Ampeg productions

[capcrio]

Hi to everyone,
I heard that the production of all Ampeg models have shifted to China, is it true? any idea?

[RickenBoogie]

Since you're new here, I;ll just say welcome to TB. This is a very old topic, and using the search engine here will bring up tons of threads on this topic. Short answerr, yes, some of Ampeg's stuff is built oversea's. Has been for several years.

[Jerrold Tiers]

Originally Posted by RickenBoogie

Short answerr, yes, some of Ampeg's stuff is built oversea's. Has been for several years.

Actually, "some of" really means "almost every bit of"...... As far as I know, even the items which are final assembled here have had most of the sub-assemblies made elsewhere.

Maybe Hodgy can clear this up...... to the best of my understanding, Loud has no capability in the US for putting together PWB assemblies, cutting wood and assembling/covering cabinets, or making chassis, etc.

Has that changed?

[spaz21387]

other then the heritage stuff everything else ampeg should be renamed to viet-nampeg

[atomicdog]

Which is to say . . . what? There's a lot of high quality gear made in China, Korea and Indonesia. So the point is . . . ?

[spaz21387]

good point the only thing that I dont like about the switch is the price. Which stayed the same.

[ma4rk]

Originally Posted by spaz21387

other then the heritage stuff everything else ampeg should be renamed to viet-nampeg

Why? China & Vietnam are different countries?

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by spaz21387

other then the heritage stuff everything else ampeg should be renamed to viet-nampeg

Since 2008, nothing Ampeg has been made in Vietnam.

[Bert Slide]

So sad. Another iconic American product bites the dust like Levi's and Converse Chuck Taylors. It was a good run while it lasted. RIP

[ma4rk]

Originally Posted by Bert Slide

So sad. Another iconic American product bites the dust like Levi's and Converse Chuck Taylors. It was a good run while it lasted. RIP

Welcome to the Asian century - USA had a good run. I'm sure your cultural influence on the rest of the world will endure.

[Bert Slide]

Originally Posted by ma4rk

Welcome to the Asian century - USA had a good run. I'm sure your cultural influence on the rest of the world will endure.

You said it brother! It was fun while it lasted. I'm not too sure about the cultural influence in the future either. In the 20th century we brought you Blues, Jazz, Rock and Roll, Funk, Punk, Rap and Hiphop. What have we done for you lately?

[Tony Flow MMMM]

Gallien Krueger is supposed to be back in USA. No foreign production

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Tony Flow MMMM

Gallien Krueger is supposed to be back in USA. No foreign production

Where are the parts made?

[Bert Slide]

It's tough to defend overseas production when the quality is no better(aguably worse but I'm not going there) and the price stays high. How much do you think it costs for the parts and labor to make an SVT now? Probably much less than shipping it here from China. And then what do you do to squeeze out a little more profit when you've already streamlined your labor costs? Only thing left to do is downgrade the components.

[gwangi]

Originally Posted by Bert Slide

So sad. Another iconic American product bites the dust like Levi's and Converse Chuck Taylors. It was a good run while it lasted. RIP

+1

[willbassyeah]

seriously it is getting harder to buy some thing that is genuinely made in a "country", for all you know your bass body might be taken from a wood in africa, the alumunium of your bridge is from china, your fingerboard is taken from a wood in australia, well if it is a good product it is good, a product that is bad is bad.

[stiles72]

This isn't the first time in Ampegs history that production was overseas. In the 80's SVT's were made in Japan.

I would have loved to see LOUD keep production in the US, but what's been done is done, and what matters is that the current team at Ampeg has worked very hard to turn the ship around and take care of their customers.

[Got2SadowskyNYC]

I agree, what's the big deal? It's very difficult to find ANY electronic device fully made (as in 100%) in the USA because no on eis makeing componets here. Resisters, pots etc. That's why they will say "ASSEMBLED in the USA" and not "Made".

It all comes down to quality control any way. If a company manages this they can make a quality, reliable product.

Besides and Ampeg Classic SVT is $1800 USD street price. Do you REALLY want to pay about $6000 for one? IF it's was fully made in the USA you can expect a tripple in price. There are quite a few factors that drive the price up, some of which are political so I won't get into them.

[Bert Slide]

My V4-B is 40 years old. My SLM era SVT is almost 20. Both are solid and dependable and may outlast me. Time will tell on Chinese Ampegs. I am trying to think of a product that improved after outsourcing production to China but I am drawing a blank.

[hodgy]

Jerrold has it absolutely right.
I've been to our plant in China that builds the SVT3 and 4Pro, CL and VR. They are doing a fantastic job and work harder and longer hours than anyplace in the US.