Egnater Customer Service Never Reads Their Email!!!

[Zaphod B]

Last week I sent an inquiry to nate@egnater.com and got a response within 4 hours from Bruce.

No issues here.

 

[Doubleneck]

I've sent Bruce 3 or 4 emails in the past two weeks and he has responded on all.

 

[mboogman]

I've sent Bruce 3 or 4 emails in the past two weeks and he has responded on all.

+1

I always get prompt responses from Bruce and Co., whether sending to his personal or company email, makes no difference.

 

[felineguitars]

I'm really happy with my two M4 racks and haven't had any need to deal with customer service

I have however noticed a lot more members on here (and also on the Grailtone/Randall MTS forum) complaining and being dissatisfied
I see a lot of previously die-hard enthusiasts moving away from the Egnater camp - maybe they got bored or found inspiration in other gear
But a mixture of unhappiness from players whose amps (often GC series) have issues, a lack of Egnater /Randall customer service and the shift away from the Egnater line by die-hards does feel unsettling
At the least it makes it a bit less fun to visit the forum, and it could be dispiriting to others (especially with uncertainty over the modular line's future direction)

It would be good if Egnater (and Randall ) got the Customer Service issues covered and someone popped onto the boards and gave a few calming words to make us all feel more confident

I'm not ever going to stop using my Egnater M4 - it is probably the best thing I ever bought and ideal for my shop & studio set-up where I need access to many different amp sounds in a limited amount of space.

I dont even feel the need for new modules every 6 months either - it's not like an iPhone where you need a new version to be the cool kid in town
I would be excited to see something new that would be a genuine addition to the range, but I am perfectly happy with what I have and I still haven't had any modded units yet either.

If anything I just need to spend more time playing guitar .........

 

[Wagster]

Bruce has alway taken care of me. I hope the build quality will stay the same on the modular line. Other than a Mark IV the only module I can think of that hasn't been done would be something that does metal. It would be awesome to have ch A with the option to have the mids scooped and ch B with the mids back in.

I'm not sure if this is possible but it would also be cool to have a switch to turn the SL into a BMAN and vice versa.

 

[jkdsteve]

Bruce has alway taken care of me. I hope the build quality will stay the same on the modular line. Other than a Mark IV the only module I can think of that hasn't been done would be something that does metal. It would be awesome to have ch A with the option to have the mids scooped and ch B with the mids back in.

Bruce has always been quick to respond to issues when I've needed him to.

I'm hoping Jeff can work out how to put the Scorch on a dual module....

 

[Steedee]

Consider yourself lucky! My first Rebel 30 (combo) was a dud and I had to send it back. Got a head version instead, and luckily only had bad tube issues. Been working awesome ever since.

Ya, after reading some of the posts on TGP I do consider myself lucky.
I know what its like to buy new gear and have it turn into a life-altering nightmare... not fun.
Glad it worked out for you. Thats a nice set up.

 

[tyrone]

Well, it seems that I was the fortunate or unfortunate one who actually got to talk with John Ewing from Egnater. I don't want to go into detail at this time. But I will tell you that no matter the level that you held "customer service," drop it 2 or 3 notches. I have not checked yet, but if possible, I may try to post a couple of e-mails detailing the communication with John, one being a summary of the telephone conversation I had with John.

 

[duffman]

I too own a Rebel 30 combo and TourMaster 4100. The Reb30 has had problems since day one. The thing rattles big time when played at medium to high volume levels. When contacting customer service via e-mail all I ever got back was how I could/should fix it. But the rattle was coming from the grill or something under it that is on the top of the amp, not the ones on the back. 7-8 e-mails 1/2 dozen phone calls over 5-6 months all with the same, blow me off fix it yourself answer.

It took an email to Peter Brown BCC'd to Bruce Egnater to get something done, which was forwarded to John Ewing, who told Nate to send me an RA#.

And of course a week goes by without hearing a thing from Nate. I had to call out there to get the # and ship to address. This whole thing is really poor cutomer service. Oh BTW the ship to address is the same for B-52 amps....

Duff

 

[tyrone]

Part of the reason people are having a difficult time getting parts is that Egnater, B 52 and several other amp/sound system companies are owned by a company named ETI. I know the ONE authorized warranty repair person in Columbus, Ohio (1,000,000 metro area - supposedly), and its an ongoing joke if someone needs work done that requires him to order parts. It takes a minimum 6 to 8 weeks for the warranty repair person to get parts before he can start the repair. Ands its not unusual for him to be told parts are not stocked (how odd is that?). Its no wonder it takes a mere owner months to get responses or parts.

