I've seen some pretty bad VHT stuff, from a build quality perspective.
2010-ish Ampeg stuff is pretty unreliable also (hello PF series), but most of those are design issues, not build quality.
MarkBass is the same way. Lots of design issues, decent build quality.

When you troll the broken gear sections of eBay and reverb as much as I do, you'll start seeing the same things over and over.

biscuitdough wrote: Wed Jun 08, 2022 6:00 pm

Dr Tony Balls wrote: Wed Jun 08, 2022 4:32 pm Also, FWIW I wouldnt call the Mig build quality trash. It's not the worst i've seen.

Blackstar? Univox?

Yeah I mean that's a LOW bar

Nate Dort wrote: They did use some shitty components in certain years. Those white plastic toggle switches were trash.

I remember the guitar player getting one of these & bringing it to practice for the first time and that was the first thing I noticed: those jank-ass switches. In my head I was like "this is dead in a month" but I was wrong. It died that night half-way through practice.

Amp prices are wild JCM 800s shot up so fast. Ampeg V4s used to be $350-500 all day long now its always closer to $1000 for a decent looking one.

The Sovtek price jump seems bonkers, I don't know when that happened specifically, maybe just because JCM800s got so crazy?

considering you can still buy the reissue mig50s for half the going price (not that it's the same amp, but yeah)

Come to think of it, I HAVE a mig50, and at $640 for the reissue Im still tempted to get that before they just suddenly disappear and command stupid prices. I would have to build a bassman to beat that price

biscuitdough wrote: Wed Jun 08, 2022 6:00 pm

Dr Tony Balls wrote: Wed Jun 08, 2022 4:32 pm Also, FWIW I wouldnt call the Mig build quality trash. It's not the worst i've seen.

Blackstar? Univox?

Dunno what Univox you're talking about but I wouldnt even put those in the same category. It also depends on what we're calling "trash" quality. Blackstar stuff is largely SMD construction, which may be decently reliable but certainly isnt very maintainable.

twelvepoint wrote: Wed Jun 08, 2022 2:34 pm

Dr Tony Balls wrote: Wed Jun 08, 2022 1:13 pm LOL I dont charge that much for an amp.

This ^

I mean seriously, how fucking special can an amp be just because it's old? All my amps are 40-50 years old but if they suddenly vanished and I had to replace them with modern handmade stuff like the Dr. here I'd be totally happy.

If you have an old Gretsch guitar in the closet, the ones they're making now are the best they've ever made and they're 1/3 the price of the vintage ones. Old Gretsch guitars make some cool sounds, but they were never really GREAT guitars.

dontfeartheringo wrote: Thu Jun 09, 2022 11:47 am

If you have an old Gretsch guitar in the closet, the ones they're making now are the best they've ever made and they're 1/3 the price of the vintage ones. Old Gretsch guitars make some cool sounds, but they were never really GREAT guitars.

Hard disagree here. I've played and worked on a ton of Gretsch's from vintage to new and the good ones from about 1955-1960 are better than anything they've made since. The bad ones from that era can be pretty mediocre for sure but the good ones are as good as any guitars ever made. Most of what they made from about 1961-recently was very hit or miss for sure and some of the junk from the 70's and 80's is just atrocious. As for the current ones, they can be really good for sure but I've had to fix a lot of issues on them that shouldn't have gone bad so quickly and some of the cheaper models have pretty serious design flaws.

I know the Grestch custom shop is very legit, everything is done by hand and you pay for it - but Stephen Stern is held in high regard.

TylerDeadPine wrote: Fri Jun 10, 2022 9:50 am I know the Grestch custom shop is very legit, everything is done by hand and you pay for it - but Stephen Stern is held in high regard.

Yeah, those are great. I played a 6120 that was as good as any vintage Gretsch. It was also over $9000 new. You can get a completely fantastic original 1958 Country Club for less than half that. I paid $1400 for mine. It needed a bit of work but still....

How 'bout that old vintage Gretsch drum hardware though?