Can we use MarkBass amp/combos in other countries?

[Linus27]

Ok, may seem a silly question but not being so clued up on this I thought I better ask. It says on the MarkBass website that,

Markbass amps/combos are manufactured to be sold and used in the country of purchase, and they are factory preset to that country’s voltage.
Due to homologation issues, the voltage may not be changed.

So if I have some gigs in say Italy or Germany, can I not use my MarkBass Combo or LMIII head or is there a way around it?

[Muzz]

There's a jumper on the board of the LMIII which can set 240/110 volts. It's even helpfully labelled "240/110". Other models may vary, natch.

Not that it's possible/advisable/will invalidate your warranty, etc, etc. Markbass quoted me £100+ to change the voltage - "It'll need a new power supply, sir." Fibs.

I know somebody (very well indeed) who bought a LMIII in the US on holiday, brought it here, changed the jumper and fuse and it worked juuust fine. I'm not saying it wasn't a bit of a buttock-clenching moment turning it on the first time, but...

Edited August 19, 2011 by Muzz

[Dood]

There has been a post on BC about changing the voltage on a MarkBass F1. I uploaded some pictures of the adjustment I made on my F1 one that I bought from the US - it's been working fine here in the UK ever since.

[Bottle]

[quote name='Linus27' post='1345312' date='Aug 19 2011, 12:05 PM']Ok, may seem a silly question but not being so clued up on this I thought I better ask. It says on the MarkBass website that,

Markbass amps/combos are manufactured to be sold and used in the country of purchase, and they are factory preset to that country’s voltage.
Due to homologation issues, the voltage may not be changed.[/quote]
That's just a fancy way of saying, "Here you go, here's a way of charging more in certain markets and preventing people from importing stuff on the grey market etc"

In my experience of the electronics industry, targeting products with a world-wide distribution, parts commonality is a big time, space and cost reduction exercise, therefore Markbass should be on the ball with having a common mains/power supply PCB that could be used in their products, regardless of ultimate destination.

[quote name='Linus27' post='1345312' date='Aug 19 2011, 12:05 PM']So if I have some gigs in say Italy or Germany, can I not use my MarkBass Combo or LMIII head or is there a way around it?[/quote]
This shouldn't pose a problem, mainly because we've been harmonized with the EU for a long time, with regards to quality of mains supply. The tolerances are fairly wide - somewhere in the region of 230VAC, -6% to +10% IIRC, therefore equipment designed to be sold in all EU countries will be capable of operating on any voltage between about 220V and 250V AC. All you'll likely need is a Euro adapter of some sort (one of those cheapie travel adapters [i]may[/i] be OK for light loads, but I would invest in a pukka Euro/Schuko to IEC PC-type cable just to be sure - not all plug-in adapters carry the Earth pin through).

Going further afield may be an issue, if for example you're touring North America or Japan, but then I wouldn't expect you to be lugging your own backline around with you then

HTH,
Ian

Edited August 19, 2011 by Bottle

[Linus27]

Thanks everyone, a great help as per usual. My Shuttle 9 has 110/240 volt selector switch on the back so I could get away with just that but it would be nice to use the MarkBass gear. At least I know its possible.

[markstuk]

You can use your MarkBass stuff in any european country that has 220+/-20V ish (which as far as I know is all of them) and the Mains plug is common across Europe AFAIK with the exception of the UK (and Ireland I think) for which you just need a UK style "IEC" "misnamed Kettle" Lead...

When we move computer equipment across hosting centres in Europe all we do it change the power lead... :-)

In the US or other 110V approx countries you'll need to flick the jumper switch (I don't the the 50/60 Hz makes any difference)... But it sounds like you're only playing in Europe anyway...

Cheers

Mark

[mart]

[quote name='markstuk' post='1345458' date='Aug 19 2011, 02:03 PM']....I don't the the 50/60 Hz makes any difference...[/quote]
Of course it'll make a difference: it'll transpose your bass into a different key.

[Dood]

[quote name='dood' post='1345416' date='Aug 19 2011, 01:25 PM']There has been a post on BC about changing the voltage on a MarkBass F1. I uploaded some pictures of the adjustment I made on my F1 one that I bought from the US - it's been working fine here in the UK ever since.[/quote]


Sorry, I completely missed the bit about playing in Italy and Germany, thus ignore my bit about the US! ha ha ha!!!

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='mart' post='1345491' date='Aug 19 2011, 02:39 PM']Of course it'll make a difference: it'll transpose your bass into a different key.
[/quote]

The only difference is that if you get any humming/buzzing on your bass amp it'll be more of a Bb rather than the G it is in this country. Seriously though, there isn't a problem with using uk voltage equipment in EU plugs, in fact we even exchange a small amount of electricity in this country with france. The only thing that's different are the plugs. As has already been mentioned though, make sure you get a socket converter with a ground pin