Matrix GT1000FX Amp failure and Customer Support

Ventanaman said:
That must be frustrating. My experience with Andy several years ago was the complete opposite.

I had an amp failure, he met me at the shop in Ventura a couple of days later, and repaired the amp on the spot.
Click to expand...
I'll be honest Andy seemed like a really nice guy. We talked for quite a long time when I first got the amp. He walked me through figuring out why the unit would not power up. Turned out to be the voltage selector switch. We chatted about a lot of different things, for nearly an hour and a half. Seemed like a great guy. At the end of the conversation my amp worked and I was a happy customer.
 
Last year around Christmas my gt1000 died, contacted the customer support email and spoke to someone who I’m pretty sure was USA based (forget the name though) and they were very helpful about arranging getting it shipped in to the U.K. facility for repair. I’m in the U.K. though. Turnaround was very fast, one week door-to-door, which I was impressed with, especially as it was near Christmas time.

I believe Robin runs the U.K. side of the business (Hifi and PA stuff as per the website). I didn’t speak directly but he was cc’d on the emails.

I also thought it was a bit odd that they don’t have serial numbers though.
 
Space Helicopter said:
Last year around Christmas my gt1000 died, contacted the customer support email and spoke to someone who I’m pretty sure was USA based (forget the name though) and they were very helpful about arranging getting it shipped in to the U.K. facility for repair. I’m in the U.K. though. Turnaround was very fast, one week door-to-door, which I was impressed with, especially as it was near Christmas time.

I believe Robin runs the U.K. side of the business (Hifi and PA stuff as per the website). I didn’t speak directly but he was cc’d on the emails.

I also thought it was a bit odd that they don’t have serial numbers though.
Click to expand...
UK stuff also has no serial numbers? Wow that is odd.
 
BC_GTR said:
I've thought about that. Matrix really doesn't have a very big footprint outside the modeling world. Musicians that aren't into amp modeling, or around other musicians that are, don't even know who Matrix is. These forums are where people that are interested in the tech of amp modeling come, for advise, recommendations and suggestions on what things to have in their arsenal. This is where truth will have an impact. I will say this in all fairness. I do know several people that have Matrix equipment and it sounds fantastic, works awesomely and they have had no issues at all. That just isn't the case here and I expected a much higher level of Customer Support and it just isn't there. But to insult me and tell me that the amp was all scratched up to the point that he had to replace the chassis charge me for the damages and then not communicate with me about it afterward is just down right unprofessional. I shipped the unit back to him insured by UPS so if the damages were incurred during shipping I would be able to file a claim and get my money back but he has offered nothing!
Click to expand...
I'm not sure about that. Jerry Cantrell has one in his rack with his Friedman JBE signature heads, maybe it's for his acoustic guitar or perhaps a talk box? Who knows. Matrix also has its own thread in Rigtalk, a ton of post and information regarding Matrix amps, most of it was from early on, but still they are known in the musicians world beyond modeling, there is even a video with Dave Friedman speaking on the matrix at one of the LA amp shows. I'm curious how it would a/b against a qsc or crown. One that is similar in size and weight and power and price, and for a loud mix not a bedroom and a 1x12
 
That does suck - I have a GT1000FX that has been used almost every day for 9 years- never had an issue.
Sucks you got a lemon and some sketch service.
 
BC_GTR said:
UK stuff also has no serial numbers? Wow that is odd.
Click to expand...
To be fair mine says made in USA on the back and has the black knobs like the new ones so I assume it’s not that old, I bought it used. I assume whoever originally bought it had it shipped from the USA as they don’t sell the GT models direct in the U.K. anymore.
 
I'm going to jump in here and hopefully clear up a few things.

Originally the customer contacted support regarding a payment issue which was resolved. This was in September 2021. Next contact with Nov 2021 asking for an RMA and mentioning speaking to Andy direct. We (support) were not contacted at any point prior to this even though contact had been established previously.

After the initial issue, the amp was returned and a replacement was sent out. For speed Andy will just generally send a new amp out anyway, and as he was running slow on repairs and bench testing at the time, he did this. This amp did have an issue with the PSU which failed. I believe that first amp that came in to us was eventually sold on after it was thoroughly tested and found to be ok. A third amp was sent out which was reported as having the same issues as the first amp.
Having two different amps exhibit the same issue is incredibly rare, unless there is an outside factor. It has never happened to us previously. Yes we've had a replacement fail for a different reason as in this case but the first and third amps showed the same issue and both amps tested subsequently fine.
The customer disputed our testing as being "not real world". I'd like to reassure that our testing goes well beyond what an amp would experience running a guitar rig. They're tested as PA amps would be to their maximum performance and pretty much to breaking point.

