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Ampeg Vietnamese Cabs - Run away!
- Thread starter Baird6869
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Maybe it's a way to keep from raising the prices??
FWIW, I'm not defending Loud/Ampeg. So before I get accused of looking at things through "rose colored glasses", I will openly admit, that if the new imported Ampeg stuff sucks, well, then it sucks, and I'll be that much happier that I own US built Ampeg equipment.
But I still am wondering about the A/B thing. Do the Asian made Ampegs actually sound different, or worse, than the US made Ampegs??
FWIW, I'm not defending Loud/Ampeg. So before I get accused of looking at things through "rose colored glasses", I will openly admit, that if the new imported Ampeg stuff sucks, well, then it sucks, and I'll be that much happier that I own US built Ampeg equipment.
But I still am wondering about the A/B thing. Do the Asian made Ampegs actually sound different, or worse, than the US made Ampegs??
Of course it is, or at least a way to reduce costs.
Loud also bought Mackie and did the same thing to them, moved production offshore. You'll notice Mackie ads no longer state how they're proudly made in the USA (nor do Peavey ads any more).
The Acoustic USA group is using the original designer as the lead engineer (Russ Allee), all USA staff, design and manufacturing and the finest parts within reason (the machined aluminum knobs alone cost $5 each!). 'Within reason' in this case means that it's still a bass amp so it has to be in the range of what top quality bass gear sells for. Further, Acoustic USA spent six years studying the original models to be sure the new gear honors, yet exceeds them in every regard. The old rivalry between the top dog Ampeg (SVT) and Acoustic (360/361) bass amps will be coming back at a very interesting time for the Ampeg brand.
Acoustic:
That's exciting, as the only one I've ever played was my first proper bass amp, a 15" combo . Unluckily for me the clown who sold it to me had put an 18" speaker in it, and it would rumble itself to death at just a bit louder than I had tried it in his garage.
But I really like how they sound recorded.
That's exciting, as the only one I've ever played was my first proper bass amp, a 15" combo . Unluckily for me the clown who sold it to me had put an 18" speaker in it, and it would rumble itself to death at just a bit louder than I had tried it in his garage.
But I really like how they sound recorded.
Having owned Ampegs myself, I really hate hearing about all the trouble surrounding a fading Ampeg name. I don't really care where it's made as long as the quality is there though I'd rather have them built here by people who are loyal to the brand and have respect for the name and care enough to put out a quality product.
The real problem I have with Ampeg now is the way LOUD technologies tends to treat it's product lines. Judging by it's past performance, things aren't looking good for Ampeg sadly.
The real problem I have with Ampeg now is the way LOUD technologies tends to treat it's product lines. Judging by it's past performance, things aren't looking good for Ampeg sadly.
I'm not going to comment on their sound or ruggedness until after I've had a chance to play out of them, but given a choice between having new Ampegs made in Vietnam or not at all, I'll take Vietnam. However, I do think there should be some sort of price reduction if the quality isn't the same, and I haven't seen that happen yet.
I have no qualms about them making amps in Vietnam. They're a lot closer to the parts at a good price than we are. Face it, tube manufacturing technology is the province of the Russians and Chinese now. We're completely out of it. So naturally it makes sense to go there. I can't fault them for that. I will, however, fault them if they don't respond to the bad initial impressions these amps are making.
I have no qualms about them making amps in Vietnam. They're a lot closer to the parts at a good price than we are. Face it, tube manufacturing technology is the province of the Russians and Chinese now. We're completely out of it. So naturally it makes sense to go there. I can't fault them for that. I will, however, fault them if they don't respond to the bad initial impressions these amps are making.
This makes good sense. If you are going to pull manufacturing away from the US to a place where labor costs are a fraction, shouldn't the selling price reflect this a bit? Once again, how can Euphonic Audio make a fabulous 800 watt head in the US and sell it for around $1000? That's right smack in the middle of the Ampeg lineup in terms of output/price. By the way, I really like Phil Jones Bass gear which is made in China...really finely crafted stuff.
Reading/posting in this thread inspired me to take another look at my copy of "Ampeg-the Story behind the Sound"-
Worth the price for the pictures and old ads alone, let alone the history and story of the company's development.
If there's one thing I got from it, it's that Ampeg has had its share of ups and downs through the years and has been on the ropes more times than "Rocky"!
The LOUD chapter is the latest, and I personally hope not the last.
