Today I bought a Peavey PV900 power amp. I was talking to a buddy of mine that told me that the PV line of Peavey stuff is made off-shore now.
Has Peavey moved some of their product line manufacturing overseas?
This guy is usually right about stuff, so I didn't have any reason to doubt him, but thought I'd just check here and see what you guys knew about it.
Thanks.

Originally posted by BlackBelt
Today I bought a Peavey PV900 power amp. I was talking to a buddy of mine that told me that the PV line of Peavey stuff is made off-shore now.
Has Peavey moved some of their product line manufacturing overseas?
This guy is usually right about stuff, so I didn't have any reason to doubt him, but thought I'd just check here and see what you guys knew about it.
Thanks.


It's the case with most manufacturers these days. It's the only way they can stay competitive.....Many products are designed in USA, Canada, Italy but end up being assembled overseas. If I'm not mistaken, it's the same with Yorkville's new budget YX speakers. Customers want the lowest price possible, so....

My Peavey dealer buddy was installing some Peavey equipment for me. When he unwrapped one of the pieces, he sniffed it and turned up his nose. I couldn't help but laugh... and I couldn't help but ask. He said, "I hate the smell of stuff made in China". Apparently, there was some measure of joy in sniffing the old American made stuff.

The moral of the story: beware: the new Peavey pieces made in China smell weird.

God bless America.

Anyone had any experience with the offshore stuff quality wise? I guess I'm asking is the off-shore production up to the same quality standards of the Meridian MS plant?

I have had a PV900 fo about 3 years now, that for a long time was part of my bass rig. It's been bulletproof so far. The Chinese can build things just as well as anybody. They build what's been spec'd.

As in everything globally built... there is excellent quality and there is crap. Depends on the standards set AND the follow-up quality control.

Originally posted by Al Poulin



It's the case with most manufacturers these days. It's the only way they can stay competitive.....Many products are designed in USA, Canada, Italy but end up being assembled overseas. If I'm not mistaken, it's the same with Yorkville's new budget YX speakers. Customers want the lowest price possible, so....

That's what it's all about - cost. People want it cheap, which is why walmart is so popular. I don't think I've seen a "I need a PA system and money is no object" thread yet. Everybody wants the biggest bang for the buck, and the way companies are doing that nowadays is designing a good product, setting up reliable production methods, and having everything done in china using those designs and methods.

But don't worry, as china grows and prospers, things will get more expensive to make there, and production will move to some place like africa. Then people will complain about buying everything from africa and long for the old 'made in china' stamp.

Originally posted by ihateyouguys


That's what it's all about - cost. People want it cheap, which is why walmart is so popular. I don't think I've seen a "I need a PA system and money is no object" thread yet. Everybody wants the biggest bang for the buck, and the way companies are doing that nowadays is designing a good product, setting up reliable production methods, and having everything done in china using those designs and methods.

But don't worry, as china grows and prospers, things will get more expensive to make there, and production will move to some place like africa. Then people will complain about buying everything from africa and long for the old 'made in china' stamp.

This pretty much summs it up... but I would suggest that perhaps India will be next in line:eek:

That sounds about right. There's nothing wrong with something being made in China, as has been said. It all depends on how the company contracts out the work and what kind of QC they implement.

I remember when almost all cheap overseas guitars were korean about 10-15 years ago. Nowadays most cheapies are Chinese, whereas a lot of mid-level stuff is korean. I've seen a lot of beautiful korean made instruments, rivaling and even exceeding some American made products.

Originally posted by agedhorse


This pretty much summs it up... but I would suggest that perhaps India will be next in line:eek:

India already is big in the tech fields - they have a crazy number of engineers. Also pharmaceuticals. India may be skipping the heavy manufacturing route and just going to high tech. Amazing the difference that has been made in a short period of time switching to a more open capitalist system there.

Originally posted by J.
I've seen a lot of beautiful korean made instruments, rivaling and even exceeding some American made products.

Man, you're speaking heresy there! (It's true, but its still heresy.) :)

India has over 1 billion people, if the manufacturing option presents itself, they will respond AND they have the technical support capability already in place.

As far as Korean guitars, the other engineer in our shop has a beautifully built guitar that is better than the American instrument he compared it to. The detail, binding and inlay work are absolutely first class. It was also not a cheap guitar by any account.

I'm of the impression there was a time when "Made in America" was... well... viewed as the mark of the cheap/mass produced for mass consumption. I believe it was vocalized in more ways than one that Henry Ford's model "T" assembly line way of producing cars was "the ruin of the automotive industry"... at a time when many other cars were built "by hand & by old world craftsmen". Compairing the "Tin Lizzy" to a Rolls of the day was maybe like compairing a Behringer board to a Midas.

I can picture a Rolls owner in about... oh... 1910... outside on a nice summer day, polishing the brightwork of his car's grill... and watching the first neighborhood model T clatter by... with some young-un at the wheel of the "T" smiling from ear to ear... and waving as he motored by.

Originally posted by ihateyouguys


That's what it's all about - cost. People want it cheap, which is why walmart is so popular. I don't think I've seen a "I need a PA system and money is no object" thread yet. Everybody wants the biggest bang for the buck, and the way companies are doing that nowadays is designing a good product, setting up reliable production methods, and having everything done in china using those designs and methods.

But don't worry, as china grows and prospers, things will get more expensive to make there, and production will move to some place like africa. Then people will complain about buying everything from africa and long for the old 'made in china' stamp. The bad thing is as China grows the USA decays.I cant believe people dont see it.I buy USA whenever i can afford to.

Right, but if India jumps on the MFG bandwagon, who will be there to work customer service for American companies???

