Ax8's on sale made in the USA??

cragginshred

cragginshred

Fractal Fanatic
Didn't production move the China quite some time ago but the advertisement for the sale says 'made in USA'
This was pointed out to me by someone who was going to buy my used Ax8 which was truly made in the USA
 
IIRC - I read that the case is made in China, but the assembly of components is done in house with the exception of some surface mount soldering that is outsourced. As far as parts go, even when I order from Mouser or Digikey most of those parts are made overseas. It would be impossible to make a product such as this that is 100% MIA.
 
Plexi12xxx said:
IIRC - I read that the case is made in China, but the assembly of components is done in house with the exception of some surface mount soldering that is outsourced. As far as parts go, even when I order from Mouser or Digikey most of those parts are made overseas. It would be impossible to make a product such as this that is 100% MIA.
Click to expand...
  1. On 2016-10-27, @FractalAudio wrote: "In an effort to reduce costs and improve availability, we have moved final assembly of this product to China."
  2. At that time the shipping boxes were also updated to say "Made in China" clearly on them.
We are just asking if the situation has changed or if the description on this page is wrong:
http://shop.fractalaudio.com/AX8_Amp_Modeler_Multi_Effects_Pedalboard_p/fas-008.htm

Super duper simple question.
 
@cragginshred, I opened another thread about this and Admin M@ was nice enough to reply, rather verbosely.

Also just ran across a less verbose TGP post from Cliff earlier this year:
"The AX-8 was originally comprised of the chassis and all boards but the motherboard made in China. The chassis were shipped here and domestically-manufactured motherboards installed. Now everything is made in China. This enables us to lower the price because the cost of the motherboard went down."

So the answer is: Made in China.
 
MSS said:
No wonder the other modelers are getting better. They are all using Cliff's code!
Click to expand...
DOH!

Actually, I think the firmware is installed stateside before shipping to customers... in a box that says "Made in China" on the side. ;)
 
Our warehouse, shipping center, and engineering lab are in Plaistow NH.
The real heart of the AX8—the firmware and all the software, are made in America.
The design and mechanical engineering are done here too. I believe the DSP itself may also be made here.
The unit is assembled in China using components sourced globally sourced components.
The quality if the new units is as good if not better than the previous ones.
 
Given it’s been said the new unit quality is “as good, if not better”, I can’t why someone would want to pay more for a 2nd hand USA version....

Buying second hand certainly isn’t helping with USA jobs and I’ll be the first to call B.S on anyone that says the USA versions sound different than the MIC versions. This isn’t a Sovtek vs NYC Big Muff after all, it’s an all or nothing digital product running 1’s and O’s, and that alone makes the tone

I don’t think any will fail as Fractal builds a quality product, but I’d just so have to laugh if the MIA ones start showing faults that the “as good, if not better” MIC versions don’t lol.

But hey, if I could sell a MIA version for a profit, then rebuy a new MIC at the same price and come out ahead, pocketing the difference, I’d totally do that.

So what’s the market for the “rare” MIA these days ? $1500, $2k ? How much will a sucker pay for the “mojo” ?
 
I'll say it again: neither of these threads have anything at all to do with MIA vs MIC quality, but people are clearly very touchy on the matter.

ChristThePhone said:
Ist it true ? MIAs achieve better prices on the 2nd hand market compared to MICs ?
Click to expand...
It's not surprising if that's the case.

lqdsnddist said:
Given it’s been said the new unit quality is “as good, if not better”
Click to expand...
Well, I certainly wouldn't expect FAS to say the new ones are worse. But I think it's pretty well known, just as John Suhr or Dave Friedman would say is the case with their amps, that a mass produced, machine-assisted assembly line unit is quantitatively better than a "hand-made" unit in almost every way. Nobody is claiming otherwise.

lqdsnddist said:
I can’t why someone would want to pay more for a 2nd hand USA version
Click to expand...
They often have other equally valid reasons for wanting to buy something made in the USA that has nothing to do with quality.

lqdsnddist said:
But hey, if I could sell a MIA version for a profit, then rebuy a new MIC at the same price and come out ahead, pocketing the difference, I’d totally do that.
Click to expand...
You can. People are able to buy brand new Made in China units, and sell it internationally on Reverb or eBay for a profit.

