even if that's not in my price range I think that these amps are worth every single penny. It's not just technically perfect - it's a musical instrument. A piece of art. Huge respekt to Mark Bartel.
What a great guy, you can see that he puts his heart into it. I’m so glad that we live in an era in witch we have so much option to choose from, there are so much intelligent people out there that offers the best works of art for us to enjoy.
What a perfectionist, that's the way it should be done, old school passion and innovation. His amps have always sounded spectacular. Wish I could afford one..
Wow now this guy knows what he is doing I have a feeling his amps are going to be one of those amazing wonders and known forever once he becomes huge at least you know when you get an amp from him it will be amazing and extremely good quality
wow, I had heard that tone king was under new management, but I hadn't heard of his new brand until now, these amps look absolutely incredible, inside and out, a true high end product
These are pro amps. If playing the guitar has been an important aspect of your life for the last 25 years and if you have the money, these are a really pretty investment ! There is nothing negative to say ! This is art !
He called Mark "Bart" at the end of the video......man...the guy is a living legend. No one in the industry is offering this kind of quality and craftsmanship. I can imagine these guys talk to a lot of people during Namm but come on...
I saw the prices of these amps before I could hear them. Yeah, I thought they were pretty expensive. And maybe they are, but once I've seen this video I actually get it. The quality of the components, the craftmanship, the wood selection for the cab and of course the way the one featured sounded. God damn it, man! It's amazing how different it can sound (and pretty good all the time). And that reverb and tremolo? Amazing. Of course these amps are pretty expensive. But I think it's completely justified.
Mark Bartel doesn’t scrimp on quality, and he is pushing the envelope of amp construction, both in the circuitry and cabinetry. The big name commodity amp manufacturers won’t try to follow him because they would have to retool their assembly lines, but I expect we’ll see more boutique builders pay a lot more attention to their cabinet design. Maybe they’ll pick up his circuit changes eventually too. Bartel is showing the way and innovating and is someone to watch.
My goodness. He said it too. May the price reflect. That he hand builds/fabricates ALL OF IT. this is for the guys who want this MASTERCRAFT instruments. The amp is magnificently built. My god. As a amp builder/ lover of all things fender old and new. I love this. Jeeze im taking notes on the wiring. My goodness. Master.
Given the various aspects of the product design and process and number of employees, I was guessing they would be in the 10,000.00 range if you understand business somewhat. Not sure they will be available in most areas to play before buying however.
Wonderful amps....nothing but respect for Mark. Going for the best in every way... Expensive. sure, but a R9 or custom shop strat or tele can run you in that range.
Mark Bartell is a great amp builder.....you get what you pay for...he has a passion ....his tone king brand was awesome have the falcon...which I love...
Correct me if I'm wrong but he seems to have jettisoned the built in attenuators on these models. Given that these are master built "price is no object" amps I have to wonder if Mark has developed some reservations about them.They strike me as a really smart feature and I like the idea of being about to turn the amp down without sacrificing ALL of the power section richness.
Everyone always goes on about the importance of speakers in shaping sound, but I wish more builders paid attention to cabinet design like this instead of just using the usual formula of ‘if it’s a lower wattage amp, just stick it in the smallest possible “whatever” cab’.
What's the word on these amps 2 years down the line? They look killer, but I gotta say... those prices are astronomical! Don't get me wrong, that craftsmanship and attention to detail is next level, and I get that the feature set in these thing is huge in terms of the different voicings you get, but with prices like that, you're essentially claiming that your amps are better than the originals in which these draw inspiration from. Aside from an original Fender 5F6 tweed Bassman, you can get the original, real deal vintage Deluxe Reverbs, Super Reverbs, Tweed Deluxes, Vintage Marshalls etc. for around these prices and less. Hell you can even score some orginal 50s/60s players guitars for that price. Not trying to knock these amps at all cause they looks AWESOME, I'm just genuinely curious. Cheers!
Dam DamDam..... I'm impressed. I've owned many TK amps....I mean MANY. Becuz of the price, I'd have to try before I buy. If I was extremely impressed, I'd buy one.
