Which Micro has more acceptance between MarkBass and Genz Benz?

FunkyMan · #1 12-29-2010, 12:09 AM

Candidates:

-MarkBass Little Mark III

-Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0

I am totally oriented towards the modern sound, clean and punchy. Diferences between both are 100$ and 50 watts (I would work with 8ohm 4x10 Hartke Hydrive cab) i would like to hear experiences

Thanks

Munjibunga · #2 12-29-2010, 12:16 AM

I think Markbass has been flavor of the month for a couple years, now Genz Benz is becoming the fair-haired boy. For what you require, I'd say GB.

BassBob1 · #3 12-29-2010, 12:17 AM

i had a LMII. The LMIII isn't much different. They are definitely great little heads. The markbass is very punchy in the mids. I played the genz benz shuttle 6.0 once. I believe there is a 12AX7 tube in the pre-amp. The Genz Benz was a little warmer sounding. The markbass sounded more transparent to me and i liked the VLE and VPF. I have since moved on to an ampeg svt 7 pro.

**jmattbassplaya** · #4 12-29-2010, 12:17 AM

Play whichever sounds better to you since they both are excellent heads.

Personally, I'd go for the Markbass.

kosmicwizard · #5 12-29-2010, 12:44 AM

MarkBass F1 or G-B. The little mark is better for vintage tones imo. Cheers.

KJung · #6 12-29-2010, 03:37 AM

Both brands are great, are very popular (for good reason), have very good reliability, and sound quite different.

For the two you are considering, the LMIII is fatter, bigger in the low end, smoother in the upper mids... so a bit more old school... some describe it as a very clean tube-like tone.

The Shuttle 6 is brighter in the upper mids, tighter/more attenuated in the low end, and a bit more 'aggressive and punchy' in general...

They sound different enough that most have a clear preference between those two.

For your stated tone goal, I would highly recommend at least considering either the Markbass F1 or F500, which kind of sits between the LMIII and the Shuttle 6... punchier, tighter and a bit brighter than the LMIII, but more even, more true low end, and louder in an absolute sense than the Shuttle 6.

All good stuff, and you are deciding between the two top companies in the micro amp category IMO and IME.