randymussel Posted October 16, 2019 Share Posted October 16, 2019 Apologies for the long post but a little story in recognition of a good gear experience. TLDR: Faulty Speaker replaced, excellent customer service in doing so, one very satisfied customer!: So a few months ago I bought my first 'real' rig. Up till this year I've been using various combos as I've never had the need or ambition for more but I've got a new itch to join a band so I thought I'd get myself a capable head & cab. After much research & consideration I plump for the Laney Nexus SLS head, with the R210 cab (might do a separate NAD post on this if anyone's interested, or even if not). Pleased as punch with this combination, looks great, all the bells and whistles, loads of power, lightweight and doesn't break the budget. Until... Farting noises. Not from me for a change, but coming from the amp while I'm playing. Like most of us when something appears to be wrong with an expensive purchase, I try to ignore it. Convince myself it isn't there. It's not that bad. Isn't it? Yes it is quite bad. I can't ignore it. It is definitely not supposed to sound like that. That is not the sound of a preamp tube, or the tweeter. It sounds like my signal is being fed through a very quiet fuzz pedal alongside my clean signal. But I don't have a fuzz pedal, and if I did, what would be the point of playing one quietly? So I try to eliminate the possible sources of the noise: effects pedals, leads, speaker cables etc. I narrow it down to the cab, or the amp. My first instinct is to contact the retailer, but both items were bought online from foreign based retailers (because apparently its cheaper to ship Laney gear to mainland Europe and back to a UK consumer than to buy from a UK dealer - who knew). So returning would be tricky. So to avoid the tricky conversation with a non-English speaking retailer I contact Laney. I don't know about anyone else but I have had distinctly mixed results contacting companies through websites so I wasn't expecting much from the technical query contact form on their website. But I described the problem and my attempts so far to identify and solve it, not hoping for much, but who knows, its worth a try. Anyway, I receive a reply within a day, asking further questions and suggesting other ways to investigate. A series of messages follows, checking one thing then another, and we locate the fuzz in one of the speakers. Via email I confirm that I'd bought the cab this year, and before I knew it a replacement speaker was on its way. Received within 1 more day, fitted to the cab, and problem solved from inital contact to satisfied customer in less than a week, and without a penny spent. So I am very grateful to Laney, who although I am a mostly bedroom bass playing nobody they didn't have to keep happy, and although they of course should rectify build faults in their products, they have got one very happy customer who took a gamble on their gear and has now become a fan of the company. Much appreciation for excellent service (especially Pete in the Service Department) and a further glow because its a British company who I think are making some genuinely innovative and standout products, both for guitar and bass. 10 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 Nice one, it’s good to know of the companies who look after their customers, and even better when we find it’s a British one as it makes returning gear to be checked etc so much easier,. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatrickJ Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 (edited) I had a similar experience with a stage monitor I bought second hand. Great customer service. I'd love to see Laney get more love on here but their bass products rarely get a mention. Edited October 17, 2019 by PJ-Bassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randymussel Posted October 17, 2019 Author Share Posted October 17, 2019 1 hour ago, PJ-Bassist said: I had a similar experience with a stage monitor I bought second hand. Great customer service. I'd love to see Laney get more love on here but their bass products rarely get a mention here. Yes that has puzzled me too as Laney is one of the brands that has consistently been producing bass gear for as long as I can remember (30 years or so), while other names come and go and fall in and out of fashion. They must have been doing something right to still be here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 I emailed laney once. Got a reply in a day, very thorough and easy to understand (no fobbing off), and they even sent me some free replacement parts in the post. I found them to be a fantastic company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 2 hours ago, randymussel said: Yes that has puzzled me too as Laney is one of the brands that has consistently been producing bass gear for as long as I can remember (30 years or so), while other names come and go and fall in and out of fashion. They must have been doing something right to still be here. I swore by them for a number of years - probably about 13 or 14 years, in fact, after owning a succession of their amps. They were affordable, sturdy, and versatile. If they'd made a smaller and more affordable valve bass head, I'd probably still be using them. They didn't, so I defected to Ashdown, but it's always good to hear that Laney are still turning out decent gear and looking after their customers. (And if I ever find myself playing more lead guitar live, I have their "Cub" series of guitar amps bookmarked in my browser...) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatrickJ Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 2 hours ago, randymussel said: Yes that has puzzled me too as Laney is one of the brands that has consistently been producing bass gear for as long as I can remember (30 years or so), while other names come and go and fall in and out of fashion. They must have been doing something right to still be here. Like Ashdown I guess as a brand that just have never really found themselves in fashion but their Nexus range looked quite interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 I used Laney amps and cabs exclusively for around ten years in a regularly gigging thrash metal band. I used them because they were rugged and not too costly should I get drunk and urinate/vomit over them and they seemed to deal well with the constant hurling about by a Samoan roadie. I had apnea issue with a head that packed up and it was replaced super fast. I upgraded both basses and amplification when I started playing different music (and, it has to be said, started paying attention to the gear snobbery on here 😁) but the more I think about it the gear was good and reliable and the customer service, the one time I needed it, was superb. Go Laney then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 My first good amp was a Laney Pro Bass 4x10 combo like this. I gigged the sheeite out of it for years, never let me down. Sounded great. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madshadows Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 Well done Laney 😎👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 +1 the above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted October 17, 2019 Share Posted October 17, 2019 Nice to hear praise for a big company as well as the horror stories. If only more corporate giants had this attitude to the man/woman in the street 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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