Little Mark III + '62 Bassman Cab

[Russell L]

Heh, heh, I was gonna be late for the blues jam Tuesday night, so I asked the guitar player (former bass player) if he minded bringing his 1962 Bassman cab so I could just walk in with my Little Mark III head and hook up. There is always a lot of stuff up there at the jams, so I didn't want to have to work my Markbass 151P cab into it all after everything had already been set up.

Well, the Bassman cab was there. It has been rebuilt with a 15" and a 12". I'm not sure how different the sound is from the original (which I assume to have been two 12s?). It has a closed back, but is front ported, and runs at 4 ohms, so my LMIII was putting out 500w. But, the gig is low-to-moderate volume, so I wasn't worried about hurting the cab. Anyway, it sounded great. Interesting to hear the LMIII through it. It had a different sound than my Markbass cab, of course. Not sure how to describe the difference, but I can say that I could still hear the Markbass tone come through at times, depending on how I set the eq. But...a big BUT...it didn't sound better than my 151P with the LMIII. I kinda missed my cab, tell the truth. Very interesting, though. I was afraid it might tear a hole in the universe playing a new micro head through that old thing, but we all survived, LOL.

To make it more interesting, a friend showed up with an old Fender MB-5 bass, and wanted to play some. Remember those basses (I didn't, had to look it up). Now, I just knew that tearing a hole in the universe was emminent when he got going, butno, it sounded great. He used a thinner tone than I did, and it sounded great out front. I ran almost flat, but with a tad roll back on high mids and the VLE to around 2:00, VPF at about 9:00, playing my Jazz Bass Special on the P pickup. He wanted a brighter sound, so he ran pretty much flat on all the knobs. For both of us, gain was at 1-2:00, master at around 9:00, 10:00 at the most. Plenty loud!

Just wanted to pass it along. Thought some of yas might get a kick out of such a mixture. It was a fun night.

Ya'll be good.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by Russell L

It has been rebuilt with a 15" and a 12"... is front ported

That means the only thing about it that's a '62 Bassman is the shell. They were sealed cabs, loaded with two guitar twelves, and driven by the original Bassman head it took three of them to handle it without farting out.

[Russell L]

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

That means the only thing about it that's a '62 Bassman is the shell. They were sealed cabs, loaded with two guitar twelves, and driven by the original Bassman head it took three of them to handle it without farting out.

Thanks, Bill. Yeah, I thought it was originally something like that. I wonder if what was done to it actually fits the cab, spec-wise. Maybe that's why I didn't think it sounded as good as I expected. Not that it sounded bad, though. It did sound good, but I thought it may have a more "magical" sound (for a lack of better words).

[Biggbass]

thanks for the info. I just got a MB LM3 and am ramping up for rehearsals and gigs with it. will be using the MB 102 and 151 cabs with it.

[Russell L]

Originally Posted by Biggbass

thanks for the info. I just got a MB LM3 and am ramping up for rehearsals and gigs with it. will be using the MB 102 and 151 cabs with it.

Sounds great, pal. Try running the amp flat at first when you get to jamming with others, and see what you think. It sounds surprisingly good just like that. I roll back some high mids to quell some of the clack I get from picking with my fingernails as well as with the meat of my finger tips. Next, try the VLE at about 2-3:00. It's a good old school sound. I use the VPF sparingly since it scoops some mids and boosts lows. Be careful that your 10s don't run out of excursion. I've been doing well with just my 151P cab, but I want another one.

You're gonna love this amp.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by Russell L

Thanks, Bill. Yeah, I thought it was originally something like that. I wonder if what was done to it actually fits the cab, spec-wise.

The fact that whoever did it mixed a 15 and 12 means they didn't know what they were doing, so it's safe to assume the job was buggered. That Bassman cab is just barely large enough to properly handle a 15, certainly not a 15 and a 12.