Markbass Big Bang?

[Ric Vice]

Last time I looked on Musicians Friend the Big Bang was due to ship on February 7th. Checking their sight today it's been moved to the February 17. Does any one have any insight as to when the amps going to be available stateside? Both the F1 and F500 have been out of production for several months and the Big Bang is available in Europe. Seems like they'd want to get the new amp out onto the market. Just curious.

Ric

[KJung]

Hey Ric! I think they've been available for quite a while at MF. They must just be out of stock at the moment.

[mam1862]

I have had mine for months now. Nice amp. Got it at guitar center with one of those coupons.

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by KJung

Hey Ric! I think they've been available for quite a while at MF. They must just be out of stock at the moment.

Ken,
Thanks, apparently they must be selling out as soon as they get new ones. I shot MF an email, hopefully the'll get back to me when they are available.

Ric

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by mam1862

I have had mine for months now. Nice amp. Got it at guitar center with one of those coupons.

Thanks,
The coupon would make the deal very sweet. How do you like it?

[jumblemind]

Sounds like a Little Mark. That little thing has some serious power for its size. Wish it wasn't so ugly . A good coupon is the way to go, as i don't think its tradeoff features from the LMIII are worth the extra $80. But if you want one small amp that can handle everything from headphone practice to loudish gigs, maybe it is.

[Mastermold]

Markbass could do just fine selling only the LMIII and F1 heads, but I guess these other similar micro heads don't dilute their own market or they wouldn't make them.

[mam1862]

Originally Posted by Ric Vice

Thanks,
The coupon would make the deal very sweet. How do you like it?

It is basically the LMIII in a smaller package with the headphone jack and the aux jack. So if the like the LMIII this will work for you.

[Russell L]

Originally Posted by mam1862

It is basically the LMIII in a smaller package with the headphone jack and the aux jack. So if the like the LMIII this will work for you.

I'll say it again, semi-parametric mids would make it unbeatable.

[mam1862]

Originally Posted by Russell L

I'll say it again, semi-parametric mids would make it unbeatable.

+1. It's pretty easy to dial in a sound with this amp still.

[Russell L]

Originally Posted by mam1862

+1. It's pretty easy to dial in a sound with this amp still.

True. I may get one anyway for the extra features and keep my LMIII for backup. I also may get an eq pedal.

(I sent an email to Markbass a couple of months ago asking if there has been any thought of adding semi-para mids. No answer).

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Mastermold

Markbass could do just fine selling only the LMIII and F1 heads, but I guess these other similar micro heads don't dilute their own market or they wouldn't make them.

The Big Bang is the replacement of the F1/F500, not an addition. Never played one. Saw one at NAMM last year.... small in a different way from the F1/F500.... more like a smaller LMIII, with a few different features (headphone out, aux in, some footswitchable functions). I understand it sounds kind of in-between the F1 an LMIII (which are both somewhat similar to begin with).

[jumblemind]

Interesting. I was under the impression the LMIII was "warmer" and the F500 "clearer". I found the Big Bang to sound warmer even than the LM Tube, though it did maintain clarity at all frequencies. I kind of regret returning it now, except for the price, and the fact the headphone out sounded like garbage to me. I thought the amp was just too bass-heavy at my gig, but it turns out I didn't understand I needed to compensate on the EQ when I turned up the VLE filter. I was also hung up on the looks, but I have another rig now for when I want to go vintage-like cool.

[Russell L]

Originally Posted by jumblemind

Interesting. I was under the impression the LMIII was "warmer" and the F500 "clearer". I found the Big Bang to sound warmer even than the LM Tube, though it did maintain clarity at all frequencies. I kind of regret returning it now, except for the price, and the fact the headphone out sounded like garbage to me. I thought the amp was just too bass-heavy at my gig, but it turns out I didn't understand I needed to compensate on the EQ when I turned up the VLE filter. I was also hung up on the looks, but I have another rig now for when I want to go vintage-like cool.

Does anyone else think the headphone out sounds bad? I'm concerned now.

[mam1862]

Originally Posted by jumblemind

Interesting. I was under the impression the LMIII was "warmer" and the F500 "clearer". I found the Big Bang to sound warmer even than the LM Tube, though it did maintain clarity at all frequencies. I kind of regret returning it now, except for the price, and the fact the headphone out sounded like garbage to me. I thought the amp was just too bass-heavy at my gig, but it turns out I didn't understand I needed to compensate on the EQ when I turned up the VLE filter. I was also hung up on the looks, but I have another rig now for when I want to go vintage-like cool.