New unit $1099 + Global Express Shipping Insured ~$110 = $1209

These are the sales for the last 10 days on Reverb:

upload_2017-12-22_14-17-38.png
 
If it’s not about build quality, and it’s not about tone, then what is it about ?

Why would someone want to pay more for a USA 2nd hand version ?

Now if it’s a choice between a new USA vs China I can see why some folks would feel it’s supporting American jobs etc buying the USA, but second hand it’s all moot.

If you buy a new MIC your still supporting Fractal, a small American company with your business, right?

But if you buy a used USA one Fractal lost a new sale, and as a result revenue. Buying American made used isn’t supporting American business.

So is it an attempt to send a message to Fractal saying someone would rather buy used, even at a higher price, than buy a new MIC? Essentially try to penalize them for moving production?

I know some folks do refuse to buy non American made products on principle. Maybe a little silly since 99% of the parts are surely made overseas anyways, but to each his or her own.

I know we guitarist can be a silly lot, thinking we hear tonal differences, that the MIA sound sweeter etc, and plenty of guys believe these things as if they are true, but if that isn’t the case...... then what is it?

Why are we able to have several multiple page threads all about how much of a “non-issue” where the final assembly takes place ??
 
lqdsnddist said:
Why are we able to have several multiple page threads all about how much of a “non-issue” where the final assembly takes place ??
Click to expand...
Because it took that long (and 1000 views) to get an authoritative reply.

lqdsnddist said:
I know some folks do refuse to buy non American made products on principle.
Click to expand...
Yup. Fact is, buyers often purchase on emotion, not facts, reason, or principles. Just the way it is.

Personally, for the record, I'd rather buy an assembly line, mass produced, "Made in China" AX8.
 
Sixstring said:
I know I run the risk of having the thread closed but I have to know the reason why you would want this?
Click to expand...
Because a well designed PCB-based product (e.g. adequate trace widths/thicknesses, proper solder masks, etc.) put together by a quality manufacturer can be cheaper, perform equally, and be more reliable long term than a "hand-assembled" product that is far more subject to human error. The fewer humans involved the better.
 
benvigil said:
Because a well designed PCB-based product (e.g. adequate trace widths/thicknesses, proper solder masks, etc.) put together by a quality manufacturer can be cheaper, perform equally, and be more reliable long term than a "hand-assembled" product that is far more subject to human error. The fewer humans involved the better.
Click to expand...

Is see your point, but to be honest the PCB and other electronics in the AX8 were made in China, designed here in the US as we already know. I don't know exactly how they assemble them in China but I'm sure it is the same way they did it here in the U.S.

For me, it means someone here in the states has or had a job in this case for a little while. I have not had any issues with the unit I have sense I received it when they first came out plus it makes me feel better knowing one of these units helped someone earn a paycheck.
 
Plenty of people are still employeed in this country directly, or indirectly, when fractal sells a unit.

Port workers, transportation, fractal warehouse staff, delivery people, etc all were involved in getting the end product into your hands.

Maybe there is someone who did assembly line work who now doesn’t, but likely another person now has a job in some way related to getting the MIC units produced in terms of logistics, mgmt, etc

Heck, by being able to offer the product for a lower price, the overall number of units sold may have increased enough to where extra staff hasn’t been hired to help with order processing, shipping and such.

So bottom line, Fractal directly and indirectly is keeping plenty of people working work in this country through their business operation regardless of where the unit is produced.
 
the sad thing is, that in todays America the made in China units are probably better!!!! the American work force these days for the most part has gone to crap, no one prides them self's in there job, they just want a large salary and lots of days off!, or welfare!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom