Amazing what's out there on CL!

[olddawg]

So ... I glanced at CL after the holidays and this guy had a container pile of complete new 18 watt style chassis with EVERYTHING. Three 12AX7s, two EL84s, 5Y3, board, jacks, controls, transformers, even knobs, etc. Fully assembled. FOR $69! He had been running the ad for weeks. I got the last one and also picked up an AC 30 type one new for $100. The catch is the 18 watter doesn't seem to have a USA PT. The 30 watt appears to be fine. Blows my mind what's out there for so cheap. Must cost nothing to make them in China. I tried to attach a picture but it keeps saying "improper file extension".

[Enzo]

Think about that next time you see a "do not repair" list from a manufacturer. That is why Fender would prefer to send a new amp to a customer rather than pay me $50 to fix one.

[olddawg]

He wouldn't tell me where he got them from and what they cost him of course. But a complete new 18 watt amp with a boost channel with all the tubes to me (and others) for $69? Part of it is because he didn't know they had the wrong PTs when he bought them and just unloaded them. I fear he is stuffing other ones into custom cabs and calling them boutique amps, lol! Interestingly the chassis badges say "VHT ELECTRONICS" and "Product of USA"! I'll post some pictures if I can figure out how. This site doesn't seem to like pictures off of my iPad even though it's a PNG.
It's these people: http://davidsonelectronics.com/project/vht/#

[olddawg]

Turns out that the PT on these 18 Watt chassis are Australian! 230vac @ 50Hz. Guess this guy got a pallet of them somehow. I'm going to try to pull the bells off and see if there are any unused internal primary taps. Probably not, but it's worth a shot. Still a great deal for $60. Would be an even greater deal in Australia! I'm going to power it up off. My variac and see how it sounds. This is what it is, without the cab of course. http://www.vhtamp.com/products/the-s...he-standard-18. I'm posting this because so many people are looking for an inexpensive 18 watt platform to mess with. Evidently they are out there if you look around.

[big_teee]

I'm still trying to figure out what CL is?
T

[Leo_Gnardo]

Turns out that the PT on these 18 Watt chassis are Australian! 230vac @ 50Hz. Guess this guy got a pallet of them somehow.

Somebody made a beeeg mcsteak on the shipping dock, a whole pallet of amps went to the wrong continent. What a headache for VHT! The "new" chinese VHT that is. No rice for you! For a hunnert years!

CraigsList Terry.

[Justin Thomas]

Craig'sList.

Justin

[Chuck H]

No disrespect intended, and I suppose somebody had to get them, but I just threw up a little in my mouth.

[olddawg]

Somebody made a beeeg mcsteak on the shipping dock, a whole pallet of amps went to the wrong continent. What a headache for VHT! The "new" chinese VHT that is. No rice for you! For a hunnert years!

CraigsList Terry.

What's interesting is they say, "Designed and Assembled in the USA" right on the chassis. So I guess the whole amp is made in China, the cabinet and speaker is made in China, then the two are shipped to the USA on separate pallets to be shoved together by minimum wage unskilled labor in some industrial park. Lol.
Hard to compete with that!

[Chuck H]

That's EXACTLY how that works. Sometimes you can get away with calling the "chassis" a "part" and that chassis may be fully assembled. Maybe you have to know the right guy because sometimes you can't get away with that. At the very least you can get the board fully assembled (board mount pots, sockets, etc.) and call it a "part" though. I was almost part of something like that and I didn't like it (ergo my post above). You might be surprised how many things "made in the USA" arrived here as parts A - F, then with a few plugs and screws TA DAAAA!!! Made in the USA. The difference between "made" and "assembled" can be blurred for the right people.

[Justin Thomas]

On many other products I have seen "Designed and Assembled in USA of Chinese/Maltese/Redneckese/Whateverese Components."
I guess the amp world isn't quite so regulated yet...
Yet.

Justin

[Leo_Gnardo]

That's EXACTLY how that works. Sometimes you can get away with calling the "chassis" a "part" and that chassis may be fully assembled.

After Kramer left off late 70's making their aluminum neck guitars & basses, their new style instruments had necks & bodies made in Korea, assembled in US. Which country the electronics were mounted in I dunno. In any case, finished off with a very nice neck plate, deeply printed Made in USA. Kelsey consoles' cards, metal parts & boxes made in UK, assembled in USA late 70's to mid 80'. I guess there's some sort of savings at customs when it's parts vs finished product. There must be thousands of things made like this.

[Chuck H]

I'd seen so much of it when I was working on a particular project that I didn't believe anyone could compete without doing it that way. I made a glib statement about a particular brand product being made overseas. And I believed it was because it was a good product at a reasonable price . Anyway, it got back to the manufacturer and they were so butt hurt they posted up here just to rip me a new one. I felt pretty bad about it.

[J M Fahey]

It sounds WRONG on so many counts I canīt believe ot.
VHT is a current, well known and respected brand so no matter what the cost (which is irrelevant), THEY should be the ones selling those VHT labelled chassis, no matter what the price is.

That "Davidson Electronics" (Who??????? ) is unloading them STINKS, and doubly so if they refer you to the real VHT site "to check what an incredible deal you are getting".

I have repaired falsely labelled "Mackie" powered mixers and similar stuff, so I suspect either somebody ordered a truckload (or containerload) by some generic maker (remember that chinese guy who always asked about everything and made the Uranus amps) who will silkscreen *anything* on their chassis *or* the Chinese OEM supplier either got a custom VHT ordered batch rejected or cancelled or he simply made 500 after getting an order for 200 "to save time expecting further orders" and later unloaded them at cost ... say U$50 each.

Are these "VHT"?
Yes and no.
These *might* be surplus production really "designed/ordered by VHT" or any generic product with VHT silkscreened on it.
In any case they have NO right to use the brand VHT unless authorized in writing by VHT themselves ... which I doubt.
Murky waters to be sure.

[Chuck H]

But isn't it "murky" that this sort of thing should come up as an issue? Assuming this isn't a copyright/design pirate issue, if VHT were ACTUALLY making amps in the USA this sort of thing wouldn't happen and no eyebrows go up. Comeuppins?