It would be nice if Egnater (ETI) maintained a customer service department to the same standards it appears they maintain the R & D department.

 

[bruce egnater]

ETI is the distributor for B-52, Matrix and a few other brands. They DO NOT own Egnater. They distribute Egnater.

 

[jlbaxe]

Ah, I do miss the good old days of flooding this forum with hype posts! I had a great run with my MOD 50 and still think its a great amp. Combine that with the fact that we had an awesome little thriving community here of other tone chasers discovering, swapping, and lending out modules and this forum was a blast to hang around in. This place was nothing but positive vibes from a bunch of really cool people. However, over time we seemed to get more and more inundated with threads describing issues with the import line and support falling by the wayside. So, for lack of a better answer, I just got less and less interested in checking the forum. I guess I got less and less interested in trying to "sell" the brand to people in general and ultimately I discovered some awesome tones in other amps and decided to move on. Bruce is an awesome guy, but this has been going on for years now and I really wish he'd take a step back from whatever design work hes been doing to iron out whats going on with this company before its really too late. Its really sad to see how this has all been going down, especially when I think back on the golden age in the beginning of the MOD line when Bruce and Co were probably making less money but putting out consistently great products.

I agree here. I do/did luv my M4s Mod50 and Mod100 and never had a problem. Hell the only complaint I had was the Mod50/100 didnt have a volume controlled Direct out, . When I sent Bruce an eMail he responded in a few hours. I do miss my amps and have toyed with buying a Mod100 or M4. They did seem to lose their "Boutique" status because of the GC china line. I do own an Egnater amp switcher and a Randall RT2/50 so maybe the M4 is due back in my rack. I personally NEVER had a problem with Egnater USA products or Customer service!

Randall on the other hand is a different story. I contact them just for an invoice for a RT2/50 faceplate for a UPS claim and they tell me to email them, I do and nothing so I call and get the run around. Now when I call I have to tell them I know they are relocating part of their factory, parts are made in batches, and it will be about 4 months til they get the part I need then they tell me to send another email......still nothing.....SEND ME AN INVOICE FOR A $25 PART!!!!!!!

 

[hbucker]

I don't have any experience with the USA made Egnater products. Never been to this forum before about a month ago. Got my first Egnater product (Renegade 212 combo) about 3 weeks ago.

But... In the last week and a half, I've voiced a concern on this board about a problem with my amp's fan. At Bruce's request I E-mailed Nate who resopnded within a couple of days to my E-mail. At which point he asked for verification that I did indeed own the amp. Yesterday I got a fan replacement kit in the mail - no questions asked. I had to add a part (provided) but the new fan works fine.

I still have an issue with the reverb on the amp, but the amp itself is awesome. Truly a great amp for me and my tastes. So good that I'm sure I'll be keeping it (not returning it to M.F.) because I've never found another amp that will do everything for me, within my price range, that this amp will do - even with the current sub-par reverb.

I also have never had an experience where the owner of the company and designer of the amp is actually corresponding with me and listening directly to sound clips that I provide so he can hear the problem himself.

I'm not saying there aren't some issues Egnater needs to iron out (fans and reverb for instance). But in my experience it isn't all bad. There is a lot of good here. If they can get some of these other issues worked out, I'd say the sky is the limit for these Egnater products.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[rlord1974]

I fear that Egnater has gone down the wrong road, put all it's eggs in a Chinese-made basket, and turned its back on the products and principles that earned it so much loyalty and respect in the past. If that's the case, I hope it earns them a comfortable retirement in a short time because losing the American-made market and gaining a reputation for producing Chinese junk will likely spell a quick end for them.

I've seen lots of comments like this over the past few months.

In all fairness to Bruce, his company and, more importantly, the Chinese: To say it is not possible to have an extremely high quality product made within China is absolutely ludicrous. So much of the electronics and other items we in North America enjoy and rely on every day are produced within China. Now, it is possible that the particular producer Bruce has sourced within China is having issues, but that could be rectified by either leaning on them to improve their quality control, or by simply sourcing a better and more reputable producer within China.

I get that there are probably people out there that are upset with the perception - or reality - that manufacturing jobs are moving offshore from the U.S. to places like China, but it is unfair to paint all of China with one brush. There are manufactureres in China that can produce products of equal (or better) quality than American manufacturers, and just happen to save their U.S. parent companies some production costs in the process.

'Nuff said.

And, just to be clear - I am not Chinese, have never been Chinese and don't anticipate becoming Chinese any time in the future.....

 

[Wagster]

I fear that Egnater has gone down the wrong road, put all it's eggs in a Chinese-made basket, and turned its back on the products and principles that earned it so much loyalty and respect in the past. If that's the case, I hope it earns them a comfortable retirement in a short time because losing the American-made market and gaining a reputation for producing Chinese junk will likely spell a quick end for them.

