Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

Hmmm, not too keen on Chinese parts in my axes.

I think I'll stick to EMG's on this one.
 
Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

You had better not watch TV or use your computer either.

Too true.

Either way, I'd still like to keep most of the money I spend inthe US and not further contribute to the trade imbalance that we have with the ChiComms.
 
Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

Thanks for pointing that one out. I will go respond over there. I'll update my response here when I'm done. Basically they're made here, but we're honest enough to tell you that the PCB and cover come from asia, because that's different from our passive pickups. The Blackouts are wound and "made" here, end of story.

EDIT: Okay here's what I wrote:
Nobody takes "Made in the USA" more seriously than Seymour Duncan. In fact, that's exactly WHY we print that on the box. We don't want to be ambiguous about anything.

The Blackouts PCB comes from China, and some, but not all covers come from Korea. The covers look pretty darn good. If they didn't, we'd source them here or somewhere else. We could just put "Made in USA" on the box, and if anyone challenged us based on the PCB, we would be able to validate the overall percentage required to use the phrase "Made in USA" and that would be the end of it. But its because we care about this stuff that we disclose.

The comments about the components and the potentiometers, etc. are dead on. Some of the highest quality small PCB work is in Asia, that's just the fact. If you get the right facility, the stuff will be good enough for brain surgery. Do you think so-and-so is only buying USA capacitors, resistors, and op amps? Uh, no. So after they get their Asian made components, they use robotic pick and place machines and then send them through a machine for automatic soldering. Not really an example of creating US jobs. But we perform 100% testing on each board before we build a pickup with it. Then, we perform 100% testing throughout the build process. Those are US jobs.

Taking what we choose to voluntarily print on our box vs. what anyone else prints on theirs is a dishonest comparison.
 
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Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

Awesome answer Frank, and a good example of the impact of humans vs. machines for US jobs.
 
Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

Hey Frank.. i sent you a message about the BLACKOUT.
i hope you received it.
im still wait for the answer
Q:)

Well, i disagree with it.
It should be 100% made in usa or Not.
you should put(i do not intend to offend here or anywhere, of course.) then 80% made in usa, and 20%(10% + 10%) made in China/Korea.
i understand that Korea an China stuffs lacks quality...
it can be Well done, and looks good, but, with time, the chinese stuffs gets screwed up first than a Made in Usa or Japan Ones.
thats the difference I GUESS.
Hails
my 2cents of it.
 
Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

I wrote a pm to the guy who started the thread, and I joked about how it probably creates more US jobs to get the PCB from China and then 100% test it in the US than it would if we bought robotic pick-n-place and wave solder machines with automated self-testing! :laugh2: I don't know if it's true, but it sure seems plausible.

But seriously the PCB is such a small part of the overall labor involved in making a pickup, that it's preposterous to associate it with domestic vs. overseas employment. It's certainly nuts to associate it with Seymour "cashing in" because the PCB represents such a small part of the overall cost of manufacture.

WITH FULL DISTORTION: I will check to see if your message was filtered. I don't recall getting it.

I have to disagree strongly with your comments though (and no offense taken :) ) because I believe you are missing the point of the entire discussion. Seymour Duncan does make the pickup here in Santa Barbara. Everything you are saying regarding quality and durability is performed and controlled here. The circuit board could be mechanically stuffed anywhere, and the pickups would still be the same. The parts, like capacitors, resistors, and op amps are all made in the same places. Just because someone says "Made in the USA" on their product does not mean the parts were all made in the US. What I am suggesting to you is that what we put on the box is more correct and honest than most people who put "Made in the USA" on their product without explanation.
 
Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

Does EMG outsource their PCBs and covers just like Seymour Duncan ?

I don't want to stir up an already hot debate, but I want to know if I rip out my EMGs right away or if I keep 'em. I won't use any pickup that's not 100% USA made and that's my entire right as a customer. That DOESN'T mean the Blackouts are not well made pickups, that's just my preference and since I am the out who pays, I can choose what I want to buy.
 
Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

Does EMG outsource their PCBs and covers just like Seymour Duncan ?

I don't want to stir up an already hot debate, but I want to know if I rip out my EMGs right away or if I keep 'em. I won't use any pickup that's not 100% USA made and that's my entire right as a customer. That DOESN'T mean the Blackouts are not well made pickups, that's just my preference and since I am the out who pays, I can choose what I want to buy.
I think you would be hard pressed to find any guitar company that can guarantee that 100% of their materials come from the USA!

Think about it! Copper from Chile, lead from China, nickel from Germany, etc.
 
Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

Hails Frank. No offense taken AT ALL
i know how people intend to offend(sometimes i fail to perceive, ahahahah )
Well, ok.
the message i sent to you, i also sent an email with, more or less the same message
its from my personal email, wfd666@hotmail.com
it was regarding the Blackouts, And Blackouts X and the live wire metal..
i mean, the differences among them, and i asked for Metal soundclips of them.
both rhythm and lead... because im willing to Buy some of them to test, but since i cant find a decent clip, or no clip at all.. im still willing.
Q:)
JP
Thanks in advance.
 
Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

So people are going to go with EMG's because they don't say any of their parts are made overseas (mind you, they also don't say that they're not made overseas, so the assumption that they're not is only in the mind of the consumer), versus a company that is being honest with the consumer. Genius.

-Austin
 
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Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

Does EMG outsource their PCBs and covers just like Seymour Duncan ?

I don't want to stir up an already hot debate, but I want to know if I rip out my EMGs right away or if I keep 'em. I won't use any pickup that's not 100% USA made and that's my entire right as a customer. That DOESN'T mean the Blackouts are not well made pickups, that's just my preference and since I am the out who pays, I can choose what I want to buy.

Marshall_Abuser
Tone Member

Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Montreal :dot::wrf:
Posts: 256
 
Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

How many of you guys play a guitar with e Floyd Rose? The best ones are made in Germany and Japan.

Most of your tuners and bridges are imported from Japan, Germany or Korea.

The cherished Celestion speakers are now made in China.
 
Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

one thing im sure its not made in china. My Ass! ahahahahahahah
Q: )
yeah, my tuners would be made in korea.
 
Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

What about tubes? Show me a tube that's made in USA!
 
Re: Thread on HC asking about Blackouts' parts made in China

hahahahahahahaah Q: )
the ones in my 5150 are made in Russia and made in Usa.
Sovtek and Electro Harmonix.
 
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