Happy Jack Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 My Clarus II needs service/repair ... not keen to send it to Raleigh in Virginia so where in the UK would be best for this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 Calling @bassadder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTea Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 (edited) @Happy Jack Did you make a decision on this? I've just picked up a Coda+ which at some point has taken a tumble and the faceplate on the head has bent out. I contacted AI to enquire how easy they felt it would be to bend back and they've replied that it would be covered under warranty and I should send it to them for repair. I've made it clear I'm not the original owner but that doesn't seem to matter. They seem happy if I send it back and they'll refurb it under warranty. The only slight downside is they've quoted $75 each way for shipping. I picked up the amp at a pretty good price so I'm tempted. Have you ever sent your amp back to them for servicing? Just wondering if your not keen for cost/risk of couriering or something else. Edited September 22, 2020 by MrTea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 (edited) I'm still stalled on this, struggling to believe that AI don't have a British / European / EMEA service partner. Having to send everything to Raleigh seems a mite parochial, even for the Yanks. Nothing on my Clarus II is actually broken and the amp still works, it's just that the control panel seems to do remarkably little and I don't know whether it's my dodgy hearing or a dodgy control panel. Sending the amp to Cowdenbeath or Garmisch-Partenkirchen to have it checked out is one thing, but paying their standard fee PLUS US$150 for postage to wait three months to be told "they all do that, Sir, it's a feature" is not really an option. Edited September 23, 2020 by Happy Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTea Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 The Clarus 2 is essentially the same head as in my Coda isn't it? Happy to shoot some video of the range on the tone controls etc if it helps. Sounds like you have almost the opposite opinion of their service to me! Sure it's a PITA to send my head back to the US but not being the original owner of expected to pay dearly for the privilege. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 "Taken a tumble"? That looks like 20 years of hard living to me! Thanks for the offer, but my control set is a fair bit different to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Back in the day when I owned one of these, they sent me out some bits so I could replace them myself. Great service. Just a note re: sending it back to them - if you need to be careful you don't get stung by the Inland Revenue when it comes back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTea Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 6 minutes ago, Happy Jack said: "Taken a tumble"? That looks like 20 years of hard living to me! 🙂 You see why I'm keen for the offer of a refurb. @wateroftyne I'd already thought this regarding customs. I presume there's some way it gets marked as going out so it's allowed to come back in but I'll check. It's bad enough paying the extortionate 'handling fee'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Just now, MrTea said: @wateroftyne I'd already thought this regarding customs. I presume there's some way it gets marked as going out so it's allowed to come back in but I'll check. It's bad enough paying the extortionate 'handling fee'. I've looked into this a couple of times, but it looks like an absolute minefield so I've always avoided it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTea Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 I should add they also offered to send me the control panel front for the cost of postage. I could be the better option. But I'm going to try and put it through its paces a little this week then decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 (edited) Done it from Belgium @Happy Jack. Had some weird sounds before going into security mode on my Acoustic Image Focus 2 head. Send it to them. Absolute free repair except for the shipping fee. Their amps are covered by a lifetime warranty to any owner. I phoned the customs first to know how to fill the documents the right way to avoid any customs taxes as it was a repair. They told me exactly how to fill them and it took 10 days to have my amp back from AI. Really fast and easy. Here is the email from Rick from AI explaining how it works to avoid the customs taxes : That said, try their European branch (in the UK) first and ask for Laurence. Acoustic Image UK 88 Lansdowne Crescent Carlisle Cumbria CA3 9EP Mob: 07790 528674 Email: [email protected] Edited September 23, 2020 by Hellzero New name and email address put, landline phone deleted 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyc Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 I'm watching this thread with interest as I have two amps that need to go in and I've been wavering because of the cost. Nothing major mind you. Even if there was a mass shipment and pooling of postage I'm sure there would be some savings. I don't need it back in a hurry, it's not like I'm gigging at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 32 minutes ago, Hellzero said: Done it from Belgium @Happy Jack. Had some weird sounds before going into security mode on my Acoustic Image Focus 2 head. Send it to them. Absolute free repair except for the shipping fee. Their amps are covered by a lifetime warranty to any owner. That said, try their European branch (in the UK) first and ask for Laurence. Acoustic Image Europe 88 Lansdowne Crescent Carlisle Cumbria CA3 9EP Tel: 01228 590597 Mob: 07790 528674 Email: [email protected] Good to hear from you again Tony, and that is absolutely gold-dust info ... many thanks. I'll contact them in the morning. