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Help! Acoustic B200 Dilemma...

BulbousMoses

BulbousMoses

Jun 26, 2008
1,412
142
Ottawa, Canada
#1
Ok...the backstory: I am Canadian (I live in Ottawa, Ontario). I've been reading many good things about the Acoustic series of amps from GC. They aren't sold here in Canada...however, a friend of mine was going to be in San Diego and agreed to pick up a B200 combo and bring it back to Ottawa for me. About 2 weeks ago, she called me from the GC in San Diego and said "Listen to this" as the sales guy played a few bass lines through MY new amp (it was the floor model). Even over a cell phone, it sounded amazing. Sold.

Fast forward to yesterday when she arrives back from San Diego. The amp, by the way, was properly packed and transported in her Honda CRV. I unpack it and it looks pristine and gorgeous. I plug it in and let it warm up for a few minutes while I go get my bass from upstairs. I plug in my bass and play a note and...it sounds like a distorted mess...almost like the speaker is blown or something. I try another instrument cable thinking that maybe the cable is fried but the same thing. What could the problem be?

And in a worst case scenario, what are my options for exchanging this amp given that it is now 3000 miles away from the store where it was purchased? Or have I just gambled and lost and now have a $400.00 paper weight?? Very dissappointing as this was my Christmas present to myself..
 
#8
To the OP, I have the exact same problem with my B200, though it didn't start happening until after I dropped it on myself when I tripped on a particularly tricky bit of broken concrete. It doesn't matter the bass, cable, anything, all of them sound like I have a nasty muff built into the amp that I can't turn off.
 
#10
stingray56funk said:
Sounds like a possible speaker issue...I'm not an expert so hopefully someone else will chime in.
Click to expand...

But how could it "break" if it hadn't even been plugged in until I got it yesterday? And what options do I have to get a replacement. I assume the warranty is in place but not in Canada. Would another Guitar Center exchange it or do I have to take it to the store where it was purchased? I think the nearest GC to me is in Buffalo or Syracuse.
 
#11
If your problem is the same as mine, it is not a speaker issue. I tested this theory by plugging the speaker into a different head and seeing what happened, and the speaker was fine. Also, I plugged a spare extension cab into the B200 and it gave the same disgusting muff noise. I opened up the head to see if anything came loose or shorted or somesuch, and I didn't see anything there either.

To the OP, did you get the extended warranty on it, or just the limited lifetime one that automatically comes with the amp? If you only have the second, you might be SOL on that replacement because the limited lifetime warranty apparently only covers the cab, or so my local GC rep told me.
 
#12
mjolnir said:
If your problem is the same as mine, it is not a speaker issue. I tested this theory by plugging the speaker into a different head and seeing what happened, and the speaker was fine. Also, I plugged a spare extension cab into the B200 and it gave the same disgusting muff noise. I opened up the head to see if anything came loose or shorted or somesuch, and I didn't see anything there either.

To the OP, did you get the extended warranty on it, or just the limited lifetime one that automatically comes with the amp? If you only have the second, you might be SOL on that replacement because the limited lifetime warranty apparently only covers the cab, or so my local GC rep told me.
Click to expand...

I got whatever comes as a warranty by default. So GC won't exchange or repair the unit unless you have extended warranty? That's BS if that's the case.
 
#13
BulbousMoses said:
I got whatever comes as a warranty by default. So GC won't exchange or repair the unit unless you have extended warranty? That's BS if that's the case.
Click to expand...
That is the case. I tried exchanging mine when this happened, figured there'd be no problem because of the warranty it comes with and the fact that I was trying to exchange it within 30 days of buying it, but when I got it to GC they told me (1) that the standard warranty only covers damage to the cab and (2) they won't exchange anything without the extended warranty if it's damaged.

So now with mine, since I can't seem to find the problem on my own, I'm letting it gather dust in the corner until I have the time and energy to take it in for professional repair.
 
#14
mjolnir said:
That is the case. I tried exchanging mine when this happened, figured there'd be no problem because of the warranty it comes with and the fact that I was trying to exchange it within 30 days of buying it, but when I got it to GC they told me (1) that the standard warranty only covers damage to the cab and (2) they won't exchange anything without the extended warranty if it's damaged.

So now with mine, since I can't seem to find the problem on my own, I'm letting it gather dust in the corner until I have the time and energy to take it in for professional repair.
Click to expand...

Well given that no one in Canada sells theses amps, I don't think any amp repair shops will have parts for them. Guess I'm out 400 bucks.
 
#15
BulbousMoses said:
Well given that no one in Canada sells theses amps, I don't think any amp repair shops will have parts for them. Guess I'm out 400 bucks.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear about your amp. That sucks!!!! I would at least take it to a local amp repair guy. At least he may figure out what's wrong with it. Try emailing Acoustic. Nothing may come of it, but they may want to stand behind there product and let you send it to them or something. Don't just give up:help:
 
#16
rayzak said:
I'm sorry to hear about your amp. That sucks!!!! I would at least take it to a local amp repair guy. At least he may figure out what's wrong with it. Try emailing Acoustic. Nothing may come of it, but they may want to stand behind there product and let you send it to them or something. Don't just give up:help:
Click to expand...


Yeah, I guess that's what I'll try. It's so dissapointing after waiting to get it in my hands. And I don't have alot of money so that was one of the reasons I went with this amp..good bang for the buck. The way my luck's been running lately, I'm not surprised about this.
 
#18
when i bought my acoustic cab i was told that if i bring it and the reciet back to ANY gc and they replace it no cost. dont know how true it is but id call them to check it out.

so you might just have to drive to a northern US GC to get ti replaced.
 
#19
BAW said:
when i bought my acoustic cab i was told that if i bring it and the reciet back to ANY gc and they replace it no cost. dont know how true it is but id call them to check it out.

so you might just have to drive to a northern US GC to get ti replaced.
Click to expand...


Well, to be honest, even if they would do a straight exchange, that would mean that I'd have to drive to Buffalo and that is an added expense. I may just end up putting it to the curb on garbage day or selling it for parts if I can't get it repaired at a reasonable cost locally.
 
#20
I'm sorry to hear about that. Some of the Acoustic gear can be bought from an on line site and shipped to Canada. I don't know what sort of warranty you get though.

It's really tempting to order gear from the USA because of the price sometimes, but that's the reason I don't do it. I prefer to buy from a Canadian store like L&M, where I pay more, but get good service and they stand behind what they sell.

If you can't find someone to fix it locally, I'd say to hang on to it and wait until a Canadian dealer picks up the Acoustic line. It'll probably happen sooner or later. Then they may be able to help you get it repaired even though you'd likely have to pay for it.

Anyhow, I'm sorry you're out all that money.
 

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