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Markbass CMD121P ----- Dead ??!!??


synthaside
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At rehearsal this evening, about 2 minutes into the first song my trusty Markbass CMD121p  bass combo appeared to give out with no fuss or noise, I wasn't driving it particularly hard or using the extension cabinet.
it's about 3 /4 years old bought new from Andersons but it appears the warranty is 2 years , Its been a solid companion and not complained in all that time .

I turned it off and waited a few seconds then powered it up again .... it worked for another minute or two then off again, in the middle of the next song .... I switched to a spare cable same deal, then reverted to the studio amp for the rehearsal. .

I don't think it was overheating the exhaust from the fan felt cold but i'm not the most technical person so the idea of opening it up and having a look is a bit beyond me , im quite worried as were playing our first ever festival gig  the weekend after next .
Not really sure what to do :-S  Ive reached out to a local amp tech but i fear their probably more Valve amp oriented ..

Does anyone have any ideas before i have to put a new Amp on the credit card  .... probably not a markbass  if they only last 3 years ...

 

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Mark bass warranty is 2 years here in the UK , 3 apparently if you registered .....  the date on the back of my amp says made in 2015 I probably bought it in as early as  2017  I think i'm going to be told my options are limited.

Edited by synthaside
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Have you checked the output from the DI? At least you’ll know if the preamp is working. If you have the extension cab, unplug the built in speaker and connect to the extension.  It might help narrow down the source of the problem. 

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16 hours ago, synthaside said:

I've connected it up and annoyingly its now happy as larry ... its too late to play with any form of volume or length I will have to stress test it thursday  ....

 

It *could* have just got too warm and shut down to protect itself. Perhaps try taking it out of the cab and hoovering it all (after first leaving it unplugged for a while!) which might help?

 

Even though you're not technical it's dead easy - four bolts hold the head into the cab. Unscrew those, unplug the speaker cable and it should shift relatively easily. 

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2 minutes ago, synthaside said:

So stripping it down it looks generally very clean in here ....

 

Unsure what this white stuff is some kind of shielding epoxy as first I thought oh no but as it's very evenly applied  ???

 

 

 

IMG_20220707_175309.jpg

The dreaded white gloop. it is a type of caulk or sealant that is used to stop large components moving. If they move during transport, they will eventually cause a dry joint, causing a fault.

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1 hour ago, Mykesbass said:

Check out the sale of goods act rather than rely on any guarantees. You may still be able to claim.

The consumer parts of Sale of Goods Act haven’t been in force since 2015, when they were replaced with the Consumer Rights Act. 
 

Unlikely there would be any basis to claim under either piece of legislation - you would need as a minimum some sort of expert evidence into the cause of the fault and opinion that it fell short of the required standard - the costs of which would almost certainly outweigh the cost of any repairs. 

Edited by Jakester
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As to the issue, Real Electronics in Sheffield are the Mark Bass appointed repair agents. However, they don’t do component level repairs - if there is a fault they’ll swap out the board, which makes it expensive if out of warranty. 
 

I had a fairly unsatisfactorily experience with them - I had a intermittent fault with my CMD121P, sent it to them, they said there was nothing wrong, replaced all the pots, charged me £125, and then the fault came right back again. 
 

I ended up buying a second hand Little Mark 3 and replacing the head with that. 

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13 hours ago, Jakester said:

As to the issue, Real Electronics in Sheffield are the Mark Bass appointed repair agents. However, they don’t do component level repairs - if there is a fault they’ll swap out the board, which makes it expensive if out of warranty. 
 

I had a fairly unsatisfactorily experience with them - I had a intermittent fault with my CMD121P, sent it to them, they said there was nothing wrong, replaced all the pots, charged me £125, and then the fault came right back again. 
 

I ended up buying a second hand Little Mark 3 and replacing the head with that. 

Most repairs include a warranty on the repair. Did you follow up with them on this? 

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21 hours ago, agedhorse said:

Most repairs include a warranty on the repair. Did you follow up with them on this? 

Of course, it happened outside their ‘warranty’ period as it hadn’t been used much due to lockdowns etc. 

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30 minutes ago, synthaside said:

@Jakester How much of a challenge was it to put the Little mark 3 head into the space is it just a direct swap  without the cover ...  ?

Just a direct swap, as you say. Take the cover off the ‘new’ amp and it just slid straight in. 

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On 08/07/2022 at 08:37, Jakester said:

As to the issue, Real Electronics in Sheffield are the Mark Bass appointed repair agents. However, they don’t do component level repairs - if there is a fault they’ll swap out the board, which makes it expensive if out of warranty. 
 

I had a fairly unsatisfactorily experience with them - I had a intermittent fault with my CMD121P, sent it to them, they said there was nothing wrong, replaced all the pots, charged me £125, and then the fault came right back again. 
 

I ended up buying a second hand Little Mark 3 and replacing the head with that. 

Did they say why they were replacing the pots if there was no apparent fault, without informing you first?

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4 hours ago, mybass said:

Did they say why they were replacing the pots if there was no apparent fault, without informing you first?

Nope, they said they couldn’t replicate the fault but it could have been the pots causing intermittent volume drops, so suggested replacement,

to which I agreed. 

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