boynigel Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 i recently learned that my amp, made by a reputable company who shall remain nameless, is toast. turns out there was moisture inside the PCB which over time rotted the traces within it. my amp tech told me this was becoming more and more commonplace, particularly from amps made using chinese pcb. he rattled off the names of 3 other brands, that shall also remain nameless, that had the same issue. after spending nearly 1500 on my Helix i'm really hoping Line6 isn't using any of the suppliers of this crappy PCB for the Helix or any of their products for that matter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillBee Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 It is easier to list amps "not" using them. They are in almost everything we own for daily life in order to keep them affordable. Besides even "if" the board is domestically made where do you think the components come from? I wouldn't put Chinese pcbs on your list of daily things to worry about. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted April 14, 2016 Share Posted April 14, 2016 Yes. If we're going to worry about the quality of PCBs from China I would worry more about the ones controlling the brakes on my car than the ones in my guitar gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boynigel Posted April 14, 2016 Author Share Posted April 14, 2016 the fact that i'm concerned doesn't mean it's keeping me up at night, just to be clear. but it doesn't change the fact that this problem is becoming more and more common. so much so that at least one boutique amp maker, Louis Electric, uses "moisture-free PCB" as a feature/benefit/selling point with their amps. the other thing is that it is a dormant problem in that it takes time for the moisture to take its toll on the traces. it took my amp 5 years. well out of the warranty period for pretty much every manufacturer. how convenient. i think this is just the tip of the iceberg. just sayin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pianoguyy Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Vote Trump. Build a wall. Repeal NAFTA. Quit being a cheapass. By American. American products, particularly those that are ALL-American, are very pricey. And they get more expensive with every piece of legislation the government passes because $7 becomes $15, but it is really $50 when you include health care. ($50 an hour to say "do you want fries with that"???) Ya know, the funny thing is: We talk about buying American because it gives some inference to superior quality. But, I doubt anyone has ever walked into a Ferrari dealer and then refused to buy one because it wasn't made in Boise. It isn't about being American made, it is about buying quality. And you don't get quality by buying the cheapest thing, or trying to wage a price war against dealers "I can get this cheaper online." When we start insisting that companies provide us products for next-to-nothing, you force them to cut corners -- like using Chinese parts for the American products which are made in India. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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