Eden WT-405 vs MarkBass Little Mark lll - sound comparison

[PDGood]

I just recently acquired both of these amps, and now that I've had a chance to compare them side by side I thought I'd share what I've learned. I used a passive P/J bass to try them out.

The first thing I discovered is that they are more alike than different. There ARE differences but they will be noticed by the player far more than the audience or maybe even other band members. Changing to a different speaker cabinet makes a MUCH bigger difference. Changing brands of bass makes a MUCH bigger difference. Going back and forth between these two heads you will hear a difference, but nowhere near as much as changing cabs or bass brands. But there are differences, I'm just trying to give you a perspective on how much.

The MarkBass has more character - meaning that it's warmer or more old school sounding than the Eden. This could be a plus or a minus. The Eden is less unique sounding and would fit more musical styles, but the LM lll has more personality and if you like it, you love it. I've also heard the LM lll with basses that have a lot of Stingray type growl and it's an amazing amp in that context.
The Eden sounds more silky, more under control and the high frequencies sound more expensive for lack of a better description. The 405 has a nice compressor on board and that's a huge difference. But even without the compressor engaged, the amp sounds more compressed or under control than the LM lll. Adding treble or brightness on the Eden you know you are really playing a high-end amp. I didn't care for the sound of the high frequencies of the MarkBass as much, but then I like it better for the old school darker sound anyway.

The G and D strings are noticeably fuller on the LM lll. Again, that's a plus minus thing. It's a big improvement when playing Motown type big, simple, grooves. But the Eden has more clarity and if you play flurries of fast notes you can really hear the separation between them. It's also better with chords where you don't want fullness as much as you want a clean sound to distinguish between the notes.

I'm not going to get into all the features because you can read about that in the online manuals, but suffice it to say that Eden has the advantage in terms of offering more features, more jacks, buttons, compressor etc. It also costs twice what the LM lll costs new. The LM lll weighs 6-1/2 lbs - about half the Eden.

I will say this about the EQ - it's true what they say about Edens - you can set everything flat and have a great sound with very very little tweaking. This is good because I find the mid range controls on the 405 very limiting and I would even go so far as to recommend separate EQ for this amp if you want to veer very far from the flat setting. I found the LM lll easier to adjust the tone - maybe I just prefer the frequency settings of the knobs. Whatever the reason, it just seemed easier to find what I wanted.

Both are GREAT amps and you can't go wrong with either.

[T. Alan Smith]

Thanks for sharing; very interesting.

[KJung]

+1 to your review. The 405 is the nicest sounding amp Eden has made IMO (it was our 'reference head' for checking out basses at the old Low Down Sound bass shop). And +1 that it has a tone (warm and clean) that is in the same tone universe as the LMII/III. Both great heads IMO!!!!

[PDGood]

Great summary KJung - "warm and clean" describes both amps in three words.

[gregbackstrom]

Originally Posted by PDGood

It also costs twice what the LM lll costs new.

Now that the TT 405 has been discontinued, you can pick these up pretty inexpensively. My new 405 cost $400 and change ($439, I think). It's made in China, of course. But the build quality seems quite high, and it sounds great.

I haven't played the LMIII, but I owned an LMII for a year or so. Your review is consistent with my memory of that amp. Both great products!

- Greg