New guy, here. Hi!
Noticed you guys like review threads, haven't seen much on the new Mb models, so...my guitarist and I hit Guitar Center the other day, I brought both my cabs and tried out all the Markbass heads they had.
This was all in a very small demo room - so while volume test was high, comparative levels between models were hard to tell in such cramped quarters.
Testing
-------
We swept all knobs to 0, and found the sweet spots across all heads. Did this on my first cab, then switched over to the second cab with these settings, and redialed as needed.
Thumbed open E, a quick series of ghost notes across all strings to check punch and response, and a 4th fret G-string pop for mids and brightness. Once dialed in, switched to finger runs, half position, E 11th fret death woof zone, and high up near 22.
Cabs: Genz-Benz 410T-XB (500w@4) and Mesa 4x10 Diesel (600w@8)
Basses: Ibanez with hot EMGs, Barts, and even a Peavey Grind 6 (ew).
Heads (as pictured)
------
F1 ----- $849
LM2 ---- $599
R500 --- $929
SD800 -- $1149 *
TA-501 - $999
* All heads 500w@4/350w@8, except SD800 (750@4/450@8)
Results
-------
The F1 and the SD800 were pretty much exact with their digital power amps. F1's just baby brother. SD800 has low mid and high mid shelf level knobs and line out level control, F1 does not.
Crispness and nice exact lows - F1's loud, but if you needed serious power, the SD800 will be grossly sufficient. On all basses and cabs, these two heads were transparent. The sound was very dependent on what bass you drove through these heads, and coloration of the cabs. Both the Mesa and GB sounded intensely different with the same EQ settings, but could be dialed to a happy place without much effort.
LM2 had a nicer tone through my Mesa (diesel), and seemed a little more forgiving on the dial. Warmer. The clean solid state of the others showed in comparison, just barely tighter on lows and slightly more pronounced highs. The LM2 has cheerier mids. From what I heard I personally prefer the LM2 to the F1. Very nice little amp. But if you want that SS sound, F1's your guy.
LM2 has been covered an egregious amount of times here, by more astute audiophiles than I, so I'll move on...
Now. By the time that I got to the R500, I was pretty happy with what I was hearing from the Markbass line. Then I went THWOK on my E string. And both our heads tilted. We looked at each other. A little smile crept onto Mike's face. I went, "ooo..."
All official interest in the other heads was gone.
The R500 is their "rock" amp. Convincingly tube, though it only sports one JJ ECC83 (euro version of a 12AX7). The sneaky feature on the R500 is that gain controls the amount of tube overdrive, which is paired with a limiter that gives you a very warm tube growl.
There is no VPF/VLE on the R500. Which, honestly? Didn't matter. Sounded almost exactly the same as the 501, just couldn't shelf the highs for a flatter tone. Fine by me.
The TA-501 sports one JJ ECC81 (euro 12AT7 - lower voltage gain, but higher plate current and transfer conductance) which is used not only for the built in tube compressor (with pretty VU meter!), but also warms your tone when the compressor is off. 501 also has those shelf knobs for mid-freq EQ level. Kinda nice.
Both of these bravely stood out against the non-tube variations. Air displacement was massively different. Throttling punch. Surprising levels of tubey goodness out of a very small package. Easy to dial. Massive sweet spots on the EQ.
And loud. And present. But loud. Loud.
Sum up
-------
Between these, my personal choice was the TA-501, as I was won over by the ECC81. It seemed a little warmer while punching just a tiny bit harder, and I could use tubular compression more than overdriven limiting. Regardless, my crutch (Sansamp RBI) is quaking in her rack knowing that she's most likely headed directly to Craigslist if I brought either of these puppies home. I love my RBI. They sound -that- good.
Unfortunately, they did not carry the TA-503, which has both the ECC81 and 83, shelf knobs for all EQ ranges, AND seems to be what most of their featured artists use. GC's seeing what they can do about ordering one in, but claim that they kinda get what they get from Markbass, and have no real choice. Hm.
I may have to sit on my purchase until one comes in, regardless that I'm itching. This little guy sounds too good to pass up.
Meanwhile, how the TA-501 stands next to other manufacturers (suggestions most welcome! - GK's on the list) is my next excursion, likely this afternoon.
