Personally, I would be upset if my employer closed shop and moved to another country in order to cut expenses, and left me out in the cold. I'll keep my Ampegs, but I won't buy anything new by them.
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Thoughts on Overseas Vs Usa Made Ampeg
- Thread starter Michael777
- Start date
Dang! I just looked at the back of by BA112 and lo-and-behold: MADE IN CHINA. Still, I do like the amp. I looked at some of my other gear:
Carvin LB70-USA
Fender P-Bass-USA
P-Bass Lyte-Japan
Squier II-Korea
P-Bass Special-Mexico
Danelectro-China
Guild Pilot-USA
B100r-USA
Peavey Nitrobass-USA
Ampeg 115 and 210-USA
Zoom B2-China
E-H Big Muff-Russia
Sennheiser Mic-Germany
Sennheiser Headphones-Ireland
Oktava Mics-Russia
Levi's Jeans-Mexico
Puma sneakers-China
I guess quality control is what really matters, not where something is made. Heck, my Chrysler is made in Mexico! I'd still be irked if I lost my job if my company moved somewhere else and I got screwed (it happened to my dad) but I guess that's the way the world works now. Oh well...
Carvin LB70-USA
Fender P-Bass-USA
P-Bass Lyte-Japan
Squier II-Korea
P-Bass Special-Mexico
Danelectro-China
Guild Pilot-USA
B100r-USA
Peavey Nitrobass-USA
Ampeg 115 and 210-USA
Zoom B2-China
E-H Big Muff-Russia
Sennheiser Mic-Germany
Sennheiser Headphones-Ireland
Oktava Mics-Russia
Levi's Jeans-Mexico
Puma sneakers-China
I guess quality control is what really matters, not where something is made. Heck, my Chrysler is made in Mexico! I'd still be irked if I lost my job if my company moved somewhere else and I got screwed (it happened to my dad) but I guess that's the way the world works now. Oh well...
The world works like that because we as consumers allow it to work. If everyone stopped buying Ampeg, LOUD would reassess their move fairly quickly I assume. Same goes for every other company that screws over American people to line a few pockets.
Agreed. That's why WalMart can flourish while smaller mon-and-pop store have to close their doors. Thankfully, there are companies out there like Dr. Bass and Avatar that remain fairly independent.
Nope, I was just in my local GC. and the SVT classic head said assembled in Vietnam as well as the 810. They must be saving a pant load to ship a 810 cab from Vietnam.
I was told by a former employee that everything was outsourced after 4/28/07.
I don't have a lot of experience with the newer Ampeg stuff, but I've had several negative experiences with the made in USA SLM Crate products. An amp tech that I know and trust told me that St Louis Music had been using lower-quality components and the build quality really went south in the last few years. Made in America sure as hell ain't what it used to be, guys. On the other hand, manufacturing a product in a facility in a third-world country that pays extremely low wages and then selling that product for a premium price is total BS.
Well those extremely low wages that are reference are low in US dollar but when you can feed a family a four 3 squared a day for 2 US dollars that's better than what most factories in the US pay in comparison.
Its the loss of an entire USA company that is sad. It has nothing to do with where they moved nor QA issues. It has everything to do with their having moved outside the USA at all.
I like and buy non-USA products. MIM Fender amps and guitars, Ashdown, Vox, EBS, AKG, Marshall, etc. But, I am more willing to buy from companies that at least keep a major portion of their manufacturing in their country of origin, be it USA, Japan, UK, etc. What makes Ampeg different is that they bailed out on the USA completely. They are no longer an American company, nor are they an American Icon in the music industry. That was lost, possibly for good. Sad! :scowl:
I like and buy non-USA products. MIM Fender amps and guitars, Ashdown, Vox, EBS, AKG, Marshall, etc. But, I am more willing to buy from companies that at least keep a major portion of their manufacturing in their country of origin, be it USA, Japan, UK, etc. What makes Ampeg different is that they bailed out on the USA completely. They are no longer an American company, nor are they an American Icon in the music industry. That was lost, possibly for good. Sad! :scowl:
i have an american made ampeg, and an overseas made ampeg, they are both of excellent quality. i dont see what the big deal is about them moving some (i dont believe all, my pro was made in america recently, within the last two years) of there factories overseas, i will be playing ampeg for many years to come...
Ran out and bought one of the last USA V4BH heads.
Ampeg WHY overseas?
Is it just the money?
Bad move.
I agree; it's best to wait and see how the overseas-made products perform and hold up.
I've been using Ampeg for years (all SLM) with no problems and excellent results and of course Ampeg TONE!!
And while I'm somewhat sad to see an "institution" like Ampeg leave US soil, it's very much a global economy today, politics and personal feelings aside.
I disagree with the assumptions that Ampeg quality has been declining; just the opposite I think it improved under SLM, with some very solid gear being made.
Put ANY amp under the same scrutiny insofar as components (capacitors, etc.) and the cabinets, drivers, etc.I'm not sure if some of the claims of inferior items from Ampeg and Crate are valid. Leastwise my gear had no issues whatsoever.
Why don't we wait and see what results from the move?