When I first got mine I thought the same of the heaphone out. Markbass replied back to me with this,

When you use the headphones you have to make sure you have the right kind. I thought I had a problem as my headphones were not working properly so I contacted Markbass and this is what I was told,

"You need to use the most common headphones on the market. Any kind of stereo ones.
*
The headphones with the microphone on the wire, used for cellular phones, doesn’t work with our headphones socket.
*
I hope this will clarify your doubt."

A simple set of headphones and the headphone jack works fine. I rotate the four basses I have and for me it takes no time at all to dial in the sound I want for either of them. To me it's a lot easier to eq than the Streamliner. Anyhow to each his own.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by jumblemind

Interesting. I was under the impression the LMIII was "warmer" and the F500 "clearer". I found the Big Bang to sound warmer even than the LM Tube, though it did maintain clarity at all frequencies. I kind of regret returning it now, except for the price, and the fact the headphone out sounded like garbage to me. I thought the amp was just too bass-heavy at my gig, but it turns out I didn't understand I needed to compensate on the EQ when I turned up the VLE filter. I was also hung up on the looks, but I have another rig now for when I want to go vintage-like cool.

Correct, in general. The Big Bang seems to sit right between the two. The Markbass guys describe it as 'an F1 with more warmth and mid character'.

These heads are in no way bass heavy, and the very nicely voiced bass control allows you to roll off deep bass without losing any of the meat of your tone.

That being said, I have ZERO interest in the Big Bang myself. The LMIII is so small already, and sounds pretty amazing. I would also in no way 'upgrade' my F500's to the Big Bang, since I do not particularly care for the feature set changes myself.

Seems like a nice head though if the smaller size and extra features are a significant positive for a given player versus the LMIII.

[mam1862]

Originally Posted by KJung

Correct, in general. The Big Bang seems to sit right between the two. The Markbass guys describe it as 'an F1 with more warmth and mid character'.

These heads are in no way bass heavy, and the very nicely voiced bass control allows you to roll off deep bass without losing any of the meat of your tone.

That being said, I have ZERO interest in the Big Bang myself. The LMIII is so small already, and sounds pretty amazing. I would also in no way 'upgrade' my F500's to the Big Bang, since I do not particularly care for the feature set changes myself.

Seems like a nice head though if the smaller size and extra features are a significant positive for a given player versus the LMIII.

Never had a F500 but I sold my LMIII at one point and missed it and since this head was basically the same thing in a smaller package and had the headphone and aux I grabbed it. As I said before it's basically the same amp.

By the way Ken, I always like reading your posts/replies as they are always very helpful. You are the man!

[KJung]

Originally Posted by mam1862

Never had a F500 but I sold my LMIII at one point and missed it and since this head was basically the same thing in a smaller package and had the headphone and aux I grabbed it. As I said before it's basically the same amp.

By the way Ken, I always like reading your posts/replies as they are always very helpful. You are the man!

Thanks, I love this stuff. And yes, for those who dig the extra features, this seems like a pretty good offering. I love the F500 dual semi-parametric mids, so I'm all set for my Markbass fix! Lots of guys appreciate the aux in/phones feature. I have a Cafe Walter headphone preamp for that thing, but I can see it being nice to having one piece of gear 'do it all'.

Pretty impressive for Markbass to make an amp significantly smaller than the LMII/III that sounds similar, and according to some reports, even has a bit more ooomph when pushed.

[jumblemind]

Originally Posted by Russell L

Does anyone else think the headphone out sounds bad? I'm concerned now.

Take it with a grain of salt. IME, most amp headphone outs don't sound very good. For my taste, the BB was just a bit more plastic-sounding than the other amps I have tried. MB200 is similar, though a little better. My Ampeg Micro VR is the best sounding, the closest to the actual amp tone. But I wouldn't let that be a big concern, as it does work fine on the BB, I'm just particular because I have to use the headphone feature a lot and don't own a dedicated headphone amp.

EDIT: FWIW, I've gone back the store several times playing the different MarkBass heads, and I've come very close to buying back the exact Big Bang that I returned because I think it sounds just a little better.

[Son of Bovril]

Got them in South Africa already and sold out too

Nice amps, pretty much a LM III with some extra features and a smaller size...

IMO they should have replaced the LM III with the big bang and kept the F500 and F1