Markbass Cab Problem - Help!

[spongebob]

I use a Markbass New York 121 Cab, which I use with my MB 121 amp.

However, the NY cab has started to crackle and fizz loudly whenever I play. I've changed leads, etc, but it's still there.

It's been well looked after, always cased and never really pushed too hard either.

The amp is fine - tried that on it's own and all's well.

Has anyone got any ideas what's happening here? It's out of warranty so I am a little concerned.

I also wouldn't have a clue who to take it to.....I am in Tenterden, Kent.

Has anyone had a similar experience with these, or with another brand?

Please help!!

[JTUK]

Assuming it is not under warranty... I would try and get a amp straight into the speaker..so taking any horn or other wiring out of the loop.

You should be able to bodge a cable and a spare piece of cable so you can connect straight to the speaker and see what happens then..under low volume.
If you can do this without the crackle then it is something in the cable train between amp and chassis ( speaker ). I am suspecting the horn, if it has one. If you are going to undo the wiring, make sure you know how it all goes back togther.. although with the one spaeker, you can't go too far wrong.

[mybass]

[quote name='spongebob' post='954699' date='Sep 13 2010, 01:22 PM']I use a Markbass New York 121 Cab, which I use with my MB 121 amp.

However, the NY cab has started to crackle and fizz loudly whenever I play. I've changed leads, etc, but it's still there.

It's been well looked after, always cased and never really pushed too hard either.

The amp is fine - tried that on it's own and all's well.

Has anyone got any ideas what's happening here? It's out of warranty so I am a little concerned.

I also wouldn't have a clue who to take it to.....I am in Tenterden, Kent.

Has anyone had a similar experience with these, or with another brand?

Please help!![/quote]

Re: JTUK's reply .... same as that, I had similar (peavey cab) problems several years ago. It was cabinet's internal (infernal) crossover that was going out of commission.
As JTUK says, if isolating the speaker staright to the amp is possible this could narrow down the problem.

[fretmeister]

Give Proel a call (UK Distrib)

They were really helpful when my F1 borked.

[spongebob]

Thanks all.

I contacted MB, who gave me Proels details.

They did seem pretty inept - they didn't actually know it has a 2 year warranty.....so it is still under gurantee!

However, I have to contact the shop where I bought it, who have to contact Proel, who then give the shop a returns number which they give to me.....and then I have to somehow ship the cab to Proel for repair!

Worse thing is, they (Proel, the UK importer) have a chap who comes in twice a week - and apprantly, there's a large backlog so they don't know how long it will take! I couldn't believe waht I was hearing.

TBH, I've found a place locally, in Maidstone, and I may take it there. I need it fixed ASAP, and the hasssle involved with the warranty just seems like a major pain......and a major wait!

[mybass]

[quote name='spongebob' post='955173' date='Sep 13 2010, 06:37 PM']Thanks all.

I contacted MB, who gave me Proels details.

They did seem pretty inept - they didn't actually know it has a 2 year warranty.....so it is still under gurantee!

However, I have to contact the shop where I bought it, who have to contact Proel, who then give the shop a returns number which they give to me.....and then I have to somehow ship the cab to Proel for repair!

Worse thing is, they (Proel, the UK importer) have a chap who comes in twice a week - and apprantly, there's a large backlog so they don't know how long it will take! I couldn't believe waht I was hearing.

TBH, I've found a place locally, in Maidstone, and I may take it there. I need it fixed ASAP, and the hasssle involved with the warranty just seems like a major pain......and a major wait![/quote]

Good stuff it is in warranty then. Proel market a lot of other stuff alongside MarkBass so the twice a week engineer likely has a big workload.
Also, I would of thought which ever shop you bought it from should have told you there was a 2 year warranty.

[Danny Clarke PROEL]

Hi All

Danny from PROEL here (UK distributor for Markbass).

Just to clarify, our workshop staff are fully aware of the 2 year warranty on Markbass and would tell any Markbass user that this is valid when the warrantly card included with the product is filled out and sent back at the time of purchase.. It is correct that the normal route for warranty repairs is to take the unit back to where it was purchased from along with the receipt or proof of purchase.

The Markbass dealer then should be able to make some basic checks to ascertain the problem with the product. If they are unable to conclude a simple fault, i.e faulty driver/crossover etc then the retailer would book in the repair with us. We would then take a look at the product and make our own assessment as to the reason behind the fault and if it is covered under warranty, for example (and not referring to the afore mentioned NY cab) if a cone driver had been overpowered and had a burnt coil then it would not be covered under warranty however one where say a cone had come unglued from the basket would be covered.

