Is GC dropping MarkBass?

[Dr. Cheese]

I was looking cabs today and I noticed that the MarkBass selection has drastically decreased. One local store, that usually has a nice selection of bass gear, had no MarkBass at all. Another store has one cab and two packs of strings. The store closest to me has three cabs, I think.

 

[ole Jason]

Didn't Markbass redo most of their lineup last year? Seems like they were/are having supply issues too, people have been waiting on the new lightweight cabs for a long time.

 

[Parzival]

May just be GC. Our GC never has anything good.

 

[60bass]

Same here with my local GC. It's become a Fender Rumble and Ampeg combo warehouse. A couple of Markbass items, Darkglass heads, and a Tone hammer 500 but not much else. Zero Rumble heads and/or cabinets right now. I haven't visited the Sam Ash here but my guess is it's the same thing there as far as stock goes. They do however have a decent selection of basses in there.

 

[Shooz]

I was looking cabs today and I noticed that the MarkBass selection has drastically decreased. One local store, that usually has a nice selection of bass gear, had no MarkBass at all. Another store has one cab and two packs of strings. The store closest to me has three cabs, I think.

You’re in the St.Louis area right? I saw a few MB at the Fairview Heights IL store a few weeks back, not been to the other locations lately. a few years back I picked up my cmd121 from the Bridgeton location, I ordered my NY 121 extension delivered to the Fairview store. GC are the only place that I’ve seen to carry MB in this area but I could be wrong. They still have an extensive list on their app and website.

 

[lowendrv]

California stores just started getting new stuff . Very little of it though . MarkBass was the only amps they had in stock on the floor for years . Lots of supply issues still . Good thing I never gelled with Markbass stuff .

 

[Axtman]

I thought Guitar Center owned MarkBass.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

You’re in the St.Louis area right? I saw a few MB at the Fairview Heights IL store a few weeks back, not been to the other locations lately. a few years back I picked up my cmd121 from the Bridgeton location, I ordered my NY 121 extension delivered to the Fairview store. GC are the only place that I’ve seen to carry MB in this area but I could be wrong. They still have an extensive list on their app and website.

Fairview Heights has the most, but not that many. The Fender Rumble are cheaper and I guess that is their focus now.

 

[selowitch]

I thought Guitar Center owned MarkBass.

I thought Markbass was an Italian company with a distribution/marketing deal with GC.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

Hasn't GC been in some kind of chapter 11 receivership hell for over a decade?
There's two GCs locally and they literally have a terrible selection of bass amplification. The GC an hour away who had my Prodigy didn't even have a working bass cab to demo it through.

 

[Kenan]

Last time I went to the SF Guitar Center they had almost nothing in stock for bass amplification. I think it's supply chain issues.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Last time I went to the SF Guitar Center they had almost nothing in stock for bass amplification. I think it's supply chain issues.

That could be a factor.

 

[Dr. Love]

I think the market has shifted a lot in recent years and many stores are stocking primarily beginner and some intermediate level gear because that's what's selling the fastest. The higher end market is a smaller (and more picky) group, so it usually sits for a while. To a retailer that's money and floor space tied up in inventory they could just special order if there's a customer request.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I think the market has shifted a lot in recent years and many stores are stocking primarily beginner and some intermediate level gear because that's what's selling the fastest. The higher end market is a smaller (and more picky) group, so it usually sits for a while. To a retailer that's money and floor space tied up in inventory they could just special order if there's a customer request.

That makes sense, and that is probably why an amp like the Fender Rumble 500 has become more common than MarkBass at GC.
The 500 Rumble combo is about the same as a MarkBass 2x10 cab.

 

[ItsmeSantiago]

I can’t remember the last time I saw anything Markbass in my local GC. But mine went viral for someone getting whooped for trying to steal, which is common for businesses where I live, so maybe that’s why it doesn’t stock much.

 

[mustBmtd]

Guitar Center, here in Memphis TN, doesn't have to much of anything anymore. Fender basses, and a couple of high end musicman basses. Not even anything decent in the used section.

 

[ItsmeSantiago]

I think the market has shifted a lot in recent years and many stores are stocking primarily beginner and some intermediate level gear because that's what's selling the fastest. The higher end market is a smaller (and more picky) group, so it usually sits for a while. To a retailer that's money and floor space tied up in inventory they could just special order if there's a customer request.

If materials don’t move, there’s inventory taxes for not selling it. Better to have the manufacturer assume the liability rather than stocking a bunch of high end stuff that has the potential of being taxed simply for existing in their store.

 

[TN WOODMAN]

I thought Guitar Center owned MarkBass.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Bain Capital (owns GC, MF & MUSIC 123-do they still exist?) in fact owns MB but my understanding was that GC had sole distribution of MB for the US.

I’d be curious about all this. I’m a happy MB owner since 2008. My MB rig is still kicking. I have a Rumble 100 for my daughter but she lets me use it if I just need a small amp.

I bought a clean Eden Highwayman 500 & 410 XLT for non transport/home use only. The Mark Bass Berlin Combo & NY 151 is my main amp for most everything .

I’m considering MESA if I ever need a new rig.

 

[fauxtoe]

I was at a GC about an hour from my house on April 5th and played through one of their new lightweight 4x10's, so they're floating around. The GC closest to my house though gets the very bottom of the barrel for anything bass related, so I don't expect to see much there for a long time...if ever, it's that bad.

 

[SaxBass]

I believe GC (and Musicians Friend) is the exclusive distributor for Markbass in the US. It seems they still carry the products, but supply may be an issue. I recently got a NY 121 cab, and my ordered CMD121p comes in this week, both ordered online. Our local store has virtually no MB product on the floor.