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Markbass Schematics

#42
Not fixed. I found parts and they should be here today.. I will get them over to the repair shop and hopefully by midweek, I will have a markbass LM 800 for sale.
I just can't see keeping it. The company has put such a sour feeling to it. I was really looking forward to using it though.
 
#43
i have to admit to being disappointed by post-warranty markbass business. anyone who wants to reverse engineer this stuff can do it if they have the knowledge. i see no reason not to provide schematics. is there really anything so proprietary in their designs that the other companies don't have access to it by now? i don't think so. that's as bad as dumble or walter woods sealing parts in silicon glue so they can't be figured out without ruining the amp.

also, i remember a thread here where a guy had to replace a board in an LMII post-warranty and he was charged $400 for it. $400 is 2/3 the cost of a new one! I love the heck out of the sound of my LMII but that $400 charge really threw me for a loop. and they don't provide schematics to anyone but authorized repair centers? that really gives me pause when considering another markbass purchase. it's a shame because I don't think there's a better sounding ss amp than the lmii/iii. but when my lmii breaks, i don't want to have to throw it out. but apparently our only choices are throw it out or get bf'd on the price of a replacement board.
 
#44
Well, I keep getting e-mails now from some guy named Feliciano Tacconelli. Encouraging me to send it to Guitar Center for repair. 3 e-mails now. Gotta admit, he is trying. I did not want to be too negative about thier policies, but I told him that I am not his average stupid customer with lots of money. I reminded him that these purchases are "Luxury" items and they really need to pay attention to individual and not to their bottom line.
 
#45
I've always wondered what the real catch to these amps was.

I have played numerous Markbass amps, and almost thought that it was too good to be true.

Tons of power, in a tiny, relatively cheap package?

Well, I guess this is the catch. :hmm:
 
#46
KramerBassFan said:
I've always wondered what the real catch to these amps was.

I have played numerous Markbass amps, and almost thought that it was too good to be true.

Tons of power, in a tiny, relatively cheap package?

Well, I guess this is the catch. :hmm:
Click to expand...
hey, we all knew there would be one. and yes, disposability is the price you pay for small size. didn't really concern me until i heard a replacement board was $400. sheesh! i'd rather buy a new amp at that point.

however, to be fair to the micro amp makers, genz benz amps on the inside look they won't suffer from disposability, and so it's not fair to paint all of them with the same brush.
 
#48
iriegnome said:
Certainly none of the parts in this amp are unique nor are they proprietary.
Click to expand...

That may be true, but it may not be that simple.

Consider, for example, many of the Ampeg mosfet-powered amps. They use matched parts. If you don't match them, the amp will soon fail again. You can't just order one or two FETs from Digi-key and do the repair.

As for disposable equipment, manufacturers often sacrifice repairability for cheaper manufacturing processes. Rivets are cheaper than screws, because a machine can slam them in. Surface-mount components are cheaper than conventional parts. Large replaceable subassemblies (main boards, whole power supplies, etc.) keep equipment prices low.

With a reliable product, the manufacturer often doesn't design for field repairs. After all, should 100% of the products cost more to make it easier for the 5% who need to repair in the field? Conventional business practices say "no," and the consumer pays the price if he needs repairs.

This doesn't help iriegnome, of course.
 
#51
iriegnome said:
Well next in the development - They said to have my repair shop e-mail them and they will send them a schematic. I don't know what that means but we shall see.
Click to expand...

Looks like someone is reading this thread. Perhaps you'll get some response now.





JimmyM said:
hey, we all knew there would be one. and yes, disposability is the price you pay for small size. didn't really concern me until i heard a replacement board was $400. sheesh! i'd rather buy a new amp at that point.

however, to be fair to the micro amp makers, genz benz amps on the inside look they won't suffer from disposability, and so it's not fair to paint all of them with the same brush.
Click to expand...

If his amp were a Genz Benz it would be fixed by now. :D


MarkBass makes some cool stuff but they seem to have a disconnect with regular Joes. Kind of like the Soup Nazi.

No soup for you. :D
 
#54
Update - Some Guitar Center guy - Stefan Medeiros e-mailed me and said that the company refuses to offer anyone other than Certified Repair centers (guitar center) schematics and that if I had my service guy send tehm an e-mail, my service guy could get a schematic... Ok, so my brother sent them an e-mail (from his business account) and requested the schematic. 4 days later - no schematic - no response - NOTHING.
I think that Guitar Center and Markbass are in bed together on this one and I for one am not please about it. I am not a fan of GC since they run a lot of Mom and Pop stores out of business, but we have WalMart too.. Anyway, I think that I am going to be jumping ship on Markbass all together and after this, I will wash my hands of the company and GC FOREVER...
 
#55
I really like my new MB amp, and the more I think about it, it would probably be very difficult to repair with or without schematics and replacement boards make sense assuming they don't gauge us on pricing.

However, I do believe that the company are A-holes for not supporting their equipment in a professional manner.

I encourage all TB'ers to locate a schematic and get it on the internet just out of principle.
 
#56
Someone has to have one. I can't believe NO-ONE here on TB doesn't have access to them. I know in another thread Peter Murry from MB or GC has been putting his 2 cents worth in, but it is just a bunch of corporate crap. They like to say a whole bunch of things to get people buy, but if anything goes wrong, either bring it to their "Company Sponsered" repair facility or you can't get it fixed with proper tools that most other real major companies give for the asking.
Nope, I am done with Markbass and their attitudes towards customers who care about their own equipment.
 
#57
iriegnome said:
Someone has to have one. I can't believe NO-ONE here on TB doesn't have access to them. I know in another thread Peter Murry from MB or GC has been putting his 2 cents worth in, but it is just a bunch of corporate crap. They like to say a whole bunch of things to get people buy, but if anything goes wrong, either bring it to their "Company Sponsered" repair facility or you can't get it fixed with proper tools that most other real major companies give for the asking.
Nope, I am done with Markbass and their attitudes towards customers who care about their own equipment.
Click to expand...



How common is that... more than happy to SELL you something, but when the hammer comes down, they're nowhere to be found. :hiding:

And this reminds me more of buying an IPOD than a bass amp.... something goes wrong, better get a new one...

(And for the record, i'm not against markbass or "bashing them", just commenting on this thread )
 
#58
I've only had mine for 1 week and love the amp; don't like the way they run the business though
Schematics aside, their business plan seems to be purely about gross sales; most would aggree that GC has consistently the least qualified sales staff, and the store near me has new sales people every month; other than MB, we have MUCH better independant repair facilities as well

Imagine if some of the more professional music stores had access to these fine products; BTW, the only reason I tried one was due to the reviews here; GC has a bunch of gear set up but no one to help you demo or offer professional advice; at least not in Rockville, MD
 
#59
GC has some of the most unqualified people I have ever seen and MB says they are "Qualified" for service. Well, as I stated earlier, I do not send my equipment away, nor do I give my equipment to people who know less about music equipment than I do. Most of the "Qualified Service Centers" are filled with people who don't care about me or my equipment. NO! I will give my repairs to people I trust. I don't send my bass away to have a set up by people who do not play guitar/bass, I will NOT send my bass amp to someone who could give a crap about it.
 
#60
here's my only problem with this whole markbass not being forthcoming thing...they make really wonderful sounding stuff ;) i've heard that their compressore is one of the best sub-$500 compressors ever, and of course, most of their heads sound great. it kind of pains me to see all this because i always root for companies that make good stuff at reasonable prices. i think it's time for markbass to let go a little, huh?
 

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