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US builder(s) making "German quality" heads

#41
fdeck said:
Most of the owners manuals that I've looked at (being curious about specs) state that Behringer's products are designed in Germany. And when it comes to performance factors such as noise and headroom, parts is parts, regardless of where the assemblies are made. On the other hand, an amp that is rated for "peak" power has effectively negative headroom.
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Designed in Germany is not the same as Made in Germany. Same as Mexican Jazz Bass was designed in the US but not made there.

Anyway I think this whole discussion is kind of ridiculous. This is an international world and it only works as such. It doesn't matter where an item is made. It only matters that I can get the quality at the price point I like.
 
#42
tom-g said:
Designed in Germany is not the same as Made in Germany. Same as Mexican Jazz Bass was designed in the US but not made there.

Anyway I think this whole discussion is kind of ridiculous. This is an international world and it only works as such. It doesn't matter where an item is made. It only matters that I can get the quality at the price point I like.
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"International world"!? Quality of a certain ilk tends to come from certain corners of the globe. That's just a fact.
 
#43
HeavyJazz77 said:
"International world"!? Quality of a certain ilk tends to come from certain corners of the globe. That's just a fact.
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:rolleyes:

Now, more than ever, country of origin means less and less when it comes to the potential quality of consumer products, especially music gear. (And this after I spent a bunch of time pointing out that Mesa's commitment to building complex, powerful, and well-engineered amps completely in the USA in another thread!)

But, and I must apologize, I have a hard time taking you seriously, as you seem to be one to make lots of sweeping generalizations.

You dismiss "all hybrids" as "inherently flawed," and "all Mesas" as "rock amps."

If you want sparkling treble detail and deep, wide bass, it's hard to get more in both accounts than the current Mesa M9--which is both a hybrid and a Mesa.

The Eden WT400 I owned for years is a hybrid design, and the only thing i ever had to replace was the input jack due to years of hard use.

You can get quality from almost any of the major industrial countries if you're willing to do your research and pay for it, and the overall QC of even basic prosumer bass amps has dramatically improved. Not every Chinese product is stamped out of the cheapest possible components, and not every American or German unit is built to the tightest tolerances possible.
 
#51
I kind of get what the OP is saying. The Glockenklang and TecAmp heads really do seem to be a step above most (or all) other lightweight heads IMO an IME regarding build quality, design and components to my ear. I think the 'made in Germany' thing has been taken a bit too literally here. I assume he is talking about those particular heads, which really are something IMO (of course, they have baked in tonality like all heads, which may or may not float an individual player's boat).

I have not experienced the quality and tonality of those heads in any others (output per spec'd watt, noise floor, distortion levels, quality feel, etc.), USA made or not. I would say the Demeter all in one amp (one space rack model) would be the closest to that vibe (i.e., quality components and build and 'pure tone').

That being said, unless the OP is purely driven by 'buying American' (whatever that even means these days with parts sourcing from almost everywhere), I would definitely not use 'made in the US' as any sort of indication of superior quality or whatever. I surely didn't buy my Glock because it was 'made in Germany';)

Edit: If the OP is looking for a totally different tonality versus the two 'German' companies' products I listed above, the Aguilar stuff is VERY impressive from a quality/reliability standpoint, and is designed and fully assembled by a small crew in New York. Very impressive heads... virtually no 'problem' posts, honestly rated wattage, and that nice, signature, warm, fat Aguilar tone. The GK stuff, assembled in the US also (I believe they use the ICE boards like many others, so again 'made in US' is kind of a grey area to me) is also pretty nice, and reliability seems to be improving greatly with the current run of products.
 
#56
I've only been inside one proper German amp, not sure where the PCB Warwicks I've been in were made.

Here it is: http://ampstack.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/dynacord-eminent-i-1-guts-german-weirdie/

Here's a top British made amp from 1969, and a top US amp from 1969, for comparison both have had hard lives, and work done:
http://ampstack.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/early-hiwatt-dr103-100w-ap/

http://www.chambonino.com/work/ampeg/classic/2-Ampeg_SVT_Mk1_(10).jpg

Yeah, its historic stuff, but that is what I deal with, figure some actual examples would be good. In the amp game it seems a lot of work is done to the standards set by precedent.
 
#60
Jeff Scott said:
Yeah, they sound like a German company. :D :hiding:
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True. I thought they were German for a short while, way back.
I, too would stack my GB & Aguilar amps against any amps I've owned in my 30+ yrs of using amps.
I've used hybrids for 15 yrs with absolutely zero issues.
I've also had very few issues with any all tube amps too. I kept them pretty well maintained & only once in my time has one failed. This was a tube issue & not a fault in the amp.
 

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