Markbass Little Mark II distortion/clip light problem [video]

Misanthropic · #1 12-06-2011, 08:32 AM

Hey,

I experience this problem with my head: No matter what gain/volume settings I use, I get this horrible distorted sound. The clip light remains on or turns on immediately I play. The problem is similar to what's described in these threads:

Mark Bass Head problem

Markbass Clipping Issue

Quote from the first describes it well:

Quote:

I get a loud, distorted bass tone that is terrible. Essentially, imagine something similar Cliff Burton's tone on Anesthesia or an overdriven Chris Wolstenholme's tone in Hysteria..

I also made a video:

Markbass Little Mark II problem - YouTube

I tried spraying all jacks with electrical contact cleaner as suggested in the above threads, and as a matter of fact I've kept a cable in the effect loop at all times. I also tried different cables, different basses and different cabs.

I'm not the only one having this problem, so somebody must know what it is?!

BurningSkies · #2 12-06-2011, 09:02 AM

Well, there's something very wrong with the input section of your amp...unless you're pushing a very high gain stage before the input. If you get the clip light without any input signal, it sounds like you're due for a service call.

Misanthropic · #3 12-06-2011, 10:35 AM

it's just the bass straight to amp. in the video a standard passive P bass.

the clip light's on even if there's no signal. sometimes though it goes on only when playing, still sounding the same (as in the second part of the video). i know "i'm due for a service call" but i seriously can't afford one now.

Russell L · #4 12-06-2011, 10:35 AM

Mine doesn't do that, nor my LMIII. Although, I don't run as much master as you. I keep the gain at 2:00, master at no more than noon, max. Does yours do it at lower volumes, too?

JimmyM · #5 12-06-2011, 10:48 AM

Unfortunately, there's no way of knowing without digging into it and looking around. Time for a service call.

BurningSkies · #6 12-06-2011, 10:54 AM

Yeah, what's going on, and what's inside the LMII doesn't say 'user serviceable' in this situation. If you're getting clipping in the preamp stage without any signal and with the gain all the way down, you've got a component level failure, not a setup problem...Have you tried the balanced XLR?

Misanthropic · #7 12-06-2011, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russell L

Mine doesn't do that, nor my LMIII. Although, I don't run as much master as you. I keep the gain at 2:00, master at no more than noon, max. Does yours do it at lower volumes, too?

sorry, what? i have gain at zero and master at as-close-to-zero-as-you-can-get.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Yeah, what's going on, and what's inside the LMII doesn't say 'user serviceable' in this situation. If you're getting clipping in the preamp stage without any signal and with the gain all the way down, you've got a component level failure, not a setup problem...Have you tried the balanced XLR?

haven't tried the XLR, but the clip light is also (sometimes) on without anything being plugged, so i predict no luck there.

i'll probably have to have it tech'ed anyway. but i can't stand the thought of not being able to trust my gear. i think it's "goodbye, markbass", then.

just thinking, at least some comments or experiences would be nice, since the same issue has been discussed (or called for help upon with no success) on TB before.

Russell L · #8 12-06-2011, 12:46 PM

Ok, I hear ya that the volume was low. Something's wrong there, sho nuff.

Don't give up on Markbass in general because of it. Their stuff has an excellent record. Top quality stuff can have problems just like any other, and it's a fact that Markbass is not known for lots of failures, but rather the opposite. I just hope you don't need another mother board. That's a pitfall of any of the new micro stuff, in that sometimes you can't just fix a little part, but have to replace the whole board, no matter what brand it may be.

Misanthropic · #9 12-16-2011, 09:03 AM

bump for problem solved, 100 euros later.

handed it in to a tech, who said the volume adjustment was broken. according to him, the volume knob had taken a hit causing it to come loose from the solderings inside. this, in turn, caused the preamp volume to be on full all the time, making it clip and distort.

when i said the amp hadn't taken any hits to my knowledge, at least not when the amp stopped working, he said another possibility was that the vol knob's been assembled badly from the beginning, slowly coming loose. in fact, ever since i bought this second hand like 8 months ago, it always turned a little more sluggishly than the rest of the knobs. now, when fixed, it turns normally.

just thought i'd post my solution to this, feel free to comment.

KJung · #10 12-16-2011, 09:32 AM

Excellent. These amps are solid as a rock. Very few failures posted from the massive number of MB owners (other than those awful piezo tweeters giving out the cabs that have those).

Sounds like it took a hit in its previous lifetime with the original owner.

Misanthropic · #11 12-16-2011, 09:59 AM

yeah, i forgot to add that although this being an expensive repair, i'm still really happy it wasn't a reliability issue. that would have me losing sleep, cause i often play at random places, without PA support or backup amp.

murphy · #12 12-16-2011, 05:35 PM

Good to hear your problem is resolved.