I am trying to get hold of one of these in the UK but they are now discontinued. Loud Technologies have now passed over Ampeg in the UK to Polar audio but they are not stocking GVT, just bass gear. Nobody has these in Europe. There are a few UK retailers show availability but they would have to order in from Polar who have none.... There are a US few retailers selling as low as $350 and it is a simple fix to change the voltage but there must be restrictions selling Ampeg gear to UK/European buyers from the states. Alternatives seem to be $450+ on eBay or other with super high shipping rates (and I have to add duty of course!) Any ideas? You guys here often get great deals on gear!
Oh man, what great timing! I have an early GVT15H I'm about to put up for sale as it's been recently replaced. I'll hit you up via PM and we can discuss.
About the $349 price tag......I noticed a few stores early this year selling the entire GVT line at clearance pricing and figured they were being discontinued but LOUD Technologies denied this. My buddy ended up ordering one from Sweetwater and the reasoning for the lowered pricing was immediately obvious. The early stuff like mine was "Made In Korea" and the guts are pristine, toggles and jacks are solid, and the amp sounds fantastic. The newer ones are all "Made In China" and the guts look like shit, toggles are flimsy, verb sound like ass, and the overall tone of the amp is lost. My friend returned his only a couple days after receiving it. Difference in new and old was day and night, guess Ampeg decided to save some $$ on manufacturing.
Holy Schnikes wrote:Oh man, what great timing! I have an early GVT15H I'm about to put up for sale as it's been recently replaced. I'll hit you up via PM and we can discuss.
About the $349 price tag......I noticed a few stores early this year selling the entire GVT line at clearance pricing and figured they were being discontinued but LOUD Technologies denied this. My buddy ended up ordering one from Sweetwater and the reasoning for the lowered pricing was immediately obvious. The early stuff like mine was "Made In Korea" and the guts are pristine, toggles and jacks are solid, and the amp sounds fantastic. The newer ones are all "Made In China" and the guts look like shit, toggles are flimsy, verb sound like ass, and the overall tone of the amp is lost. My friend returned his only a couple days after receiving it. Difference in new and old was day and night, guess Ampeg decided to save some $$ on manufacturing.
Thanks for the advice. How would I know which was which? Or who was selling what?
muttlegs wrote:Thanks for the advice. How would I know which was which? Or who was selling what?
It's clearly marked on the back of the chassis but from what I've read, the "Made In Korea" stuff was pretty much discontinued after the first batch of GVTs were stocked at retailers way back. I'd imagine they're long gone now days and you'd be dealing with "Made In China" stuff exclusively.
Also, I tried to PM you but it's not working out for me, just freezes during sending. I'll keep at it.
Here's the gutshot comparison, just for kicks. The first pic is the "Made In Korea" version. The board and components are clean and well assembled all things considered. Hot glue was used carefully and accurately to give certain components more stability/protection from any bumps/bangs the amp may incur over the years. This is the initial version Ampeg released, however, when sales didn't explode out of the gates, they reassessed and took production to China.
This here is the newer and less expensive "Made In China" version. Most everything is covered in white glue this time, not a conservative dab here or there, just huge globs carelessly sprayed everywhere. Also, many components have been changed (to cheaper stuff I'm assuming), wiring is kinda messy, and it's hard to see in the pic but the board has weird and very noticeable ashy areas near the tubes sockets, not sure what the deal with that is...
So is there any resemblance with the old school ampeg mojo inthere, or are the current ampeg owners just buying cheap generic practice amps and giving em nice aestetics and an Ampeg logo? Forgive me my ignorance, didnt mean to hijcack the thread, was just curious
