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ampeg svt made in korea vs vietnam

#21
Hey Tim1, where did u buy your SVT CL from? Just wondering the best place to get one. I'm also from NZ (welly) and atm the cheapest one i can find (shipped) is a brand new korean one, only problem it is in canada and i was just wondering about warranty etc.

Is it worth holding out for a second hand USA made Classic?
 
#22
I bought mine from the Rock Shop. It was not cheap but I wanted a good warranty. Again, I couldn't be happier with it and I for one do not mind where it is made. I prefer the VR over the Classic but that is just my preference. Mine is still sounding wonderful, getting thrashed regularlyand has not missed a beat since I bought it. Couldn't be happier.
 
#23
They are built to Ampeg specs, so really does it matter?
It's just like back in the day when some Fenders were made in Japan, and most
didn't buy them because of that, untill some got over the "made in japan" syndrome
and realized the quality was as good, if not better, then the US version.
 
#25
Korea probably has the best general quality in Asia. Not that you can't find better anywhere else if you look hard, but pretty much any Korean factory is good. They've been doing it long enough to be on a second generation, or even third now.

It takes a while for the "hayseeds" from the farm to figure out what's up in a factory job.... and if they staff the whole place, you may have an issue. Korea doesn't generally have that problem, the supervision knows what they are about, and a lot of workers are long-time and quite expert at electronic assembly.

You want folks who have been at it long enough to know what good assembly work looks like..... and QC their own work......... You cannot "inspect-in" the quality.

BTW, the Vietnam Ampeg were made by the SAME Korean company....... just at their Vietnam factory.
 
#26
Cheers.

I went into the rockshop today they said its gonna be a couple of months before they get any more in new zealand. It's almost double the price though :(

But just because of the voltage (I dunno if these heads have multi voltage support? anyone?) and warranty i might hold out.

Or look into a messa or soemthing.
 
#27
I switched from a Mesa 400+ to the SVT-VR and am very pleased that I did - not wanting to ignite an argument or diss the Mesa though. Simply for my purposes the VR is far preferable, and over several years I went from an SVT2 nonpro to a Mesa 400+ then back to the SVT-VR. The VR feels like home, I doubt that I shall ever replace it and it has my tone in spades.
 
#29
I play mainly blues and rock. I have two Bergantino cabs , the NV 215 and an NV610 but one is usually more than enough with this head. Bear in mind that my guitarist has a Marshall Jimi Hendrix full stack (the $10,000 reissue!) and I have no trouble hearing myself. What I like about the VR is that it has tons of headroom and does not seem to get dirty unless you are on 9 or 10 (which I cannot imagine), unlike other SVTs I have owned which tend to hit the grit around 4 or 5. I did try a CL but it had a few issues and anyway to me the tone of the VR was a little preferable.
 
#30
Futera, I would definately consider buying new (or secondhand) from ebay US. I've imported a number of heads to New Zealand this way, and most resently a secondhand SVT-VR. I just made sure they had multi-tap transformers. They aren't covered by warrany in NZ though... but so far so good... fingers crossed... Like Tim, I couldn't be happier with the VR. Good luck!
 

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