Boogies from China

[Botch]

Hmm I dunno about the China thing, like many others have said it would only hurt the company to produce budget lines. There are other companies for that kinda thing, leave it to them.

However! If Mesa were to open a factory in Europe, say England, producing the same amps as they do in the USA to the same high quality and then selling these amps in to the European market sales would go through the roof for them. Mesa's are ridiculously expensive over here and only a select few can afford them. Now if they had a factory over here producing for us Europeans, prices would be way lower without all the tax etc whacked on top of an already high price tag.

 

[t0aj15]

You won't see Ferrari building any bargain priced cars in china, you won't see Rolex building cheap watches in china, and you won't see Mesa/ Boogie building amps in china. For a reason, hand made quality. Period! Leave that nonsense to companies who have no pride in their products.

 

[73h Nils]

Oh God, no! :shock:

 

[voodoo_child]

However! If Mesa were to open a factory in Europe...

I've been thinking this for a long time, specifically for cabs.

None of my Mesa amps have matching cabs, Mesa cabs are so ridiculously expensive in Europe that it is almost stupidity to buy them. (99% of guys I know playing Recs etc use Marshall cabs in this country, a 1960 is half the price of a Recto 4x12)

I have to believe that shipping a huge 50kg box across the atlantic makes a large chunk of the cost of the cabs. If Mesa had any brains, they would open a small European factory to make cabs for this market, to the same specs as the US ones.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

I think Randall Smith should demand every single part of a Mesa/Boogie be made in the U.S.A. Every screw, transformer, knob, and tube.

But tubes are a problem.

Covers are not a problem. It's a "money" thing.

Jim Marshall didn't HAVE to outsource. He chose to. I had an English Marshall and loved it for a while.

Hartley Peavey didn't HAVE to outsource. He chose to.

While Marshall and Peavey may be laughing all the way to the bank, they are loosing quality players using their products, which is why their products were sought after in the first place. And in the case of Peavey, they've totally lost whatever little bit of credibility they ever had.

Capitalism is weird. If (IF) we DEMANDED American built products, regardless of price, we would get them. But people want cheap, and that's what they get.

Fender is quite a study. I've seen Chinese Fender bass amps, Mexican Fender tube amps, Korean and Japanese and Mexican Fender guitars. While I play a 91' American Tele, I don't know what my next axe purchase will be.

I do respect Gibson for keeping the Gibson guitars made in U.S.A.

If I lived in England, I would be as mad at Jim Marshall as I am at Hartley Peavey.

Vox is a crying shame.

While I don't see any Chinese built Boogies while Randall Smith is alive, I do wonder what will happen after that. But the market will decide. Quality players want quality gear, and will pay for it. But I do know this.

A Marshall, or a Peavey, or a Vox demands NO respect anymore if somebody rolls one in to an audition, or a gig.

A Mesa/Boogie gets your attention. Even the idiots at the bar know I'm serious.

And I am.

Best of luck.

 

[Living_justice]

with standards slipping in mesa boogie new amps, might be a good idea to go with the chines, they might make them like they once were.

 

[Restless Rocks]

You won't see Ferrari building any bargain priced cars in china, you won't see Rolex building cheap watches in china, and you won't see Mesa/ Boogie building amps in china. For a reason, hand made quality. Period! Leave that nonsense to companies who have no pride in their products.

I had to cool off for a minute before I broke the "no political threads" rule. Personnally I wish Mesa would resume building the amps to order; one at a time with the waiting period as long as necessary and priced accordingly. Just like in the beginning, In Petaluma. And the best part: only sell their amps only to people who are deemed deserving by a special test. Not just anybody who has the money. I will refrain from suggesting criteria for the test.

 

[CoG]

with standards slipping in mesa boogie new amps, might be a good idea to go with the chines, they might make them like they once were.

Actually, the occasional lemon among the diamonds is a sign of an "artisan"-type production process. Seriously. (I used to work in a place where we'd frequently by one-offs or very small orders of custom or near-custom RF kit... I'm not an engineer by any stretch, though.)

