WTF is up with Mesa Boogie

[psychodave]

Built in the U.S.A by Juan or Jose or Manuel or...

More Like "Handwired in the USA" Doesn't mean some parts are not from China like populated boards, and footswitches. Smarvo Electronics has their hands in allot more than you might know about. Would be hard to get almost 4K for an amp if some things were made public.

Eexxxactly..... Some people don't pay very close attention to the fine print of some of the small pieces in some of these high end amps. Some do.

Bingo.

It's customization. Made in America done by Americans (which is important to me). American labor costs more. To be honest, based on the competition, Mesa Boogie has really good prices, even for custom requests. You would be shocked to learn about the many popular builders and companies who use foreign built and populated parts, like for example, circuit boards populated in China, then assembled in America to save on labor and increase profitability...all under the guise that it is 100% American made and built. These companies charge considerably more for their product than Mesa Boogie does. Business is business and profit is profit. Ask your amp builder if 100% or their product was made and built in America.

 

[glip22]

Built in the U.S.A by Juan or Jose or Manuel or...

More Like "Handwired in the USA" Doesn't mean some parts are not from China like populated boards, and footswitches. Smarvo Electronics has their hands in allot more than you might know about. Would be hard to get almost 4K for an amp if some things were made public.

Eexxxactly..... Some people don't pay very close attention to the fine print of some of the small pieces in some of these high end amps. Some do.

Bingo.

It's customization. Made in America done by Americans (which is important to me). American labor costs more. To be honest, based on the competition, Mesa Boogie has really good prices, even for custom requests. You would be shocked to learn about the many popular builders and companies who use foreign built and populated parts, like for example, circuit boards populated in China, then assembled in America to save on labor and increase profitability...all under the guise that it is 100% American made and built. These companies charge considerably more for their product than Mesa Boogie does. Business is business and profit is profit. Ask your amp builder if 100% or their product was made and built in America.

 

[tubortski]

Is 100% made in the USA amp even possible? Serious question.

 

[glip22]

Is 100% made in the USA amp even possible? Serious question.

Of course not.

Would it matter to you if you found out an amp you really enjoyed was part Chinese? That this amp sold for upwards of 4K. Assembled in the US but the boards were stuffed in China. All QC and assembly is done in the US. At the end of the day if it sounds great, was assembled here, and after assembly, gone over again, would it make any difference or would it bother you if the board, components, and stuffing of the board was done in China?
The Chinese are very involved in the amp market. I know Diamond amps has a line where the amps are built in China and then gone over and resolderd, etc, in the US but they are sold cheaply. Marshall has allot of amps built in China as well. Santiago lives there, no? I believe in Hong Kong where he oversees production.
I am curious how others feel, because for some reason it's not sitting well with me, and I am trying to get over it because maybe it's not justified how I am feeling about it. The amp, or amp line in question, is irrelevant here. I am looking for your thoughts?

 

[tubortski]

Exactly! I don't give a shit where it's made. If it sounds good, I'm going to play it.

 

[psychodave]

Exactly! I don't give a shit where it's made. If it sounds good, I'm going to play it.

To a point. USA means quality in my book. I'm paying up for that quality. Otherwise I want full disclosure that parts are made/assembled/built in another country...not just "assembled" in the USA. Clearly, foreign labor is used to decrease cost. I expect the price to be lower as well since a builder should pass through that savings to me. An amp with costs approximating $4,000 should be made in the USA. Just my opinion. Boogie's don't cost nearly that much.

That's why I'm a Mesa Boogie fan. Made in the USA.

 

[lester]

Is 100% made in the USA amp even possible? Serious question.

Of course not.

Would it matter to you if you found out an amp you really enjoyed was part Chinese? That this amp sold for upwards of 4K. Assembled in the US but the boards were stuffed in China. All QC and assembly is done in the US. At the end of the day if it sounds great, was assembled here, and after assembly, gone over again, would it make any difference or would it bother you if the board, components, and stuffing of the board was done in China?

Damn straight it'd bother me. Especially if I'm spending 3699. Which of course I'm not and wouldn't.

 

[skoora]

For the features and tones Boogie offers at the price point they do, I'd say there the best value for money in an American made amp. I don't get the big price bumps for different tolex etc., but the initial amp price points are great for what you get.

 

[russoloco]

There are various legal reasons why messy booger changed from "Handbuilt in the USA" to "Hand Wired in the USA." Mainly because of China.

 

[Stumplegriltskin]

I would assume that they have to get some stuff from China as nobody else makes the parts?
I have no problem with China, if the stuff is quality and lasts, no problem whatsoever. But the issue is, 99% of the stuff they produce = SHIT.

 

[glip22]

There are various legal reasons why messy booger changed from "Handbuilt in the USA" to "Hand Wired in the USA." Mainly because of China.

We're not referring to Mesa having that on the badge.

 

[SLOgriff]

Is 100% made in the USA amp even possible? Serious question.

