Markbass 121P Deal of the Week!

[machinehead]

For anyone considering buying one of these excellent combos, Thomann have them on sale for £635.

That's a couple of hundred quid LESS than I paid for mine in 2008! Bargain.

http://www.thomann.de/gb/markbass_mini_cmd_121p_lm3.htm

Get in quick :-)

Frank.

[Mornats]

£90 less than what I paid for mine from DV247 in March this year!

[karlfer]

I think Markbass have lowered quite a lot of retail prices this year, as they have switched production of a lot of their gear from Italy to Indonesia.

[yorks5stringer]

Thomann have knocked around 20% off Markbass gear for the last 3 or so months...

[Mornats]

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1409944177' post='2544945']
I think Markbass have lowered quite a lot of retail prices this year, as they have switched production of a lot of their gear from Italy to Indonesia.
[/quote]

I paid £725 for an Indonesian one... So if they lowered it, they did it AFTER they started shipping the cheaper-made ones. However, we don't know if they are dropping the price or whether Thomann are just doing them cheaper than most others (as they tend to do).

[karlfer]

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1409948055' post='2544978']
I paid £725 for an Indonesian one... So if they lowered it, they did it AFTER they started shipping the cheaper-made ones. However, we don't know if they are dropping the price or whether Thomann are just doing them cheaper than most others (as they tend to do).
[/quote]

There was quite a long thread on here earlier in the year. Markbass did not initially pass on the savings from cheaper labour onto the consumer. That situation may have continued even later with some retailers.
The thread, including Marco's comments was quite an interesting one

[Mornats]

Yeah I read that thread. And I myself pointed out that Overwater had the decency to charge me £580 for a Chinese made jazz bass instead of the £2000+ I'd pay for a UK made one. I didn't know my MarkBass would be an Indonesian one until it landed and neither did Marco say that there'd be a price reduction.

[M@23]

If there is to be a price reduction across the board, I would imagine it coming in to effect once all the new stock of Italian gear has been phased out.

[BassBunny]

Have they reduced them or is it the £ - Euro rate? Euro took a hit this week.

[karlfer]

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1410009328' post='2545353']
If there is to be a price reduction across the board, I would imagine it coming in to effect once all the new stock of Italian gear has been phased out.
[/quote]

The price reduction may well be in place however if retailers have any items of Italian stock, they will try to sell them on before buying replacement Indonesian stock. At Italian stock prices.
I am sure no retailer would sell Indonesian stock at Italian prices

[molan]

MarkBass pricing changes from month to month as MB and, I think, their distributors test the market to see what price things will sell at.

There were some very good offers available to in July and August - some of these were passed on to customers whilst others were held as higher margin (also to offset against unsold stock purchased at higher prices).

There's no obvious differentiation between Italian and Indonesian made stock. In fact a couple of the very best bargain offers recently were on Italian made items. There's a couple particular combos from higher up the MB range that have been available at great prices recently - I know of a couple of BassChatters that have taken advantage of these recently

Thomann play with MB prices all the time. I keep a weekly watch on their prices across a number of key products and it's really interesting, from a retailer perspective, to watch their 'dynamic' pricing policy.

They often take a lead, high selling, item from a manufacturer's range and discount it really heavily as a promotional item which helps to bring in new customers and can push people towards other, potentially higher margin, items as well.

Euro to £ (and $) does have a significant effect. This is really helping on import pricing at the moment (although it's screwing exports so not always great for the market as a whole).

[machinehead]

It's interesting to hear a retailers point -of-view and insight on this Molan.

Frank.

[Mornats]

Thanks for clearing that up Molan, I do feel much better about it now.

[karlfer]

Thanks Barrie, never as simple as perhaps thought is it
Teach me to take Basschat as gospel

[M@23]

Sort of on topic, sort of not... where is a good place to buy from the UK at the moment then? I wouldn't mind picking up a Micromark for rehearsals!

[molan]

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1410101632' post='2546095']
Sort of on topic, sort of not... where is a good place to buy from the UK at the moment then? I wouldn't mind picking up a Micromark for rehearsals!
[/quote]

Are you rehearsing with a drummer?

I love the MicroMark but tried one at a full band rehearsal recently and it wasn't really loud enough. Just about ok as a personal monitor but not enough oomph for the rest of the band to hear properly and we wouldn't normally DI the bass at rehearsal (although that is an option for us).

I also took it to a small acoustic gig and it works brilliantly. Easily loud enough for stage volume and was in the foh mix as well.

Forgot to add earlier that the £635 price at Thomann is actually higher than it was this time last month (albeit only by a few quid!).

Edited September 7, 2014 by molan

[spacey]

I do hope they buck the trend, but in my opinion every amp maker that jumps to the far east ends up with reliability issues.
Blackstar, trace elliot that blew resistors , peavey, ampeg, . Marshall.
You pay a premium price for a brand knowing it has not been made in a sweatshop .

Premium brands are made by people who have pride in the brand, everyone that has jumped this far east quick buck route ends up with sub standard reliability issues.
Lets hope they have not made a mistake, the pricing suggests they have total confidence, but so did everyone elses.

[karlfer]

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1410116911' post='2546337']
I do hope they buck the trend, but in my opinion every amp maker that jumps to the far east ends up with reliability issues.
Blackstar, trace elliot that blew resistors , peavey, ampeg, . Marshall.
You pay a premium price for a brand knowing it has not been made in a sweatshop .

Premium brands are made by people who have pride in the brand, everyone that has jumped this far east quick buck route ends up with sub standard reliability issues.
Lets hope they have not made a mistake, the pricing suggests they have total confidence, but so did everyone elses.
[/quote]

You can add Ashdown and Orange to that list as well.