No doubt these amps sound fantastic but I agree with your feeling about the Sugarland not having reverb at this price point. I also FIRMLY feel that any serious amp that's priced over $1,000.00 should have 2 inputs (high and low) and have a standby switch. Why should you pay ALL that money and get less features ? I would really be interested to see what features players would request IF amp builders and manufacturers took the time to ASK players (like Leo did) what they would like and want !
Sweet amp.. Impeccable build quality...No effects loop, but them why would ya run a bunch of pedals through a close to $5,000 amp? An OD pedal, a delay pedal and maybe some Fuzz is all ya need.Save the big pedal board for the Swiss army knife, everything but the kitchen sink amps.
I was recently walking the mean streets of Bend, Oregon when a young bearded man in tight pants approached me and said “HEY, HAVE YOU SEEN THE PRICE TAG ON THE NEW BARTEL AMPS? I FEEL THEY ARE TOO MUCH AND I WOULDNT BE ABLE TO AFFORD LUBE SHOULD I PURCHASE ONE!” I looked at him, smiled and said “They aren’t pensive when you consider the price of an aircraft carrier” and then went about my day.
He is the hardest worker. Check his face book. He spends more time in clean wiring s than anybody. There was a place s called. Amp museum. A huge warehouse. Of old collectibles amps every year of fender marshal. The Holygrail of amps. I was recording. I asked owner. What best. He said this tone king made by mark.
That kind of craftsmanship is usually expensive, and well beyond the average player's means. Definitely not something you would want in some smoky bar or club.
These prices!!!!!!!!!! Holy shit!!!!! I can appreciate the little details, but damn! At the end of the day, it's prob not THAT important! Good luck to him, though. I guess just the pros will be playing these.
You know for $5,000 you would have thought they could have bridged the gap between Boutique and an effects loop. Hell, it doesn't even have an on and off footswitch for the tremolo. Other than that... Sounds like a pretty killer amp ... though overpriced for the majority buying Market.
Greg Lawrence Only a few builders I know of have been able to include an active effects loop without harming the core sound of the amp. A lot of designers refuse to use them because they are so intrusive. It's not a matter of money; it's a matter of engineering. I've seen some loops that don't affect the signal path too harshly, but I get the impression Bartell amps are more for purists. I love to have an FX loop, but in a lower gain design like this, especially considering it already has reverb on all but one model, I can see why Mark excluded it. I would be more interested in a footswitch for the tremolo like you said, but again, adding all of those relays can ruin a clean build. Not that I could ever afford these amps, but not having a footswitch or FX loop wouldn't be a deal breaker if I could.
I doubt he could break even if he charged $2000 per amp. Profit margins on a small shop, handwired amp, with parts and cab crafted, in house is going to be extremely slim. I have idea whether the sonic result justifies this level of craftsmanship. I've never played an amp like this in person and I'm well satisfied with a mass produced Fender. But the price tag on these is really not that unreasonable from a labor point of view, considering how much work the man is clearly putting in to each one.
How much time do you think it takes him to build the cabinet including the custom flange, build the chassis, sort and hand wire/solder all connections, make custom wiring route blocks, silk screen the control panel, make his own knobs, upholster and assemble, and test? $400-$500 wouldn’t begin to touch his labor cost at a wage that such an experienced builder should earn. Not even close. THEN, add to that the cost of the components, overhead costs of operation, and time spent on R&D and design. These things are, visually and sonically, handcrafted works of art. If anything, they are a bargain.
hawg427 Right, but they are not built with this detail and craftsmanship. It's not a Tone King. Yes he built Tone King but like he says it's an all new master built amp that is superior to what he has done before
Give the man credit. His work is worth the price tag.
Ha, I thought he was going to say he made his tubes also. That is the cleanest wiring I’ve ever seen in an amp. Beautiful
John Free
No man he said TAD
TUBE AMP DOCTOR.
Is the source of tubes
even if that's not in my price range I think that these amps are worth every single penny. It's not just technically perfect - it's a musical instrument. A piece of art. Huge respekt to Mark Bartel.
Great job Mark, truly a master built amp and it shows in tone.
What a great guy, you can see that he puts his heart into it. I’m so glad that we live in an era in witch we have so much option to choose from, there are so much intelligent people out there that offers the best works of art for us to enjoy.
Mark's attention to detail is out of this world. Great video and great choice of Dana to demo!
