What is going on with Marshall and their lack of shipments of speakers, and amps to the United States?

[guitarsmasher]

This may be my last "new" hardware order from them. At my age, I can't wait this long for stuff to arrive. Do they sell "used" on Amazon? Next day delivery with Prime.

This is my first purchase with Marshall, and potentially the last as well.

 

[Karl Brake]

Probably have been bought by private equity. The deep discounting on a lot of new Marshall gear is a sign that investors want quick liquidity. Not good. Private equity firms, like the one that bought GC have no interest at all in an actual business...which is why GC has become so pathetic. Marshall may well be on that block.

 

[Karl Brake]

I don't think it's a production issue since they're available in Europe. So they're being made. I think it's more about ironing out the new distribution channels here in the US, combined with the increased demand caused by the price cuts.

I think they made a bit of a mistake announcing the price cuts before the new distribution process had been fully established. New distribution process + increased demand is the perfect storm for delays. I'm sure it will normalize eventually.

Sounds like a Private Equity deal.

 

[Purgasound]

A lot of commenting is being made without even looking at the current situation.
"Deep discounting to liquidate inventory"
"It's all about supply and demand"
What bearing do those statements have on the current situation?
The advertised prices were lowered, yes, but nothing is available to be sold. Sweetwater, GC, Musicians Friend, Antique Electronic Supply all displayed "out of stock" ever since the new prices were advertised and nothing has shipped since. This was months ago and there's been no official information regarding for the reason available to the general public.

 

[ByrdmanFL]

My SC20H just shipped from Kansas. It wasnt supposed to ship out until August, so maybe they are catching up and getting it together.

 

[myklomaniac]

This is my first purchase with Marshall, and potentially the last as well.

Yeah, same here. I always wanted a Marshall rig of some sort. It just seemed high time to do it, I'm not getting any younger, before it was too late. I was unaware of the delays when I bought everything. Only afterwards, did they tell me the one cabinat was going to be a long wait. All that said, after this experience, it still might not quite make it in time, at my age. Was hoping to get a blend of G12T-75s and V30s as they are both fairly well rated and can easily handle the head power output. I should have held payment on the 1936V until they could give me a firm shipping date, or just cancelled then. That was a mistake. If they bump the delivery again, I'm going to ask for the money back, and ask them to cancel the order. 6 months wasted. There are other options, as others have suggested.

 

[Keysdweller]

I ordered all 4 of the Marshall Studio amp heads and speaker cabinets in late April and early May when the prices dropped. I have received 2 of the Studio heads and one of the speaker cabinets so far. I also ordered a 1960B cabinet and a 1936 speaker cabinet which I am still waiting for. I am expecting the rest of my equipment sometime this month according to my sales representative. I have heard Marshall is manufacturing the equipment as the orders come in. I am hoping the remainder of my order arrives soon.

 

[jeffb]

I noticed ZZounds took off the "arriving by" dates for most of the gear they had listed as July 11th. Now it's back to no date.

Guessing pre-orders already wiped out what they were expected to get.

 

[Keysdweller]

I noticed ZZounds took off the "arriving by" dates for most of the gear they had listed as July 11th. Now it's back to no date.

Guessing pre-orders already wiped out what they were expected to get.

Marshall needs to quit worrying about headphones and boom boxes and get back to manufacturing guitar amps. From what I have read on these forums since the price drop a few months ago, there must be thousands of amp orders to be produced.

 

[guitarsmasher]

A lot of commenting is being made without even looking at the current situation.
"Deep discounting to liquidate inventory"
"It's all about supply and demand"
What bearing do those statements have on the current situation?
The advertised prices were lowered, yes, but nothing is available to be sold. Sweetwater, GC, Musicians Friend, Antique Electronic Supply all displayed "out of stock" ever since the new prices were advertised and nothing has shipped since. This was months ago and there's been no official information regarding for the reason available to the general public.

