Sooooooo......
Im doing a tour this summer with my main gig TIDES OF TANGIERS and I made the decision to work myself into a full Ampeg rig. My day job at the music shop affords me a pretty decent discount on new gear, so I decided to order an Ampeg SVT-CL and SVT-810e. There's been a lot of talk about the new Loud Technologies cabs actually being superior to the last few years run of SLM cabs in terms of build quality and hi-mid / treble response. So I ordered everything up.
I talked with our dealer rep from ON THE ROAD MARKETING, who is Ampeg's new marketing rep as of last month. He says "Yeah man those are in-stock and will ship today!"
Two weeks later the cabinet shows up. Sounds great. So good in fact I pass up a deal on another Bergantino NV610. Problem is, the order numbers don't match. This cabinet was a special order for a customer from weeks back, and I cant have it! I call the rep to find out where my order is. He says that he must have been "misinformed by the warehouse" as there are ZERO Ampeg SVT-810e's left in the entire country (excluding existing dealer stock, which I obviously cant get). I asked when the next shipment will reach the warehouse. He tells me that there have "been some problems" at the Chinese factory and as far as he can tell there wont be any more for AT LEAST 120 days, probably longer. Hooray for globalization.
So now I'm really up the river without a paddle. I can either go to a competing dealer and buy the gear for an extra several hundred dollars out of pocket, or wait and - A) hope that the next shipment actually does come, B) hope that when the cab does arrive it hasnt been assembled by the homeless insane rounded up from the streets by the factory to keep the line moving during the worker's strike and C) hope that when I take the cab out of the box I dont find a 10 year old Chinese worker sealed inside the cabinet by his parents to escape oppressive factory conditions....
Ampeg: You are a hot, stinking mess.
fml.
Im doing a tour this summer with my main gig TIDES OF TANGIERS and I made the decision to work myself into a full Ampeg rig. My day job at the music shop affords me a pretty decent discount on new gear, so I decided to order an Ampeg SVT-CL and SVT-810e. There's been a lot of talk about the new Loud Technologies cabs actually being superior to the last few years run of SLM cabs in terms of build quality and hi-mid / treble response. So I ordered everything up.
I talked with our dealer rep from ON THE ROAD MARKETING, who is Ampeg's new marketing rep as of last month. He says "Yeah man those are in-stock and will ship today!"
Two weeks later the cabinet shows up. Sounds great. So good in fact I pass up a deal on another Bergantino NV610. Problem is, the order numbers don't match. This cabinet was a special order for a customer from weeks back, and I cant have it! I call the rep to find out where my order is. He says that he must have been "misinformed by the warehouse" as there are ZERO Ampeg SVT-810e's left in the entire country (excluding existing dealer stock, which I obviously cant get). I asked when the next shipment will reach the warehouse. He tells me that there have "been some problems" at the Chinese factory and as far as he can tell there wont be any more for AT LEAST 120 days, probably longer. Hooray for globalization.
So now I'm really up the river without a paddle. I can either go to a competing dealer and buy the gear for an extra several hundred dollars out of pocket, or wait and - A) hope that the next shipment actually does come, B) hope that when the cab does arrive it hasnt been assembled by the homeless insane rounded up from the streets by the factory to keep the line moving during the worker's strike and C) hope that when I take the cab out of the box I dont find a 10 year old Chinese worker sealed inside the cabinet by his parents to escape oppressive factory conditions....
Ampeg: You are a hot, stinking mess.
fml.