Serial numbers. We've never ever had serial numbers even from day one. The reason is simply that we sell direct to customers. We don't need to trace where amps have been sent to dealerships and have a record of where they have gone. Generally in the even of a transferred warranty the new owner will know who he purchased from and supply details in the event of a warranty claim. Every warranty transferred we've found the original purchaser.

Also late last year and this year we've been hit (as others have) with shortages of components. Andy has basically hand built most of the 2U GT1000s over the last few months as we've not been able to get a substantial production run done as a result of the supply chain issues. He's marked/signed some boards and not others. Nothing nefarious involved, just getting the lid on the amp and out as quick as possible as people are waiting. Some amps will be marked as USA and subsequently were sold in the UK and long ago vice versa. Again nothing nefarious just a case of shipping stock needed from wherever when needed at the time. Someone mentioned the last one so thought I'd explain that.

As I post this the OP will receive pics of the scratches on the amp. It was racked and does show rack rash around a rack mount and a couple of scratches on the bottom probably as the amp has been put in removed. When we received the amp there was no damage to the box from transit. We would have contacted the customer in that case to ascertain insurance etc if that were so. It is enough in our opinion to charge a re-stocking fee as the amp tests ok and would have to be sold on as b stock. If the amp had indeed shown a problem we would have course refunded in full. Given the length of time and the amp testing fine it was felt a restocking fee was fair.

As to what has happened in this case, it's unclear. We can only go on the amps testing out fine and speculate from there. I will say from past experiences that we've seen sound pressure levels in cabs blow jack plugs out of the cab sockets. Not all 1/4 " jacks and XLRs are a standard size. Some are slightly smaller and some more snug fitting. Jack plugs in cabs are prone to vibrations and we've come across stories of intermittent connections. Speaker connections also can be intermittent. Personally I've had this and only once in 30+ years playing but it has happened. So even with brand new cables and them testing out fine it may well have been something else entirely to blame.

Hope that clears up a couple of points
 
BC_GTR said:
I have no idea since he won't communicate. I'll just take the $129.00 loss and move on. If I had taken pictures as I packed it back in it's original box I could actually contest his statement of damages. But as it stands its his word against mine. No way to prove anything. Lesson learned.
Click to expand...
How did you pay for the product? With any big purchase these days I intentionally use a good credit card because of purchase protection and my card extends manufacturer warranty by one year. Although i will say, i had to ship my unit back to fractal for an easy repair and while it was still under warranty, i had to cover the cost of shipping the unit to the shop which let me down a bit. Tried to file a claim with my card and it was denied so i guess there will always be some loopholes although i was really just filing a claim for the heck of it just to see if id get lucky
 
Jipps0525 said:
How did you pay for the product? With any big purchase these days I intentionally use a good credit card because of purchase protection and my card extends manufacturer warranty by one year. Although i will say, i had to ship my unit back to fractal for an easy repair and while it was still under warranty, i had to cover the cost of shipping the unit to the shop which let me down a bit. Tried to file a claim with my card and it was denied so i guess there will always be some loopholes although i was really just filing a claim for the heck of it just to see if id get lucky
Click to expand...
I used PayPal for the purchase and they have the same thing. He claims that the unit was scratched when he received it back in Idaho. He has not responded with any proof of his claim. The truth is though that even if he did send any pics there would be no way to prove that what he sent were pics of the unit I sent back. These amps don't have a serial number or anyway to identify them from any of the other amps of the same model. These posts are my recourse. I have pics of the amp before I removed it from the rack to ship but not of the packing process. And I did not place a mark on it so I could tell anything so... posts to people that would possibly buy the Matrix product revealing my experience is my best "Legal" action I can take that will have an impact. I stated nothing untrue in any of my posts about this incident so I don't think anything can come back on me.
 
BC_GTR said:
I used PayPal for the purchase and they have the same thing. He claims that the unit was scratched when he received it back in Idaho. He has not responded with any proof of his claim. The truth is though that even if he did send any pics there would be no way to prove that what he sent were pics of the unit I sent back. These amps don't have a serial number or anyway to identify them from any of the other amps of the same model. These posts are my recourse. I have pics of the amp before I removed it from the rack to ship but not of the packing process. And I did not place a mark on it so I could tell anything so... posts to people that would possibly buy the Matrix product revealing my experience is my best "Legal" action I can take that will have an impact. I stated nothing untrue in any of my posts about this incident so I don't think anything can come back on me.
Click to expand...
What I find odd, is the post above, from someone who appears to be speaking on behalf of Matrix, yet doesn't identify themself, in an attempt to "clear up a few things", a reply that came very fast after your OP, (especially considering it was a Holiday weekend) yet you still haven't received an official response.

