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Smell from new Markbass LMII?

#21
I had the same experience. One of the things I know is different is that the EU has banned lead in solder, and AFAIK, MarkBass amps don't have leaded solder. Perhaps a different kind of flux is responsible for the "MarkBass Smell". It does go away after a short "burn-in" process...usually a gig or two will do it.
 
#24
Mine had a strange plastic smell as well, but not burned smell.
It disappeared already, I have the head since september, and works perfect. So try to make difference between plastic, and burnt smell. Plastic is not a problem.:D
And it is an LMK. Maybe it stinks even better. :p
 
#27
all of us manufacturers have pretty much gone to lead free solder including those of us producing gear in the usa

i hate lead free solder, it sucks, the benefits are minimal and the source of a huge contiuing world wide debate
but that is a debate and a discussion for another day

but potting materials and the toroid xformer can create a nice cocktail that stinks as it continues to cure if it has not been fully cured during manufacturing, like baked out sufficiently
and if there are any chems left over on the board, flux, or solder that is a whole nuther set o problems
there should never be any residue on any board or component from any process including the machining, loading, wave or point soldering operations
leaving crap on the board or the components is not a long term positive feature
markbass is out of italy and should have the ce marking and should comply with all ce issues
but i do not think that the stink is controlled by ce specifications
 
#29
that candy smell sounds like what one earlier poster said as transformer potting material... many years ago i worked in the aerospace industry and the transformer potting / coil potting always had a sweet smell that was somewhat pungent and dry smelling.. but it would go away after the curing process was completed.. I do not know if that is the same as you people are describing.. one whiff and i would remember for sure.. i may have to go heat up a markbass at GC to see for myself.... im not a fan of MB but i will go give a sniff when i can to see what yall are talking about.
 
#30
svtb15 said:
that candy smell sounds like what one earlier poster said as transformer potting material... many years ago i worked in the aerospace industry and the transformer potting / coil potting always had a sweet smell that was somewhat pungent and dry smelling.. but it would go away after the curing process was completed.. I do not know if that is the same as you people are describing.. one whiff and i would remember for sure.. i may have to go heat up a markbass at GC to see for myself.... im not a fan of MB but i will go give a sniff when i can to see what yall are talking about.
Click to expand...
Doesn't even need to be heated up...it's just there.
 
#31
right
the smell is still there because while it cures the material outgasses
heating it up speeds up the process
and increases the odor because the hotter it is the more it outgasses and the more it cures up

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm
i can just imagine the creamy goodness
 
#32
man .. if it smells that strong.. i hope they ship those amps in an upright position... would want that potting to pour out of the coil molds...:D only kidding..
coils and transformers are usually cured in a vaccume to remove air pockets....i wonder if the proper amount of hardener was added to potting material on all batches? it passed their QC , so i would suppose all is OK..
 
#35
:eek: What's the matter with you all? :eyebrow:

That new Markbass smell is gorgeous! :smug: If it was an after shave, I'd drench myself in it from head to foot every day.

It reminds me of mint :) . Sadly, mine's lost its' smell now (too much hard use, dammit :mad: ).

I mentioned in my original posts, after I got my LMII in February, that it had a really strong minty smell straight out of the box.

Everybody laughed at me and said I was mad :rolleyes: .



No, nurse! ... I haven't finished typing this post yet.....
 
#36
I just got the Marlkbass 210 combo and it smells like high quality ganja! I'm not kidding at all, the guy at GC told me, and I blew it off. Got it to my guitar players house and he was like "man that thing smells lie w**d. Same thing from my girlfriend when she came over the first night I had it. To top it off, I played my first gig with it last night at a nice private club. I was coming up the freight elevator alone with my new amp, a cook from the kitchen get on the elevator and says "man smells like you got the good stuff"!! I laughed and told him it was my amp, but he didn't seem to believe me. I've had it a week and it's still strong as ever. I'm also waiting for a New in box, so I will get to experience it all over again when it comes in.

Oh yeah, it sounds amazing:bassist:
 
#38
I was wondering where that chemical smell comes from on a lot of newer products, especially those made in China (I don't know if the LMII is made there, or if parts of it are).

I found out that many manufacturing facilities wipe down products, and clean circuit boards with benzene before packaging to remove fingerprints. There is a signature "made in China" smell on electronic products that is unmistakable.

It goes away after a while and is replaced by the cigarette/stale beer bar smell very quickly.
 
#39
BbbyBld said:
I found out that many manufacturing facilities wipe down products, and clean circuit boards with benzene before packaging to remove fingerprints. There is a signature "made in China" smell on electronic products that is unmistakable.
Click to expand...

mmm, benzene :p

On a serious note, I'm not sure if this really accounts for the smell - at least not on its own. Benzene evaporates so quickly that it would not be present by the time you get the product for you to smell it - that's why it is used in this situation. Of course in north america we must use less toxic solvents for this purpose, but the idea is the same.
 
#40
phaneo said:
I just got the Marlkbass 210 combo and it smells like high quality ganja! I'm not kidding at all, the guy at GC told me, and I blew it off. Got it to my guitar players house and he was like "man that thing smells lie w**d. Same thing from my girlfriend when she came over the first night I had it. To top it off, I played my first gig with it last night at a nice private club. I was coming up the freight elevator alone with my new amp, a cook from the kitchen get on the elevator and says "man smells like you got the good stuff"!! I laughed and told him it was my amp, but he didn't seem to believe me. I've had it a week and it's still strong as ever. I'm also waiting for a New in box, so I will get to experience it all over again when it comes in.

Oh yeah, it sounds amazing:bassist:
Click to expand...

Didn't want to say it, but that is what i thought of the smell also, course i would not know:cool:
 

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