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Has Mesa Walkabout design changed?

J

jdelemus

Jun 27, 2012
38
3
#1
I was looking at one about 6 years ago I think the price was around $1000. Bought an Ampeg BA115HP because it was half the price. Wish I had bought the Mesa, the Ampeg has crapped out.

Current price of a walkabout is $1599! The Ampeg is still around same price I originally paid.

Is there a production justification for such a huge price increase?
 
#2
Built by hand, like a tank, in the USA, by people getting paid a living wage.



jdelemus said:
I was looking at one about 6 years ago I think the price was around $1000. Bought an Ampeg BA115HP because it was half the price. Wish I had bought the Mesa, the Ampeg has crapped out.

Current price of a walkabout is $1599! The Ampeg is still around same price I originally paid.

Is there a production justification for such a huge price increase?
Click to expand...
 
#7
JimmyM said:
Using Chinese parts ;)
Click to expand...

ahh, the gentle but inevitable arrival of Mr. Goodnews. :D

all lomo said was:
- built by hand (true)
- built like a tank (true)
- in the USA (true)
- by people getting paid a living wage (true)

now I know those truthful points, along with the fact that the OP had the audacity to suggest that the Ampeg product he originally bought instead of the USA built Mesa Walkabout was perhaps inferior, has probably got your Ampeg support nerves all tingly, but I'm not sure why you would post your comment about Chinese parts (which we all know most manufacturers use in this modern world), other than to take a straight out dig.

just sayin' :cool:
 
#8
jdelemus said:
I was looking at one about 6 years ago I think the price was around $1000. Bought an Ampeg BA115HP because it was half the price. Wish I had bought the Mesa, the Ampeg has crapped out.

Current price of a walkabout is $1599! The Ampeg is still around same price I originally paid.

Is there a production justification for such a huge price increase?
Click to expand...

I think the original retail (which is what you pay for Mesa gear) was $1,299, so I don't think the price has gone up all that much considering, the modifications/improvements and inflation. IMO/IME, still well worth the price, but of course you have to decide that for yourself and your circumstances.

good luck
 
#9
pfschim said:
ahh, the gentle but inevitable arrival of Mr. Goodnews. :D

all lomo said was:
- built by hand (true)
- built like a tank (true)
- in the USA (true)
- by people getting paid a living wage (true)

now I know those truthful points, along with the fact that the OP had the audacity to suggest that the Ampeg product he originally bought instead of the USA built Mesa Walkabout was perhaps inferior, has probably got your Ampeg support nerves all tingly, but I'm not sure why you would post your comment about Chinese parts (which we all know most manufacturers use in this modern world), other than to take a straight out dig.

just sayin' :cool:
Click to expand...
Oh come on...you're comparing a budget combo to a high end solid state head. Even I'm not going to make that reach! OK, so maybe it was a little gratuitous, but with all due respect to the fine work Mesa does, and without trying to get political, being assembled in the USA is no guarantee that the Chinese parts will work any better than the Chinese parts assembled in China.
 
#12
JimmyM said:
Oh come on...you're comparing a budget combo to a high end solid state head. Even I'm not going to make that reach! OK, so maybe it was a little gratuitous, but with all due respect to the fine work Mesa does, and without trying to get political, being assembled in the USA is no guarantee that the Chinese parts will work any better than the Chinese parts assembled in China.
Click to expand...

as your're quite fond of saying .. we'll have to agree to disagree on this point. :D

Not going political on this point either, but thoughtful designs, populated with carefully selected and sourced electronic parts, that are hand assembled and tested by workers who are well compensated, along with the more focused QC that smaller mfg runs allow (as in Mesa's case), will reasonably result in better built products.

heck, even Ampeg understands this and as a result that's how they handle their Heritage series amps (if I am not mistaken).

desperate, burnt out, workers ain't jumping out of windows in Petaluma my friend. ;)

note: FWIW, the Walkabout is a hybrid amp, not a full SS one.
 
#16
pfschim said:
I think the original retail (which is what you pay for Mesa gear) was $1,299, so I don't think the price has gone up all that much considering, the modifications/improvements and inflation. IMO/IME, still well worth the price, but of course you have to decide that for yourself and your circumstances.

good luck
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the first time I checked out one of these amps the price was $1099. $500 increase in just a few years is a considerable price increase...at least to me.
 
#17
jdelemus said:
I'm pretty sure the first time I checked out one of these amps the price was $1099. $500 increase in just a few years is a considerable price increase...at least to me.
Click to expand...

Yeah- a Walkabout is pricey and if you need massive power it's not the ticket, but it sounds sweet, has a killer eq and IME is overbuilt. I have a combo and a separate head for use with other cabs....some of the most ear-pleasing gear I own.
 

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#18
pfschim said:
all lomo said was:
- built by hand (true)
- built like a tank (true)
- in the USA (true)
- by people getting paid a living wage (true)
Click to expand...
In all fairness, some people try to use those points as a blank cheque to justify ANY price. And this amp has been out long enough that any of the start-up costs are almost certainly accounted for, which would actually lower their cost/unit, if only slightly.

The exact percentage is debatable, but certainly part of the reason for the price increase is simple capitalism - the demand for this amp is high (for good reason, granted). Thus, the market can support a higher retail price. Mesa would have to be insane not to allow themselves to benefit from that.
 
#19
Mehve said:
In all fairness, some people try to use those points as a blank cheque to justify ANY price. And this amp has been out long enough that any of the start-up costs are almost certainly accounted for, which would actually lower their cost/unit, if only slightly.

The exact percentage is debatable, but certainly part of the reason for the price increase is simple capitalism - the demand for this amp is high (for good reason, granted). Thus, the market can support a higher retail price. Mesa would have to be insane not to allow themselves to benefit from that.
Click to expand...



Exactly. Neither Mesa nor any bass gear co is in biz as a public service. They do it for money, and this is a product that a lot of people are willing to pay top dollar for. However, my points are still relevant. It's not a matter of moral justification, but simply a list of attributes that are uncommon in the bass amp world that happen to appeal to me, and apparently others as well.
 

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