I've seen lots of comments like this over the past few months.

In all fairness to Bruce, his company and, more importantly, the Chinese: To say it is not possible to have an extremely high quality product made within China is absolutely ludicrous. So much of the electronics and other items we in North America enjoy and rely on every day are produced within China. Now, it is possible that the particular producer Bruce has sourced within China is having issues, but that could be rectified by either leaning on them to improve their quality control, or by simply sourcing a better and more reputable producer within China.

I get that there are probably people out there that are upset with the perception - or reality - that manufacturing jobs are moving offshore from the U.S. to places like China, but it is unfair to paint all of China with one brush. There are manufactureres in China that can produce products of equal (or better) quality than American manufacturers, and just happen to save their U.S. parent companies some production costs in the process.

'Nuff said.

And, just to be clear - I am not Chinese, have never been Chinese and don't anticipate becoming Chinese any time in the future.....

 

[guitarslinger]

I've seen lots of comments like this over the past few months.

To say it is not possible to have an extremely high quality product made within China is absolutely ludicrous.
So, why don't they?

So much of the electronics and other items we in North America enjoy and rely on every day are produced within China.
Everyday, disposable electronics aren't the same as professional guitar amps, IMO.


And, just to be clear - I am not Chinese, have never been Chinese and don't anticipate becoming Chinese any time in the future.....
That's hillarious.

Whether my perception is stupid or not, it IS real. The whole US jobs thing doesn't even cross my mind when I think of Chinese amps sucking.

When I think of Chinese amps, I think.....

1. Bugera
2. fire.
3. caps blowing oil out the end
4. smoke rolling out of the chassis
5. 12 y/o playing Slipknot with an Ibanez Thermion
6. sitting at GC with a headache on a saturday
7. etc etc etc.



I don't want to sound like a dick, but I don't like Chinese amps.

 

[hbucker]

What makes it a "Chinese thing" for me is that I've NEVER (and I've been on these kinds of forums for 12+ years now) seen a thread where someone bought a Vox or a Marshall and have the thread turn into a "save American jobs" thread.

Apparently, people don't care if Americans lose jobs to people in the UK...

FWIW: I'm not Asian either.

 

[rlord1974]

I've seen lots of comments like this over the past few months.

To say it is not possible to have an extremely high quality product made within China is absolutely ludicrous.
So, why don't they?

So much of the electronics and other items we in North America enjoy and rely on every day are produced within China.
Everyday, disposable electronics aren't the same as professional guitar amps, IMO.


And, just to be clear - I am not Chinese, have never been Chinese and don't anticipate becoming Chinese any time in the future.....
That's hillarious.

Whether my perception is stupid or not, it IS real. The whole US jobs thing doesn't even cross my mind when I think of Chinese amps sucking.

When I think of Chinese amps, I think.....

1. Bugera
2. fire.
3. caps blowing oil out the end
4. smoke rolling out of the chassis
5. 12 y/o playing Slipknot with an Ibanez Thermion
6. sitting at GC with a headache on a saturday
7. etc etc etc.

OK, let's give props where they are due. That is funny stuff. Especially numbers 2, 4 and 5.
As for number 6: Why would you spend a Saturday in a GC?!

I don't want to sound like a dick, but I don't like Chinese amps.

I don't own any myself and don't particularly like them either. But it's not because they are Chinese - it's simply because I don't like the models that are being produced there right now. For example, if Marshall moved the production of their MG line back to the UK, I still wouldn't buy one, because I don't like the tones. However, if a reputable company were to offshore an amp that I do like to be produced in China, and that is being produced to a high level of quality (which, as I stated in my previous post, I believe IS possible), I would consider buying it. But until then, it's Bletchley, Berkley, Petaluma and North Hollywood for me.....

 

[Zaphod B]

Well, I've got a Chinese-manufactured Vox AC30CC and it is a kickass amp, no troubles and no worries.

The Chinese can build to whatever standard is desired. But as with any out-of-house sourcing, you had better have well-defined specs, a good enforceable contract, and the ability to influence your supplier's processes.

Egnater is pretty new to this whole volume thing. I think there are some manufacturing quality kinks to be worked out with the GC line.

 

[Len Rabinowitz]

You know, I hate to say it, but........ I hear all of this about the Rebel and the Renegade.

I never hear it about the unsung hero- Tourmaster!

My Tourmaster had some bad tubes, which could happen to any amp. The footswitch went bad after about a year and a half, which could happen to anything that had a big guy stomping on it.