Wow, What an amazing tone! Beautiful product. My hat off to you.
Best wishes
Best demonstration of the different tones this amp can achieve. I'm sold.
Love this kind of craftsmanship...setting the bar for amp builders
What a perfectionist, that's the way it should be done, old school passion and innovation. His amps have always sounded spectacular. Wish I could afford one..
Killer tones, killer craftsmanship.
I swear to God I think my strat just said "What the hell ya waitin on!!!"
These amps sound incredible.
Wow now this guy knows what he is doing I have a feeling his amps are going to be one of those amazing wonders and known forever once he becomes huge at least you know when you get an amp from him it will be amazing and extremely good quality
wow, I had heard that tone king was under new management, but I hadn't heard of his new brand until now, these amps look absolutely incredible, inside and out, a true high end product
These are pro amps. If playing the guitar has been an important aspect of your life for the last 25 years and if you have the money, these are a really pretty investment ! There is nothing negative to say ! This is art !
Wow, impressive. Some serious tube- passion there.
He called Mark "Bart" at the end of the video......man...the guy is a living legend. No one in the industry is offering this kind of quality and craftsmanship. I can imagine these guys talk to a lot of people during Namm but come on...
He said MARK
Can't say I'd spend that much on an amp but it's really cool that someone is putting that much care and passion into them.
Killer job Mark.
Okay, I hate combos, but this may be the first I will consider. I can hear the quality.
Nice work.
I saw the prices of these amps before I could hear them. Yeah, I thought they were pretty expensive. And maybe they are, but once I've seen this video I actually get it. The quality of the components, the craftmanship, the wood selection for the cab and of course the way the one featured sounded. God damn it, man!
It's amazing how different it can sound (and pretty good all the time). And that reverb and tremolo? Amazing.
Of course these amps are pretty expensive. But I think it's completely justified.
Álvaro Escribano yes he has takman resistors also. Bout three dollars a piece
The prices were actually a bit lower than I was expecting after watching the video in full. Master craftsman.
Mark Bartel doesn’t scrimp on quality, and he is pushing the envelope of amp construction, both in the circuitry and cabinetry. The big name commodity amp manufacturers won’t try to follow him because they would have to retool their assembly lines, but I expect we’ll see more boutique builders pay a lot more attention to their cabinet design. Maybe they’ll pick up his circuit changes eventually too.
Bartel is showing the way and innovating and is someone to watch.
Yea, I am pretty blown away by how great each one of those various preamp settings sounded. WOW
My goodness. He said it too. May the price reflect. That he hand builds/fabricates ALL OF IT.
this is for the guys who want this MASTERCRAFT instruments. The amp is magnificently built. My god. As a amp builder/ lover of all things fender old and new. I love this.
Jeeze im taking notes on the wiring. My goodness. Master.
That must be paasive baxandall tone circuit. Bcuz with bass and treble all the way up it scoops mids. With bass and treb low it boost mids .
That reverb sound!!!!
I Sincerely Appreciate Mark Bartel's Commitment to EXCELLENCE!
Great sounding amp! Amazing build quality. Too bad I'll never afford one. The Tone King amps are great also. Got to play one of those.
I have a Tone King Imperial MkII built when Mark owned the company… it is a joy.
I own the Starwood, wow the best amp ever! Never ever will sell it. Worth the money.
Amps sound great. So does Dana!
DAMN!!! That was a VERY versatile great sounding amp!! If I was a little better off financially I would grab that Roseland in a heartbeat.
Given the various aspects of the product design and process and number of employees, I was guessing they would be in the 10,000.00 range if you understand business somewhat. Not sure they will be available in most areas to play before buying however.
Is that Dana from Chico playing? Spark n Cinder at Old La Salles on Broadway. Great times!
I just picked up a Starwood and it's worth every penny.
Dana! My Chico brotha. Heck yeah
Wonderful amps....nothing but respect for Mark. Going for the best in every way... Expensive. sure, but a R9 or custom shop strat or tele can run you in that range.
Wow, great sound and great work.
Mark Bartell is a great amp builder.....you get what you pay for...he has a passion ....his tone king brand was awesome have the falcon...which I love...
around $5000 ...you need to be a Pro
Serious vintage-style amps. I wouldn't mind having the 45 watt model...