I don't know what the market will be for the new product, and I don't think there's been enough of it in the field to make an absolute statement of how it performs.
I think it was said about Mark Twain; I'll change it-
"Reports of Ampeg's death are greatly exagerrated".
They (Loud) have invested $$ in Ampeg, I hope there's some people there who respond to whatever problems exist, and solve them.
Worth the price for the pictures and old ads alone, let alone the history and story of the company's development.
If there's one thing I got from it, it's that Ampeg has had its share of ups and downs through the years and has been on the ropes more times than "Rocky"!
The LOUD chapter is the latest, and I personally hope not the last.
I don't know what the market will be for the new product, and I don't think there's been enough of it in the field to make an absolute statement of how it performs.
I think it was said about Mark Twain; I'll change it-
"Reports of Ampeg's death are greatly exagerrated".
They (Loud) have invested $$ in Ampeg, I hope there's some people there who respond to whatever problems exist, and solve them.
EA can do it because they're a small shop and don't need to hire the manpower a company like Ampeg/Crate needs. Plus they're all solid state and don't consume the amount of tubes Ampeg does. Ampeg probably sells 10 tube amps to EA's one solid state amp. I can't blame them for moving closer to the tubes at all.
Sure, no problemo duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudddddddddddddde!
EVERYTHING!
OH ok thanks for clearing that up I was confused
Specifically, they are parts which are "supposed to be" similar to the ones used in US units.
For the first Vietnam units, I believe the majority of the components were in fact the SAME as previously used, because the Vietnam CM did not have people qualified to develop alternate sources.
I don't actually know if the components have since changed, especially if the production DOES or DID move to china, but I would suppose so. There are too many "hoops to jump through" in getting components from foreign sources to assemble in china.
I do know that the chinese LOUD engineering department (in Shanghai, I have shipped stuff to them) was supposed to have a priority project to re-source all the components locally.
I will repeat..... chinese components don't make a unit junky. But, when you have to re-source away from proven German, Swiss, etc components (such as WIMA capacitors) to totally new vendors, there could be surprises.
IF the majority of such components have been substituted by indigenous chinese components, then there is at least a partial answer.
BTW, the info about Acoustic is pretty cool....... I like that. The market ain't like it used to be, so they may have some work to do to stay "in it", but it's still cool.
Jerrold, you never cease to amaze me with your insight and knowledge. It's very much appreciated.
How about getting a bunch of investors together and buying Ampeg from LOUD?
How about getting a bunch of investors together and buying Ampeg from LOUD?
Well I'm confident that they'll pull it together. Nobody buys a giant amplifier company like Ampeg to lose money. They might need a little time to get the right components together, but there is a giant competitor in the tube bass amp business named Mesa who would love to see them fail, and if word is bad about them, they won't make money.
+100 to Jerrold's input on the subject at hand; aside from someone from LOUD answering concerns (not likely!) it doesn't get better than that kind of info.
Thanks again.
BTW-there you are, page 252, I believe, in "Story...."
It must be very satisfying to have been affiliated with a benchmark Company like Ampeg, and be part of it's history.
I spent some "quality time" with my Ampeg rig this afternoon, and ....nuff said. Anyone with ANYTHING to do with that tone..
Thanks.
Thanks again.
BTW-there you are, page 252, I believe, in "Story...."
It must be very satisfying to have been affiliated with a benchmark Company like Ampeg, and be part of it's history.
I spent some "quality time" with my Ampeg rig this afternoon, and ....nuff said. Anyone with ANYTHING to do with that tone..
Thanks.
I went to the Loud website and looked up bios of their board/officers etc. From what I can tell, they're accountants, businessmen, CEOs, vice presidents, etc. None of them, according to their bios, play an instrument, sing, run sound, do sound recording, mixing, etc., much less play bass. Maybe they do play, I don't know. However, if you're wondering why there may be a problem with some of the stuff emanating from Vietnam these days, I humbly submit this could be the root of it.
Now, this being said, Leo Fender never learned how to play an instrument. The difference is he listened to those who could/did. Let's hope Loud does the same.
Alan
P.S. I own pre-Loud BXT cabinets and a pre-Loud SVT-IV Pro. I've been an Ampeg user since the 70s.
Now, this being said, Leo Fender never learned how to play an instrument. The difference is he listened to those who could/did. Let's hope Loud does the same.
Alan
P.S. I own pre-Loud BXT cabinets and a pre-Loud SVT-IV Pro. I've been an Ampeg user since the 70s.
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