We do use a specialist external electronic engineer who comes in twice a week repair products with electronic problems, i.e amplifiers, pre amps etc however we have another engineer who is permanently based onsite and can handle jobs such as passive speaker cabinets or bass cabinets.

It is true that we do have a backlog however this is due to some of the other lines we distribute, not Markbass products.

If the correct channels are used, we are able to turn around warranty repairs very quickly as we understand that the products we distribute are the tools that people use for their work and need them at all times. In the case of the Gentleman with the NY cab, please accept my apologies for any misunderstanding. If you would like to get your cab back to where you purchased it from then we can get this looked at straight away.

[spongebob]

First off, thankyou to Danny for taking the time to respond.

Seems to be a lot of crosswires going on.....

When I rang Proel, I was told, without a word of a lie, that my warranty was only for 1 year. Only when I pushed the point did the assistant check and eventually admitted it was 2! When I explained the noise, I was also accused of thrashing it - totally untrue.

I was never told that a dealer could look at it - I was was informed that it had to be Proel doing any checks, otherwise the warranty would be invalidated. I was informed to get the dealer to get a returns number, to then give to me, I ship it to Proel, and wait however long.

The amp was bought online from a dealer in Yorkshire - I am in Kent - so taking it back would be impossible....I obviously asked if I could go to a local dealer in the first instance, but was told no.

With the potential hassle and wait involved, took the amp to these guys -

[url="http://www.esemusic.com"]http://www.esemusic.com[/url]

Just to get it fixed, pay up and finish with!

If anyone has been here - Eric knows his stuff, and is certainly a character.....and no fan of online shopping!!

First off, a broken speaker was diagnosed, but his excellent assistant (forgotton his name, sorry - really nice guy) had a deeper look inside. What had happened was that one of the componants has come loose on the electrical board (really bad on this stuff.....themister on the crossover or something?).

In the meantime, they rang Proel for a quote for a speaker - were given a price, but also told that in the case of a cab, speakers are not covered under warranty!!

Basically, cab fixed and job done and ready to gig tomorrow.

I have no axe to grind, and am simply repeating my experiece. I am sure that Proel are doing a good job, but I would simply suggest that they try to get some continuity in what they tell their customers - these products aren't cheap, and I really think that customer service needs to be improved.

[stevie]

[quote name='spongebob' post='959727' date='Sep 17 2010, 05:54 PM']In the meantime, they rang Proel for a quote for a speaker - were given a price, but also told that in the case of a cab, speakers are not covered under warranty!![/quote]

Interesting. B&C, which supplies MarkBass speakers and which Proel also distributes, actually offers a 3-year warranty on its products.

[Danny Clarke PROEL]

Fair comments there from Spongebob, I will certianly have a word with the word with the workshop staff here as there has definatley been some crossed wires along the way.

Whoever said that speakers are not covered under warranty was speaking out ot of turn. Every part of a markbass cabinet is covered under warranty but as I said before, in the case of a cone driver, it would depend on what the problem was.

It is true that B&C offer a 3 year warranty on its standard catalogue products but no loudspeaker manufacturer would cover a burnt coil, or say the driver getting wet etc etc so warranty of driveres always has to be assesses on a case by case basis.

Cheers

Danny

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Danny Clarke PROEL' post='964142' date='Sep 22 2010, 09:39 AM']Fair comments there from Spongebob, I will certianly have a word with the word with the workshop staff here as there has definatley been some crossed wires along the way.

Whoever said that speakers are not covered under warranty was speaking out ot of turn. Every part of a markbass cabinet is covered under warranty but as I said before, in the case of a cone driver, it would depend on what the problem was.

It is true that B&C offer a 3 year warranty on its standard catalogue products but no loudspeaker manufacturer would cover a burnt coil, or say the driver getting wet etc etc so warranty of driveres always has to be assesses on a case by case basis.

Cheers

Danny[/quote]

Danny, thanks for clarifying it for all of us Markbass owners.

Perhaps what might be a good idea is some sort of central email address where we can contact Proel straight away without any worry?

Obviously I understand sometimes its best to goto the dealer, but sometimes its easier to contact you guys direct and then go from there.

Cheers