Thank for responding Nik. What you're talking about is very interesting. I guess not having the website updated is leading to much of the questions and guessing to what is available and what it not. The new site will be a welcome update.

Most of what I've been posting about is just pure conjecture. Right now my funds are in such a state that I can't afford to buy anything you may offer.    But I sure hope someday that will be a different story.

Thanks again for all you do. My OTS HRM is just a joy to play and owe you a bunch of gratitude for it.

I think you have 2 separate issues here that you are combining as one

I too have massively improved my tone since I started ignoring what my local shops can afford to stock, and researching things myself. This includes boutique amps & pedals, and clones of both. This sounds the same as your experience of taking control of your sound, and ignoring the latest mass-market PCB amps in the shops

However, I have not built any of them, and to me, this has improved the quality of this experience, I built a DDL and some other pedals when I was 19/20-ish with a low income, the results were never good, and it took a lot of time. If I had less money, or more of an interest in building kits (and a lot more free time), I would assemble them, and I wish anyone well in those situations, but building them myself was not necessary to improve my tone.

I assume that Axiology meant for many people, building the amps can cut into playing time, so don't take that as a criticism.
Also, I find that I have to try to stop myself beign distracted with sitting on forums, and tweaking my latest studio wiring changes, installing patches for Protools, plugins, installing new monitors, etc. These all have this effect too, which is another reason I would try to avoid getting a soldering iron out

So
keep building if you like doing it, it is nice to make things if you have the time, but since for kit assembly it's usually like painting-by-numbers, it's more like the satisfaction of mastering a craft, whereas with the guitar playing, it can become the satisfaction of mastering an art, which is why I prefer playing
(same with decorating my house, I feel satisfied when I do it, but I'd rather pay a professional if I had the money)

I reread my quote here, and I don't see anything that doesn't address and concur with what you said.  Of course, scratch builds ARE time consuming, that's why a kit is appropriate.  The problem lies in the people who are inbetween, in both skill and time available to build an amp. 

If you are referring to the board assembly comment I made, I'm referring to the soldering.  I did that every afternoon, five days a week, for a year and a half while finishing my degree.  The soldering isn't a problem.  I have a number of BOM's that people have graciously posted that will make any eventual order MUCH EASIER to get together.  Not EASY or QUICK, but better than starting completely from scratch. I'm not diminishing at all what it takes to build an amp.

Lets not mix up the people that purchase the amp because they are looking for a certain tone at a really reasonable price and the other people who build the amp because they are looking for certain tone at a really reasonable price that they took part in building. Nothing wrong with either one
Tone is addictive but building your tone is equally if not more addictive. No one should buy a kit to build just because it takes $100 off the price tag, they will find it cost's them more in the long run. But if someone is interested in getting into the amp building as a hobby as well as ending up with a great boutique amp at the end, I believe a kit is the way to start. If kits were not available when I first became interested I may have never built an amp that I can feel quite proud of since sourcing the parts alone would have been a rather scary and extreme first build experience. Now that I have built 4 amps putting together a BOM and sourcing my own parts is not as scary but it is a PITA especially when you realize you forgot 1 little cap or somethingand have to pay shipping on something little like that again.

BTW I work full time am married and have 2 young boys, if you enjoy doing something as much as I enjoy building amps you will find time.

This is all just my opinion and I speak for no-one but myself

Have a great weekend

Respectfully

Todd

Interior decoration?
Are you sure you weren't in the carpet cleaning thread up in the general section

BTW Plasticvonaband has a vacuum! that one cracked me up

Todd

Well from what I gathered on Niks last post he weill do a kit except the bd must be prewired! Thats how they always were unless you specified not to.

Get that Princetone before he changes his mind

Todd

I found Ceriatone for two reasons.  Three years ago I was considering a Plexi.  I played one and realized it wasn't quite right.

Three reays later/today:  one word "Dumble".  Since Dumbles are not in my price range, I have to look at clones.  Ceriatone had three tings I wanted: a Dumble clone, a really good price, and a great reputation.

After educating myself and knowing what my end goal needed to be for a Dumble clone, I was doing a SERIOUS custom job on the head and speaker cabs.  A kit made more sense, and it still does.  I don't want to get bogged down with a project, I want what is the best Dumble "tool" for the job I need it for.  That's it... I need what I need, I want a Dumble foundation that I want.  Amplifier narcissism at its best!!!

It's all good.