Does made "Made in the USA" matter?

The first thing I noticed about the Fender Super Champ XD I recently picked up was the country of origin - China - and I'm not really sure if I'm bothered by this or not.  After all, my Epiphone Les Paul is Made in China, and maintain that it is superior to every Korean LP I've played from Epiphone.

...This reminds me that I've yet to plug that guitar into that amp...

Strictly speaking, I'm not a believer in a product's country of origin having anything to do with quality - if proper time is taken to train (knowledge/experience transfer), and proper equipment and materials are provided, the quality will be there.  Sure, experience counts, which is why the longer you produce something somewhere the better it should get, but seeing as we're talking cookie-cutter production, I don't see that as the fundamental part of the equation.

What does all of this have to do with anything?  Well, I've come across some used amps I think are pretty interesting, and they're all "Made in USA", which got me thinking about how I ended up with a Chinese Fender...

Answer: It was a hundred and twenty bucks.

Supernova 2x12 - $275

According to the internet, the Supernova was made by a company called Tel-Ray, which has something to do with the brand Morley, and according to this Youtube video, it's a clean machine with tremolo and reverb built in, making it an off brand, solid-state Fender Twin copy.  


What catches my eye most is how this amp looks like the bastard offspring of a 70's silver face Fender and a modern-day Tone King. The teal/surf green panel lends some pretty serious curb appeal, and $275 isn't all that much for a vintage amp.  

With Fender Twin like power and solid state technology, this isn't going to be a crank-it-and-sound-amazing kind of amp, but the clean sounds online sound pretty good, and I could see this being a great platform for a modelling setup or effects heavy pedalboard.

Peavey Studio Pro - $240

With Peavey no longer making amps in the good ole US of A anymore, I can't help but think that there are a ton of second looks being taken at these amps. I have the Envoy 110 courtesy of my brother (who must be wondering when he's actually going to get the damn thing back by now...) and I'll admit to being pretty taken with the lead channels ability to go from mostly clean to hard rock on a volume knob.

Made in the USA (is this a theme?), these amps are light, sound great, and can be had for cheap.  Unfortunately, this seller seems to be aware of the renaissance Peavey is having on the used market, and has priced accordingly.  I've seen these at $150, and at that price they're a steal.  $240 isn't a lot to ask for an amp this good, but you're starting to get into more money than I'd be looking to pay for something like this.

At $200, if you were looking for an amp to leave in the rehearsal space, or you were just starting to gig, you'd be hard pressed to do better than this.


Mesa Single Rectifier Rectoverb 50 - $875

I've never seen one of these combos listed for so little, though strangely this isn't the only one listed within a 50km radius of me (this one was cheaper).  Not much to say other than these are pro quality amps with a ton of flexibility and a killer sound.  50 watts is a lot of power these days, but I've always found that Mesa stuff sounds good at any volume.

This is also Made in the USA.  Huh.




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