Long time lurker-First time poster...Markbass LM3 ?

[Biggbass]

Been lurking around the forum for a while but never had anything to say until now.

Have read a lot of posts here about the Markbass gear and from all the comparisons and reviews I decided to purchase a new LM3 this week. I had a chance to demo the LM3 against the 800 Tube and 800 and kept coming back to the LM3 for it's warmth. My demos were with my #1 J bass thru the MB 2 x 10/1 x 15.

I'll be pairing the LM3 with a 2 x 10 and 1 x 15 cab set up...both MB cabs, BTW. Have been using an SWR Workingmans 15 for quite a while, with ext cab.

My only question to those of you who have experience with the LM3 is this: will the 500 watts be enough for most gigs? I don't play in a super loud band and will be in 75-100 seat audience gigs most of the time, some of which will allow for DI but some that won't. I'd been DI-ing the SWR which worked well but wanted to upgrade to new gear and cut down on the bulk as much as possible.

Sacrificing the warm tones from the LM3 to bump up to the somewhat sterile clarity of the 800 (since I'm not a slap player) just didn't seem the way to go. Our stuff is Americana with some Celtic tossed in. Example: Steve Earle, Sadies, Corrs, etc.

thanks for any input.

[KJung]

You should be absolutely fine. As one who gigged an LMII for many years (I use an F500 now), and who owned both an SD800 and an LMT800 (for one day), I can tell you that I found very little difference in the absolute volume output of these amps into 4ohms. The SD800 and LMT800 sounded very similar to me... bigger down low, and more solid state crisp in the upper mids. I didn't dig that much.

You should be great with that rig. Make sure to keep those filters off unless you have a real good reason to use them, and keep the input gain well below the clip light level (it should never come on, or the amp will sound a bit compressed).

Enjoy!

[Biggbass]

Cool...thanks for the info. I kinda dig a little bit of VLE filter. But why do you recommend keeping the filters off?

[chadhargis]

I've used the LMIII in the 102P combo and it's a great amp. I pushed 4 10's with it easily with power to spare.

I got a good deal on an LMT800 and replaced the "Combo Head II" in my 102p with the LMT800 (same chassis..fits great), and I didn't notice any real difference. You can roll the tube control up a bit and get some additional warmth, but the LMIII is a great amp. I have it set aside with the top and feet attached to it I had to remove from the LMT800, so it's now a nice standalone amp. I do like the dual inputs of the LMT800. I can have two basses connected for a quick switch if required.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Biggbass

Cool...thanks for the info. I kinda dig a little bit of VLE filter. But why do you recommend keeping the filters off?

The VLE filter (variable lo pass) is nice if you want to reduce the range of the upper treble on the amp. I rarely want to do that, but it is very useful on the Markbass cabs that don't have attenuators (the combo cab), and also cabs with tweeters that you don't like.

The VPF is a typical 'scoop' control, which adds deep bass, upper treble and cuts lower to mid mids. Those are typically not things you want to do in a live mix, but again, a little of that can help even out a very nasal/mid voiced cab. I can't imagine using the VPF past the 9 o'clock level.

IMO there!

[murphy]

Congratulations.
I love my Markbass amps

[Jeff K]

Hey Biggbass. I have a rig very similar to what you'll be using, except mine is the CMD-102P combo amp. Mine is over 4 years old now, so it's sporting the LM II rather than the III. And I have a Traveler 115 extension cab.

I am very pleased with the tone I get from this combination; and the 500 watts (using the combo with the extension cab) has been plenty powerful. I think you'll be very happy.

[T. Alan Smith]

I still can't believe we live in a day & age where people ask if 500W is enough. I mean, I get the "is [100/200] enough" threads. I've been there. lol

[Dave44]

I have the MoMark 800 with the front ported 4X10 cab and am very pleased with this set up. It has the tone I dig and enough headroom to play any size stage I stroll onto. I do use the YLE filter but it's only on about 1.5 other than that I run fairly flat with a tweek on the mid high and low. My main work horse is a Jbass and I must say it's happiest she's been in a long time. So Congrats on your new amp Biggbass and above all experiment and play to your hearts content because I honestly believe this will be my last gigging amp I'll buy.

[CapnSev]

I sold my LMII a while back and miss it terribly. I'll get another one one of these days.

[Musicman20]

I sold my LM3 for the Genz Streamliner. I bought another and the plug in the box (sealed from MB) had scratched the amp. MB UK never responded to emails or called back when I left messaged. They offered to 'replace the backplate' on a brand new amp but as I say, never responded to anything else. All I wanted was a fresh unit...which is fair on a new item!

What did I do? Sent it back, and sticking with Genz.

Nice tone though, just wish they would sort their service in the UK out.

[Biggbass]

I've had the LM3 for a week now and am really liking it. I ended up pairing it with a MB Traveler 102p and held off on getting the MB 15 until I tried it with my SWR Workingmans 15 extension cab (front ported). Sounds fantastic ...lots of bottom and great tonal clarity. And the SWR cab is exactly the same width as the 102 cab -with the same corner protectors - so it stacks perfectly. Very happy with this rig.

[sad_katz]

I've heard a LMIII/106cab live in a full day outdoors blues festival last weekend.

Sounds loud (and nice) enough to me. I love how that VLE sounds. At least, I think they were using VLE at all. Sounds warm and velvety to me, not shrill and bright.

What matters is not how many watts you have anyway, but the size of the cab

(PS: 500W is enough)