B+, this is the kind of post that starts all the trouble. Nik has made it clear that there would be NO Ceriatone Overtone if not for the many years of research and development by the very "overpriced cloners" you mention. Nobody is threatened. I have a personal relationship with all of these guys and talk to them on a regular basis. I assure you there is no problem. The problem is posts like yours. Although not your intention, it incorrectly assumes the motivations for a good part of what created the flak and insults the pioneers whose shoulders Nik is standing on. Maybe Nik will chime in....
Furthermore, nobody has compared an Overtone to any of the clones or the real deal. So any quality and/or tone comparisons cannot possibily be made until after somebody gets one AND compares it. There is a lot of intricacies to building and tuning these. More so than any other Ceriatone. That is why there are forums like Ampgarage. Nik admittedly used the research posted by an associate of one of the "ripoff" builders to design the Overtone!! Kind of hypocritical to slam here then..... Nik would never do that.
Charging about three thousand for an American made amp with 30 plus hours of labor in it, full warranty, thicker higher grade aluminum chassis, and high quality American made trannies, is not a ripoff. It is more than a Ceriatone, but they are much different in many areas. To some it is worth it. Factor in the cost of the R&D, insurance, cost of USA labor, etc, you can see nobody is getting rich making these.
Ceriatone is certainly a good value alternative but it is apples to oranges at the moment. Please try and not be insulting to the other builders. Without them, there would be no Ceriatone Overtone. There is room for everybody and nobody has forced or threatened Niks hand in any way. If he feels liek offering an Overtone model, prebuilt, that is his decision. He has to decide whether it is profitable at his price point given the several days construction time....
Respectfully,
Scott
Well there are many clones of all these beloved amps that are made by small boutique amp builders that I won't mention here. These individuals are very threatened by Nik's amps, because they are high quality and very affordable. He also demystifies the ridiculous hype that these amps have by offering them quickly and with high quality.
These amp guys really get upset when someone is competing with them on a design, that they themselves have borrowed.
Funny thing, if Nik charged the outrageous prices that the other cloners do, then there would be no issue, but the fact that Nik offers a great product for a great price, really threatens these builders.
I build and design tube amps for myself, and sell them occasionally to friends and others. And I know the costs involved.
Anyway, Nik if your reading this, build away forget the naysayers, keep up the great work!
to keep the forums alive.
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