[yorks5stringer]

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1410116911' post='2546337']
I do hope they buck the trend, but in my opinion every amp maker that jumps to the far east ends up with reliability issues.
Blackstar, trace elliot that blew resistors , peavey, ampeg, . Marshall.
You pay a premium price for a brand knowing it has not been made in a [b]sweatshop[/b] .

Premium brands are made by people who have pride in the brand, everyone that has jumped this far east quick buck route ends up with sub standard reliability issues.
Lets hope they have not made a mistake, the pricing suggests they have total confidence, but so did everyone elses.
[/quote]
I think it's a big leap to go from " made in the far east" to " sweatshop". The labour cost will be less than in Europe granted but for electronics I doubt conditions will be like the clothing places? If you read Marco's responses in the thread mentioned, he pointed out every item from Indonesia is tested in Italy before being shipped out too.

[M@23]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1410105646' post='2546150']


Are you rehearsing with a drummer?

I love the MicroMark but tried one at a full band rehearsal recently and it wasn't really loud enough. Just about ok as a personal monitor but not enough oomph for the rest of the band to hear properly and we wouldn't normally DI the bass at rehearsal (although that is an option for us).

I also took it to a small acoustic gig and it works brilliantly. Easily loud enough for stage volume and was in the foh mix as well.

Forgot to add earlier that the £635 price at Thomann is actually higher than it was this time last month (albeit only by a few quid!).
[/quote]

That's good to know, thanks. For this particular band the drummer uses an electric kit at rehearsal - as we rehearse in the singers lounge! So volume wouldn't be an issue I don't think.

[karlfer]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1410121764' post='2546408']
I think it's a big leap to go from " made in the far east" to " sweatshop". The labour cost will be less than in Europe granted but for electronics I doubt conditions will be like the clothing places? If you read Marco's responses in the thread mentioned, he pointed out every item from Indonesia is tested in Italy before being shipped out too.
[/quote]

And with respect, one of the first to buy an Indonesian made Markbass product had issues with it and ended up returning it.
NO good whatsoever for a gigging bassist.

[spacey]

Tested in they plug it in to see if it works ?

As I said I hope they buck the trend, we shall see, there is always this honeymoon period of everyone wants one when any amp moves from bespoke maker to mass production for "lower costs" .
The brand built a reputation on reliability and quality merchandise.
Why they would want to mess about with what works I never know.
What they end up making IMO is a copy of the ones that made the name.

Personally, I would rather let someone else test it or buy a second hand one.

Agree with karlfer, early signs are that they are not the brand they were, looking forward to some more user comments of the new stuff to see if it was a one off.

[Marc S]

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1410101632' post='2546095']
Sort of on topic, sort of not... where is a good place to buy from the UK at the moment then? I wouldn't mind picking up a Micromark for rehearsals!
[/quote]

I love Markbass gear. I've got a 210 combo, and it's fantastic
I hope their quality remains consistent, now they have switched production to Indonesia

Re the micro mark, I used one once, for an acoustic rehearsal,
and it was fine for that - I imagine you'd struggle when rehearsing with a drummer though

I very recently bought a TC Electronics BG250-208
It's quite a loud amp, and very small and portable
At 250W it should cope with rehearsing with a drummer fine,
and it has a line out, and additional speaker output

I was considering a Markbass 208 combo, but they are rated 100W less
So far, I'm really pleased with the TC amp - it's early days yet, but I'm really pleased with it

I got it from A-strings music shop in Pontypridd
at a very reasonable cost of £249
Just thought I'd give this amp the nod
as I said, it's quite small, lightweight & very portable

EDIT: and very reasonably priced for the spec, I think.....

Cheers

Edited September 8, 2014 by Marc S

[JTUK]

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1410164030' post='2546605']
Tested in they plug it in to see if it works ?

As I said I hope they buck the trend, we shall see, there is always this honeymoon period of everyone wants one when any amp moves from bespoke maker to mass production for "lower costs" .
The brand built a reputation on reliability and quality merchandise.
Why they would want to mess about with what works I never know.
What they end up making IMO is a copy of the ones that made the name.

Personally, I would rather let someone else test it or buy a second hand one.

Agree with karlfer, early signs are that they are not the brand they were, looking forward to some more user comments of the new stuff to see if it was a one off.
[/quote]

I think it is simple.
Manufacturer works at and builds a product over quite a period.
The product is now pretty mainstream and the maker is looking to take a back seat
and maximise profits for the day they retire/sell-out.
Streamlining the costs is a natural step for them ..
Any buyer will do the same anyway ( like Fender etc ) so they are making the books look better alround
for the next stage..
Watch out for the next stage...

Personally I don't blame them if I were in their shoes, but as a buyer, this is why I buy western music product
as I think there is a premium to be paid.

[machinehead]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1410168543' post='2546654']
Personally I don't blame them if I were in their shoes, but as a buyer, this is why I buy western music product
as I think there is a premium to be paid.
[/quote]

If anyone thinks that eastern manufacturers are any less capable of producing high quality products than western manufacturers then they are most definately wrong.

With all manufacturers its down to the level of the specification and how the final product conforms to that specification, in other words quality control. (Quality Control is not what quite a few people seem to think it is.)

I've worked in manufacturing plants in Korea, Japan and China and been frankly dismayed at how good they are.

So don't automatically dismiss a product just because it's manufactured in somewhere other than the UK or US.

And don't automatically assume that UK and US made means better quality. It might, or it might not.

Frank.

Frank.