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Double Bass Acoustic Image Customer Service Rave

Joe Smithberger

Joe Smithberger

Mar 8, 2002
1,940
143
Canton, Ohio, USA
www.smithbergerphoto.com
#1
My Clarus went belly up last week when my son plugged the speaker lead into my mixer (ouch). The mixer was fine, but the Clarus took one for the team. I sent it back to AI with a note, hoping that it wouldn't be too expensive and wouldn't take too long to get it back. Less than a week after leaving it with Fedex Ground, it has showed up at my door with a clean bill of health, new output transistors, and a no charge invoice. I am sure we are way past any normal waranty period. All I can say is wow!

I guess that series III Focus 2 just jumped up to the top of my GAS list. Thanks AI.
 
#3
I wanted to give a shout out to the amazing Acoustic Image staff for fixing my Focus amp for free though it was not waranted.

My amp suffered a blow because I accidentally hooked up the Focus and an Ampeg V4B to the same speaker cab. :eek: :bawl:

I'm a lost ball in high weeds without that amp. While it was gone I suffered with all sorts of borrowed or b-team equipment I had. It's scary to think how important the AI is to my living. I should have a second one.

For those in the amp market - no one tops Acoustic Image.
 
#4
It's pile-on time. Last fall someone on a bandstand moved my rig when I wasn't around and must have got the connections wrong. My Clarus fried when I fired it up, me not being in the habit of checking all the connections when I start the unit (although you can be sure now that I will if I didn't personally set up the rig.) Acoustic Image (not to forget Long & McQuade, my retailer) did a wonderful job supporting me with a loaner and quickly fixing the fry-job Clarus.

Don't you wish car companies had that kind of attitude and record?

I'm completely stoked on Acoustic Image and my Clarus. Great amp, great company to deal with.
 
#5
I happen to live near AI "headquarters", and have stopped in a few times - to chat, to buy my first Contra in 1999 (I think), and later to buy one of their extension cabs.

A long time ago I went in to their shop to pick up two of the "magic triangles" that they created to prop up the front of the Series I cabs. Well I lost those, who knows when or where. So I went back earlier this month and asked Rick if he still had some (and to get a first hand look at the Series III heads!). He gave me two more magic triangles, no problem.

I asked Rick if I could pay him. He smiled, shook his head and said "No, if you pay me, the magic goes away."

Rick Jones and Paul Ingbretsen are two unassuming, unpretentious cats. And they are both excellent double bass players.
 
#7
During a gig my Contra Series I broke down (I solved the problem by going directly through the PA), so I contacted Rick at AI. I informed him of my problem, and despite the fact that all imaginable warranty periods must have expired years ago, he asked me to disassemble the preamp and power amp and send them to AI for a free of charge repair. I received the parts yesterday (very short waiting period) and the amp is now cured.

You can't get better service than that.
 

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