I appreciate you taking the time to write your responses, and agree that serial numbers should be on every unit. No matter what argument one may use for not having them, how hard is it to use them? I mean, really. C'mon.

In this day of buying online, and having to do your own research, and figure out which reviews actually mean something, and which ones you should ignore, having these kinds of threads help in making an informed decision. And I'm all for giving any company the benefit of, not every product that goes out the door will be perfect, and mistakes happen..., but not communicating with a customer in a timely manner, even if it's just to say, "Hey, I got your email, but I'm crazy busy, but I will get back to you by ___", is frankly, unacceptable. Especially when we're talking about a product that's obviously intended to pair with one of THE top modelers (it's shown with an Axe Fx III right on their website), made by a company that's known for exceptional professionalism.
 
Lightningboy said:
I'm going to jump in here and hopefully clear up a few things.

Originally the customer contacted support regarding a payment issue which was resolved. This was in September 2021. Next contact with Nov 2021 asking for an RMA and mentioning speaking to Andy direct. We (support) were not contacted at any point prior to this even though contact had been established previously.

After the initial issue, the amp was returned and a replacement was sent out. For speed Andy will just generally send a new amp out anyway, and as he was running slow on repairs and bench testing at the time, he did this. This amp did have an issue with the PSU which failed. I believe that first amp that came in to us was eventually sold on after it was thoroughly tested and found to be ok. A third amp was sent out which was reported as having the same issues as the first amp.
Having two different amps exhibit the same issue is incredibly rare, unless there is an outside factor. It has never happened to us previously. Yes we've had a replacement fail for a different reason as in this case but the first and third amps showed the same issue and both amps tested subsequently fine.
The customer disputed our testing as being "not real world". I'd like to reassure that our testing goes well beyond what an amp would experience running a guitar rig. They're tested as PA amps would be to their maximum performance and pretty much to breaking point.

Serial numbers. We've never ever had serial numbers even from day one. The reason is simply that we sell direct to customers. We don't need to trace where amps have been sent to dealerships and have a record of where they have gone. Generally in the even of a transferred warranty the new owner will know who he purchased from and supply details in the event of a warranty claim. Every warranty transferred we've found the original purchaser.

Also late last year and this year we've been hit (as others have) with shortages of components. Andy has basically hand built most of the 2U GT1000s over the last few months as we've not been able to get a substantial production run done as a result of the supply chain issues. He's marked/signed some boards and not others. Nothing nefarious involved, just getting the lid on the amp and out as quick as possible as people are waiting. Some amps will be marked as USA and subsequently were sold in the UK and long ago vice versa. Again nothing nefarious just a case of shipping stock needed from wherever when needed at the time. Someone mentioned the last one so thought I'd explain that.

As I post this the OP will receive pics of the scratches on the amp. It was racked and does show rack rash around a rack mount and a couple of scratches on the bottom probably as the amp has been put in removed. When we received the amp there was no damage to the box from transit. We would have contacted the customer in that case to ascertain insurance etc if that were so. It is enough in our opinion to charge a re-stocking fee as the amp tests ok and would have to be sold on as b stock. If the amp had indeed shown a problem we would have course refunded in full. Given the length of time and the amp testing fine it was felt a restocking fee was fair.

As to what has happened in this case, it's unclear. We can only go on the amps testing out fine and speculate from there. I will say from past experiences that we've seen sound pressure levels in cabs blow jack plugs out of the cab sockets. Not all 1/4 " jacks and XLRs are a standard size. Some are slightly smaller and some more snug fitting. Jack plugs in cabs are prone to vibrations and we've come across stories of intermittent connections. Speaker connections also can be intermittent. Personally I've had this and only once in 30+ years playing but it has happened. So even with brand new cables and them testing out fine it may well have been something else entirely to blame.

