Which amps have the best/longest warranty?

[6v6]

Hi all,

I'm considering a replacement amp purchase after having my LM3 go up in smoke. Which manufacturers offer the best warranty terms?

I'm looking for a combination of long warranty and fast repair turnaround (e.g responsive after-sales support for those based in the UK).

What are the best options out there? Or am I best to just buy from Thomman who offer a 3 year warranty for all products?

Any first-hand experiences of manufacturers that help you out (fast) when their stuff bites the dust would be great - most manufacturers seem really vague about the length of warranty, stating it's country specific etc.

[discreet]

Was going to mention Thomann's 3-year warranty, but you beat me to it.
Think it's a good one though as it covers most of their products. And you're right about the vagueness of specific manufacturers.

Edited April 14, 2015 by discreet

[chevy-stu]

Don't buy a Peavey, as they disbanded their whole UK and European operation at the end of 2014, so there is zero aftersales service..... bit of a bugger as I look after a rehearsal studio's equipment with over 30 guitar and bass amps and 20 PA's.. All Peavey.

I have an Orange Terror 1000 which had an erratic fault after 9 months, dropped it into their HQ with photocopy of the invoice, and they fitted whole new main circuit board FOC in less than 24 hrs..... Marshall had (still may do) amazing customer service with a 'book and wait' service and repair facility where they pretty much did anything in a day.

Edited April 14, 2015 by chevy-stu

[Merton]

Ashdown's new ABM range has a lifetime warranty and their after sales care is second to none in my experience.

I think their other amps have 5 years on their warranty

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1429011916' post='2746948']
Ashdown's new ABM range has a lifetime warranty....
[/quote]

Can't get much better than that.

[largo]

I'll throw-in Ashdown as well. Had to use their after care twice and absolutely superb. Once was sending the amp back & got it before the next weekend's gig. Other was a fuse that they just sent to me FOC.

[6v6]

Thanks all, this is not helping my mild GAS for an Ashdown CTM100 at all

[Merton]

The CTM100 is an awesome amp. Buy one.

There

[xgsjx]

Did the shop fob you off regarding the LM3 or did they send it to MarkBass?

[molan]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1429431378' post='2751246']
Did the shop fob you off regarding the LM3 or did they send it to MarkBass?
[/quote]

The UK MarkBass guys are brilliant at handling warranty stuff. They take away all the hassle and handle everything very professionally.

[6v6]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1429431378' post='2751246']
Did the shop fob you off regarding the LM3 or did they send it to MarkBass?
[/quote]

After an initially poor response on the phone, they responded via email and (after several days of to-ing and fro-ing) agreed it could be looked at under warranty.

To be fair to them, they sent a courier to collect and communication was OK, although slow, via email. It's just frustrating that the whole process took so long, and that I'm still none the wiser as to the actual warranty period MarkBass honour for UK customers. Maybe next time I should go direct to the distributor, given molan's positive comments.

Apparently the turnaround time is 2-3 weeks, and I've not even got any confirmation they received it and acknowledge a fault yet - got a gig next weekend, and it's not looking likely that I'll have it back in time

Oddly, I powered it up before sending it back, because the retailer wanted to know what lights were on - with some trepidation (considering last time it had power applied it looked like it was on fire..) I powered it up, and to my surprise it actually worked. It was a bit distorted, so I'm guessing one or more output transistors have blown spectacularly resulting in the acrid mushroom cloud that it emitted.

[JTUK]

Sounds like a shop problem rather than a maker problem, so my question would be about the shop rather than amp warranty..??

If you feel the shop has been poor, then maybe raise THAT with the distributors?

[6v6]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1429520207' post='2752106']
Sounds like a shop problem rather than a maker problem, so my question would be about the shop rather than amp warranty..??

If you feel the shop has been poor, then maybe raise THAT with the distributors?
[/quote]

Overall the shop has been adequate, other than the initial phone contact, which was poor, so I don't really feel I've got grounds for complaint, other than the whole thing has taken longer to get sorted than I'd like.

My main problem, as stated previously, is I still don't know how much warranty is actually offered. The retailer made out like the distributor has made a case-by-case determination and that they'd "agreed" to deal with this on a warranty basis, with the amp being 15 months old, although the shop said they "normally only offer 12 months".

That knocked my confidence in MarkBass, and made me start this thread looking for companies who definitely do stand by their products for more than the statutory 12 months - in this case it's was quite obvious some component had gone poof spectacularly, yet I was still subjected to several days of email discussion before any agreement was reached that my amp would be fixed under warranty.

For me this is all just a reminder of the value of local shops over large mail order retailers, even UK based ones - I guess I'll have to pay a visit to one later this week if the LM3 isn't going to be fixed in time for the weekend.

