AMERICAN made

[Bassdirty]

.. Carvin, which is MIA, but solid state (w tube preamps).

+1

Mesa Boogie is all American and is in my opinion the top of the heap for sheer quality and outstanding tone!

+1 too

 

[edbass]

Me too. I just quoted from one. Bloated, much?

Maybe it's better not to go so personal. Ya think?

Nope, fit as a fiddle but thanks for asking.

It really wasn't intended as a personal assault, but as a knee jerk reaction to the content as it touched a personal frustration I am forced to deal with daily.
Re reading what I wrote I can see how it does indeed seem overly personal, so for that I appologize.
Not everone sees, or even needs to see the big picture, and everyone is entitled to have their own opinion.

 

[JimmyM]

i'm a little bloated. too much soda, not enough water.

 

[Jim Campbell]

Hmmm… Isn’t that a self defeating philosophy?



They say “ignorance is bliss”; while IMO there are many enlightened insights posted here, if that axiom is true we must have some very “happy” posters here on TB.
For the most part it’s not the companies being “complacent”, or acting like “meatheads” as you put it, unless of course your personal definition of being “complacent” or acting like “meatheads” is providing a superior lifestyle and working conditions for the working class.
IMO the real challenge is competing under the American standard that has determined that having a 10th grade education should earn the right to an assembly line job with an $80K salary, own home, two cars, ample paid vacation, full pension at age 65 and free full medical benefits for life. Couple that with stiflingly restrictive (not to mention incredibly expensive to comply with) regulations from the EPA, OSHA, etc., SSI, workman’s comp, disability, unemployment and on and on.
None of which are a concern (or cost variable) for the “emerging economy” nations who are building such a high percentage of US consumer goods.
How much do you think disability insurance alone adds to the cost of a US manufactured product?
How much do you think a US produced 55” LCD Hi Def TV would cost to build? I don’t know, but I’d wager that it would be far less expensive for even a mega manufacturer to buy them from Best Buy than to build one in the US, even in volume; and that’s before they make any profit.

The problem is that it’s NOT a level playing field. Heads up, the “best” stuff will cost more if it’s actually “Made” in the US (as opposed to the incredibly vague, loophole ridden, case by case FTC interpretation of “Assembled”) vs. imported from less “socially conscious” nations, with labor cost a mere fraction of those in the US, and far, far less regulatory cost to factor into the equation.

Plus, it’s been my experience that the USA’s (by comparison to the general consumer in the “emerging economies” we are competing with) spoiled, fiscally corpulent general consumer public is hooked on “cheap”.
You can see it here on TB, amateur players gushing over crappy, 3rd world transistor amps whose #1 design specification is to be manufactured as inexpensively as possible. Post after naive post about overpriced this, and too much money that regarding American built products.
I think that this inability to wean the US consuming public from the dirt cheap product pricing we’ve come to accept as “normal” from imported origins, coupled with retailers competing so fiercely for what comparably few retail dollars are flowing in this depressed economy that has caused US manufacturers to ship jobs, facilities, and thereby US dollars overseas; rather than and regardless of political campaign ads pointing “shipped jobs overseas” fingers at each other and claiming it’s their opponent, or the opponents political party that’s responsible.
For the manufacturers, it’s very often a choice of outsourcing, even sometimes complete relocation, or just going out of business.

As I have posted numerous times; I don’t feel that imported products are inherently inferior, or that any country has an intrinsic “edge” in the production of quality goods (except for possibly Germany ), or an intrinsic fault in the inability to do same.

However; unfashionable it may or may not be, I love the USA, it’s my home and birthplace. I also love the fact that the general labor force has the opportunity to provide well for themselves and family, that if they lose their jobs there is a “safety net” in place, that they don’t have to be exposed to physical hazards and toxic substances in the workplace, that a workplace injury won’t make them bankrupt, and that even if reckless budgeting does make them bankrupt, their families won’t starve, they won’t be on the street in a cardboard box begging for food and eating from dumpsters.

Another great thing about the US is that even if, as it seems, you feel as if you personally don’t wish to support the US workforce and lifestyle, you are free to be “happy to see complacent "American" companies challenged by products designed and built elsewhere”, and spend your money however you wish.

Personally, I’ll keep trying to keep what money I can in the economy I have thrived in for 5 decades, as I realize that our currency is a finite quantity, and a whole lot of the dollars that leave never come back. But; that’s my choice.
Is this a great country, or what?


Sorry for the rant, sometimes I read posts that are just so obtuse that I can’t help myself.

the trick is to convince folks that paying for quality is a better bet than the throw away crap....but yeah, we have unrealistic expectations of what an hour wage job should buy us,and have developed a "more is better" lifestyle,even tho' the "more" is usually just cheap crap.....

 

[Chef]

Moderator Insert:

sorry kids...this has run it's course, and a long enough one at that.
closed up.

 

[BassyBill]

Aw. I was just going to respond to the comments about German engineering, too. Something about Spitfires and Messerschmitts, perhaps.

All kidding aside - good call, I think, Chef.

 

[Chef]

thx