Just sent this letter to Italy directly to Marco...
Marco De Virgillis
MARKBASS SRL – Via Po, 52
66020 San Giovanni Teatino
CHIETI ITALY
[email protected]
Dear Marco,
I am a professional bass player who has been performing for 57 years. I graduated from the University of Miami in Jazz Performance and am a long time personal friend of MarkBass endorse Frank Gravis. I toured with Buddy Rich and BS&T and did studio work in NYC in the early 80’s until I moved to Boston and started a successful music software company (Dr.T’s Music Software) in the mid-80’s. I was one of the first hires at Harmonix Music Systems, the company that created the mega-hit game Guitar Hero. I moved to New Hampshire in 1997 and have been playing continuously throughout New England since then with a variety of groups including James Montgomery Blues Band, Diane Blue, Once An Outlaw as well as my own 6/7 piece jazz-funk band - to name a few.
I thought you should know about my experiences with two of your LM III bass amplifiers.
I bought my first one at least 12 years ago - soon after it became popular in the US. I used it for 3-4 years with various 210 and 110 cabinets in many situations and it was just fine. It sounded good and was powerful enough for all the stuff I was doing - rock, funk, pop, jazz…whatever. Then unexpectedly, at a restaurant jazz gig through my 110 it smoked a little and died. This was a guitar trio and the guitarist had no issues with their amp and there was no surges. Fortunately it was a very local gig and my wife was able to bring me a spare. I looked into getting it repaired, but as I remember the cost was something around $300 to replace the board so I didn’t bother. I bought a Genz Benz Streamliner 900 and have been uneventfully using it for many years in all situations.
Recently I borrowed another LM III from my friend David Luke who makes the acclaimed hand-made RevSound speaker cabinets. His LM III appears to be around the same vintage as my original one. I used it at a gig filling in with a local rock band that plays all covers. They are not a loud band so I brought a new 112 cabinet. The amp and speaker combination sounded great and there were no issues at all. 5 days later i had a quartet jazz gig at a small venue where I play monthly. For this gig I brought the LM III and my 112 cabinet. This group features acoustic piano, bass, drums and tenor sax. I am the only amplified instrument. I plugged into the wall where I always do, plugged the speaker cable into the amp, turned on the amp, plugged in my bass and tested it to make sure it worked and that it sounded as expected. I turned down the volume, unplugged my bass, left the amp turned on and went into the green room for a soda and some pizza. Less than 15 minutes later a waitress came running into the room telling me that “your amp is on fire!” I ran in and indeed it was pouring dark color acrid smoke, but fortunately there were no flames! Needless to say I immediately turned it off and unplugged it from the wall. It was still in its carrying bag, but of course the front and back covers were open and the side vent holes were unencumbered as always. No one had been on the stage and there was nothing spilled on it.
Needless to say this was VERY disturbing as I never carry a spare amplifier. In fact, other than in the days when I toured, I have never brought a spare rig. And other than these two LM III’s I have never needed one. That covers Fender, Peavy, Walter Woods, Behringer, Genz Benz and Genzler amps for over 57 years!
I had been considering picking up one of the newer small & light Lttle Mark 58r 500w heads to use as a practice amp and for some of my jazz gigs, but this will most certainly not be the case. I’m sending you this so you understand how I, as a long-time professional musician, feel about the quality of your gear. And obviously I do NOT feel good…
Best of luck - sincerely,
