MarkBass Little Mark II/III vs. Orange Terror Bass vs. GK MB500?

[interstatejoe]

My current 50-ish lbs. pre/power amp rack setup has been serving me just fine but I can't help GASing for one of these newer, lighter heads currently on the market. I've been wading through reviews but having a bit of trouble deciding which route to go as I hear good things and read great reviews of each of the amps I'm looking at...so I'm turning to my TalkBass brothers for some input.

Markbass? Orange? GK? Something else really cool in the $500-800 range that I'm missing? Help me figure out which way to go!

thanks in advance
-Joe

[interstatejoe]

Bueller?

...Bueller?

...Bueller?

[yamark]

funny, I am debating between the same 3 heads.

[ghiadub]

Try stating what type of sound you are looking for?

The amps you have listed all sound totally different.

Who could know what is the best amp for you if you don't give every possible detail about your style, volume level, what EQ you like, ......etc.

I want to see 1000 words at least.

[Brad Johnson]

What he said. the trhee brands can work in a lot of situation, might even work in yours. best way to decide is to check them out for yourself. Used LMII's are going as low as $350... not much of a gamble IMO (The same for the MB500's). Learn how to set the LMII/III up if you do decide to try one... many have done it incorrectly and not liked the results.

[mrtorian]

I use the GK MB 500. It has been fantastic to me. The size is--you know how big it is. The sound is pure GK. Drawback: much like all the other GK's I have owned, I wish it had less knobs. Typically I just set all but volume and contour to 12PM and adjust for rooms from then.

I play out 3-5 times a month and have given this a really good drop twice; no issues.

I still am not used to the size. I guess some day I will be. You will have issues with it vibrating off very hard surfaces. This is remedied by a piece of foam between the cab. and the head. I carry a foam square in my gig purse.

All-and-all, I am super happy with the unit. It will always be strange to look at, but I have never felt under powered etc. I really trust it, and at the end of the day, that's more important than tone, portability, or anything else.

Sorry for the disjointed message, but it was all coming out very fast.

[9mmMike]

I had an LMII and replaced it (noisy direct out) with an LMIII. I am now using a Shuttle 6.0. So far, I am diggin' the Shuttle very much and may relegate the LMIII to a backup. Too early to tell but that's the way I am leaning.
I am playing an outdoor festival this weekend and will be running the Shuttle into two AE112's so I am very anxious to see/hear this rig in that environment.

[interstatejoe]

Originally Posted by ghiadub

Try stating what type of sound you are looking for?

The amps you have listed all sound totally different.

Who could know what is the best amp for you if you don't give every possible detail about your style, volume level, what EQ you like, ......etc.

I want to see 1000 words at least.

I read/hear they all do rock bass tones well...I play heavy hitting, hard rock; Drop C and D Standard tunings much of the time with the occasional E Standard. Current rig consists of a BBE BMax & QSC RMX850 into either an Ampeg 810E or Warwick 411PRO (depending on the gig) and a pedalboard with Sansamp BDDI, Russian Big Muff, Boss CBE-3 bass chorus and DigiTech Bass Synth Wah Envelope Filter. I can coax a fairly descent dirty SVT-ish tone. Music styles in the vein of Alice In Chains, Motley Crue, The Used, Queens of the Stoneage, Black Label Society, RATM/Audioslave, STP, Radiohead, Muse, etc...we don't really do many covers, so not really looking to copy any of those bass tones exactly.

Good enough for ya?

[blendermassacre]

Originally Posted by interstatejoe

I read/hear they all do rock bass tones well...I play heavy hitting, hard rock; Drop C and D Standard tunings much of the time with the occasional E Standard. Current rig consists of a BBE BMax & QSC RMX850 into either an Ampeg 810E or Warwick 411PRO (depending on the gig) and a pedalboard with Sansamp BDDI, Russian Big Muff, Boss CBE-3 bass chorus and DigiTech Bass Synth Wah Envelope Filter. I can coax a fairly descent dirty SVT-ish tone. Music styles in the vein of Alice In Chains, Motley Crue, The Used, Queens of the Stoneage, Black Label Society, RATM/Audioslave, STP, Radiohead, Muse, etc...we don't really do many covers, so not really looking to copy any of those bass tones exactly.

Good enough for ya?

in that case, Orange, hands down. I don't think you'll like the Shuttle 6, and the GK can be a little sizzly and noisy. Markbass would be a close second, but the Orange sounds right up your alley, IMO.

I'm looking for basically the same tone as this, and the orange is my dream amp. I think if I wanted a bit more versatility, than I would go with the markbass. Also, the orange is loud. Really, really loud. I had it on "1" at the store, and I felt like a jackass for being so loud (through an orange 410).

[msquared]

I haven't heard any but the Orange, but I know that one will be fantastic for what you've described.

[joeydavidson]

I have a GK (1001rbII) and that Orange (haven't spent much time with it yet)

GK - punchy, articulate, bright, versitile (this amp is loud - I assume the mb500 is too)

Orange - warmer, more wooly and rounder, rockish, preamp tubes can add dirt, loud.

Both have a subtle eq - both amps you can just plug in and sound good, you really only need to adjust eq for the room.

The Gk will probably have a better DI than the Orange.

Both are different animals, it's best to try them out of course.

[blendermassacre]

Originally Posted by joeydavidson

The Gk will probably have a better DI than the Orange.

reportedly, the orange has a really hot DI, so keep that in mind.

[Smurf-o-Deth]

By going used/B stock, the TC Electronics RH450 is in your price range (the Classic 450 is there new, just with less features), and would be another excellent choice for you, I'd think.

[lookiel]

Orange: Very tubey tone from sweet to dirt, lots of power, subtle EQ, not too many features, expensive.
LMIII: Solid state round tone, not very expensive, less power than the others.
GK: No experience
TC RH450: Excellent feature set, good power, very strong EQ, fairly expensive, punchy solid state tone with nice tube emulation.
All good choices, I like the Orange best tonewise but the TC comes in first for gigging ease and overall.

[svtb15]

which is louder

[blendermassacre]

Originally Posted by svtb15

which is louder

depends on a lot of things, but I think the orange is the loudest, all things being equal.

[ghiadub]

Originally Posted by interstatejoe

I read/hear they all do rock bass tones well...I play heavy hitting, hard rock; Drop C and D Standard tunings much of the time with the occasional E Standard. Current rig consists of a BBE BMax & QSC RMX850 into either an Ampeg 810E or Warwick 411PRO (depending on the gig) and a pedalboard with Sansamp BDDI, Russian Big Muff, Boss CBE-3 bass chorus and DigiTech Bass Synth Wah Envelope Filter. I can coax a fairly descent dirty SVT-ish tone. Music styles in the vein of Alice In Chains, Motley Crue, The Used, Queens of the Stoneage, Black Label Society, RATM/Audioslave, STP, Radiohead, Muse, etc...we don't really do many covers, so not really looking to copy any of those bass tones exactly.

Good enough for ya?

Almost. I was really looking for what frequencies you favor. IE: Some amps put out more low bass. I think GK does this well. Or if you go for chords, I might go with Mark for the clarity.

That said, for the styles you mentioned, I think Mesa is my favorite amp. I play in a Sabbath cover band and the mesa gets that grind going with the tube front end. Tons of Eq to get most any kind of frequency boost or cut.