Gibson Falcon 5 What !

[golem]

I still think a tube amp made in California isn't going to come cheap. I've seen people say it should cost $500. Maybe, if you made it overseas, did crap QA, and didn't care about the quality of parts that go into it. I do see that the case says hand-wired. And the construction I've seen doesn't even fit with the gray area of what hand wired could mean to me. So I'll give the critics that.

Winfield makes some great hand wired amps for less than what this Mesa costs. But you need to figure the dude probably doesn't make much money on his builds, doesn't advertise beyond a website, doesn't have employees, and probably builds his stuff in a workshop or basement that might not cost much.

[Tonray's Ghost]

I still think a tube amp made in California isn't going to come cheap. I've seen people say it should cost $500. Maybe, if you made it overseas, did crap QA, and didn't care about the quality of parts that go into it. I do see that the case says hand-wired. And the construction I've seen doesn't even fit with the gray area of what hand wired could mean to me. So I'll give the critics that.

Winfield makes some great hand wired amps for less than what this Mesa costs. But you need to figure the dude probably doesn't make much money on his builds, doesn't advertise beyond a website, doesn't have employees, and probably builds his stuff in a workshop or basement that might not cost much.

And let's face it...you are paying for resale value...ie the Gibson branded resale value. Nobody else's handwired one-offs, no matter how stellar they are will retain much value if anything on the second hand market. I have seen guys selling custom Telecaster builds with top flight parts and I'm sure they play like butter and sound like heaven...but no way I'm paying a couple grand without a brand name that at least ensures I can get some of my money back someday should I need to sell.

[tonebender]

I wonder why is he saying they are charging $4000 when they cost $1800? Then he said they would be worth it with a few improvements and they were priced at $3000 to $3500. Sounds like they are priced about right for what you get in the market at that price point. Maybe a little fudge money in there for the badge.

[Tonray's Ghost]

I wonder why is he saying they are charging $4000 when they cost $1800? Then he said they would be worth it with a few improvements and they were priced at $3000 to $3500. Sounds like they are priced about right for what you get in the market at that price point. Maybe a little fudge money in there for the badge.

Truthfully, the guy's video is a bit dodgy. I only posted it so one can see the innards of the amp. Best to turn off the volume and judge for yourself if you have that level of understanding of electronics.

[tonebender]

Truthfully, the guy's video is a bit dodgy. I only posted it so one can see the innards of the amp. Best to turn off the volume and judge for yourself if you have that level of understanding of electronics.

I agree, he has an opinion about the amp and I am sure there are others that know a lot more about it than I do (anyone really, I know nothing) would say it is a fine amp. He just threw in some comments about money/costs that were not accurate trying to bolster his contentions. I was a little baffled by it. I had to go to Sweetwater and check the price. I would agree that $4000 is high, hell that is high for any amp IMHO.

[bc rich]

The Australian dollar is 65 cents - 1 usd. The Aussie reviewer did point out that the price there was way in excess of the exchange rate

[golem]

The guy owns a small shop in Australia, probably doesn't carry Gibson due to changes they made long ago about min requirements for stocking Gibsons. I'm critical of Gibson but genuinely love Mesa amps. So I'm sort of on the fence with this. I'd rather own a used Cali Tweed than one of these Falcons. I'm worried GIbson will tank Mesa. I don't think they have yet, as they are semi-autonomous. They probably had less autonomy in designing a line of amps for Gibson

[Tonray's Ghost]

The Australian dollar is 65 cents - 1 usd. The Aussie reviewer did point out that the price there was way in excess of the exchange rate

Yes, Shane the YouTuber who does intheblues is always lamenting how absurdly expensive imports into Australia are.

[Tonray's Ghost]

So here is an interesting comparison between a hand wired newcomer amp and a Blues Junior

@$799 seems like a decent deal if the components are quality and it stands up to test of time

[bc rich]

The Australian dollar is 65 cents - 1 usd. The Aussie reviewer did point out that the price there was way in excess of the exchange rate

Yes, Shane the YouTuber who does intheblues is always lamenting how absurdly expensive imports into Australia are.

Has the Thailand price for this hallowed Gibson amp been released yet ?

[Tonray's Ghost]

The Australian dollar is 65 cents - 1 usd. The Aussie reviewer did point out that the price there was way in excess of the exchange rate

Yes, Shane the YouTuber who does intheblues is always lamenting how absurdly expensive imports into Australia are.

Has the Thailand price for this hallowed Gibson amp been released yet ?

I have not seen it show up, there usually is at least a few months delay in accessibility in Thailand vs USA. But several major distributors are sure to carry it. Most things don't have as much of a premium as Australia does..I'm guessing there is a large tarifff affecting the Australia prices to try and protect the industry there. Thailand protects certain industries such as automobile manufacturing so if it's not made in a factory in Thailand there is a significant tariff. For example, a 30K Subaru might be 65K here. But most of the major brands have plants here as Thailand is the #1 auto producer in SE Asia. Guitars not so much.

[Tonray's Ghost]

So here is the guy I want to open up the new Gibson:

[tonebender]

I always take my amps to my guy when I get them. He is a lot like the guy in the video above. When he opens it up he immediately knows what he is looking at.