I heard Musician's Friend is suppose to start carrying the Markbass gear. I emailed them and they said they didn't have date when they would start receiving the gear.
markbass*=markbass*markbass
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I heard Musician's Friend is suppose to start carrying the Markbass gear. I emailed them and they said they didn't have date when they would start receiving the gear.
That sounds like a good idea. I have nothing against markbass, Peter seems to stand behind the product 100%. Although I've heard multiple issues with Guitar center sending out used heads as new.
This amp sounds a little more punchy than my iamp 600, I'm a fan of the VLE filter more so than the VPF (probabaly not called that)
and the EQ section of this amp is very powerful
When I bought my Little Mark II last week from the Boston GC, I was charged $525 or so for the amp and then an extra $74.99 or something for the two year warranty. It comes out to $599 in the end as advertised, and I don't think you can buy the amp without the warranty. Mine was also new, but the salesman told me it was one of the few new LMIIs in the Northeast or something like that.
-Alex
From what I understand, there is not a new one 'in box' anywhere in the US at this point.
It's funny, the main reason I haven't tried one of these earlier (since I check out almost every small amp made!) is that I just didn't want to deal with Guitar Center. I'm very spoiled dealing with dealers like Austin Bass Traders, The Groove Shoppe, etc. (and even Musician's Friend for 'lower end stuff') where you always get a brand new unit that has not been 'on the floor', etc.
I'll just cross my fingers that the unit I will receive is in 'like new' shape. I guess there is the nice return policy, so if anything seems funky, I'll just send it back.
Interesting decision for them to go with Guitar Center. I guess on the positive side, given the low price of the gear, they have a good shot of selling a lot of units to the 'non pro' (or at least 'non boutique') part of the market, and they will get a lot of trial and buzz (at least among younger players who still have not learned to avoid Guitar Center). ON the downside, nothing will suck the 'boutique' and special brand image from a brand than having your brand exclusively associated with a store like Guitar Center.
I guess every business decision is a trade-off. There seems such a disconnect to me between the brand image put forward by the website and posts on this site by people associated with the product versus the chaos and 'low end' brand image of GC.
Oh well... no big deal. I look forward to trying one of these out.
....following ken's diversion. I actually just yesterday went to guitar center, and walked out with a markbass sd800. Totally an awesome experience, I haven't been in a while and the staff was completely different to me, but the guy I worked with was great. I made sure to get there right when they opened so I could try out some gear in a more quiet environment. Some great basses they had, i was shocked. This is the south bay gc, in lawndale. I was able to try out a dingwall afterburner 6, lakland hb, benavente, ad I brought my sadowsky to try the rig out. Traded in my db750 and 1001rbII and got teh mb and also a mesa boogie combo. Anyway all this to say...it was a pleasurable experience at gc, and the sd800 i got was new in box.

They had a Dingwall AB at a Guitar Center?![]()
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markbass*=markbass*markbass
Got my LMII yesterday-pics later- tried it with the AG.GS112- sweet!! using the two filters gives good array of tones! Not sure I really like the VLE much-just seems to muffle the situation. Maybe just a touch of it'll do!
That's what it does.
P'raps they could come up with a new name- an unheard of one ....like a "muffler"![]()
I'll post my review of My LMII after I gig with it this weekend.... can't wait.
Please show us these pics!I run it flat through my Nahas cabs and it can easily knock down small to medium sized children (I have pics)...
I'm not surprised. What would've surprised me would have been them being able to keep up with the demand.
To me it makes perfect sense to go with GC. Who has more exposure? As far as the non-pro thing, I don't get it. If I were playing above what I'd guess most would call a semi-pro level, I'd still use this amp. Actually as easy as it is to transport, I'd love having this to use with local backline cabs... one big ? removed from the equation. Apparently everyone at GC still aren't up on how the sales of these are supposed to go down.
I can honestly say that for anyone who really doesn't want to deal with GC, don't. I haven't had anywhere near the issues many seem to have with GC and for me the negatives are still outweighed by the positives, especially the return policy. I guess a "better" way to launch the line would've been to not ship as units became available but instead wait until inventory reached a sufficient level to provide every store right at the launch. I'm glad they didn't.
Image means zip to me when it comes to "where" I shop. Who has what I want is far more important. Considering I purchased from GC a Fodera Contrabass, Surine 7 string and MTD 635 among several other high end pieces, all for far less than an image shop would or probably could charge...
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Any of the "image" shops offer a 30 day satisfaction policy? Not that I'm aware of.
Where I got my LMII has no effect on the results I'm getting with it. There are trees and then there's the forest
You can pick one up at Club Bass AFAIK. That way you don't have to deal with GC.
Hey Andy (and other LMII owners). Does this amp ship with a carry bag? If not, does Markbass have a bag available for purchase in the US?
Thanks,
K
(although I have read comments from some other owners of earlier models, who seem to have been luckier and got better deals from their retailers).Please show us these pics!![]()
+1 to all your points above, which basically agree and match what I posted... every marketing decision has trade-offs (positive and negative, as I posted), and I can totally see why they did this. It seems to be working quite well, at least in the short run.
However, as a marketing professional, I know that the retail channel is a HUGE part of perceived brand image, which has a real impact on the ability to introduce and position new products and justify eventual price increases, etc. (this is basic marketing 101).
As a side note, it turns out, the gentleman I'm dealing with at the downtown Chicago GC has turned out to be GREAT (after a couple of false starts... very professional and helpful, and he quickly got up to speed on the LMII pricing, etc.). He went out of his way to find the 'newest' one he could around the country, and has followed up a couple of times already on shipping status, etc. Very impressive.
His name is Craig (again, at the downtown Chicago GC store).
For the Markbass employees/reps checking in on this thread.... you should buy him a beer... he is representing your product quite nicely.
Ken