We’ll yea it’s tweed sound he’s using a Tele , sounds awesome!!
Omg..I’m impressed
Woah. How did he do that with the tone controls????
$4795 is a lot for a amp BUT WOW IT SOUNDED KILLER! and to see all the work that went in to them all done by one man it is hard to say it is too much.
Cool amps Mark but why not just put a mid control on it?
Correct me if I'm wrong but he seems to have jettisoned the built in attenuators on these models. Given that these are master built "price is no object" amps I have to wonder if Mark has developed some reservations about them.They strike me as a really smart feature and I like the idea of being about to turn the amp down without sacrificing ALL of the power section richness.
Beautiful layout of the circuitry. Can I recommend something. The handle is wimpy and cheap. Why not use a handle like what Carr Amp uses.
Everyone always goes on about the importance of speakers in shaping sound, but I wish more builders paid attention to cabinet design like this instead of just using the usual formula of ‘if it’s a lower wattage amp, just stick it in the smallest possible “whatever” cab’.
I’d love to get a cabinet from this guy
Any low watt EL34 12"speaker combos?
Different level
Is that Dana Olson from Chico, CA?
These are the Bomb..
A true builder! Sheesh
MB is a genius.
For Your Consideration Best New Exhibitor NAMM 2018 yeah that's what I'm talking about!
Nominated Best New Amps Pricey, but clean!
What's the word on these amps 2 years down the line? They look killer, but I gotta say... those prices are astronomical! Don't get me wrong, that craftsmanship and attention to detail is next level, and I get that the feature set in these thing is huge in terms of the different voicings you get, but with prices like that, you're essentially claiming that your amps are better than the originals in which these draw inspiration from. Aside from an original Fender 5F6 tweed Bassman, you can get the original, real deal vintage Deluxe Reverbs, Super Reverbs, Tweed Deluxes, Vintage Marshalls etc. for around these prices and less. Hell you can even score some orginal 50s/60s players guitars for that price. Not trying to knock these amps at all cause they looks AWESOME, I'm just genuinely curious. Cheers!
Dana who on the gtr?
Dam DamDam..... I'm impressed. I've owned many TK amps....I mean MANY. Becuz of the price, I'd have to try before I buy. If I was extremely impressed, I'd buy one.
Can't comprehend that the Sugarland doesn't have reverb for $3300.
No doubt these amps sound fantastic but I agree with your feeling about the Sugarland not having reverb at this price point. I also FIRMLY feel that any serious amp
that's priced over $1,000.00 should have 2 inputs (high and low) and have a standby switch. Why should you pay ALL that money and get less features ? I would really be interested to see what features players would request IF amp builders and manufacturers took the time to ASK players (like Leo did) what they would like and want !
Organic Magic!
Sweet amp.. Impeccable build quality...No effects loop, but them why would ya run a bunch of pedals through a close to $5,000 amp? An OD pedal, a delay pedal and maybe some Fuzz is all ya need.Save the big pedal board for the Swiss army knife, everything but the kitchen sink amps.
Dana!
dude from "SHAMELESS" on guitar.
wow...
I loved his tone king amps...and I’m sure his new venture...though expensive.....you pay for what you get.......
What happened to Toneking?
they are done they suck ass. Bartel all the wayyyyyyyyy
Those amps last over 100 years
Una mezcla de fender y vox cableado a mano,pero 4000euros es un disparate SR Bartel
I was recently walking the mean streets of Bend, Oregon when a young bearded man in tight pants approached me and said “HEY, HAVE YOU SEEN THE PRICE TAG ON THE NEW BARTEL AMPS? I FEEL THEY ARE TOO MUCH AND I WOULDNT BE ABLE TO AFFORD LUBE SHOULD I PURCHASE ONE!” I looked at him, smiled and said “They aren’t pensive when you consider the price of an aircraft carrier” and then went about my day.
?
No - Mister T has a point.......the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier cost a fortune in Nam!!!
Gee sounds like my TK Metropolitan.
32.99€ ? Damn it thats 25 Bears..
4700 bucks! Sounds damn good though.
It is a Rolls Royce though, I'll give him that.
guitar players a killer.