If the design is the same, and QC is controlled (Why shouldn't it be?), there's every reason to hope that Ampeg will continue to build the same quality sounding units that they did here in St.Louis for years.
I've been using Ampeg for years (all SLM) with no problems and excellent results and of course Ampeg TONE!!
And while I'm somewhat sad to see an "institution" like Ampeg leave US soil, it's very much a global economy today, politics and personal feelings aside.
I disagree with the assumptions that Ampeg quality has been declining; just the opposite I think it improved under SLM, with some very solid gear being made.
Put ANY amp under the same scrutiny insofar as components (capacitors, etc.) and the cabinets, drivers, etc.I'm not sure if some of the claims of inferior items from Ampeg and Crate are valid. Leastwise my gear had no issues whatsoever.
Why don't we wait and see what results from the move?
If the design is the same, and QC is controlled (Why shouldn't it be?), there's every reason to hope that Ampeg will continue to build the same quality sounding units that they did here in St.Louis for years.
Let me say first,that I currently use Ampeg,heads,pre's and cabs.
One the the cabs that I use for rehearsal is an SVT-610HLF,mfg in Vietnam.
The rest of my Ampeg gear is of U.S. mfg.
I also use Eden, and vintage SWR gear.
What I find ironic is...that Ampeg received a major sales,and image boost during the Vietnam War, era.
Due in large part to all the great PROTEST music that was happening at the time.
What a long strange trip indeed!..
~
One the the cabs that I use for rehearsal is an SVT-610HLF,mfg in Vietnam.
The rest of my Ampeg gear is of U.S. mfg.
I also use Eden, and vintage SWR gear.
What I find ironic is...that Ampeg received a major sales,and image boost during the Vietnam War, era.
Due in large part to all the great PROTEST music that was happening at the time.
What a long strange trip indeed!..
~
For those of us (or at least some of us in) America, we've seen too many local factories producing all kinds of material close down with all production outsourced to a foreign country. Huge factories here in town that used to employ hundreds or thousands of workers are deserted. Sure it's a free market economy but it hurts to see it.
Someone here said before that Ampeg is like the Harley Davidson of bass amps and that seems to be a pretty good parallel. Hopefully Ampeg will "come back" much as HD did years ago (although I don't think they were ever made outside of the USA). At the risk of sounding like a jingoist, it's a source of pride for us.
I still have my 810, but no more Ampeg for me. If they come back I'll gladly reconsider. And I'm not an American only buyer, my pre is an Ashdown. I can't buy only goods made in my country but I'm trying harder to do it. Too many reasons to do it, and price is one of the few for not doing it...
The analogy with Harley is bang on. Ampeg, to me, is the Harley Davidson of bass gear. The SVT is that Ford or Chevy pickup truck. There's soul behind that blue grill cloth.
Have Loud followed the dream of the pursuit of wealth at all cost? Where do you draw the line?
I have been misreading a lot of these Ampeg threads and looking at it, incorrectly, from the position of quality. There's more to it than that.
Have Loud followed the dream of the pursuit of wealth at all cost? Where do you draw the line?
I have been misreading a lot of these Ampeg threads and looking at it, incorrectly, from the position of quality. There's more to it than that.
Manufacturing in general is heading east. Lots of factories have shut shop here too. It's just the way things are. We are pricing ourselves out of the market in terms of labour. Wouldn't it be great to keep our manufacturing in our own countries. But from a business point of view it makes no sense at all. Would you buy a bass costing 3 or four times as much in one shop than in another? My own engineering degree is manufacturing based so this will hit me more and more as i go on into the future. But it's also so something I have come to accept as a fact of life from manufacturing all the disgruntled American Ampeg fans aren't going to change that corporate decision to move east.
While you see factories shutting down and moving east. Sometimes this a factory doing what it has to in order to keep it's head above water. People don't like firing employs. Sometimes it is a necessary evil and can end up keeping some jobs in America while production is moved east R&D and other knowledge based aspects of the company remain in the country of origin. This can be better option than carrying on regardless the company going bust and everyone losing their jobs. Other times it's nothing but increasing profits regardless of who's effected.
As far as quality is concerned well that depends on the company and not the location. Americans can make things just as half assed as anyone else in the world. However if there is a consistent quality control in place with regular audits and what have you it won't be an issue. However it's up to the company to enforce it's quality policy. It has nothing to do with the country or people working on the floor. If parts were switched out for cheaper ones. Don't think that the move of production is the sole reason for it. The reason is they found a cheaper source of parts. Which would be used irrespective of country.
As for the symbol of America and all that. Well that's entirely in the buyers head. Fact of the matter is, an Ampeg is no different from your toaster your TV your PC or anything else that was manufactured in the east. It's a cold dead lifeless product. Something that, from day one, was designed built and sold for the pure purpose of making money. Your kidding yourself if you believe any other reason. Ampeg would probably still be some guy in a shed if it was "all about the music" or the "ideals" or whatever else. Also what about the electronic components that make up the circuitry in an American Ampeg. Surely they were manufactured somewhere in the east as well. In fact there probably wasn't a whole lot of America in it even when the production was over in the states