Just a joke, I love it when 'Jim Armstrong' calls from XYZ customer service, it seems like they have a list of American first names and a list of American last names and they pick and choose a first and last name when they call you or answer the phone.... but definitely aren't in America...

You guys left out the Mexico don't forget Fender makes a lot of gear out of Mexico. ;)

Originally posted by twostone
You guys left out the Mexico don't forget Fender makes a lot of gear out of Mexico. ;)
Becoming less competative on the global market.

I will take my inferior, crappy quality control, over-priced Gibby over a foreign made ax anyday. :thu:

Originally posted by SG-DAWG
The bad thing is as China grows the USA decays.I cant believe people dont see it.
Oh, I believe they see it; however, who in the US wants:
1) A railroad, factory, or coal fired power plant bordering their back yard? Or:
2) An open pit mine or logging activities in their vista, or some farmer dropping mud and cow poo off their tractor onto the paved street? Remember, if it's not grown, it's gotta be mined. That is where raw materials come from. Or:
3) Is supportive of their child pursuing a manual labor vocation rather than an executive/professional career?

Made in the US has to be made somewhere in the US from stuff that came from the US by people living in the US who are willing and capable of doing the work. Products don't just come out of thin air. There is a price society must pay/accommodate for making "made in the USA" viable, which is a price/accommodation that is seemingly not popular with the general population.

Try to get a building permit to build a factory, warehouse, irrigation canal, or even a simple paint booth in the US sometime. Trust me, it's much more difficult and expensive than getting a marriage license.

Does your local high school even have a shop class anymore? If yes, then is it funded/supported even remotely equally with the computer classes or football team? FWIW: Most every day that the FedEx Ground truck shows up here, I've noticed there's almost always a good pile of computer doo-dads headed for a school somewhere. I can't remember if I've ever seen a shop tool or supply in the FedEx truck headed for a school.


Originally posted by SG-DAWG
I buy USA whenever i can afford to.
When you can afford it? That's not a very strong vote of confidence, as well as hints of ethics being subject to convenience, and is a slippery slope leading to a self fulfilling prophesy. For "made in the USA" to be viable, then affording the US product has to be routine. The quality has to be in demand at a price consumers are willing to justify for a product to be viable.

As a practical matter, it doesn't matter how much you can afford to spend or your ethics on supporting your fellow countryman, I doubt you can source even a simple XLR connector that is wholly the product of the USA (unless you find something vintage).

As another practical matter, what does "made in the USA" mean? If you're interested, here a good read on the FTC rules concerning this:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/madeusa.htm

Yes, you can attempt to change the tide with your spending habits, but I suggest social climate, politics, and the further development of global markets are the real deciding factors on this issue rather than isolated and sporadic spending habits by a few consumers.

Originally posted by Audiopile

Oh, I believe they see it; however, who in the US wants:
1) A railroad, factory, or coal fired power plant bordering their back yard? Or:
2) An open pit mine or logging activities in their vista, or some farmer dropping mud and cow poo off their tractor onto the paved street? Remember, if it's not grown, it's gotta be mined. That is where raw materials come from. Or:
3) Is supportive of their child pursuing a manual labor vocation rather than an executive/professional career?

Made in the US has to be made somewhere in the US from stuff that came from the US by people living in the US who are willing and capable of doing the work. Products don't just come out of thin air. There is a price society must pay/accommodate for making "made in the USA" viable, which is a price/accommodation that is seemingly not popular with the general population.

Try to get a building permit to build a factory, warehouse, irrigation canal, or even a simple paint booth in the US sometime. Trust me, it's much more difficult and expensive than getting a marriage license.

Does your local high school even have a shop class anymore? If yes, then is it funded/supported even remotely equally with the computer classes or football team? FWIW: Most every day that the FedEx Ground truck shows up here, I've noticed there's almost always a good pile of computer doo-dads headed for a school somewhere. I can't remember if I've ever seen a shop tool or supply in the FedEx truck headed for a school.


When you can afford it? That's not a very strong vote of confidence, as well as hints of ethics being subject to convenience, and is a slippery slope leading to a self fulfilling prophesy. For "made in the USA" to be viable, then affording the US product has to be routine. The quality has to be in demand at a price consumers are willing to justify for a product to be viable.

As a practical matter, it doesn't matter how much you can afford to spend or your ethics on supporting your fellow countryman, I doubt you can source even a simple XLR connector that is wholly the product of the USA (unless you find something vintage).

As another practical matter, what does "made in the USA" mean? If you're interested, here a good read on the FTC rules concerning this:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/madeusa.htm

Yes, you can attempt to change the tide with your spending habits, but I suggest social climate, politics, and the further development of global markets are the real deciding factors on this issue rather than isolated and sporadic spending habits by a few consumers. Wow i guess yor right i should just buy everything made in China.I dont know where your from but there is a lot of blue collar people around here and not too many jobs.I mean how can they get away with no shop class whats next are we gonna send our cars,planes and everything else to China when they need fixed?Im a auto mechanic, and if i didnt have my job i wouldnt be too proud to work at a factory to keep bread on the table.There are closed factories all over the place.It effects everyone.Even though im in the service end of things,people arent keeping thier cars serviced and maintained like they used to and business is slow.Because they cant afford it.As far as the buying USA when ever i can afford to what i meant by that is when i bought my PA and it came to power amps i bought Yorkville.I wanted Crown but just had no money left.So it was either yorkville or not have my system running for another year or so.Which btw i really dont have a problem with a canadian product.You can bet your ass if it would have came down to a Chinese amp or waiting i would have waited.I know everything within a american product is all american but its better than nothing.I dont wanna come across like a dick here and you always seemed like a good guy but you seemed to really attack my comment.