markbass vs genz-benz

60jbass91 · #1 07-21-2010, 08:24 PM

iv read plenty on these two amps before someone who decides to be unhelpful posts do a search haha.
iv played a little mark lll and heard sounds clips of the shuttle 9.0 and i cant help thinking i love the big warm punch of the markbass but the genz has more power and therefore headroom. i think the main problem is iv heard the shuttle with a ported cab has anyone played it with a sealed cab? because through a ported cab the shuttle had too much bottom for me. what about the f500? i know it sounds like a lot but im curious i just dont want to waste £700 lol.
i play funk and rock but mainly funk by the way.
the little mark lll is the only amp thats blown me away before but i think it wont have enough power. i played a gk and it was quite mild i found despite its rep.
ahh by now you probably tell i really want to buy the little mark ll haha
thanks for reading my essay guys hope you can help me

60jbass91 · #2 07-21-2010, 08:25 PM

ah hell i think it might have been a little mark ll i played i dont know if that makes a difference

plankspanker13 · #3 07-21-2010, 08:30 PM

You don't mention what cab(s) that you might be playing through, so we are not being presented with enough info to be able to help. Even when there is help, there is still a degree of subjectivity (especially in the "big bottom 15"s vs tight 10"s" debate).

chuck3 · #4 07-21-2010, 08:37 PM

I own several Genz Benz heads including the 6.0 and also an LM II. I can't comment on your power needs other than to say that both amps are very powerful, especially for their size and weight, and I have not needed more power from either (although I'd love a 9.0 anyway).

The main issue IMO is your preference in tone. While Genz Benz can get somewhat grindy with the preamp gain (and of course you may use pedals), it is most remarkable for having such clean power. The LM II, on the other hand, always sounds somewhat vintage and grindy to me, even before you use those VLE and VPF knobs.

I am mainly a Genz Benz guy as you can probably tell, but I did some gigs with the LM II and it was very nice for certain types of tunes. But I've ended up going back to the Genz Benz because I find the ability to have such a clean tone and work from there is important to me. I should note that the band I'm talking about here plays a very wide range of styles so I need every kind of sound from one amp.

::::BASSIST:::: · #5 07-21-2010, 09:13 PM

Both great amps. I owned the shuttle 6, shuttlemax 6 and still have my LMII. I prefer the clean tone of the Markbass stuff, but the Genz Benz sounds great too. The shuttles do have more features and do have better customer support.

500w should be loud enough for all but the loudest of metal bands. Increasing the amount of speakers in your cabs will give you a ton more volume.

Best thing to do is a/b both amps side by side with the same bass and same cab(s). That should give you a better idea.

In the end, they are both flavours of good and you really cant go wrong with either.

funkythumb · #6 10-31-2010, 08:44 PM

Both amps are nice but i prefer the F1 for it's ability to tweek both the high and low mids. I'm returning my 9.0 even though it's got a nice tone. The 9.0 has very low lows which kicks my speakers more than I'm comfortable with.