Probably never will be.

 

I did have a friend joke that I should mount a few dummy tube sockets in it & hang some glass in the back so folks would have an easier time swallowing the price - heck if someone were selling hand-built in the USA 5F1s for this price, with a lifetime warranty, folks would be jumping all over them.

 

Yeah, time to step off my soap box. ;)

 

Jumbo - thanks for posting this. Phil, sorry for SPAMing, I didn't think first, just got excited. :wave:

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I didn't realize it used a 386.

 

Oh yeah, the Noisy Cricket was my 'jumping off point', this is just another step in the Smokey/Ruby/Little Gem/Cricket/etc evolution. All the tweaks are focused on making it sound great w/ this specific speaker & cab combo. :thu:

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Jumbo - thanks for posting this. Phil, sorry for SPAMing, I didn't think first, just got excited.

 

I understand... but I have to apply the rules to everyone. Now that the letter of the law has been followed, you can feel free to answer questions, post clips and pics, etc. in this thread, or any other threads about your products as long as they're started by someone else. :wave:

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It sounds kickass in person - definitely not a toy in anyway. The quality and attention to detail in terms of build and functionality really show. I wish the rest of my combo amps cabs were built as sturdy as the Chuckster - {censored} is BOMBPROOF.

 

I would think this this thing would be the ultimate dorm amp - you can run it off your PP2+/DC Brick/Fuel Tank, etc.

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Definitely a specialty amp, not for everyone. If I could build it the way I want it, and sell it for cheaper, I would. Any cheaper on the selling price & I could probably write it off as charity. If these ever start selling like hotcakes, I'll have to rethink the whole thing & look at ways of streamlining the materials & processes.


As it is, this amp is the culmination of MUCH time + money.


Not to dig too far, as this isn't an amp for penny pinchers, but if you consider that there are VERY few 100% USA hand built, hand finished stomp boxes selling for less than $150-200, then add a hand built, one-at-a-time cabinet, ~$50 to finish it, ~$50 for the speaker + grille material, handles, feet, stainless hardware, time to hand sand & polish the cast aluminum enclosure the circuit lives in, hand etched PCBs from an awesome builder (John Lyons) + the list goes on. Then totally factor out economies of scale as these are built to order & I'm paying shipping on small batches from a number of suppliers (all top notch small businesses in their own right) - you get the point, or you don't. Bottom line is, the amp isn't cheap to make, and isn't cheap to sell. Probably never will be.


I did have a friend joke that I should mount a few dummy tube sockets in it & hang some glass in the back so folks would have an easier time swallowing the price - heck if someone were selling hand-built in the USA 5F1s for this price, with a lifetime warranty, folks would be jumping all over them.


Yeah, time to step off my soap box.
;)

Jumbo - thanks for posting this. Phil, sorry for SPAMing, I didn't think first, just got excited.
:wave:

 

Dont know how much you're paying John for PCBs but you could have them made by futurlec or a variety of other companies for ~$1 each I believe. John makes fantastic boards but I dont think I would order large quantities from him because they are somewhat expensive.

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Dont know how much you're paying John for PCBs but you could have them made by futurlec or a variety of other companies for ~$1 each I believe. John makes fantastic boards but I dont think I would order large quantities from him because they are somewhat expensive.

 

No doubt (and I appreciate the suggestion). I've worked with pro board houses for some of the stuff we do @ my day job. I could get a fully populated, screened, modern PCB that would drop right into the amp w/ board mounted controls, etc. for next to nothing, compared to how I'm doing it now, and if demand is there, it might be worth investing in that,. . .down the road.

 

For now, I really do like the idea that with almost every part I buy for the Chuckster, I'm supporting another 'Little Guy' directly. :thu:

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Very sweet, but just way too much money for what it is.

 

 

See I don't understand this comment - what exactly is overpriced or not worth the money? The speaker, cab, and feature set/circuit design are all top notch and they're made in the USA. Last time I checked, none of that stuff came cheap.

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Cool bro! If i have the budget, i would surely love to buy this! This will be great in outdoor jamming! How long do you think the battery will last?


Btw, nice website. Very classy! Is that your kid in your avatar?
:)

 

Thanks! Yessir, that is the ORIGINAL Chuckster in my avatar. :rawk:

 

I've never finished off a 9V b/c I'm always going back & forth between the wall wart & battery. It tapers off pretty gradually, as the battery looses its juice, you loose headroom. IIRC, Gregovertone used one for a day of guitar lessons & said he thought it was good for ~8hrs before it became useless.

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