When you have a shop where the same three guys do all the soldering, well, some day one of those guys is going to be hung over. Handbuild shops in *any* industry usually have pretty poor QC because they are (over)confident their workers have done the job to spec or beyond (and 95 per cent of the time, they will.) Shops like that often won't have really specific QC standards, they just 'check out' the piece, so they will frequently not catch the one Ruiz did when he was hung over. I don't *know* this is how Mesa works, but I have a pretty strong suspicion.

QC is not about quality, it's about consistency. It's more about procedure and culture than technology. You can have the most skilled and professional workforce in the world and you'll still screw a certain percentage of your production-- QC is about making sure that one screwed-up piece doesn't get out the door. I used to have mechanic friends say that what you want is something designed by Brits, prototyped by Germans, built by Americans, with the Japanese doing QC. The Chinese suck at it right now but they're getting better fast.

But anyway, no f$#ing way would I buy a Chinese-made Mesa, same way I won't buy a Chinese Vox. If a Chinese company made an amp, marketed it as "designed and made in China!' and it sounded cool, I might buy it, but not a Chinese Mesa.

 

[Tyrant]

Buy America first. There are enough Walmarts already.

 

[Pageburst]

There are so few high quality manufacturing jobs in the US anymore. It's nice to see a cottage industry of amp and guitar makers survive and thrive here in the good ol USA.

Does that mean that all Chinese made goods all suck. No. I'm sure if the materials used are of equal quality to US made goods and the QC in the factory is good then good quality goods can be had from China. But in my mind guitars amps (well maybe England) and motorcycles should be made in the USA. That's the way it was done and that's the way it should be.

 

[domct203]

Buy America first. There are enough Walmarts already.

+1000

Dom

 

[jdurso]

i'd rather not get lead poisoning from playing guitar :wink:

 

[domct203]

i'd rather not get lead poisoning from playing guitar :wink:

Careful now, lead is a "heavy metal" :shock:

Dom

 

[dennq45]

OUT OF A JOB YET?

KEEP BUYING FOREIGN!

 

[RR]

... o-kay, for you guys don't mind buying a former USA made product now made in China here's the problem:

Say this US company claims it will supply the China company with the parts and hardware and supposedly with the rigorous quality control ... somewhere along the line, production will run out of parts and / or hardware. Instead of waiting for the next shipment, they'll find another vendor / supplier and buy from them!!! Then they'll realize its even cheaper and will start using these parts because now there's saving too!!!

You say that should not happen with quality control manager. Nope it happens always, the mentality in China is to NOT STOP production regardless of quality. Do things now, answer or consequences later. They hope if falls through the crack with the US company not knowing it.

Can you say Mattel's toys with lead paint. What about that manager who committed suicide because he knew they were sending defected product to the US?!

:?

 

[Mr_You]

Sorry but..

This thread/idea is stupid ... DIE THREAD DIE!!! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

[ToneAddictJon]

I think this thread was a great idea!! Shows that the majority of people here are more concerned with the overall tonality and quality of the equipment they use for their passion, rather than get the cheapest thing they can find. No wal-mart mentality for the MUSICIANS!!!!! Well at least the true ones

 

[guitarmaster]

:!:

 

[HappyStrat]

This thread/idea is stupid ... DIE THREAD DIE!!! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Yep, this thread makes me wanna puke............

 

[NuSkoolTone]

I would NOT buy Boogies made in china or hecho en mexico. Leave that crap for the Solid State amps with knobs that break off.

First, it would cheapen the brand and definitely diminish the mystique about "Boogie".

2nd For what I've come to expect from Boogie, they're in a tough spot. When their amps get too expensive, I'll stop buying them. When the quality becomes a crap shoot, I will stop buying them. 1st scenario=USA, 2nd Scenario= China. I'd sooner see them employ automation at home overseen by qualified tech and skilled finishers + QC than oversees.

The above reason is why I doubt I'd buy a Marshall. Ever since the DSL/TSL they've felt cheap to me, and even more so with the JVM stuff. Granted, what they're asking for these amps is reasonable all things considered.

I DO wish boogie could find an alternative metal to build their amps with though, maybe more reinforcement to be just as strong but lighter.