Hartley Peavey shot himself in the foot.

[RR]

actually, by my count, i'm 2-men-up.

i must be gay. hahaha.

Yup extra chromosome ... :lol: (for those who took a biology course)

Just kidding, hey what you doing in a Boogie Board owning a SLO-100 and Bogner Ecstasy? That's like flaunting a Testarossa, and another exotic cars at a Corvette (or car of your liking) Convention.

 

[devilrob1979]

All of my guitars are USA made as is my amp. Peavey still has US manufacturing they just don't do as much here as they used to. However, with their volume being as high as it is I'd wager that he probably employs as many Americans as he did before. Anybody got that kind of data?

 

[nomad100hd]

i've heard from a lot of amp repair men that peavey stuff not very durable anymore.

 

[HipKitty]

i've heard from a lot of amp repair men that peavey stuff not very durable anymore.

From my point of view, it's not that they're not as dependable, it's the construction design is a PITA to do the work...though I've seen cracked boards/trace work in more than a few newer ones :?

 

[lyman]

Voxes are the best they've ever been built.

you can't be serious. there's a reason why old voxes are so highly sought after and the new ones.....not so much.

 

[Vigo1999]

Looking at a economic point of view, as Jerry clearly stated (Hey man!! whats up bro??), going overseas is a way to go (one, not THE), since the quality control keep a high level. but as a pratical point of view, when push comes to shove i will really stick with the best in the world:

musical intruments = US made
cars = Germans 8)
women = Brazilian :wink:

 

[Murphy Slaw]

I just don't see any Peavey gear being used anymore. Live.

There's a ton of it out there, and a dealer in my area, but none of the working musicians I know and gig with have any on a stage. My band has none.

Boogie, Roland (keys), Fender, JBL, Mackie, Shure, ect.

I swear I've gigged with, or seen dozens of bands in the last month, and haven't seen any Peavey gear. None.

I'm guessing the word is out. I have some old SP2's sitting here, but they're not being used, although they are just fine (old Meridian built), the JBL's sound better.

But as far as guitar amps go, they are done. I don't even see any Classic 30's anymore on stages.

I read a lot about how people love them, but don't see em' in the clubs anymore.

Bang bang, shoot shoot.

Once you decide to compete with Behringer, it's over.

Peavey. Rest in peace.

 

[yettoblaster]

...Once you decide to compete with Behringer, it's over.

Peavey. Rest in peace.

I'm with ya.

I actually bought a ValveKing 112 because I suddenly needed a cheap loud amp for a weekend thing.
Until then I was using more "tweed" type amps.

I used it for the one show and a couple rehearsals.

I have to admit, for $375 it did a pretty good job: decent Blackface tone on clean, and it would sing on the lead channel.

BUT, there were NO Chinese people at the gig!
And once again I felt like a betrayer to my brothers in American Labor.

So I traded it and a Fender Champ 600 (also Chinese) and a guitar for my Mark I RI, and got back to Boogies after a few tweed amps.

Now my world (and head) is right again...


To its credit the ValveKing didn't blow up on me (in three uses), and will make someone ELSE a decent enough amp.

I just never wanted to be seen playing through it again.

 

[sam adams]

I just don't see any Peavey gear being used anymore. Live.

There's a ton of it out there, and a dealer in my area, but none of the working musicians I know and gig with have any on a stage. My band has none.

Boogie, Roland (keys), Fender, JBL, Mackie, Shure, ect.

I swear I've gigged with, or seen dozens of bands in the last month, and haven't seen any Peavey gear. None.

I'm guessing the word is out. I have some old SP2's sitting here, but they're not being used, although they are just fine (old Meridian built), the JBL's sound better.

But as far as guitar amps go, they are done. I don't even see any Classic 30's anymore on stages.

I read a lot about how people love them, but don't see em' in the clubs anymore.

Bang bang, shoot shoot.

Once you decide to compete with Behringer, it's over.

Peavey. Rest in peace.

No disrespect to you, as I totally understand where you're coming from with the "all american" and whatnot. But I think it sounds like you're downplaying Peavey in your own mind more than what's really going on. Maybe it's just the music scene you're into?