Anyhoo, hope this helps
-tap
Noticed you guys like review threads, haven't seen much on the new Mb models, so...my guitarist and I hit Guitar Center the other day, I brought both my cabs and tried out all the Markbass heads they had.
This was all in a very small demo room - so while volume test was high, comparative levels between models were hard to tell in such cramped quarters.
Testing
-------
We swept all knobs to 0, and found the sweet spots across all heads. Did this on my first cab, then switched over to the second cab with these settings, and redialed as needed.
Thumbed open E, a quick series of ghost notes across all strings to check punch and response, and a 4th fret G-string pop for mids and brightness. Once dialed in, switched to finger runs, half position, E 11th fret death woof zone, and high up near 22.
Cabs: Genz-Benz 410T-XB (500w@4) and Mesa 4x10 Diesel (600w@8)
Basses: Ibanez with hot EMGs, Barts, and even a Peavey Grind 6 (ew).
Heads (as pictured)
------
F1 ----- $849
LM2 ---- $599
R500 --- $929
SD800 -- $1149 *
TA-501 - $999
* All heads 500w@4/350w@8, except SD800 (750@4/450@8)
Results
-------
The F1 and the SD800 were pretty much exact with their digital power amps. F1's just baby brother. SD800 has low mid and high mid shelf level knobs and line out level control, F1 does not.
Crispness and nice exact lows - F1's loud, but if you needed serious power, the SD800 will be grossly sufficient. On all basses and cabs, these two heads were transparent. The sound was very dependent on what bass you drove through these heads, and coloration of the cabs. Both the Mesa and GB sounded intensely different with the same EQ settings, but could be dialed to a happy place without much effort.
LM2 had a nicer tone through my Mesa (diesel), and seemed a little more forgiving on the dial. Warmer. The clean solid state of the others showed in comparison, just barely tighter on lows and slightly more pronounced highs. The LM2 has cheerier mids. From what I heard I personally prefer the LM2 to the F1. Very nice little amp. But if you want that SS sound, F1's your guy.
LM2 has been covered an egregious amount of times here, by more astute audiophiles than I, so I'll move on...
Now. By the time that I got to the R500, I was pretty happy with what I was hearing from the Markbass line. Then I went THWOK on my E string. And both our heads tilted. We looked at each other. A little smile crept onto Mike's face. I went, "ooo..."
All official interest in the other heads was gone.
The R500 is their "rock" amp. Convincingly tube, though it only sports one JJ ECC83 (euro version of a 12AX7). The sneaky feature on the R500 is that gain controls the amount of tube overdrive, which is paired with a limiter that gives you a very warm tube growl.
There is no VPF/VLE on the R500. Which, honestly? Didn't matter. Sounded almost exactly the same as the 501, just couldn't shelf the highs for a flatter tone. Fine by me.
The TA-501 sports one JJ ECC81 (euro 12AT7 - lower voltage gain, but higher plate current and transfer conductance) which is used not only for the built in tube compressor (with pretty VU meter!), but also warms your tone when the compressor is off. 501 also has those shelf knobs for mid-freq EQ level. Kinda nice.
Both of these bravely stood out against the non-tube variations. Air displacement was massively different. Throttling punch. Surprising levels of tubey goodness out of a very small package. Easy to dial. Massive sweet spots on the EQ.
And loud. And present. But loud. Loud.
Sum up
-------
Between these, my personal choice was the TA-501, as I was won over by the ECC81. It seemed a little warmer while punching just a tiny bit harder, and I could use tubular compression more than overdriven limiting. Regardless, my crutch (Sansamp RBI) is quaking in her rack knowing that she's most likely headed directly to Craigslist if I brought either of these puppies home. I love my RBI. They sound -that- good.
Unfortunately, they did not carry the TA-503, which has both the ECC81 and 83, shelf knobs for all EQ ranges, AND seems to be what most of their featured artists use. GC's seeing what they can do about ordering one in, but claim that they kinda get what they get from Markbass, and have no real choice. Hm.
I may have to sit on my purchase until one comes in, regardless that I'm itching. This little guy sounds too good to pass up.
Meanwhile, how the TA-501 stands next to other manufacturers (suggestions most welcome! - GK's on the list) is my next excursion, likely this afternoon.
Anyhoo, hope this helps
-tap
