RhysP Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 If anyone is interested: Just received an email from EBS to say that Sound Technology are the new UK distributors for their stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshorepunk Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 I just checked them out, they got a lot of brands going! In some respects it may be a good thing, but I always felt the personal approach offered by BG was a big asset to that brand in the UK! Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 Ooo er missus. What happened there then ? T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 OOH! Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 I'm guessing that its a very good thing. Nothing against GB basses (they look great), but I found their customer service in terms of trying to order a rack unit to be pretty poor when I tried to order a rack case. Two emails unanswered. Two phone calls unanswered. When they did answer, I twice attempted to place an order, both times they took my details and said they would get back to me when they had what I wanted in stock, which they never did (Over a period of six months). Finally they did deliver when I called again, even though they still didn't have what I wanted, meaning they had either made no attempt at getting it for me or had lost my details (twice). I don't mind a 'personal approach', so long as it works! I might be in the minority in terms of customer service experirence with GB, but personally I think the move will probably be for the best and allow them to just concentrate on their own products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 I agree, Sound tech are great to deal with, and usually carry most items in stock for your dealer. They've did well with Hartke before Korg took over, so fair play to them, they have the systems in place. It's a shame for Bernie, but EBS might want a bigger presence in the UK and Sound Tech may be the folks to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 I also had problems trying to deal with Bernie, firstly when wanted to buy some EBS speakerse (I ended up getting some second hand after several emails went un-answered) and then when one of the tweeter volume knobs went missing I had exactly the same problem just trying to get in contact with anyone in the UK. I wasn't expecting to get anything for nothing having not bought the speakers from them in the first place, but when I couldn't even get anyone to respond to my request for a price for the replacement part, I went direct to EBS in Sweden and they sent me some immediately free of charge. I've heard that Bernie isn't too good at dealing with email enquiries, but if they're going to be ignored when people are trying to buy the products from him then maybe he shouldn't publish it in the first place. However it will be interesting to see how Sound Technology deal with customer service, as they've been completely crap on the last two occasions I've need to use them in relation to Hartke and Emagic products - both of which they have since lost the distribution for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMT3781 Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 i've known about this for a while, but was told to keep quiet about it... Sound technology are really good with their lines, so hopefully we will see a nice upsurge in EBS throughout the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 Maybe it could be a good time to see if there is any clearance stock at a considerable discount? I know when I last saw Bernie, he had a warehouse full of the stuff... all new, all with warranty... I guess there is always speculation when a change of distribution happens but I understand the whole thing was very amicable and Bernie is still going to be endorsing EBS. Having so many builds on, I think he is secretly relieved to have his time freed up for building his basses and his workload meant that he couldn't promote the brand as much as he would have liked. It'll be interesting to see how the new distributors get on, personally speaking I'll be suprised if they can pitch the current line against all these microheads... I think that is where Bernie was losing all the business, even though EBS does sound superb. When the competiton is 1/3 of the weight, 1/3 of the price, 1/3 of the size It's an uphill battle for anybody! I still love my EBS stuff anyway, no matter who or where it comes from and I've never had any issues with the backup support! It works for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMT3781 Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 [quote name='EBS_freak' post='977500' date='Oct 4 2010, 07:09 PM']Maybe it could be a good time to see if there is any clearance stock at a considerable discount? I know when I last saw Bernie, he had a warehouse full of the stuff... all new, all with warranty... I guess there is always speculation when a change of distribution happens but I understand the whole thing was very amicable and Bernie is still going to be endorsing EBS. Having so many builds on, I think he is secretly relieved to have his time freed up for building his basses and his workload meant that he couldn't promote the brand as much as he would have liked. It'll be interesting to see how the new distributors get on, personally speaking I'll be suprised if they can pitch the current line against all these microheads... I think that is where Bernie was losing all the business, even though EBS does sound superb. When the competiton is 1/3 of the weight, 1/3 of the price, 1/3 of the size It's an uphill battle for anybody! I still love my EBS stuff anyway, no matter who or where it comes from and I've never had any issues with the backup support! It works for me![/quote] Great post mate. I agree with you on the uphill battle. When i found out about a month back, i told the rep form sound tech i thought the brand was great and the gear sounded great, when he asked which models we would want i had to laugh a little bit. In a town where 99 is considered too much, and we struggle to sell a Markbass every other month, there really is no room for the EBS stuff. Which is a shame, because endorsing such nice gear really would make my life as a bass salesman more enjoyable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 (edited) [quote name='JMT3781' post='977564' date='Oct 4 2010, 08:01 PM']Great post mate. I agree with you on the uphill battle. When i found out about a month back, i told the rep form sound tech i thought the brand was great and the gear sounded great, when he asked which models we would want i had to laugh a little bit. In a town where 99 is considered too much, and we struggle to sell a Markbass every other month, there really is no room for the EBS stuff. Which is a shame, because endorsing such nice gear really would make my life as a bass salesman more enjoyable [/quote] You're not the first guy that said that to the new rep - a few of my mates who have been in contact with the rep when he has been on his rounds and said to him that it's not the distribution that is at fault, it's the fact that