[molan]

Time period on warranties and guarantees is a very grey area.

Technically EU law says you have a 2 year period and English law actually extends to 6 years.

However, there's an onus on the customer to prove the unit has failed due to faulty manufacture rather than some sort of user initiated problem or misuse - or even that it might have worn out in a 'reasonable' period. On electrical goods this gets harder and harder to prove after a 6 month period has elapsed.

When it comes to claiming you can cite these regulations and it'll usually help to move things along a bit faster.

The comment about the UK guys saying that they will look at local repair on a case by case basis could be because the distributors changed over a couple of years ago. If your head was supplied by the old distributor then I think this might complicate things a little.

Where are you based? Our shop has a pre-owned LMIII you could borrow for a gig if you're desperate. Might not be practical if you are a long way off though

Edited April 20, 2015 by molan

[BassBunny]

All electrical goods sold in the EU should have a 2yr. warranty.The EU directive in question is 1999/44/EC. The important bit is this: 'A two-year guarantee applies for the sale of all consumer goods everywhere in the EU. In some countries, this may be more, and some manufacturers also choose to offer a longer warranty period.'

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1677034/Two-year-warranty-EU-law.html#ixzz3XqKleNH8 

Sure MarkBass gear has always had 2yr warranty.

[40hz]

One word. Ashdown. Whatever people may think of their amps (I like them). Their aftersales and attitude is second to none.

[6v6]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1429524739' post='2752177']
Where are you based? Our shop has a pre-owned LMIII you could borrow for a gig if you're desperate. Might not be practical if you are a long way off though
[/quote]

That's a very kind offer, thank you.

I'm not that far away actually (about an hour south in Hampshire) - so there's a reasonable chance I'll turn up with credit-card later this week to buy a backup.

A loan amp would be great, but I gig too regularly to risk putting myself in this position again - I should really get a spare head after having this one fail.

See what I did there, I turned the exploding amp disaster into a new-amp-day! Don't tell the wife!

[barkin]

[quote name='6v6' timestamp='1429548368' post='2752493']
See what I did there, I turned the exploding amp disaster into a new-amp-day! Don't tell the wife!
[/quote]

I pulled that trick at the weekend, but all I got was a new lawnmower

[molan]

[quote name='6v6' timestamp='1429548368' post='2752493']


That's a very kind offer, thank you.

I'm not that far away actually (about an hour south in Hampshire) - so there's a reasonable chance I'll turn up with credit-card later this week to buy a backup.

A loan amp would be great, but I gig too regularly to risk putting myself in this position again - I should really get a spare head after having this one fail.

See what I did there, I turned the exploding amp disaster into a new-amp-day! Don't tell the wife!
[/quote]

The MarkBass distributor is based in Swallowfield - almost on Hampshire border I think. Not sure if this is where repairs are carried out though.

[BassBunny]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1429549850' post='2752511']
The MarkBass distributor is based in Swallowfield - almost on Hampshire border I think. Not sure if this is where repairs are carried out though.
[/quote]
Nope repairs are done in Sheffield by Real Electronics. They also repair TC Electronic, Roland and more.

[acidbass]

For me - Ashdown. Great UK-based customer service, long warranty (I think 5 years if you register with them) parts easy to get and therefore quick to repair. To be honest, the Ashdown warranty alone has made me buy their stuff over other trendy brands.

[mazdah]

It is usually the best choice to buy the amp made in your country.

Better contact with manufacturer, better technical service - you can send the amp to the producer after warranty, you can get some parts for free.

Of course the sound is a very important factor.

In UK - Ashdown. Maybe Orange and Hiwatt too. In US - Hartke (you can call Larry Hartke himself!), Mesa, Peavey, Kustom (they had great customer service for Groove heads few years ago).

[dannybuoy]

Orange may not state a 5 year warranty like Ashdown, buy they fixed my amp which I bought second hand a few years ago free of charge, so they are good eggs also!

[dannybuoy]

[quote name='mazdah' timestamp='1429653219' post='2753751']
In US - Hartke (you can call Larry Hartke himself!), Mesa, Peavey, Kustom (they had great customer service for Groove heads few years ago).
[/quote]

I hear good things about Aguilar too.

[6v6]

[quote name='mazdah' timestamp='1429653219' post='2753751']
It is usually the best choice to buy the amp made in your country.
[/quote]

Very true, but I think there's a very limited choice of amps actually manufactured in the UK nowadays - most UK based businesses get the amps made in china or wherever to keep the costs down.

Nonetheless, it's a good point - it sounds like Ashdown may be the way to go based on the feedback here, or switching to used old-tech amps which I can most likely fix myself (e.g not class D and SMPS).

Contacted the retailer for a status update yesterday and no response at all May contact the distributor directly today.