Hope that clears up a couple of points
Click to expand...
I don't argue that there are extenuating circumstances in every situation. The first amp was originally sent out to me set for 230 volt AC. Unpacked amp and it wouldn't power up. After finding Andy's phone number in the US we trouble shot the unit over the phone and got it working. After that is when the A channel started acting up. The amp was sent back and this time Matrix paid for the shipping both ways as I had only had the amp for a very short time. (This was Nov. 6, 2021) I was told that there was no issue found with the first amp but that a new amp was being shipped to me at no charge. I received the replacement amp back after Thanksgiving about 3 weeks later. The "2nd" amp worked for about a month and a half. On the morning of January 29, 2022 I turned my system on and the amp did not power up. I contacted Andy again and we went through some trouble shooting procedures over the phone and he determined that the amp's power supply had failed. He had me take some pics of the inside of the amp and I shipped it back. Again Matrix paid for the shipping. So now another 3weeks go by and I receive my amp back and it works fine again for almost 4 months. During that time period we only played 4 shows. I don't use a loud volume only enough for some sustain and feedback as needed. My band uses an IEM system so there is no need for a loud stage. As I explained to Andy this entire rig is practically brand new and the cables have not ever been an issue. In fact when he mentioned this to me in our early conversations I put new connectors on my speaker cab to insure a good connection and replaced both my speaker and my signal cables as well. When I use my Crown Amp, I have not experienced a dropout of any kind. Same cables both signal and speaker, exactly the same. So with all of that stated I have headed the advise given me by the manufacturer and made adjustments as suggested. But the fact remains that I experienced a failure of the product to the point that I felt that I could not trust it's dependability. While I cannot see the results of the bench test that you have performed and you cannot see the results of the failure that I have experienced it seems to me this becomes a "He Said She Said" situation and I am still owed the $129.00 that was deducted from the purchase price. I have still not seen any pictures of damages.
 
TSJMajesty said:
What I find odd, is the post above, from someone who appears to be speaking on behalf of Matrix, yet doesn't identify themself, in an attempt to "clear up a few things", a reply that came very fast after your OP, (especially considering it was a Holiday weekend) yet you still haven't received an official response.

I appreciate you taking the time to write your responses, and agree that serial numbers should be on every unit. No matter what argument one may use for not having them, how hard is it to use them? I mean, really. C'mon.

In this day of buying online, and having to do your own research, and figure out which reviews actually mean something, and which ones you should ignore, having these kinds of threads help in making an informed decision. And I'm all for giving any company the benefit of, not every product that goes out the door will be perfect, and mistakes happen..., but not communicating with a customer in a timely manner, even if it's just to say, "Hey, I got your email, but I'm crazy busy, but I will get back to you by ___", is frankly, unacceptable. Especially when we're talking about a product that's obviously intended to pair with one of THE top modelers (it's shown with an Axe Fx III right on their website), made by a company that's known for exceptional professionalism.
Click to expand...
Not positive but I believe that "Lighteningboy" is actually John Hardman with Matrix. That is the only way that he would be privy to the info he shared. He has responded to me through the Matrix "Help Desk"in the past. I will add that this thread is the only attempt to communicate that has been made. And I would say that it seems a defensive move rather than an attempt to communicate with me. Just trying to protect a reputation I suppose.
 
BC_GTR said:
Not positive but I believe that "Lighteningboy" is actually John Hardman with Matrix. That is the only way that he would be privy to the info he shared. He has responded to me through the Matrix "Help Desk"in the past. I will add that this thread is the only attempt to communicate that has been made. And I would say that it seems a defensive move rather than an attempt to communicate with me. Just trying to protect a reputation I suppose.
Click to expand...
This is ridiculous. You are obviously a professional. You are also obviously unsatisfied and rightly so. They should reimburse you in full and then you just part ways...no harm no foul.
 
darkknight91 said:
This is funny. I bought a 1000GT a couple months ago and the A channel fried onstage. Went into protect mode followed by a burning smell. Sent it in for repairs a few weeks ago but havent received it back yet. Hope this isn’t an indication of things to come. I’ve already played 10 gigs without it.
Click to expand...
Wish you all the best of luck. Like I've stated before when they work they are awesome amps. Just too many issues for me right now.
 
BC_GTR said:
And I would say that it seems a defensive move rather than an attempt to communicate with me. Just trying to protect a reputation I suppose.
Click to expand...
Oh absolutely. I picked up on a defensive tone as well.
And the reason I said he didn't state who he was, was because again, in the interest of professionalism, if you're going to offer a retort to someone's complaint on a forum, in that type of capacity, I'd expect that would be the first thing you would say. smh
 
Justincase said:
This is ridiculous. You are obviously a professional. You are also obviously unsatisfied and rightly so. They should reimburse you in full and then you just part ways...no harm no foul.
Click to expand...
Absolutely! I've had instances in the past where I was tempted to dock employees for something that in my case, was justified, but you just don't bother with that type of nickel-and-dime shit, because the ill will it creates is far worse than the amount of money. It's really stupid, imo.
 
BC_GTR said:
Wish you all the best of luck. Like I've stated before when they work they are awesome amps. Just too many issues for me right now.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I got two gigs coming this weekend that I’ll be playing without it again. Still no word on the status of it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom