Guitar Center dumping Mesa or new models?

[Ifriff]

Why couldn't you just exchange it? If they said no, then return it.

What amp was it? A matched trio probably would have been fine.

Bassman 300 Pro
Trio probably would have been fine. They never suggested that either

As I stated earlier, the whole story is just to long to get into. I went more than the extra mile with them before I just gave up. I wasn't expecting anything unreasonable. Live and learn

 

[guy n. cognito]

Care to elaborate?

Don't know how you could make that judgement when you don't know the whole story

Simple. At best, you needed three "matched" tubes, not six. And, you're probably fooling yourself to think that those tubes were matched to begin with.

 

[Munjibunga]

Two companies made a business decision. It doesn't mean that either "suck." Quite honestly, it's a match made in hell. GC's business model is to provide coupons and discounts, minimal customer service and maximized value. MB is the exact opposite. I'm sure it was tempting to MB to have such a large buyer, but they ultimately decided it wasn't worth the perceived risk to their reputation.

Can't disagree with that.

 

[Ifriff]

Simple. At best, you needed three "matched" tubes, not six. And, you're probably fooling yourself to think that those tubes were matched to begin with.

Umm.. Ok Guy. The three tubes. Sure
Do you change your strings all at the same time? Or do you just do two or three at a time?

 

[Downunderwonder]

If the Bassman runs two sets of three then three matched is all that are needed. A tech could mix'n'match a single matching tube to the other two of that set and all would be matched, if indeed it came well matched from the factory, which isn't an unreasonable expectation.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Umm.. Ok Guy. The three tubes. Sure
Do you change your strings all at the same time? Or do you just do two or three at a time?

Totally different concept, of course, and not relatable in any way, but if I broke one string on a set of otherwise brand new strings, I would only replace the broken one.

Do a little more research on tube heads and you'll discover why you didn't need 6.

 

[Ifriff]

Yes yes yes. The point I was making is that GC handled this situation horribly. They first told me they were going to completely overhaul the amp with all new tubes. About a month goes by and I never hear from them. I call. Nothing. And then they just want to give me one tube. Then the whole runaround, dragging it out,... I just took the amp after a while and dealt with it on my own.

 

[Ifriff]

Totally different concept, of course, and not relatable in any way, but if I broke one string on a set of otherwise brand new strings, I would only replace the broken one.

Do a little more research on tube heads and you'll discover why you didn't need 6.

Ok guy
Very good

 

[Dave W]

Ok guy
Very good

He's right, sorry if you don't like it.

If one tube fails there is no reason to replace all of them.

 

[JimmyM]

Tubes ain't light bulbs. If one goes, that's no guarantee that they're all going to go. That's how techs amass these awesome tube collections...people come in for a complete retube when one tube goes out, and the tech replaces them all and keeps the good ones.

In your situation, you might have made a case for a full set of power tubes to keep matching right, but you might have gotten by with as few as two or three, depending on how Fender worked the power section.

 

[MesaBoogie]

Here are the first few paragraphs of the letter Mesa sends to its retailers explaining their pricing program:

"Explaining the Benefits of Mesa/Boogie’s Suggested Pro Net Pricing Philosophy:

The first step is to NEVER refer to it as Retail Pricing… The second step is to NEVER say there is no discounting on Mesa/Boogie Products because Mesa sets the price or restricts what a Dealer can sell the product for… Both of these statements are completely inaccurate (the second being grossly inaccurate and actually illegal) and you will do your customer, yourself and us a great disservice if you misrepresent the facts in such ways.

Mesa’s Pro Net Pricing is and always has been a suggested selling pricing that is completely voluntary and at the Dealer’s sole and absolute discretion in terms of what the Dealer elects the final selling price to be – This is without exception or any recourse from Mesa. Representing it in any other way to a customer is actually a violation of the terms set forth in the current Mesa/Boogie Dealership Agreement."

+1!

 

[bigsnaketex]

The issue had nothing to do with discounted pricing. From our press release:

Mesa/Boogie discontinues with Guitar Center

Mesa/Boogie Ltd. has elected not to renew Guitar Center as an Authorized Mesa/Boogie Dealer. The decision was made in response to a growing number of customer complaints about poor service, selection and merchandise condition throughout the 86 GC locations Mesa had authorized.

Mesa/Boogie Founder, President and Chief Designer, Randall Smith, commented, “It’s with regret -- and we certainly wish GC well, but it's important for us to provide musicians with a thorough and professional representation of our products. We work hard to exceed expectations in everything we do so it's vital that we have a focused network of dealers who share our commitment and ideals."

I love Mesa gear and own quite a bit of it. It's amazingly HEAVY....but very quality stuff.

And I would NEVER buy quality anything at Guitar Center - that's a place to get strings and look at gear only.

The stuff in their showroom is so abused and the sales people I have had contact with are certainly not what I would call knowledgeable on the technical aspects of the questions I would ask.

I support local music shops and I think that is important for all of us to do because in the end, when places like GC go under (and they will) it will be all that is left!

 

[svtb15]

I own a few pieces of MESA gear. an M9, M6. Mpulse 600.. Great gear.. Nearly indestructible.. Good for just about all styles. I need to get a pair of PH112s for local gigs and maybe a pair of 410s for bigger gigs.
The Mpulse 600 is about the most toobey sounding hybrid amp that i have ever played. But i would like to get 400+ or Strategy one day

 

[Britbonic]

Tubes ain't light bulbs. If one goes, that's no guarantee that they're all going to go. That's how techs amass these awesome tube collections...people come in for a complete retube when one tube goes out, and the tech replaces them all and keeps the good ones.

You're right about that though once it worked in my favor in guitar playing days. Found a set of old RCA 6L6 tubes in rehearsal space left by a former bandmate from a Fender Super Reverb retube. Installed in a Marshall JTM 45 and they still work 10 years later and are by far best sounding 6L6 tubes ever!

 

[georgestrings]

I own a few pieces of MESA gear. an M9, M6. Mpulse 600.. Great gear.. Nearly indestructible.. Good for just about all styles. I need to get a pair of PH112s for local gigs and maybe a pair of 410s for bigger gigs.
The Mpulse 600 is about the most toobey sounding hybrid amp that i have ever played. But i would like to get 400+ or Strategy one day

Yeah, an M-pulse 600 has been my main gigging amp for a few years - it's always sounded great, and been 100% reliable - the DI send is consistantly praised by soundmen, too... I also own a few Mesa cabs, and have no desire to change that - sure, they're heavy - but they sound great, and are nearly indestructible...

Speaking of "tubey sounding" hybrids - I switch back and forth between the M-p 600 and a Streamliner 900, and never have a problem getting my sound out of them... Other hybrids like that are the Walkabout, and Big Block 750 - the Walkabout could use a little more wattage, and the BB750 is a bit too grindy/growly for my tastes, but they're both great amps for what they do...


- georgestrings

 

[Deedubs]

Like boogie?
Then
Click
T
H
I
S
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/boogie-badge-swap-999413/

 

[busmandan]

Here are the first few paragraphs of the letter Mesa sends to its retailers explaining their pricing program:

"Explaining the Benefits of Mesa/Boogie’s Suggested Pro Net Pricing Philosophy:

The first step is to NEVER refer to it as Retail Pricing… The second step is to NEVER say there is no discounting on Mesa/Boogie Products because Mesa sets the price or restricts what a Dealer can sell the product for… Both of these statements are completely inaccurate (the second being grossly inaccurate and actually illegal) and you will do your customer, yourself and us a great disservice if you misrepresent the facts in such ways.

Mesa’s Pro Net Pricing is and always has been a suggested selling pricing that is completely voluntary and at the Dealer’s sole and absolute discretion in terms of what the Dealer elects the final selling price to be – This is without exception or any recourse from Mesa. Representing it in any other way to a customer is actually a violation of the terms set forth in the current Mesa/Boogie Dealership Agreement."

Not true. This was struck down by the Supreme Court a few years ago in Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc (Brighton). v. PSKS, Inc.

 

[DigitalMan]

Not true. This was struck down by the Supreme Court a few years ago in Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc (Brighton). v. PSKS, Inc.

Not my words - it's their (Mesa's) letter. BTW most price fixing laws are considered on a case by case basis so one decision may not be precedent that applies to other situations.

 

[DigitalMan]

So I stopped by a local Guitar Center yesterday. Didn't buy anything by the way, and the place is a bit depressing - but that's not my point.

I checked into the Mesa cabinets they had in stock. They still had the 2x12 and 4x10 that have been sitting there for a while.

I was interested to see their clearance price tags. This is just an example so if I don't get the numbers exactly right the point still stands.

The 2x12 was listed as "$829 was $1099"

I have a problem with that. $1099 was MSRP, but the product NEVER carried that sticker price at GC. The actual previous price WAS $879. I think that representing the MSRP as a previous selling price is very deceptive so long as that price never WAS.

Do you agree? Is this total douche-baggerey or am I just retentive? False dichotomy? Both could be true I guess,
...

 

[RickenBoogie]

I think MSRP was higher, and $1099 was the selling price. Our local GC has the same 2 cabs, and they're clearly marked down from what the selling price was.