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Mark Bass Reliability
- Thread starter portpc
- Start date
JeezyMcNuggles
Inactive
- Feb 23, 2018
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- I suck, but nobody really notices
I owned a Little Mark III for a while. I never had any issues with it and was extremely loud and portable for my needs. The only issue I will give it was that when flipping the power switch on, it took a second or two to light up and get going. That bothered me a little because it felt like "ut oh, is this thing going to just die on me this time?" but once it turned on and lit up, I was good to go. I've moved on from Markbass but they are a pretty decent company in my opinion still.
I had a Markbass 15" combo.
It fried at the on/off switch on several occasions. Primarily due to the wiring being to short and shaking free during playing.
The only other MB amp I had was the TTE800 and I found the volume dial and on off switch were the only things that worked.
All other dials were superfluous as they made no change whatsoever.
Love the cabs. Dislike the amps.
It fried at the on/off switch on several occasions. Primarily due to the wiring being to short and shaking free during playing.
The only other MB amp I had was the TTE800 and I found the volume dial and on off switch were the only things that worked.
All other dials were superfluous as they made no change whatsoever.
Love the cabs. Dislike the amps.
I was looking into the reason for that and I found nothing solid but it was suggested that it's running a bit of a self check before cranking on. Maybe that's a good thing? Even if one thing is broken it may prevent it it from ruining other components as well?
I'm sure there's a reason for the 1 to 2 second delay. My Aguilar did the same thing. And, I'll bet other amps do as well.
Maybe @agedhorse can bring a better technical understanding.
- Feb 12, 2006
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- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
The delay is to allow the power amp circuitry to stabilize, most amps have this.
I've had two Italian-made Markbass amps go south on me so put me down in the "not reliable" column. I sold one as is and repaired the other. It's been OK ever since but if it ever goes down again, it's out.
So if my house falls down tomorrow and it was built in1973 I say great that was only 11 dollars a day?! Thanks
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I'm simply saying it wasn't an expensive decade long relationship. My LM3 has already outlasted yours but if it died tomorrow, I wouldn't feel it owed me anything.
By the way, please don't add to my quote.
Our thoughts should be kept separate..
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Well, you made what I believe is a silly comparison. How about cars or appliances etc. Every dog has it's day. You can't expect anything to last forever. That said, IMHO, if an amp lasts over a decade, which your's certainly did, it doesn't owe you anything.
Unless you want to put manufacturers out of business or cause a huge spike in prices for amps that don't ever fail, and that's still no guarantee. There's great value in today's equipment and I'll bet you were happier carrying the Markbass to a gig as opposed to schlepping that Trace Elliot.
Just got a brand new Little Mark III today (made 04/2020) and it does this as well. I've been told that it is perfectly normal.
This ^^^. I owned a Markbass cab briefly once; it needed a HF driver. Tried to get one - diaphram, anything - no such luck. Sold cab. Will not own again, especially since I couldn't get the parts I needed to fix it myself. Why not use a Fostex horn like a GK that anyone can fix? Anyway, no thanks, and no more for me.
I bought my LMIII used for $300 & it has been reliable for the past 6 years. But can you name an amp manufacturer whose products never fail? This thread is just odd. I've had amps from other manufacturers fail in the past. It's ok to just say you don't like the yellow.
I think that because there is a warranty most amp manufacturers have to build in at least enough quality to survive the warranty period in order to make money. It costs them a lot more money for warranty repairs. How long an amp or cab survives after the warranty period is a crapshoot. I say buy what you want in terms of tone and versatility and hope for the best after the warranty period.
