Markbass distribution in the USA

[will33]

Don't make sweeping gestures like that. That may be so in a lot of places, but there really are helpful, knowledgeable sales people out there. You just have to find the good ones and hope that they stick around.

I know, I know. Good ones shouldn't be so hard to find. Anybody who has a product or service needs to sell it, I understand that, appreciate it and sometimes love it.....BUT.



Problem is peoples definition of "good". To me that means someone who knows the product and can understand my needs and put something together that is in my price range that'll get the job done.

ie: get me what I need without breaking me and make a decent living for themselves at the same time. That's how we all help each other and that's a good thing.

People who's definition of a "good" salesman means do whatever to sell all the crap you can, tell people whatever they want to hear to separate them from their money, make as much as we can short term and to hell with honesty, integrity or looking out for you fellow man, well........

 

[JimmyM]

yes, i remember having to deal with the salesman when i last bought toilet paper. should have seen the demo...explosive!

calm down, dude! it's not like will's wrong. true, not every salesman at every chain music store is a dolt, but you'd be surprised how many are. seen some really good ones...seen some really horrible ones.

 

[Walking]

Setting aside possible nefarious motives, remember that just because someone is working in a music store doesn't mean they know more about gear than you do. They might, but you can't simply trust that they do.

A well run store will usually be straight about gear quality because they don't like to deal with returns, and they know it loses them customers. However, for part-time dude who just wants to make a sale to get some coin for this month, the big picture may not play much of a role...

 

[Walking]

yes, i remember having to deal with the salesman when i last bought toilet paper. should have seen the demo...explosive!...

Now, you're just talking ****!

 

[edbass]

acoustic is gc's house brand, not markbass.

Hmmm... Not to argue semantics, but if you can't buy a Markbass product from anyone else, how is it not just as much of a "house brand" for all intent and purposes?

i.e.; "A proprietary brand of merchandise sold by one retailer and often bearing the name of the retailer."

I think the only difference is that as far as I know GC pretty much invented the "new Acoustic", while they just enveloped the existing Markbass.
I believe that there can be little doubt that while Markbass is not wholely owned by GC, or rather Bain Capital (a fine company founded by Mitt Romney and two of his partners), they unquestionably have a very firm hold on the Markbass testicles.
IMO not a bad thing; I think it's worked out great for everybody concerned.
Through clever, high dollar marketing and sales hype Markbass went from an obscure Italian manufacturer to a touted "premier" bass amp company almost overnight, and in return GC & affiliates "fleeced the sheep*" for BIG revenue while the hype was still fresh, and have seemingly positioned the brand for some market longevity as well.

The way it's supposed to work in a Capitalistic society.









*IMO an accurate analogy, but not meant as a derogatory term; along the lines of "striking while the iron is hot", or "making hay while the sun shines", etc.

 

[Agito]

I actually had problem with the Little Mark II and because I had too much problems with it the store replaced it with Little Mark III (To be correct from CMD151P Combo with Combo Head I to CMD151P Combo with Combo Head II)

 

[BassyBill]

Sounds like typical music store lies to me: If we don't have it, it's junk -- here, buy THIS...

NEVER listen to floor help in stores about this stuff.

Word. I've heard this nonsense in music stores so many times...

I would NEVER buy so much as a pick from a store that insults the intelligence of its potential customers that badly.

 

[JimmyM]

Hmmm... Not to argue semantics, but if you can't buy a Markbass product from anyone else, how is it not just as much of a "house brand" for all intent and purposes?

i.e.; "A proprietary brand of merchandise sold by one retailer and often bearing the name of the retailer."

I think the only difference is that as far as I know GC pretty much invented the "new Acoustic", while they just enveloped the existing Markbass.
I believe that there can be little doubt that while Markbass is not wholely owned by GC, or rather Bain Capital (a fine company founded by Mitt Romney and two of his partners), they unquestionably have a very firm hold on the Markbass testicles.
IMO not a bad thing; I think it's worked out great for everybody concerned.
Through clever, high dollar marketing and sales hype Markbass went from an obscure Italian manufacturer to a touted "premier" bass amp company almost overnight, and in return GC & affiliates "fleeced the sheep*" for BIG revenue while the hype was still fresh, and have seemingly positioned the brand for some market longevity as well.

The way it's supposed to work in a Capitalistic society.

i'd love to hear your thoughts on what color tinfoil hat goes best with sunburst.

 

[steamthief]

Hmmm... Not to argue semantics, but if you can't buy a Markbass product from anyone else, how is it not just as much of a "house brand" for all intent and purposes?

i.e.; "A proprietary brand of merchandise sold by one retailer and often bearing the name of the retailer."

I think the only difference is that as far as I know GC pretty much invented the "new Acoustic", while they just enveloped the existing Markbass.
I believe that there can be little doubt that while Markbass is not wholely owned by GC, or rather Bain Capital (a fine company founded by Mitt Romney and two of his partners), they unquestionably have a very firm hold on the Markbass testicles.
IMO not a bad thing; I think it's worked out great for everybody concerned.
Through clever, high dollar marketing and sales hype Markbass went from an obscure Italian manufacturer to a touted "premier" bass amp company almost overnight, and in return GC & affiliates "fleeced the sheep*" for BIG revenue while the hype was still fresh, and have seemingly positioned the brand for some market longevity as well.