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted September 23, 2020 Author Share Posted September 23, 2020 Address not found Your message wasn't delivered to [email protected] because the domain acousticimg.eu couldn't be found. Check for typos or unnecessary spaces and try again. The response was: DNS Error: 24481001 DNS type 'mx' lookup of acousticimg.eu responded with code NXDOMAIN Domain name not found: acousticimg.eu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 16 minutes ago, Happy Jack said: Address not found Your message wasn't delivered to [email protected] because the domain acousticimg.eu couldn't be found. Check for typos or unnecessary spaces and try again. The response was: DNS Error: 24481001 DNS type 'mx' lookup of acousticimg.eu responded with code NXDOMAIN Domain name not found: acousticimg.eu Rejection is hard to take. IIRC, that is/was kind of Overwater who used to handle these over here. It might be worth asking them directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted September 23, 2020 Author Share Posted September 23, 2020 OK, I've just spoken to Laurence Blackadder ( @bassadder ) who handles all UK servicing for Acoustic Image. The company closed down the .eu website as part of their preparations for Brexit and replaced it with [email protected] The landline was closed down at the same time. Laurence's address and mobile number remain as per @Hellzero's post (above). Laurence asked me to mention here that any amp older than a Series 3, and probably some that are older than a Series 4, have circuit boards for which spares are very hard to find, so the boards have to go back to the States to be refurbished. Luckily, my SL-2 is a Series 4 so he has replacement boards for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 I have corrected these points in my post, just in case some people don't go further away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassadder Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Hi Guys If you have any Acoustic Image questions or issues just e-mail direct to [email protected] or call and leave a message on my cell 07790 528674. Just to Clarify I do Acoustic Image warranty repairs for the UK and Europe. Many thanks Laurence 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTea Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 Just to update this thread for future reference ... I sent my head to Laurence at AI Europe (@bassadder ) and he's done a fantastic job servicing it. Couldn't be happier with the response from him. The only slightly odd thing is that AI in the us didn't mention this to be an option until I confirmed it with them. I would have thought it's far easier for them to offer servicing in the UK than have everything shipped back to the states? @Happy Jack Did you get your amp serviced in the end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted October 18, 2020 Author Share Posted October 18, 2020 39 minutes ago, MrTea said: @Happy Jack Did you get your amp serviced in the end? As of nine days ago, Laurence was hoping to receive my new boards in a week or so. Any joy yet @bassadder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyc Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 1 hour ago, MrTea said: The only slightly odd thing is that AI in the us didn't mention this to be an option until I confirmed it with them. I would have thought it's far easier for them to offer servicing in the UK than have everything shipped back to the states? I'm in pretty much the same situation. AI told me to ship back to the USA. I guess given I'd have paid postage both ways it makes no difference to them. Add me to the list of happy @bassadder users. He shipped me a replacement preamp, no fuss and very quickly.My CODA III is now firing on all cylinders again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassadder Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Hi Jack The new boards arrived about 20 minutes ago. I’ll get your amp sorted in the morning and get it off to you tomorrow. L 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted October 28, 2020 Author Share Posted October 28, 2020 Just to finish this off, the refurbed amp arrived within 24 hours and now works perfectly. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebassist Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 I'm definitely going the Acoustic Image route with the Clarus SL-2 amplifier when/if we get back to any kind of normal gigging situation again... ...I really want to get one now but just can't justify it with zero live events scheduled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassadder Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 Hi Bassist When or if you are in the position to get a Clarus SL-2 please give me a call on 07790 528674 or e-mail on [email protected] We are he UK main dealer for Acoustic Image in the UK and European Distributors as well as doing all the warranty/repairs.... Cheers Laurence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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