I see Peavey EVERYWHERE. Really. Because honestly, the majority of players are not concerned "where" their amp was built, or the "ethics" practiced by the manufacturers. Just how they sound and maybe how they look.

I'm not brand Biased. I go by the rule, if it sounds good, it IS good.

The 5150 series for example. Amazing sounding high gain amps. Priced very reasonably compared to most mass produced tube amps(Marshall, Mesa, ect...) in the market. At this point they've pretty much ran all over the Recto's modern high gain stomping grounds, such as the Hardcore/Punk/Death/Thrash/Metal/Metalcore-ish scenes of all varieties(or lack of) needing a good high gain sound. They've become a "standard" you could say.

One of my bands is actively gigging and touring in the Hardcore scene. My main amp is my FJA modded 5150II(stock 5150 currently a backup) and my other guitarist's amp is a stock 5150. They just do the sounds we want, the way we want them.
Just about EVERY gig we play, at least one other person has a Peavey. Usually a 5150/6505 series but with the occasional Triple X, JSX, VTM, Ect...
Even as a spectator. If it's heavy music, you could probably bet money that one, if not most of the guitarist's on the bill will sport a Peavey.

However if you journey over into the calmer realm of music(Blues, Jazz, Country, Indie, ect...), you might not see Peavey so often, despite the fact that Peavey has some great sounding amps made to suit those styles.



I for one could care less if they're outsourcing. Unless of course there is shadyness like Sweatshops involved. I don't even buy shoes like NIKE's and whatnot because I'm not for Sweatshop labor.

Celestion are in a similar situation. Same product and specs. If you were to compare a "NOS" UK Celestion V30 to a Newer Chinese one. Technically theres no more difference between those actual speakers than there would be between two "NOS" UK Celestion V30's. But when you get a bunch of people on an anti Chinese bandwagon, they'll sure act like there is a difference and try to hype up there "UK" Celestion cabs. And like Peavey, it's not like a significant group of people are going to just up and stop using Celestions based on the fact they're now made in China... Myself? My cabs all have Eminence, as it's what I prefer. Coincidentally Eminence is very U.S.A.

Just because an amp is boasted as "American" doesn't mean it's guts are 100%. Madison Amps(Which I don't care for personally) were first hyped on being American made amps. A look on the inside... Cheap Chinese PCB JCM 2000 clones placed in "U.S.A. made" headboxes...
As Jerry stated. Even your beloved Mesas aren't as true as you might want to think. Hell, how many current production tubes are made in the U.S.A.? Mesa seems to do a lot of relabeling of Russian and Chinese tubes.

By all means, hate on China. There is a lot of messed up stuff going on over there. I just don't see why it has to be so Peavey specific when just about everyone else does it.

 

[lockbody]

Voxes are the best they've ever been built.

you can't be serious. there's a reason why old voxes are so highly sought after and the new ones.....not so much.

Old voxes are sought after because they're old Voxes, but they're some of the worst amps ever in terms of reliability.

 

[Rocky]

The old VOx amps also sound amazing. I have tried some of the new ones and they sound really good...but to think that they are anywhere near the level of an old Vox in terms of sound is just simply incorrect.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

The fact is, most people that play Peaveys actually take the logos off the amp.

And put stickers over the remaining evidence. Like Sam Adams amp that is for sale in the non Mesa classified section.

Sorry man, I just ain't seen a Peavey on a stage in a while. Maybe it's because they've taken off all the logos. Nope, that ain't it.

 

[sam adams]

The fact is, most people that play Peaveys actually take the logos off the amp.

And put stickers over the remaining evidence. Like Sam Adams amp that is for sale in the non Mesa classified section.

Sorry man, I just ain't seen a Peavey on a stage in a while. Maybe it's because they've taken off all the logos. Nope, that ain't it.

"The fact is,"? C'mon man... I would bet every penny and possesion I have that most people that play Peaveys don't go out of their way to take the logos off. That's just ridiculous.