The way it's supposed to work in a Capitalistic society.









*IMO an accurate analogy, but not meant as a derogatory term; along the lines of "striking while the iron is hot", or "making hay while the sun shines", etc.

Very well put. I'd agree that the two brands mentioned above are GC's house brands. I base that concurrence on the on-the-floor availability of just about every piece of gear each brand makes in my two local GC's.

I'd love to hear the Fender Pro Series cabs, but even though GC sells Fender amps, nothing but Rumbles on the floor. An occasional piece of Mesa or Peavey. Trace Eliot, Line 6 and Crate came and went.

By means of comparison, whole walls of blue and black and yellow and black. And lots of Ampeg, too. Maybe GC has three house brands!

 

[BassyBill]

Depends on how you define "house brand", I suppose. To me, that term would imply a product specifically made to be sold by a single retailer. The fact that you can only buy Markbass stuff from GC in the States doesn't make their amps fit that criterion, regardless of the predictable American parochialism some TB members regularly exhibit.

I bought my Italian made amp from a little place in Crumlin, South Wales. I don't think GC were part of the deal.

YMMV, of course.

 

[bongomania]

I spent 28 years in professional sales in the information technology/consulting business. I take offense to your attached comment.

Are you serious? If you can't tell the difference between a high-paid professional IT representative and the typical drooling, nose-picking GC associate, then there is something wrong with your glasses. And your apparently very fragile ego.

BTW, I am not saying all GC people are dolts--just a noticeably large percentage of them. Some of the (few) smarter and better-informed ones happen to be TB'ers.

 

[edbass]

i'd love to hear your thoughts on what color tinfoil hat goes best with sunburst.

Sure! I have an opinion on just about anything; just ask me!

Well, of course sunburst (with a tort pick guard) is a given, but IMO it really depends on:

Is the tinfoil hat a fashion accessory?
Is the tinfoil hat to keep extraterrestrial aliens from reading your mind?
Is the tinfoil hat to keep Mitt Romney from reading your mind?
Or...
Is the tinfoil hat to keep the marketing department at GC from reading your mind?

 

[Exploiter8]

Woodwind & Brasswind (South Bend, IN) is also part of the GC family.

X8

 

[MEKer]

ALUMINUM foil, please, and it is to keep GC employees from ascertaining you are in the store to just goof around on their gear instead of actually buying something.

Er...at least that's how I use MY hat.

 

[musicbikeman]

Depends on how you define "house brand", I suppose. To me, that term would imply a product specifically made to be sold by a single retailer. The fact that you can only buy Markbass stuff from GC in the States doesn't make their amps fit that criterion, regardless of the predictable American parochialism some TB members regularly exhibit.

I bought my Italian made amp from a little place in Crumlin, South Wales. I don't think GC were part of the deal.

YMMV, of course.

I blame society. Its not our fault that we think that things sold exclusively at a store mean House Brand. Thats just the way people market them. And anyone can buy factory direct. There are many ways to get around a bind like the one Guitar center has on MarkBass.

 

[MikeBass]

I don't own anything Markbass and I don't really care if somebody rants or raves about them. What you were talking to there (notice I didn't say "who" as that would put them in a category of humans equal to you and me) is a salesman, or nowdays I guess you'd say salesperson for fear of getting sued or arrested.

They no nothing of their product, they only know how to sell stuff. Doesn't matter if you're talking bass amps, cars, toasters or shoes. If you came in there looking for a waffle iron that they didn't carry, he'd tell you that particular waffle iron is now the house brand of waffle house and quality has really gone downhill since then and you should buy this better waffle iron from him.

Mmmm.....waffles....

 

[BassyBill]

I blame society. Its not our fault that we think that things sold exclusively at a store mean House Brand. Thats just the way people market them. And anyone can buy factory direct. There are many ways to get around a bind like the one Guitar center has on MarkBass.

Yes, very true. You seem to understand my point.

But I must restate that Markbass amps are not sold exclusively by GC.

 

[bongomania]

All owned by Bain Capital:

Music 123
Lyons Music
Music & Arts Center
Musician's Friend
Guitar Center
GuitarCenter.com
LMI
Giardinelli
Musician.com
Private Reserve Guitars
Woodwind and Brasswind
Harmony Central
American Music Group

This is a link to all Markbass dealers, by country:
Invalid Link Removed
(Change the country name at the end of the link for each country's distributors.)

 

[Exploiter8]

All owned by Bain Capital:

Music 123
Lyons Music
Music & Arts Center
Musician's Friend
Guitar Center
GuitarCenter.com
LMI
Giardinelli
Musician.com
Private Reserve Guitars
Woodwind and Brasswind
Harmony Central
American Music Group

Thanks!

X8

 

[steamthief]

Depends on how you define "house brand", I suppose. To me, that term would imply a product specifically made to be sold by a single retailer. The fact that you can only buy Markbass stuff from GC in the States doesn't make their amps fit that criterion, regardless of the predictable American parochialism some TB members regularly exhibit.

I bought my Italian made amp from a little place in Crumlin, South Wales. I don't think GC were part of the deal.

YMMV, of course.

Hey, thanks for the cultural condescension! Feel better?