I'll stay away from the circus side-show since other people have eloquently argued the point (
n times)...
I've tried a Marshall Hot Box, in the late 90s I think... In fact, I'm 99% sure it's the same exact Hot Box that Oas acquired, handed down from one owner to another (notice Oas didn't brag about how hard to get it this time?).
My review: I hated it. Clean channel tone wasn't as tubey and meaty as a BF Fender or Vox, and it was noisy. The OD channel was buzzy, fuzzy, and again noisy. Sounded like very bad preamp clipping (as opposed to power amp). Not amp-like at all. I may be wrong but it didn't sound to me like a simple tube swap would have solved all its tonal shortcomings.
As for Oas review... I've seen and heard him play through his own bowteek stuff. All I can say is that what sounds good to him and what sounds good to me are VERY DIFFERENT. So I always take his reviews with one
salop of salt. YMMV - baka pareho kayo ng tastes eh.
Btw, if that's the same Hotbox, I think it was selling for about 15k when it was bnew. Since kids buy Boss mfx twice that price these days, I wouldn't brand it as for the 'financially challenged' only. (So part of the reason the thread title is insulting is because it makes erroneous assumptions about other people's spending capacity
) But since the Hotbox itself sucks, I would indeed call it expensive cuz "hindi sulit".