I'm not trying to hide that I'm playing a Peavey. I love them. The only reason I have my 5150 up for sale is because I hardly ever use it because I prefer my 5150II. Not because I don't like the tone(I still have the 5150II) and certainly not because I have a problem with Peavey using non American resources. It's just unused at the moment so I might as well trade or sell it in favor of something "new" in my tonal arsenal.

Both my 5150(yes the one that's for sale) and my 5150II(that I have no intentions of selling) have the "grill mod". I bought them this way and I prefer the look. But it's not fooling anyone. Do I see a lot of other people do the same cosmetic mods? Nope. The handful of Peaveys I see on a weekly basis at shows generally all have the logo's still.

You can't act like you've never seen logo's taken off of amps before. I'd say that a huge percentage of the beat up Marshall 1960 cabs I see everywhere are missing the logos. It's just common for one reason or another.

Like I said before. Maybe it's just the music you're into. But it appears Peavey is doing just fine.

 

[lockbody]

The old VOx amps also sound amazing. I have tried some of the new ones and they sound really good...but to think that they are anywhere near the level of an old Vox in terms of sound is just simply incorrect.

I'm not sure that anyone ever thought that.

He just said that the new ones are built better than ever.

 

[TheBlackman]

I have to agree that PV's quality has gone downhill big-time. I was a 20-year pv owner. I've owned a 1988 backstage 50 - still going; Mid-80's stereo chorus 400 - sold to my bands other guitarist - no problems; 2006 PV JSX 212 combo - more problems than it was worth. The JSX (which I bought as a compromise...no mesa dealers were in area) had volume drop-out during gigs, reverb stopped working, and knobs broke very easily. The amp did sound good but just wasn't reliable at all. I finally got the roadster 212 combo and can't even look at it without smiling now that I know what I was missing. I do love my wolfgang though. :wink:

 

[scottkahn]

FWIW, the flagship Marshall JVM is made in England.

 

[Aart]

FWIW, the flagship Marshall JVM is made in England.

All Marshalls except the AVT and MG's and their other transistor amps. But British Marshalls are evenly bad as the Chinese ones, I've never seen a really good modern marshall, allthough they sound good).


Outsouring is not a problem, as long as the QC is allright, but that's what is mostly forgotten in chinese factories.

 

[scottkahn]

Outsouring is not a problem, as long as the QC is allright, but that's what is mostly forgotten in chinese factories.

Actually, that was the case eight to ten years ago. These days the quality control is comparable to many domestic, european, and Japanese manufacturers. Even American companies have quality control issues. I've had $1,000+ USA Fender strats new with defects in assembly and experienced sloppy assembly and detail work on PRS instruments. No company is perfect, and fortunately for all of us, Chinese manufacturered electronic and musical items have seen significant (and much needed) improvements in quality control.

We're finding in our product testing that the country of origin really matters less today than ever before.

Scott

 

[RR]

Outsouring is not a problem, as long as the QC is allright, but that's what is mostly forgotten in chinese factories.

Yeah, but the problem is the mentality in China is DO NOT STOP PRODUCTION REGARDLESS.

I work for a motion control company (electric motors for converyer belts, CNC machines, routing, machinery etc) we only do research, design and engineering. We sent out specification to various assembler. One is in China. They start manufacturing our controllers. Everything is fine. Then we start receiving controllers that are not using what we specify whether its the type of heat sink, screws, etc ...

What they did is they found another supplier, likely a cheaper in quality supplier but its that they could produce the product cheaper. We send the controller back complaining.

Their responds is like: "Oh, I guess we're going to have to go back to our original supplier, they don't like this new supplier."

Quality control issues. I suppose we could sent representative there, but once we start looking over their shoulder they'll get paranoid.

Now there's a mentality clash. We need to save face.

I know there was a discussion if Randall Smith decide to have production overseas or have an import amp model like Paul Reed Smith did with his guitars.

First of all, if you want to get rich these days, have production overseas in the Far East. Randall Smith is wealthy so many times over. Knowing him what he started with, he would not ruin the integrity of MESA / Boogie by assembling else where to cut cost. Besides he would have gone overseas for production already if he has not done so.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

The point missed with dealing with China has nothing to do with quality.

Communism.

I have no problem with dealing with Japan, or any other ally. China is not an ally. Wait and see.