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Little Mark II Problem...

6pack Jon

6pack Jon

Jul 6, 2006
218
12
Queens, NY
#1
My Little Mark II head died tonight at practice. At first I thought it was the cabs at the studio that went. Nope it was my head. Its little blue light was still lit up but no more sound was coming out :bawl: I switched to the studio's swr head and to my dismay it wasn't the cabs. The Little Mark was running at a 4ohm load. Has anyone else had a similar problem?
 
#4
I was amazed when the manager of a well established Lausanne music shop told me last week he's not going to continue carrying MB stuff because the newer amps had too many returns, and he felt he wasn't getting the support and service from the Italian company that he was for the first few years he was selling the products. He was all too happy to elaborate but that was the gist of his complaint.

I'm not piling on to a slagfest here, just relating something that might or might not point to a trend. I say I was amazed because there seem to be very many posters here who have bought recent MB amps and have reported very few reliability or service issues.

This is anecdotal and unsubstantiated, take it FWIW.
 
#6
Sorry for your problem. With the massive number of these sold, the problem posts seem to suggest that the failure rate is quite low, and in line with other high quality amps. So, I have not seen anything yet that worries me.

HOWEVER... the GC service and support has me a little concerned. Since there have been so few failures and problems with these at this point, there is very little info on service and support. While this is a good thing in a way (I always say that the products to stay away from are those with thread after thread of great the service is after the thing blew up:D), my guess is that the MB/GC service performance is, at least in the near term, not going to be a thing of beauty:hmm:

Please post with your experience in getting this problem resolved. There is a certain beauty to a product like the Thunderfunk... highly reliable, but if you do have a problem, you just talk to the guy who put it together and send it back to him for quick service.
 
#9
On a serious note, here's a call to Peter Murray, who is wonderfully helpful on this site.

Could you outline the exact service and support system in the U.S.? For example, do you have a centralized location with a small staff of technicians trained in repairing MB amps? Or, given what seems to be a very low failure rate, do you just find it easier to replace any defective units with new ones?

To the Markbass guys... so far, your amps have pretty much blown away most who have tried them. However, given the rather spotty reputation GC has, it's probably time, either here or on a U.S. section of your website, to really outline the process for those that eventually have problems.

If that process is talking to a 19 year old kid at Guitar Center, then I'm afraid you are going to have some problems with your so far great reputation here in the States. At the VERY least, IMO, you need an 800 number that is Markbass specific for your customers.

Thanks,

Ken
 
#10
my concern is if your unit frys when out on a gig... you cant have it repaired just anywhere.. the MB gear would most likely have the whole PC board replaced which requires some central repair facility... i dont trust the snot nose kids at GC to do a worthy repair..... heck they might even electrocute themselves in the process..
its a high frequency switching power design so not every repair guy in th USA is going to have parts or knowledge to get er done... just my .02
 
#11
svtb15 said:
my concern is if your unit frys when out on a gig... you cant have it repaired just anywhere.. the MB gear would most likely have the whole PC board replaced which requires some central repair facility... its switching power design so not every repair guy in th USA is going to have parts or knowledge to get er done... just my .02
Click to expand...

I'm not so worried about that. You would most likely send any amp back to the manufacturer, especially since most of these amps have two or three year warranties that would require service by the manufacturer. And, if you are on the road, most local repair shops, if you could even find one, would not do a one or even two or even three day turnaround. So, IMO, that's a moot point.

As long as there is a centralized contact point, and a qualified repair station, I'm a happy camper!
 
#12
I need to send mine back, just to get the fan replaced. Its loud and gets semi-warm. I'm just dreading having to deal with GC anymore to do it. I really dont want to have to buy anything or deal with them ever again. The amp sounds good though...
 
#14
kevbassman said:
I'm glad I sold mine.
Click to expand...
:rollno: sheesh...

+1 on the open request for folks unfortunate enough to have problems and have to exercise the warranty to post about it. I hope to never have to use it, but would like to see how well it goes (or not) so I can learn and maybe improve my experience in the (IMHO) UNLIKELY event I should need it. :)
 
#15
KJung said:
To the Markbass guys... so far, your amps have pretty much blown away most who have tried them. However, given the rather spotty reputation GC has, it's probably time, either here or on a U.S. section of your website, to really outline the process for those that eventually have problems.

If that process is talking to a 19 year old kid at Guitar Center, then I'm afraid you are going to have some problems with your so far great reputation here in the States. At the VERY least, IMO, you need an 800 number that is Markbass specific for your customers.
Click to expand...
KJung said:
I'm not so worried about that. You would most likely send any amp back to the manufacturer, especially since most of these amps have two or three year warranties that would require service by the manufacturer. And, if you are on the road, most local repair shops, if you could even find one, would not do a one or even two or even three day turnaround. So, IMO, that's a moot point.

As long as there is a centralized contact point, and a qualified repair station, I'm a happy camper!
Click to expand...
More +1's.
 
#17
A little bird told me that Peter is on the road at the moment, so let's give him some time. Peter has been very forthcoming and helpful IMO in representing his company on this site. If nothing else, maybe he'll communicate to the powers-that-be at both MB and GC that some of us are a touch nervous and would appreciate a 'roadmap' as to how service and support is or will eventually work in the US.:)
 
#18
maconbass said:
In 4 minutes! Should tell you something.
Click to expand...

Haha, I bought his for a couple of different reasons. I have the one I bought new from Guitar Center last week or so, and it is a really cool little amp. When his came up that could save me about $100 on a virtually new one only a month older, I figured I would jump on it and save some money. I mean, if I decide the LMII isn't for me (but I don't see that happening any time soon), I can probably just sell it back on here and lose very little money. So far I dig what this little amp can do, but I am also concerned about having to deal with the warranty and service.
 
#19
xgabriele said:
So far I dig what this little amp can do, but I am also concerned about having to deal with the warranty and service.
Click to expand...

Again, all speculation at this point. Let's give them some time, and see what they have planned. Whenever you roll out a new product to a new country, much less a different continent:eek:, there are going to be some growing pains (like the initial GC staff confusion on the pricing).

Let's see what experiences the few who have had problems have, and what the Markbass guys say about it:)
 
#20
So at present count (of failed units) we have:

1 - Here at the begining of this post

2 - One with a bad fan and is running hot

3 - One that failed upon arrival at my local GC

4 - One that I saw fail at Bx3 (Jeff Berlin's)

5 - Wasn't there one other one here on TB a while back ?? It was either a total failure and I think there also may have been another one that was failing in the sun outside on an outdoor gig (thermal shutdown)?

If the above list is correct, 5 or 6 total failed units (which may be an acceptable number)?
 

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