I purchased before the price drop, then the price drop happened about a month later. Under that logic then wouldn't I have "potentially" received said liquidated inventory already? I've read, re-read, and looked up comments from the CEO, asked my sales person, and called Marshall themselves, and they didn't elude to anything stated. In fact my sales person stated the issue had to do with the new distro setup. Marshalls new CEO is on the record stating they have not given up on the amp portion of the business. That isn't to say CEO's don't lie, but for the record I'm well aware of the current situation. Thus the disclaimer I wrote in the beginning about this basically being a bitch session. Our statements have merit and bearing on the situation because from our stand point Marshall is still considered "in-business" so there is a certain consideration or rather relationship as it pertains to customer interactions with the company and vice versa. You mentioned that its all about supply and demand, and I'd agree there is an awful lot of demand for a product that is supposedly still being produced based on comments from officials. I've literally received emails from Marshall still advertising to buy their amp & speakers.

 

[PentodeLicious]

I waited for my 2555X six months. for my 1960AX 2 months.
Only two 1960AX came here and the other guy ordered his a year before.
1960AX are for some reason very rarely in stock.

Don't blame marshall,
With all the global agenda with a "plague" and proxy wars creating fake inflation, manufactures can't take the risk of keeping a stock they would not sell.
Why? since the "plague" steel, wood, valves prices almost doubled.
Also shipment costs are sky rocketing because the rise of prices in oil and also because shipment companies realized they are the vein of this world and can increase prices.

What's new? humans will always be greedy and it is us the hard working people who take the burden.

Solution?
cancel 1960AX order. get a refund. buy a second hand marshall cabinet.
Also you might wanna go the 1960AV/BV way.
IMO it works better with the jcm 800.

 

[Purgasound]

You mentioned that its all about supply and demand

You have misunderstood my post. I did not say anything like that or make any inference of the sort. I wasn't questioning you or disagreeing with anything you've posted. I share your frustration.

The specific comments I'm mentioning are the ones that refer to "supply and demand" and other business buzzwords. Some terms are being thrown around that don't have any relevance to what's actually happening. Otherwise there would be at the least some anecdotal evidence to support these claims and observations.

To elaborate:
"Supply and demand" doesn't mean much here. What's the demand and what's the supply? Is there a warehouse full of amps? Is there actually zero products and parts available or did they freeze sales? Does demand exceed the current production? Is the demand so little it commands extremely limited production numbers?
None of these are stated within those responses.

"Liquidating stock"
Ok, what stock is there to be liquidated if nothing is available and nothing is shipping out?

I have scoured the web for some parts and found some available through non-official vendors. This is also what leads me to believe the larger companies with a distribution or wholesale agreement have not been allowed to sell off any remaining stock. Could have come with a NDA which is why there's no reasoning available to the public. I'm only speculating based on what I've seen.

In the U.S. we had
-inflated prices for the U.S. market
-early this year a MSRP price drop across the board which only put U.S. prices more in line with European pricing as we were grossly overcharged for nothing
-stock for certain products was already limited however, after the price change, everything was listed as "out of stock" even down to official repair parts. As I said before, it seems extremely unlikely that every caster, corner, badge, logo, jack, pot, and other Marshall part would sell out all in the same day. I am buying these repair parts frequently and it seems they stopped being available all at once.

I don't know what's going on but it's no fun being in the dark. That's why we're all in the thread here trying to figure out what's happening.

 

[guitarsmasher]

You have misunderstood my post. I did not say anything like that or make any inference of the sort. I wasn't questioning you or disagreeing with anything you've posted. I share your frustration.

The specific comments I'm mentioning are the ones that refer to "supply and demand" and other business buzzwords. Some terms are being thrown around that don't have any relevance to what's actually happening. Otherwise there would be at the least some anecdotal evidence to support these claims and observations.

To elaborate:
"Supply and demand" doesn't mean much here. What's the demand and what's the supply? Is there a warehouse full of amps? Is there actually zero products and parts available or did they freeze sales? Does demand exceed the current production? Is the demand so little it commands extremely limited production numbers?
None of these are stated within those responses.

"Liquidating stock"
Ok, what stock is there to be liquidated if nothing is available and nothing is shipping out?

