Well vintage amps are what they are, vintage. No type of relic'ing could ever simulate 40-50 years of sound going through an amp and its speakers. Maybe it has nothing to do at all with the speakers and has to do with other variables.
In reference to boutique pedals, I've owned all levels of pedals, I'm not boutique or anti-boutique, I'm for what sounds good and for what I can afford. It doesn't matter if it was mass produced or made in some guy's basement, if it sounds good and is affordable then it's a worthwhile investment IMO.
That's neat, YATS, but the reality is many Tubescreamer clones are less expensive then the current production ibanez ts808s and have better components, less mid-hump, and better bass response. The MI Audio Blues Pro, for example, is an excellent pedal costing about $50 less then a current production Ibanez ts808 and is based on the same circuit. Boutique, yes, better and less expensive then the original, by far.
And as you admit there are dozens of boutique guys making original pedals, Pigtronix, Zvex (even if a few of his pedals are clones, his probe series, etc. are all very creative), Subdecay, T-Rex, etc. I think the only real reason people resort to the clone thing is because it's easier then desigining your own circuit, and for some reason the majority of consumers are more interested in clones then they are original circuits. I don't knock them for making money off of what people want. More power to them! It's the consumer's fault for being uninformed if they're paying $200+ bucks for a tubescreamer. Though I've certainly made that mistake a few times. 😡
Fender, Mesa and Marshall have ripped off so many of each other's circuits in their amp designs throughout the years, marshall especially, but none of it really matters; if fender comes out with a new amp and marshall or mesa thinks it can do it better then great! That's good for us as the consumer (as long as they don't jack up the price ridiculously in the process).
Two Rock and Fuchs are admittedly cloned circuits of Dumble amps, and they are absurdly expensive, however, there were less then 100 Dumble amps ever produced and a real one would cost you small fortune. So if Dumble is the sound you're after (and it's a very distinct sound, think SRV on Texas Flood) then Fuchs and Two Rock I think are a viable alternative, even if they are very expensive, they still don't cost what a real Dumble does.
As I have suggested to so many others on this forum who constantly knock equipment they've never tried, take your own advice and actually try out some of the gear you're so opposed to before jumping on some anti-boutique bandwagon. I prefer to be on the "what-sounds-good" bandwagon, be it boutique or not.
Yes you can get good tone without spending a lot of money, and you can also get good tone by spending a lot of money. IMO the more expensive amps, etc. don't necessarily sound better (as that's subjective) but they do indeed sound different, and if that's the sound you're after then in some instances you're going to have to pay the price for it, literally.