the product is not competitive in the market. If you think that the EBS sounds better than XYZ amp (note I say "think" because tone is subjective), it's still a hard sell to convince your average customer that's it's worth 3 times the price. With the added factor of weight and size, you are on a hiding to nothing! I guess the rep may have had an education when approaching places to supply EBS... Look at how many amps that Mark at Bass Direct sells... its all the small stuff! He doesn't sell much EBS because... well, looks what it's up against! I just wish EBS would hurry up with the elusive TD650 in a small package lightweight package. I suspect we may be waiting some time - in Europe, the big, heavy EBS amps are selling like hot cakes... the market over here is everything that Europe is not. I suspect this is the reason why the focus for EBS has gone from RnB and funky to metal and rock. Small and compact, lightweight, powerful and affordable is where it's at over here... and currently, EBS are checking none of those boxes. EBS have been told but they disagree with that viewpoint when it comes to understanding the UK market. For EBS's sake, I hope that they prove me wrong! Edited October 4, 2010 by EBS_freak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 I love the sound of my EBS speakers but they're simply too big and heavy for most of the gigs I do at the moment. Why struggle with 4x10s that I can't lift on my own when I pick up and carry my Dr Bass cabs in one hand each? If EBS is doing well in the general European market why bother with the UK? Maybe they are taking their time to release something truly ground breaking in terms of small and lightweight amplification rather than simply rushing something out because it's expected of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMT3781 Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 maybe there is something small and lightweight coming.. but if the current prices are anything to go by, its gonna cost a lot.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottle Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 [quote name='BigRedX' post='978330' date='Oct 5 2010, 01:42 PM']I love the sound of my EBS speakers but they're simply too big and heavy for most of the gigs I do at the moment. Why struggle with 4x10s that I can't lift on my own when I pick up and carry my Dr Bass cabs in one hand each? If EBS is doing well in the general European market why bother with the UK? Maybe they are taking their time to release something truly ground breaking in terms of small and lightweight amplification rather than simply rushing something out because it's expected of them.[/quote] I know what you mean about the EBS 4x10 - Christ, I struggle with getting it in and out of my Polo on my own. Luckily I have a trolley and help at the destination, and a service lift to get it upstairs to the auditorium. But looking at the weight, it's within a couple of pounds of the Markbass Std 108 HR (an 8x10 ferchristssake). That's the difference. If my back ever gives out, the EBS gear is gone and I'm going Barefaced. So there But for the time being, I'm sticking with the EBS - suits me. HTH, Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 To be honest, I'm surprised that they have not produced a really lightweight head to accompany the single 10 and 12 inch cabs they do. That said in terms of price, the amp heads and cabs they do make seem to be in the same price bracket as much of the Aguilar, Ampeg, Trace Elliot and Eden stuff, and much less than Mesa Boogie, which to me are more realistically their competitors in the 'non-lightweight, professional quality' amp category than the ultra high-tech, lightweight amps. The Proline cabs are really heavy, but really well built. Probably not the best of things to though unless you are gigging a lot and have the necessary transport, and/or help to lift them, which is probably why you only tend to see them on big stages, if you see them at all in the UK. The Neoline stuff is lighter but more expensive, but no more expensive than other quality cabinets. I wish they cheaper but alas no! Anyways, I think EBS is always going to be more a niche product that some people like and others don't. It seems to associated in the UK with metal, jazz or funk, and I'm not sure that increased visibility in stores across the UK will change that perception. It would also be potentially unwise if EBS tried to essentially copy the business design of Markbass and other lightweight heads just to try and break the UK market, since their current stuff is doing well in Europe, and well even if they did try it, there is a chance that Markbass and the like would be doing it better anyway. They generally seem to be going in a different direction, the Fafner II is probably indicative of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantherairsoft Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Had a good chat with Bernie about this today, and as EBS_freak has already stated it seems the 'split' is on positive terms, with EBS wanting to push UK presence, hence moving to a distributor with reps on the road and a large catalogue of customers already taking other products from them. From a business sales perspective the move makes sense for EBS…. If it works out that way is something we will have to wait and see. From Bernie's perspective it means he can concentrate on what his business actually does, at a time when EBS products were taking up more time than GB Basses was. I get the impression he is slightly relieved to see the move from GB shores and it means he can get back on track with all the builds he has on the books at the moment. You will all be happy to hear that he seconds the thoughts about a lightweight head and thinks that without one in the range the road for the new distributor will be a rocky one… something I think we all knew. It does sadden me a little though, as Bernie was happy to resolve EBS based issues (I had a few in the early days) with his own resources. being a fully fledged distributor, I know the new supplier won't do that, and will instead enforce EBS's manufacturers warranty, meaning those of us that (god forbid) develop any issues with EBS gear will have to have our items shipped back to Europe to be looked at by EBS technicians rather than getting them sorted here in the UK… Fingers crossed no more issues!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 [quote name='JMT3781' post='978348' date='Oct 5 2010, 01:56 PM']maybe there is something small and lightweight coming.. but if the current prices are anything to go by, its gonna cost a lot..[/quote] There is. And from what I've seen of it, I won't be moving from my TD650 any time soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantherairsoft Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 I can see one BIG benefit to Basschat users specifically though… With Bernie building more basses in a shorter space of time it means EBS_freak will be putting more pictures in the GB Porn Thread!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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