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Class D Head With Parametric or Semi-Parametric Mids
- Thread starter J-Mags
- Start date
Never allow 'perfect' to be the enemy of 'good'. Just be honest with yourself about what you hear—with your own ears.
YMMV
It's unclear to me whether this is actually happening. MF hasn't sent me any confirmation, and more alarmingly, hasn't taken my money.
If MF doesn't end up shipping your D2 then another amp to consider would be either of the amps made by Trickfish. While they're not technically semiparametric they have two selectable frequencies for each band of EQ. I've found this to be just as usable in most rooms as a semiparametric EQ and less fiddly than a fully parametric EQ. I could see a scenario where I'd prefer a frequency somewhere in between the two available options per band, but I've yet to actually encounter that on a gig.
They have a Chat setup online; bottom right of page marked 'help'. Should be able to get some answers
That is great price on Newer version D2, also is 'Gold Series' gold plated circuit board and hand selected higher quality components.
I confirmed with them that it's actually probably happening. The problem was because they hadn't actually processed the transaction, I had no transaction to look up.
In the meantime, I bought a Darkglass from an out-of-town friend. I haven't spent so much on musical equipment in my life. I suppose I'll still have way less gear than 90% of the people on this site.
You may like the clean sounds on the Darkglass. Honestly, after the debacle with the Mark Vintage Pre, I'm taking everything Markbass says about their gear with a big grain of salt. I'm also not convinced their decision to use a tube in the preamp was really a good idea. Their amps are definitely not "tubey" in any way.
Yeah. The tube was not a selling point. Who wants a tube in their little class D head? What was the debacle with the Mark Vintage Pre, and does it have anything to do with the fact that MF was blowing these out (even compared to the rest of the MB stuff)?
I gotta say, though, I kinda like the way the aesthetics harken back to some kind of temporal uncanny valley when Guitar Center ruled the scene and the bass rooms, which existed back then, were filled with black and yellow. The glowing tubes behind a screen are a part of that. Hughes and Ketner guitar amps had em, and so did Blackstar pedals.
So uncool, it's cool:
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The problem with the VMP was that it over-promised and under-delivered. It really didn't sound very good, and the built in drive settings were unchangeably fizzy. The tube couldn't even be driven as it would suddenly clip very harshly. The Drive actually came from a discrete circuit that had no relation to the tube. It also had a parallel effects loop which you can't change and an SP/DIF and Optical digital out when it should have been USB. Very strange preamp.
Markbass used to be a very popular GC brand. I can't begin to guess why the D2 amps are already deep-discounted, but it could be that Markbass has decided not to go further with the line and just stick to something more universal like the rest of their amps.
It was kind of a spinoff of the regular Vintage Tube, and it seems kind of weird that they had both. The one that seemed rad to me, but too expensive was the STU, with just the two giant knobs and the graphic EQ.
Yeah, but the Little Mark Tube 800 is still a better amp. Or at least I feel it is. On that amp, you can still "drive" something in the circuit that gives you a softer clip, or a warmth. The latest ones don't seem to work like that, and that cheesy orange backlight behind the tube is also kinda weird.
The two latest tube-based heads don't really work the same way. Puzzling.
The demos seemed pretty promising on the D2. We'll see if it actually sounds good in real life.
Fr ankie5string said;
"Markbass used to be a very popular GC brand. I can't begin to guess why the D2 amps are already deep-discounted, but it could be that Markbass has decided not to go further with the line and just stick to something more universal like the rest of their amps."
Or it was a Labor Day Sale
Markbass is not a GC Brand as it can be taken by your remark;
They are Global Company sold in in 100's of different shops around the world and exclusively in GC in USA. I understand you know this but saying GC Brand seems snarky and can be taken out of context
Not sure of your agenda or value in negative 'assertions' disguised as opinions along with trashing the preamp and Company[wide majority of purchasers and/or reviewers are positive in their remarks]
"Markbass used to be a very popular GC brand. I can't begin to guess why the D2 amps are already deep-discounted, but it could be that Markbass has decided not to go further with the line and just stick to something more universal like the rest of their amps."
Or it was a Labor Day Sale
Markbass is not a GC Brand as it can be taken by your remark;
They are Global Company sold in in 100's of different shops around the world and exclusively in GC in USA. I understand you know this but saying GC Brand seems snarky and can be taken out of context
Not sure of your agenda or value in negative 'assertions' disguised as opinions along with trashing the preamp and Company[wide majority of purchasers and/or reviewers are positive in their remarks]
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Calm down. Why are you so paranoid about my opinion of Markbass gear?
In the US it is basically a GC brand. The amps are homologated to the country you buy them from unless you buy the very upper tier - so if you want a US model, you get it from GC. They often have the biggest discounts on them, and they advertise it like it's theirs. If you're in the US it doesn't really matter where else in the world they sell it.
There is no agenda. The preamp is not that great. That's all. It's not even close in quality to any of the other pedals they've produced like the Compressore and Supersynth which are stellar pedals. It's not even close in sound quality to the relatively simple LMIII.
I've owned Markbass products for years and they do occasionally make crap, just like many other amp companies. Not everything they make is some kind of mythical, wonderful product. They can try again - maybe they'll get it right with a "D2" version? Maybe they won't. But they still don't have semi-parametric mids.
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Glad I could help. I don't think you'll regret the decision. Out of curiosity, what are you using for a cab with it?
