Ampeg

[jayen_aitch]

I find this thread really socially interesting.

How important is it to folk in the US of A that the gear is made there? Is it a big deal?

I don't think the average British buyer would be as bothered about where their kit is made.

[incubus2432]

I find this thread really socially interesting.

How important is it to folk in the US of A that the gear is made there? Is it a big deal?

I don't think the average British buyer would be as bothered about where their kit is made.

For me it's more of an issue of them leaving then coming back when things didn't work out as planned. The fact that there are numerous alternatives also makes it an easy decision. I prefer my all tube Mesa 400+ to any of Ampegs offerings (new or used) anyway so the whole issue isn't a problem for me.

My Rics have always held a special place in my heart. Nostalgia, fit for my style, feel, tone is all of primary importance and "Made in USA" is important as well but to a lesser degree than function/aesthetics. I certainly appreciate that RIC has kept production in the States and has not offered lesser imports but I would be as "proud" and loyal if it was a British company with the same business sense/values.

As a general rule I like to support local businesses in general and in the global market I suppose RIC can fall under that umbrella as well. While I have my USA muscle type car my daily driver is a VW. If a USA based automaker offered a model with similar performance, style and features I would have certainly considered it but they have nothing that comes close so i do what I have to do for my needs. The same goes for most of my buying decisions......I have my needs/wants criteria and buy local first if possible and progress outward until something fits then I hammer down my cash.

[aceonbass]

I also have some Made In USA Ampeg gear and I like it. I bought my PortaBass 800 as NOS after the move and got my SVT HLF 410 from Charly G. used, then loaded it up with Emminence Delta-Lites. I prefer products made here and it's not about quality because I know there are hard working people all over the world, but I want my $$$ to go to the ones that live here. Don't agree, then wait till your job is affected by foreign competition. I don't think Ampeg's rethinking the move overseas, but I do think they realize there is a small percentage of Ampeg people who didn't like it. I think they're new NEO cab line is made here too. If it's designed AND assembled here, then that means it's MADE here, even if there are components sourced from abroad. I'll have to go check it out and see what it says on the back when GC gets them in stock. It was too little too late for me though, as I've bought a new GK MB500 and 210NEO as a practice/small gig set up. These were made in California.
Brian, as far as a domestically produced performance car on par with your GN goes, have you driven a new Camaro yet? At 400 horsepower and 25 MPG it will pretty much toast stock and many modified Buick turbo cars. I've got one of the 6.0 LSX series engines in my '66 Skylark and it kills! Say what you will about styling, but GM engineers came up with a world class power plant when this new engine series debuted in '98.

[86kubicki]

I'm still not convinced of the quality and reliability of Chinese produced products.... yet. I'm sure that given time things will improve to a very high level, but at the moment I'd prefer an amp from a country with a well established manufacturing tradition.
As a side note, I was trying an Eden tube bass amp the other day. Where was it made? You guessed it - China!

[ken_j]

... Brian, as far as a domestically produced performance car on par with your GN goes, have you driven a new Camaro yet? At 400 horsepower and 25 MPG it will pretty much toast stock and many modified Buick turbo cars. I've got one of the 6.0 LSX series engines in my '66 Skylark and it kills! Say what you will about styling, but GM engineers came up with a world class power plant when this new engine series debuted in '98.

Try driving a ZR1 with the 638-hp/604 lb-ft of torque 6.2 Liter LS9 supercharged V8. This tops the HP that was found in the former big blocks that are now out of production. I did a lot of fastener work on this during its development prior to my retirement in '08.

[incubus2432]

Brian, as far as a domestically produced performance car on par with your GN goes, have you driven a new Camaro yet? At 400 horsepower and 25 MPG it will pretty much toast stock and many modified Buick turbo cars. I've got one of the 6.0 LSX series engines in my '66 Skylark and it kills! Say what you will about styling, but GM engineers came up with a world class power plant when this new engine series debuted in '98.

I know the new Camaros and Mustangs are fantastic (I'm a Ford guy.....the GN and a '64 Impala SS are the only "cool" GM's that I've owned) but that isn't what I was after for my daily driver. My '04 VW R32 is 250hp (NA) AWD 6spd with HUGE brakes......basically it's like driving a shifter cart with comfy wrap around leather seats. My GN is great for all out performance (there certainly are faster cars but that is always the case and, as far as street cars go, my will hold it's own just fine and I love the feeling of 30 pounds of boost). The VW is my commuter car......with performance snow tires it is fantastic in bad weather, it's a blast to drive and gets mid 20's per gallon. Plus it can haul a surprising amount of gear. If there was anything close made in the USA I would have considered it but there was and is not.

[atomic_punk]

Ronbo, sounds like you have a lot of great stories to share

I guess Gene would have just called up and asked for a few new amps if he needed them...

[johnallg]

I find this thread really socially interesting.

How important is it to folk in the US of A that the gear is made there? Is it a big deal?

I don't think the average British buyer would be as bothered about where their kit is made.

Jon, for me it is not the fact it is made offshore but the fact so many of the heads had reliability problems. I do not know if the production over there has improved in quality, but knowing a USA-made used amp was made by the same people who made them for decades and hold the brand name pride in their work DOES make the difference. I'm sure the big name working pros let Ampeg know how they felt about this also. You need your rig working while you're onstage....

[VRICKY63]

Hmmmm.............is all this Ampeg business why Victor Wooten and Will lee have switched to Hartke ??

[rickenbrother]

I think Geezer Butler recently bailed from the Ampeg ship as well.

[jps]

Hmmmm.............is all this Ampeg business why Victor Wooten and Will lee have switched to Hartke ??

I did talk briefly with Victor about that Thursday morning when Shari & I saw him at the Hartke booth.

[rickenbrother]

It's actually a switch back to Hartke for Will Lee.

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

Hmmmm.............is all this Ampeg business why Victor Wooten and Will lee have switched to Hartke ??

sponsorship...free stuff...your pic in an ad...$$$$$$$ ! many reasons to use advertized gear ! only glossy ad i was in was "lado guitars" from toronto and only because the instruments were designed, re-designed, or built to my specifications, which i paid for. there were no freebees !

[jps]

Hmmmm.............is all this Ampeg business why Victor Wooten and Will lee have switched to Hartke ??

sponsorship...free stuff...your pic in an ad...$$$$$$$ ! many reasons to use advertized gear ! only glossy ad i was in was "lado guitars" from toronto and only because the instruments were designed, re-designed, or built to my specifications, which i paid for. there were no freebees !

Perhaps that is true of most endorsees, but I do know that Will and Victor do not play that game, along with Billy Sheehan; they all do have a refreshing sense of ethics in that they endorse what they really like. Ampeg's, or more accurately, Loud Technologie's, ethics and MO do not match up with their's.

[86kubicki]

sponsorship...free stuff...your pic in an ad...$$$$$$$ ! many reasons to use advertized gear ! only glossy ad i was in was "lado guitars" from toronto and only because the instruments were designed, re-designed, or built to my specifications, which i paid for. there were no freebees !

No freebies from Joe eh?
I always liked popping into his shop in Scarborough. Nice guy and pretty cool instruments as well!