I have scoured the web for some parts and found some available through non-official vendors. This is also what leads me to believe the larger companies with a distribution or wholesale agreement have not been allowed to sell off any remaining stock. Could have come with a NDA which is why there's no reasoning available to the public. I'm only speculating based on what I've seen.

In the U.S. we had
-inflated prices for the U.S. market
-early this year a MSRP price drop across the board which only put U.S. prices more in line with European pricing as we were grossly overcharged for nothing
-stock for certain products was already limited however, after the price change, everything was listed as "out of stock" even down to official repair parts. As I said before, it seems extremely unlikely that every caster, corner, badge, logo, jack, pot, and other Marshall part would sell out all in the same day. I am buying these repair parts frequently and it seems they stopped being available all at once.

I don't know what's going on but it's no fun being in the dark. That's why we're all in the thread here trying to figure out what's happening.

I do apologize, i ended up scrolling back up and saw those comments you were speaking about. I had read most post but didn't see the ones you were referring to. Thank you for the clarification however. I did however get some info from Sweetwater today, but not the news I would have wanted to hear. I was told now that they have a shipment coming in in Sept. I did say I am not upset with Sweetwater, and they were candid and mentioned they are actually in the same situation we are. Marshall has not been very open about the situation to them either. Sweetwater did give me some hope however in a comment that was made. they had mentioned that when they place their orders, they get some type of feedback from Marshall as it pertains to how many orders they have coming, and future orders. Sweetwater mentioned they have roughly 28 orders that will be filled in Sept. and Marshall has confirmed future shipments after Sept as well.

This was about the most SW was willing to say to me, as i am sure they have to be careful of what kind of information they release as well, but I will say SW is under pressure or at least it feels like they may be in filling these orders. I could almost hear the frustration in the voice of the rep I was speaking to, which with a little bit of speculation implies to me that I am certainly not the only one who has called. I told them if I didn't see anything by Sept, then I'd do just what has been suggested in these forums, and that is to cancel my order and get something different.

 

[Keysdweller]

I guess I'm on the September list too. I know Sweetwater doesn't have any control over Marshall production. At least I have received some of my order last month.

 

[Phoenix1]

Disclaimer: I understand this is just me bitching

But I ordered a JCM800 2203x and 1960AX 4 x 12 back in March. Anybody else place an order only to not see it yet? I have the JCM800 that arrived but no speaker. I do run it through an attenuator and into my daw, but that just isn't the same. just curious how others experience has gone with purchases.

(Side note) I realize the distro situation has changed, and that Marshall underwent a reorganization, but that was how long ago now)

I waited about a year and a half for my Silver Jubilee. Bought one cab from GC and was sick of waiting and saw theSJ 100 half stack for a good price at Sweetwater but called and they price matched my better deal at GC and had the whole full stack within a couple weeks. Cab and head from one and cab from the other. You just have to keep your eye on stocks and where.

 

[Tanax]

People really need to understand that US is not Marshall's main priority. It's not their home turf.
I understand that it's frustrating having to wait so long but it's not something unique to Marshall. Try ordering a Mesa, Friedman, etc, in Europe.
Friedman is rarely in stock and when it's not, you have to wait upwards of 11 weeks for a non-modified one. Mesa custom ones are not even available as an option in Europe at all, only stock models but you'll still have to wait another 7-9 weeks (and that's on top of having had to wait for almost 4 years already !!!!).
Other US brands are equally bad.

That's just how it is if you order stuff that's not produced locally. Especially for things that take time to produce, are heavy and then have to be shipped across the globe.
If you don't want to, or can't, wait for such lengths of time, I'd recommend getting something locally produced (or buy second hand but tbh second hand market for amps is f*ed up, at least in Europe).

 

[Dogs of Doom]

Something is afoot and it's not instilling much confidence. Take for example the authorized parts distributor in the Midwest of the United States... It is highly improbable that they sold out of every Marshall jack, badge, caster, covering, knob, piping, logo, and pot on the same day. I feel like they've been ordered to cease sales until further notice. I haven't asked this question directly through official channels so this is speculation.

