MarkBass UK maintenance - help needed please!!

[bigthumb]

Well this makes bleak reading as my newly acquired twin channel LMK went bang at rehearsal last night. Only the second time I've used it. I'm guessing is quite old as its long discontinued so probably beyond economic repair (if even repairable). Pity, as when it was working it sounded great. 

I'll try maying inquiries but I'm certainly not going to hold my breath. I've always liked Markbass amps and never had an issue with the many I've owned over the years so I've not had a bad run in all honesty but this will be the last second hand one I'll buy. 

 

[Prime_BASS]

On 19/07/2022 at 10:56, lownote said:

Be aware that Real charge fairly serious money because they've got a monopoly. I only approached them once for a duff TC250 head and the repair was going to cost more than the head was worth. 

Felt the need to commebt on this as they did a some capacitor changes in my LittleMark 3 a few years ago. Was maybe 30 quid...

Power stage blew. Got in touch, sent it them, got a quote from a nice chao I er the phone the day they signed for it. Paid it straight away and got it back the start of the next week.

They also don't have a monopoly, maybe you haven't tried Google???

 

Sent a Genz Benz head to fender UK for repair as they dealt with supply/warranty repairs. Needed the same job doing, but took them 6 months, charged me over half the cost of the amp and they just swapped the whole power module PCB out.

 

This is of course my own experience, and only two examples of lots of work I've had done from lots of providers and lots of different amps. Maybe I should stop breaking them...

[Beedster]

On 19/07/2022 at 19:32, agedhorse said:

When an amp is not designed to be repaired at the component level, you generally get the benefit of a more inexpensive purchase price but then suffer the consequences of needing to replace assemblies rather than component level repair. This is not a big deal where the designs have a history of long, reliable life, but can be very costly (for both the manufacturer and end user) if the failure rate is high and the failures affect amps less than say 10-15 years. 

 

At this point, doing the "true cost of ownership" calculations shows that the cheaper amp built this way may in fact be more expensive than the more expensive amp that has a longer, more trouble-free life. 

 

As a society, we have become more accepting of "disposable" consumer goods, and there are companies within our industry that specialize in this model. Ultimately, when these products are manufactured "off shore", not only is there the loss due to the cost of a product that is considered disposable, but there is also the loss of income to those within your region who would have built the product "in region" or "in country" that affect the local health of the economy.  This is something that we began studying in engineering economics back when I was in university (a very long time ago, I assure you), I assume that it has taken on added importance in recent years.

 

The above resonated, thanks @agedhorse

 

And 'true cost of ownership' extends from the individual to society and from there to the environment. The extraordinary volume of low price/poor quality/built to fail products being moved around the world to satisfy our retail urges will demand a high price (more correctly a high cost) from future generations. Music technology is far from the worst offender, but to compete many well known manufacturers have to join the low-price arms race, which results in the problem becoming worse not better. These days I nearly always buy used (in the context of the above post eBay and Basschat are forces for the good in most respects), aim to to buy gear that can be repaired and does not require replacement if it fails, and I look after my gear with all this in mind also.

 

Oh, and in a dramatic shift, I only ever own one bass and one amp at any one time these days, leaving more of that lovely used gear from others  👍

[lownote]

On 15/09/2022 at 22:53, Prime_BASS said:

Felt the need to commebt on this as they did a some capacitor changes in my LittleMark 3 a few years ago. Was maybe 30 quid...

Power stage blew. Got in touch, sent it them, got a quote from a nice chao I er the phone the day they signed for it. Paid it straight away and got it back the start of the next week.

They also don't have a monopoly, maybe you haven't tried Google???

 

Sent a Genz Benz head to fender UK for repair as they dealt with supply/warranty repairs. Needed the same job doing, but took them 6 months, charged me over half the cost of the amp and they just swapped the whole power module PCB out.

 

This is of course my own experience, and only two examples of lots of work I've had done from lots of providers and lots of different amps. Maybe I should stop breaking them...

 

Have YOU tried Google? Most Google traffic I see is folk vainly asking where to get their MB gear serviced.

Edited September 19, 2022 by lownote

[yorks5stringer]

7 hours ago, lownote said:

 

Most Google traffic I see is folk vainly asking where to get their MB gear serviced. Then there's MSL - who use Real for fixing Markbass. By all means, try Real.  I just try to look after my gear and regard it as disposable if it goes wrong. 

MSL are the UK distributers for Markbass.

[Jakester]

On 15/09/2022 at 22:53, Prime_BASS said:

 

They also don't have a monopoly, maybe you haven't tried Google???

 

They do as they are the only company authorised by MB to carry out repairs.
 

Since MB won’t release circuit diagrams or component spec details they are the only people in the UK with the ‘official’ information. That is literally the definition of a monopoly. 
 

Of course, there’s no doubt other people that might have a bash but they are by no means approved repairers.

[kolossusuk]

Update - Used my repaired 121 last weekend in a rooftop open air gig in front of several hundred enthusiastic folk - via PA of course. Took a risk to do without backup but having listened to the videos, the tone and sound was immense. However, I definitely was nervous about whether the combo would crap out. Not the best way to perform! Tightrope with no safety net!