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Markbass Reliability

Type-55

Type-55

Jul 20, 2000
2,869
1,722
Michigan
#1
Bought a used MB 58R off eBay.
So got the amp and really like the tone.
Wasn’t so sure about the plastic casing. Anyway, about a month after I had it the amp kept going into protection mode intermittently.
It was used at home only. The amp was built in Italy in 2024. Not an old amp.
Was hoping for a warranty claim but no luck. Sent it to a repair shop for a repair estimate and the repair diagnostic was it needed a new main board. Cost more to repair it than I paid for it. I’ve owned older MB amps with an AB power supply and they were built like tanks.
Is this an isolated case?
 
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#2
That is not normal at all. Someone must have abused that amp if the damage was so bad it required a board replacement. Although you don't say which board it is. But on those amps, some of the sections are designed to be sent back to Markbass for analysis instead of repaired.

I've been burned by ebay a few times, mostly for camera gear. I don't really trust ebay for things like amplifiers.
 
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#3
frankie5string said:
That is not normal at all. Someone must have abused that amp if the damage was so bad it required a board replacement. Although you don't say which board it is. But on those amps, some of the sections are designed to be sent back to Markbass for analysis instead of repaired.

I've been burned by ebay a few times, mostly for camera gear. I don't really trust ebay for things like amplifiers.
Type-55 said:
Bought a used MB 58R off eBay.
So got the amp and really like the tone.
Wasn’t so sure about the plastic casing. Anyway, about a month after I had it the amp kept going into protection mode intermittently.
It was used at home only. The amp was built in Italy in 2024. Not an old amp.
Was hoping for a warranty claim but no luck. Sent it to a repair shop for a repair estimate and the repair diagnostic was it needed a new main board. Cost more to repair it than I paid for it. I’ve owned older MB amps with an AB power supply and they were built like tanks.
Is this an isolated case?
Click to expand...
That may be why you paid so little. I don't buy used unless I know the reputation of the seller.
Click to expand...
New ones can be had for appx $549.
If your repair is close to that, I opt for a new one.
 
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#6
Type-55 said:
Bought a used MB 58R off eBay.
So got the amp and really like the tone.
Wasn’t so sure about the plastic casing. Anyway, about a month after I had it the amp kept going into protection mode intermittently.
It was used at home only. The amp was built in Italy in 2024. Not an old amp.
Was hoping for a warranty claim but no luck. Sent it to a repair shop for a repair estimate and the repair diagnostic was it needed a new main board. Cost more to repair it than I paid for it. I’ve owned older MB amps with an AB power supply and they were built like tanks.
Is this an isolated case?
Click to expand...
Older MarkBass amps used SMPS power supplies as do the current ones.

The older models used a class AB power amp, the newer ones use class D. If the power supply failed, it's often less expensive to replace than repair, just like with the older models.

It's quite difficult to design and execute SMPS combined with class D so that they are robust and reliable. ICEPower is the gold standard for a reason, and I've seen issues with every amp manufacturer that tried to "roll their own" (including companies far larger than MarkBass) with less than ideal results.
 
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#8
I don't have any direct experience although I'm looking at picking up a MB combo myself. But I have talked to a couple of bassists in local bands who use MB heads and they all said they were happy, no problems and they could take a beating. Sounds very odd to me.
 
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#11
agedhorse said:
Older MarkBass amps used SMPS power supplies as do the current ones.

The older models used a class AB power amp, the newer ones use class D. If the power supply failed, it's often less expensive to replace than repair, just like with the older models.

It's quite difficult to design and execute SMPS combined with class D so that they are robust and reliable. ICEPower is the gold standard for a reason, and I've seen issues with every amp manufacturer that tried to "roll their own" (including companies far larger than MarkBass) with less than ideal results.
Click to expand...
Thanks for insight on this issue.
 
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#12
Type-55 said:
Bought a used MB 58R off eBay.
So got the amp and really like the tone.
Wasn’t so sure about the plastic casing. Anyway, about a month after I had it the amp kept going into protection mode intermittently.
It was used at home only. The amp was built in Italy in 2024. Not an old amp.
Was hoping for a warranty claim but no luck. Sent it to a repair shop for a repair estimate and the repair diagnostic was it needed a new main board. Cost more to repair it than I paid for it. I’ve owned older MB amps with an AB power supply and they were built like tanks.
Is this an isolated case?
Click to expand...
If it was cheap, it's possible the amp was known to have a fault by the ebay seller. How much were you quoted for the repair?
 
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#16
Type-55 said:
Sweetwater has them new at $599.00 plus tax. Not sure on shipping.
I think $450-475 is about right.
Click to expand...
I also think you have paid too much for a secondhand amp with no warranty. That's the risk of ebay unfortunately.
I was thinking you maybe paid around $350 and were quoted $300 for the repair. Markbass out of warranty repairs were never cheap but that seems unreasonable. I sympathise with your situation.
 
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#18
If it was dead Mint cosmetically and functionally, $475 isn't a bad price but clearly this one wasn't in good mechanical condition. It's hard to know from just looking at it.
I sold one for $425 and it was dead Mint with the box and all papers/packing.
 
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#20
Type-55 said:
Bought a used MB 58R off eBay.
So got the amp and really like the tone.
Wasn’t so sure about the plastic casing. Anyway, about a month after I had it the amp kept going into protection mode intermittently.
It was used at home only. The amp was built in Italy in 2024. Not an old amp.
Was hoping for a warranty claim but no luck. Sent it to a repair shop for a repair estimate and the repair diagnostic was it needed a new main board. Cost more to repair it than I paid for it. I’ve owned older MB amps with an AB power supply and they were built like tanks.
Is this an isolated case?
Click to expand...
I think my lower price assumption was based on your buying from ebay and my out of date knowledge of Markbass authorised repair prices.

I will mention that I still own a selection of class AB Markbass heads that refuse to die, even after 15+ years. Admittedly because I cycle their use, they are each used fairly infrequently. My 2009 LM3 gets more outings and performed perfectly on dozens of gigs since then.

Even back in 2009 I was dubious of Markbass repair policy/prices, so set out to buy working second hand Markbass heads to use as donor units or straight backups. These are the heads I rotate for gigs.

In addition to Agedhorse comment, I will say that the only Markbass heads that I've owned that had power amp problems were two class D variants. I know that's not statistically significant, but it is my personal experience.
 

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