Most of my repair work is restorations and it's a huge problem to not be able to get parts. Feels like a slap in the face to be hindered from making their product look and sound as best as it can.

It seems that retailers were alerted something, which is why they quickly seemingly liquidated all their remaining stock, just before end of year, last year.

You figure, they sold stuff at the new price scheme, while they purchased under the old scheme, presumably to sell everything out, while the old distributor contract was still in effect.

Not sure why they'd have to clear house before any new contract settled, but, it seems the case.

I'm sure, everybody took a loss, on the clearance sales (even though they weren't marketed as such), but, there had to be a reason for them to do it, rather than simply letting the items sell & still retain stock.

But, even ebay is pretty scarce for parts, when, in the past, you could find an abundance of any & everything current on there...

 

[Dogs of Doom]

And the thing is, Ted didn't use Marshall's.

So he's just f#&ing with us.

Ted's always had an on/off relationship w/ Marshall...

I think Peavey were endorsing him for a while. Marshall probably wouldn't, so... If he can get free stacks for backlines around the world, at any place & any time by Peavey, he'll use Peavey...

that's just how the business works...

 

[Dogs of Doom]

People really need to understand that US is not Marshall's main priority. It's not their home turf.
I understand that it's frustrating having to wait so long but it's not something unique to Marshall. Try ordering a Mesa, Friedman, etc, in Europe.
Friedman is rarely in stock and when it's not, you have to wait upwards of 11 weeks for a non-modified one. Mesa custom ones are not even available as an option in Europe at all, only stock models but you'll still have to wait another 7-9 weeks (and that's on top of having had to wait for almost 4 years already !!!!).
Other US brands are equally bad.

That's just how it is if you order stuff that's not produced locally. Especially for things that take time to produce, are heavy and then have to be shipped across the globe.
If you don't want to, or can't, wait for such lengths of time, I'd recommend getting something locally produced (or buy second hand but tbh second hand market for amps is f*ed up, at least in Europe).

I'm going to disagree w/ this notion about the US having low priority...

I'd imagine, that, in a city, like Los Angeles, Marshall could probably sell more amp's, than in many countries. Now, multiply that one city, w/ dozens of other big cities around the US, then all the smaller spread out areas across the States...

The problem is pretty much logistical... The dropped their distribution, which is a pretty big deal.

If they are dealing, w/o an intermediator, then they have a pretty large undertaking to start distribution from scratch. It will take time...

For the last decade, or more, they've been having trouble keeping up w/ demand. Every new NAMM announcement, was riddled w/ backorders, right out of the launch gate. Lots of complaints, year after year. &... that was w/ the big distributors, they had in place.

The new CEO said, that they'd need a year, to get things rolling, & that was a couple months ago. It will probably be a rocky year, for the next 10 months or so...

 

[gtpvfr]

Disclaimer: I understand this is just me bitching

But I ordered a JCM800 2203x and 1960AX 4 x 12 back in March. Anybody else place an order only to not see it yet? I have the JCM800 that arrived but no speaker. I do run it through an attenuator and into my daw, but that just isn't the same. just curious how others experience has gone with purchases.

(Side note) I realize the distro situation has changed, and that Marshall underwent a reorganization, but that was how long ago now)

I understand but it all depends on order backlog and component availability. It took the 5 months as quoted for my custom Mezzabarba cabinet and roughly the same amount of time for the Friedman cabinet. The first Friedman cabinet arrived damaged so 5 months total for 2 special orders isn’t bad. Some vendors & manufactures place their orders well in advance before they have a full idea of what the product demand will be. Similarly, I had inquired a few places about the Uber Ultra when they came out but the ETA kept getting pushed back everywhere, and I canceled one order, and one pre-order. Something like 3 guitars and two other amplifiers later, I eventually got one when it was finally in stock. I’d imagine the demand for the Marshall stuff is elevated with the prices coming down. Patience, mine is always tested & it’s usually negative!