These amps sound fantastic but man are they expensive ! I'd have to sell all of my amps just afford one of these !!!
jesus joeseph and mary!
it's not a spaceship guys.
oh but it is...IT IS
He is the hardest worker. Check his face book. He spends more time in clean wiring s than anybody. There was a place s called. Amp museum. A huge warehouse. Of old collectibles amps every year of fender marshal. The Holygrail of amps. I was recording. I asked owner. What best. He said this tone king made by mark.
That kind of craftsmanship is usually expensive, and well beyond the average player's means. Definitely not something you would want in some smoky bar or club.
is he still making tone king
No
guess what guys im gettn one i have the money to get it ill let you know how it sounds
how is it????
That’s a TV Amp.
Wille Bobo!!!
These prices!!!!!!!!!! Holy shit!!!!! I can appreciate the little details, but damn! At the end of the day, it's prob not THAT important! Good luck to him, though. I guess just the pros will be playing these.
More Boutique American Fender amp. copies. at a price to rude to talk about.
Sounds fantastic, but $$$$$$$$$$ !!!
You know for $5,000 you would have thought they could have bridged the gap between Boutique and an effects loop. Hell, it doesn't even have an on and off footswitch for the tremolo.
Other than that... Sounds like a pretty killer amp ... though overpriced for the majority buying Market.
Greg Lawrence Only a few builders I know of have been able to include an active effects loop without harming the core sound of the amp. A lot of designers refuse to use them because they are so intrusive. It's not a matter of money; it's a matter of engineering. I've seen some loops that don't affect the signal path too harshly, but I get the impression Bartell amps are more for purists. I love to have an FX loop, but in a lower gain design like this, especially considering it already has reverb on all but one model, I can see why Mark excluded it.
I would be more interested in a footswitch for the tremolo like you said, but again, adding all of those relays can ruin a clean build. Not that I could ever afford these amps, but not having a footswitch or FX loop wouldn't be a deal breaker if I could.
I'm pretty sure the amps have footswitches; you can see one on the table. They're made with a tweed covering!!!
Michael
No switch for the Tremolo.
Have you visited their website?
Greg Lawrence ahhh, I remembered the Reverb switch! My fault!!!
Michael
But I do agree, these amps are built for purists... And nothing wrong with that! :-)
Incredible amp, but this particular guy with PG is a tool. Gets on my last nerve.
What a joke, over $3000 come on, just because they call it boutique. It costs maybe 400-500 maximum to build each and they charge 3300, lol.
I doubt he could break even if he charged $2000 per amp. Profit margins on a small shop, handwired amp, with parts and cab crafted, in house is going to be extremely slim. I have idea whether the sonic result justifies this level of craftsmanship. I've never played an amp like this in person and I'm well satisfied with a mass produced Fender. But the price tag on these is really not that unreasonable from a labor point of view, considering how much work the man is clearly putting in to each one.
How much time do you think it takes him to build the cabinet including the custom flange, build the chassis, sort and hand wire/solder all connections, make custom wiring route blocks, silk screen the control panel, make his own knobs, upholster and assemble, and test?
$400-$500 wouldn’t begin to touch his labor cost at a wage that such an experienced builder should earn. Not even close.
THEN, add to that the cost of the components, overhead costs of operation, and time spent on R&D and design. These things are, visually and sonically, handcrafted works of art. If anything, they are a bargain.
My hot rod sounds just a good and I saved $4200 now I will take my hot rod on vacation just need the right speaker
Not worth the $ AT ALL
cstephens333 how do you know? Have you played one ?
another way overpriced copy of a copy's copy.
$4300 for an amp?????? No thanks.
ffbai I guess you haven't seen alot of boutique amps. That's about right.
Check out the detail, breathtaking work
Vislow Maychen Ya, it really is.
Yep,, you can buy a Tone King amp for much less.
hawg427 Right, but they are not built with this detail and craftsmanship. It's not a Tone King. Yes he built Tone King but like he says it's an all new master built amp that is superior to what he has done before
Horrible no guts
Did you watch the video dumb ass? They show the guts.
Carlos Lozada do you mean balls? A great sounding amp but you can’t crank it at a show.
You sound like a half stack guy. Head over to the Marshall booth.
What a fabulous amp! Certainly pricey, but what a finely crafted jewel…