Well, I am returning my B200r...it just doesn't have the same quality as the SLM B100r. Buzzing...rattles...JUNK.
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Local stores don't sell Ampeg anymore
- Thread starter heath_r_91
- Start date
Agreed. It's a shame to see such a true "American success story" and a true legacy (in the good sense) bass brand go down the crapper. I was too young to experience all the angst that happened when CBS bought out Fender but I have an idea for musicans back then it must have felt very much like this.
FWIW it's not just Ampeg. I had the same experience with another brand of head about a year ago.
FWIW
http://news.harmony-central.com/Pro...ignificant-EAW-and-Mackie-Production-Capacity
Ampeg could be next in line.
http://news.harmony-central.com/Pro...ignificant-EAW-and-Mackie-Production-Capacity
Ampeg could be next in line.
....I hate to be a glass half-empty guy, but looks like the dude who replaced Jamie is another psuedo been-counter type rather than a musician. (Remember, Mr. Hull was a bass player and he 'got it'.) How can a non-bassplayer, let alone, a non-musician 'get it'??
Actually maybe they should stick to EAW and Mackie and offer-up Ampeg to someone who understands us...gee, that's a novel idea
Jimbob
PS, ok I stand corrected, Roger Cox invented the SVT......
Actually maybe they should stick to EAW and Mackie and offer-up Ampeg to someone who understands us...gee, that's a novel idea
Jimbob
PS, ok I stand corrected, Roger Cox invented the SVT......
Funny thing is that the building materials for the amp seem fine. It looks good (besides the slightly crooked logo on the chassis).
Maybe it really is a design flaw as the chassis is not bound on the back (like the B100r)? The amp is loud so maybe not enough meat to curtail the buzzing? Or maybe I truly have a bad one?
Maybe it really is a design flaw as the chassis is not bound on the back (like the B100r)? The amp is loud so maybe not enough meat to curtail the buzzing? Or maybe I truly have a bad one?
It's just that Ampeg has been such a big presence in bass amplification for so many years. I still first think of Ampeg when I hear "bass amp."
But has it "gone down the crapper", really? Plenty of people still very happy with their new Ampeg gear. I sometimes wonder if you say something enough times on this forum it becomes accepted as fact.
The script is the same but that's how they have done it for years. I like the old Ampeg Script in block letters and happen to have a couple of pristine 8X10 metal ones in my safe. One has original screws and the other one does not.
Probably be able to retire when I sell them, if ever, HA!
....I hate to be a glass half-empty guy, but looks like the dude who replaced Jamie is another psuedo been-counter type rather than a musician. (Remember, Mr. Hull was a bass player and he 'got it'.) How can a non-bassplayer, let alone, a non-musician 'get it'??
Actually maybe they should stick to EAW and Mackie and offer-up Ampeg to someone who understands us...gee, that's a novel idea
Gene Kornblum wasn't a player in any way, but he did 'get it", and he had folks to help... who really got it.
The problem seems to be the "brand mentality"....... you know, the brand sells the product.......
I always tell people that musicians are the most conservative folks on earth........ most have what they like, and don't want to change, unless you can really sell them on it by what the new stuff DOES.
brand don't mean anything, except that it may get some folks to play something that they would otherwise not have even tried.
The performance guarantees the brand.... the brand doesn't guarantee the performance.
That's the problem that the former porky inmate at Loud just didn't get........ And being the industry insider he was, he should have (???) After all, he was a roadie one summer........ (yowza!)
+1
Ampeg gained their place in the market by making good stuff. They had good marketing, too, I imagine, but the key element was that they were consistently high quality (in service as well as product, from what I hear).
For a company, a short slip in quality of both product and service (mainly service in this case) can damage their reputation for years.
LOUD's quality does seem to be getting better...I don't see near the complaints on here that we used to get a year ago. Still, guilty till proven innocent, which bears out what Sartori just said.
I am returning my B200r because of buzzing in the chassis. Actually, I am exchanging it first as the shop said to give them a chance to make it right before they refund my money.
So I used the amp last night at practice just to make sure the buzzing wasn't something in my practice room at home.
I have to say, I though that the B200r sounded better than the B100r in the mix. It had some more punch and still retained that round, warm tone. The idea for the amp was right on, the buzzing chassis problem just has to be fixed.
I am not really sure how the next amp could be any different (from looking at the design), but I will give it a shot.
At least the warranty is still there too. I really do hope it comes together for Ampeg (and they realize that it would benefit them to move the upper line of amps back to the US for even public relations purposes).
So I used the amp last night at practice just to make sure the buzzing wasn't something in my practice room at home.
I have to say, I though that the B200r sounded better than the B100r in the mix. It had some more punch and still retained that round, warm tone. The idea for the amp was right on, the buzzing chassis problem just has to be fixed.
I am not really sure how the next amp could be any different (from looking at the design), but I will give it a shot.
At least the warranty is still there too. I really do hope it comes together for Ampeg (and they realize that it would benefit them to move the upper line of amps back to the US for even public relations purposes).
LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well said Jerrold. Yep, I 'get' the reality of the issue here which happens in many industries ('people politics', in this particular case). As you alluded to so many times before, you can't just say 'here's our product, and you'll keep buying it cause it's that good', unless of course you prove to be worthy and sincere about your customer's wants and needs. Many companies come and go b/c they're not understanding of how important that dynamic is; take the auto industry for example.
And maybe it even goes beyond that, b/c in this biz. Ampeg is supposed to know what we want and need. That's their legacy.
It frustrates me when you see 'inexperience' up at high decision making levels that seems to be faking their way through the job. Accordingly, looks like we are now going from a roadie to a what....??
Well, you know what, maybe it doesn't matter what experience you have, just get it right!!!!!!! Right?
That's why you're gettin' the big bucks....jeeze c'mon Ampeg, get a grip!
I still maintain one marketing solution lies in copying Fender's model: build the high-end stuff here, ie; MIA, MIM, MIJ ,etc.
Jimbob
LOL! Now now, don't go counting your chickens before they hatchSo, the sky isn't falling?
LOUD still has some atoning to do if you ask me. But if they put forth an honest effort to get quality back up, keep the beancounters from ruining good working designs, and keep it consistently good, Ampeg will last another 50 years. And I also think it will eventually come back to the US. Maybe not through LOUD, but let's not forget that it wasn't the first time they went overseas (MTI period, anyone?).
But it's still way too early to pronounce that the sky isn't falling.
So, the sky isn't falling?
No, but it went from a nice luxurious 12 foot ceiling to an 8 foot one where you can bump your head in some doorways.
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