What is the characteristic sound of a Markbass?

[tubaman2]

I've been looking at a few amps, and I'm all but set on Markbass. I really want to get one of the hybrid tube heads. I've played them in store, but I was wondering how they sound in a mix.

With the tube preamp, can you get a more growly, kind of warmer tone? I've heard Markbass has a kind of relaxed, smooth sound, but can you get them to sound aggressive? Can you get a cool rock tone out of it that keeps the definition but doesn't sound stagnant?

[Vakmere]

The answers will be subjective. Your bass, playing style, type of material, technique, will all factor into what will sound good to your ear and the rest of the band. If you notice, Mark Bass amps come up for sale quite often on TB so some people buy one and either like them or dont. Buy one used. Run it thru your rig live and at rehearsal and decide then. The resale is very good however Markbass is a very good quality amp. You have to see if its for you.

[MarTONEbass]

IME, the LMT800 had an overall muddy sound which got worse as the tube knob got higher. I played it through an Epifani 310 and Berg 12's with the same result. I couldn't make it get really grindy, just more pillowy, very wide low end.

The non tube heads have nice midrange character and are great for rock, IME, but lots of folks use them in all types of music. To my ears they are less squeaky clean sounding than a Genz Shuttle.

I own and really enjoy the SD800. The 2 bands of semi parametric mids helps me cut through cluttered mixes in a loud rock band and it has plenty of juice.

Check out guitar center's used website. They just got a TON of Markbass gear very recently.

[Roedkill]

After playing the Markbass 102P combo for about two hours last week, I was hooked. I traded in my SWR head and cabinets for the amp! I also got the Markbass 151 standard cabinet to boost the low end.

Where it's at for me with this amazing little amp is the SOUND SOUND SOUND!!! Also, the simplicity and ease of use make it the best in my eyes. It is very easy to dial in different sounds; the variable pre shape filter and vintage loudspeaker emulator knobs are invaluable in this respect. And weighing in at only 44lbs it won't break your back!!! I've only had it a week so I'll see about the reliability, but love the amp! In fact, I love it more and more each time I plug in... Markbass for life!!!

[Calaverasgrande]

I would agree that markbass sounds muddy. I have never had a good impression from using one and dont get the hype.

[Chrisk-K]

It's really your call. I prefer Genz Benz and GK sounds to Markbass. Others have an opposite preference.

[BassmanPaul]

Originally Posted by tubaman2

I've been looking at a few amps, and I'm all but set on Markbass. I really want to get one of the hybrid tube heads. I've played them in store, but I was wondering how they sound in a mix.

With the tube preamp, can you get a more growly, kind of warmer tone? I've heard Markbass has a kind of relaxed, smooth sound, but can you get them to sound aggressive? Can you get a cool rock tone out of it that keeps the definition but doesn't sound stagnant?

Mud - unless you take the time to work out how the controls work. If you are looking for advice contact Ken Jung. He'll guide you in how to get the best out of a MarkBass rig.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Calaverasgrande

I would agree that markbass sounds muddy. I have never had a good impression from using one and dont get the hype.

Always chuckle about this. Usually, when someone has a 'muddy' experience with the MB heads, it is user error due to the idiots (well, at least some idiots... some very good people at some of the stores also) at Guitar Center not understanding that the filters are 'flat' when they are turned off, not at noon!

The general tone of the most popular Markbass amps is IMO a very nice combination of 'clean but warm'. The F1/F500 are a bit punchier and a bit brighter in the mids than the very even, warm, fat and smooth sounding LMII/III (there is a great technical review of the F500 in the brand new Bass Gear Magazine issue... it is free to view on-line).

I am relatively unimpressed with the hybrid offerings by Markbass (the LMTube and LMT800), in that the impact of the tube is very subtle. Otherwise, they sound good. The LMRocker has a bit more aggressive overdrive capability, and the clips I've heard have sounded great with that one for those with an overdriven tube sort of goal.

Here is a clip of the F500 set flat with a relatively aggressive 70's style instrument. Muddy it ain't!

http://www.youtube.com/Kjungbass#p/u/0/JOrXPQGNtrg

Here is a clip fo the LMII (same as the III), set pretty much flat with just a little VLE dialed in with a more relaxed 60's style alder/RW J.

http://www.youtube.com/Kjungbass#p/u/6/0WOhxSFoiB4

[KJung]

Originally Posted by tubaman2

I've been looking at a few amps, and I'm all but set on Markbass. I really want to get one of the hybrid tube heads. I've played them in store, but I was wondering how they sound in a mix.

With the tube preamp, can you get a more growly, kind of warmer tone? I've heard Markbass has a kind of relaxed, smooth sound, but can you get them to sound aggressive? Can you get a cool rock tone out of it that keeps the definition but doesn't sound stagnant?

The LMRocker is pretty cool for this. Some don't like that amp due to the fact that it has a hardwired mini tube versus the more typical 12ax7. Most who know a bit about tubes don't find this an issue, since those minitubes virtually never wear out, but it is an issue for some.

The LMTube really doesn't sound very hybrid, and is not the amp to get if you want an overdrive sound. Many on TB who like that bit of SVT growl use the clean and fat but warm LMIII and the VT pedal that they can switch in and out when they need a bit of growl or more.

Genz has just come out with a new multi-tube preamp micro called the Streamliner. They started shipping yesterday. They are voiced to really sound tubey and can grind like crazy from early reports. The 600 watt version is about the same price as the LMTube. I have one of the 900 watters on the way.

Another great head for a warmer tone with a bit of overdrive is the TC Classic450 or the more fully featured RH450... fat, warm, a bit dark up top, but very meaty. I have a few clips of that head on my youtube channel. The Ampeg guys seem to really like them.

Finally, the GK MBFusion is a multiple tube preamp micro with a very bright, aggressive, hard edge to it (kind of the GK grind 'fattened' by the tubes). Another nice option if you want your head to grunt a bit without pedals, and also like a somewhat aggressive, big, bright, modern tone.

IMO... hope that helps a bit. Lots of nice stuff out there now, and all these micro's sound WAY different. The good news is, Musician's Friend carries all these brands and has a no questions asked return policy. So, you can do your research, order one, and in case it isn't what you expect, return it within a couple of weeks and try the next one. Awesome way to check out gear, and you are only out a little bit of shipping.

Good luck on the search.

[maconbass]

FWIW, my LMII is going on about 400 gig's now and has never let me down. I HATE muddy tone and wouldn't have kept it around if the tone wasn't clean and punchy. I keep it eq'd perfectly flat and it sounds incredible. Since purchasing it, I haven't even thought about trying anything else.

[tubaman2]

Thanks for the advice guys. Apparently I forgot to subscribe to this so I've been missing all this. lol

My tastes in tone have actually changed considerably in the past few days. Played through an acoustic combo amp at church, and with my bass big muff used very sparingly it got this really cool grindy, not very round or fat tone. That sounds bad, but I realized it works for what I do much better.

So I'm trying to find a used orange tiny terror or something similar. That stuff is just kind of harder to find and a little more expensive than I would like. Oh well. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.