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Aguilar Tone Hammer 350
- Thread starter chazsundance
- Start date
^^ IME It's quality control and design that is the important bit .... wherever it's made. Having these units assembled in the Aggy factory is a massive plus.
- Jun 25, 2006
- 3,226
- 341
- Disclosures
- Owner, Pike Amplification & 3Leaf Audio
The reality is that most of the parts used in modern electronics come from China. For many parts there's not even a USA-made equivalent.
Most parts have to made outside the US because of the methods used to make them, which may not pass EPA requirements.
- Jun 25, 2006
- 3,226
- 341
- Disclosures
- Owner, Pike Amplification & 3Leaf Audio
It really comes down to price.....if resistors, capacitors, op amps etc. were made in the USA, our electronic gadgets would cost 2-3 times as much.
Spencer! said:
+1,000
...and most of us would complain of the higher prices. Apple makes their components in Asia and I dont see people not buying iphones, ipods and ipads.
I value Aguilars work ethic and quality of craftsmanship when Ive purhased any of their products. They build and test all of their amps, pedals and pickups right there in their NYC office, by a small group of very talented and qualified techinicians. Something that cannot be said for a lot of the most famous bass amp companies.
My opinion of course.
Spencer is correct, and he knows for sure!
We don't usually make a big deal out of it; but so many people were asking if it was made in China, that we decided to put "assembled in the USA" in our literature.
According to the FTC standard, you can't say "Made in the USA" unless substantially ALL of the parts were also made in the USA. You are not even allowed to say "assembled in the USA" if all you do is screw together a couple of sub-assemblies.
Assembled in the USA is the correct legal description for what we do at Aguilar. Assembly is what we do. The Tone Hammer 350 is assembled in exactly the same way as The DB 751, Tone Hammer 500, etc...
We get whatever parts we can locally. Circuit boards are made and fabricated in Pennsylvania, metal work is made and painted in New York and New Jersey. The B&O power modules are designed in Denmark and made in Malaysia. They are terrific modules and even if we made that section ourselves, the components would come from outside the United States.
We use single-piece flow on the assembly line which yields very high quality and consistent results. If you have been to one of our clinics here, you've taken the tour and heard me go on about it! We have been hiring assemblers and technicians and it is a great feeling to grow our business and add new jobs to our country's economy.
Not at this time. Part of the appeal (IMHO) of an amp this small is that you can carry it without any effort and use it with a variety of speaker configurations. A combo would add weight and be less portable.
When we were making the AG 500 combos, the big sales on those were to schools and churches. They liked the fact that the head couldn't "get lost", and didn't want it to be portable!
DB
Very interesting!
Have you guys considered ever making a higher-power version of the TH500?
I'd like that also. I have an Ibanez Promethean 1x10 combo which is great and very multifunctional. The only thing I don't like is that the power amp limiter kicks in quite early.
I'd like to have a similar Aguilar product. Assembled in USA.
OR, find a small cab with good sound, like the promethean 1x10" cab, and carry the 350 separately, since it seems so tiny.
I took the TH500 around a few festivals in Europe towards the latter part of the year, and got great feedback from engineers and other players alike.
If the 350 compares to this feedback then it will again be surely a winner.
The removal of certain on board features is never an issue with me as I always like things to be in-line any way ( a tuner is all I ever use) and the daisy chain is not a problem as such, but a speakon with a 1/4 inch jack centred to it would be of great use in both models, because not all cabs are speakon, and not always an option to find a speakon to jack in certain parts of Europe.
So for any one looking to use the lighter 350 beware of "running out of lead" as it will come straight of the cab like a set list in the breeze.
If the 350 compares to this feedback then it will again be surely a winner.
The removal of certain on board features is never an issue with me as I always like things to be in-line any way ( a tuner is all I ever use) and the daisy chain is not a problem as such, but a speakon with a 1/4 inch jack centred to it would be of great use in both models, because not all cabs are speakon, and not always an option to find a speakon to jack in certain parts of Europe.
So for any one looking to use the lighter 350 beware of "running out of lead" as it will come straight of the cab like a set list in the breeze.
- Jun 25, 2006
- 3,226
- 341
- Disclosures
- Owner, Pike Amplification & 3Leaf Audio
It is!
And, I have a feeling that this little 350w head has about the same amount of power as other brands' 500w micro heads. After all it has the same module as for example Shuttle 6 and GK MB500.
Interesting point.
I'd like to know more about that.
I have a TH500 and it has plenty of power. I wonder how the TH350 would compare when being used only at 8ohms.
I like the idea of a smaller footprint so it's gig bag friendly, and plenty of power for the smaller gigs.
I already have the TH DI pedal but I'm going to be picking up a 350!
I already have the TH DI pedal but I'm going to be picking up a 350!