Soldano is...

 

[thiswaythatway]

Built in the U.S.A by Juan or Jose or Manuel or...

More Like "Handwired in the USA" Doesn't mean some parts are not from China like populated boards, and footswitches. Smarvo Electronics has their hands in allot more than you might know about. Would be hard to get almost 4K for an amp if some things were made public.

Eexxxactly..... Some people don't pay very close attention to the fine print of some of the small pieces in some of these high end amps. Some do.

Bingo.

It's customization. Made in America done by Americans (which is important to me). American labor costs more. To be honest, based on the competition, Mesa Boogie has really good prices, even for custom requests. You would be shocked to learn about the many popular builders and companies who use foreign built and populated parts, like for example, circuit boards populated in China, then assembled in America to save on labor and increase profitability...all under the guise that it is 100% American made and built. These companies charge considerably more for their product than Mesa Boogie does. Business is business and profit is profit. Ask your amp builder if 100% or their product was made and built in America.

It's true. When I worked at Kramer we would get guitars shipped in from Hondo and they have Made in Korea tags on them. We had to remove all the Made In Korea tags and replace them with a "Proud To Be An American Company" What BS. I also noticed there's an article in a new Guitar Player magazine on Kramer which details their downfall.

 

[thiswaythatway]

Exactly! I don't give a shit where it's made. If it sounds good, I'm going to play it.

To a point. USA means quality in my book. I'm paying up for that quality. Otherwise I want full disclosure that parts are made/assembled/built in another country...not just "assembled" in the USA. Clearly, foreign labor is used to decrease cost. I expect the price to be lower as well since a builder should pass through that savings to me. An amp with costs approximating $4,000 should be made in the USA. Just my opinion. Boogie's don't cost nearly that much.

That's why I'm a Mesa Boogie fan. Made in the USA.

Except when buying a car.

 

[Stumplegriltskin]

Exactly! I don't give a shit where it's made. If it sounds good, I'm going to play it.

To a point. USA means quality in my book. I'm paying up for that quality. Otherwise I want full disclosure that parts are made/assembled/built in another country...not just "assembled" in the USA. Clearly, foreign labor is used to decrease cost. I expect the price to be lower as well since a builder should pass through that savings to me. An amp with costs approximating $4,000 should be made in the USA. Just my opinion. Boogie's don't cost nearly that much.

That's why I'm a Mesa Boogie fan. Made in the USA.

Except when buying a car.

Yep, I bought a VW because they are made in Germexico

 

[psychodave]

Exactly! I don't give a shit where it's made. If it sounds good, I'm going to play it.

To a point. USA means quality in my book. I'm paying up for that quality. Otherwise I want full disclosure that parts are made/assembled/built in another country...not just "assembled" in the USA. Clearly, foreign labor is used to decrease cost. I expect the price to be lower as well since a builder should pass through that savings to me. An amp with costs approximating $4,000 should be made in the USA. Just my opinion. Boogie's don't cost nearly that much.

That's why I'm a Mesa Boogie fan. Made in the USA.

Except when buying a car.

Yep, I bought a VW because they are made in Germexico

And were programmed to cheat emissions tests... lol

 

[Racerxrated]

Exactly! I don't give a shit where it's made. If it sounds good, I'm going to play it.

To a point. USA means quality in my book. I'm paying up for that quality. Otherwise I want full disclosure that parts are made/assembled/built in another country...not just "assembled" in the USA. Clearly, foreign labor is used to decrease cost. I expect the price to be lower as well since a builder should pass through that savings to me. An amp with costs approximating $4,000 should be made in the USA. Just my opinion. Boogie's don't cost nearly that much.

That's why I'm a Mesa Boogie fan. Made in the USA.

Except when buying a car.

Yep, I bought a VW because they are made in Germexico

And were programmed to cheat emissions tests... lol

My wife bought a VW convert last spring.....I'm not taking it in for any recall.....lol....better mileage!!

 

[some dude]

There are various legal reasons why messy booger changed from "Handbuilt in the USA" to "Hand Wired in the USA." Mainly because of China.

It's mainly because of California law. Unless every part of every component is of US origin they can't label it as Made in USA and sell it in California without risking a lawsuit, so if the chassis is stamped out of aluminum in America that was dug out of the ground and processed into sheet metal in Australia they can't use the Made in USA label on the amplifier because the sheet metal wasn't made in the USA. It's why they say Handcrafted in Petaluma on them. If you look there's a lot of US made stuff that uses similar labelling.

 

[messenger]

Is 100% made in the USA amp even possible? Serious question.

Soldano is...

Are all the resistors, caps, pots, wire, etc made in USA?

 

[SLOgriff]

Is 100% made in the USA amp even possible? Serious question.

Soldano is...

Are all the resistors, caps, pots, wire, etc made in USA?

Good question. Their cabinets and boards are made locally, they cover their own cabs. Soldano wires all their own boards...all transformers are made in USA. They order all components in the US.