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Epifani UL212 or Markbass STD104HF

Epifani UL212 or Markbass STD104HF with LMKII

  • Total voters
    47
  • Poll closed .
#2
I strongly suggest Epifani. I used my Epifani 310 and a 212 for years and they were by far the best cabs I had. I had the older models and the newer ones are much more amazing!!!!
I have spent a lot of time with the Markbass cabs and quite frankly, they scare me. Go play through some of them, and watch how much the speakers move. They look like they are about ready to bust out of the enclosure. I think they are good cabs, but that sight just scares me.
That is my two cents.

Peace,
Chris
 
#3
chris.gotfunk said:
I strongly suggest Epifani. I used my Epifani 310 and a 212 for years and they were by far the best cabs I had. I had the older models and the newer ones are much more amazing!!!!
I have spent a lot of time with the Markbass cabs and quite frankly, they scare me. Go play through some of them, and watch how much the speakers move. They look like they are about ready to bust out of the enclosure. I think they are good cabs, but that sight just scares me.
That is my two cents.

Thanks Chris.
I tried the LMKII with a Markbass 4ohm 210 cab and I observed the same.
I thought the speaker grill wash going to be a potato masher.
That's why I thought about the 410.
Unfortunately, I cannot try the 410 or epi cab before I buy. I must order and commit, but judging by the poll, looks like the epi. I feel a little more comfortable with the 12's.
Click to expand...
 
#5
petersland said:
chris.gotfunk said:
I strongly suggest Epifani. I used my Epifani 310 and a 212 for years and they were by far the best cabs I had. I had the older models and the newer ones are much more amazing!!!!
I have spent a lot of time with the Markbass cabs and quite frankly, they scare me. Go play through some of them, and watch how much the speakers move. They look like they are about ready to bust out of the enclosure. I think they are good cabs, but that sight just scares me.
That is my two cents.

Thanks Chris.
I tried the LMKII with a Markbass 4ohm 210 cab and I observed the same.
I thought the speaker grill wash going to be a potato masher.
That's why I thought about the 410.
Unfortunately, I cannot try the 410 or epi cab before I buy. I must order and commit, but judging by the poll, looks like the epi. I feel a little more comfortable with the 12's.
Click to expand...

The Markbass speakers are designed to move like that. And I honestly haven't heard of one blowing. Ever!
To get real feedback on these (or any) cabs, make sure you talk to people who have used them on gigs. Our cabs are designed to sound great live with a band, not in the music store. Many people describe being unimpressed in the store, and then blown away on the gig.

Cheers,
Peter
Click to expand...
 
#6
Agree with Peter here. I'm still using my custom LDS cabs (for now), but I played through the MB 410 (using my SA450) on a gig a while ago and loved it. I only brought my 1x12 3-way cab and it wasn't going to cover the room, so the bass player from the other band let me run through his 410... Kind of bland and unexciting when I played through one in a store but it killed on stage. The guy's had his cabs for well over a year with zero problems too.
 
#8
Oh, boy, I wish I chimed in sooner. I have both the 104HF and a 2xUL112 setup driven by an LMII. Granted, I have heard that the UL212 sound different than a 2x112 rig, but I would venture to say that they are similar in tone (but not in wattage).

I have to hand out some love to what Peter said. People listen to MB cabs at GC and tend to be somewhat lukewarm about them. They don't tend to "sparkle" like other "hi-fi" cabs do. And I can say first hand that when I am practicing solo, I really love the tone of my Epifani's. The Markbass cabs are a little more middy to me solo'ed, the tweets are not as bright and don't seem to have the same presence.

On the other hand, when I am competing against my hard-hitting drummer and that gosh-darn Marshall 410+212 stack, the 2xUL112 cannot cut the mustard like the 104HF. I think the voicing on the Markbass is made to cut through. It took me a while to realize why...

I think it has to do with the way you need to sit in a pocket in the mix. The tone that often works best in a live setting is a mid-biased somewhat "nasally" tone that can sound less pleasing when solo'ed. I am not a professional by any means, but when I mix on my Apple with Logic or GB, I find myself coming to the same conclusions. Also, a lot of the shimmery hi-fi that we are goo-goo over gets lost somewhere in the guitard bandwith. And that lowend that everyone likes to feel? It will compete with the kick drum. I have found if I scoop my tone, I will get lost.

Of course, this is one unprofessional humble opinion. I am debating whether or not to hit post since you have already ordered but perhaps this will help you EQ things if you need to when you get your rig :( -> :) I love both the rigs for different reasons. Can I carry the 410 with my pinky like I can one 112? Nope. ;)

The below thread is not directly applicable because the 212 can handle more than the 2x112, but it's interesting reading:

Epifani Ul 112x2 not enough speaker
 
#9
I agree a thousand percent with Peter, My rig sounds amazing live, its really pushes a lot of air, with some serious bottom and high end sizzle live...:cool: I have a couple of other High end rigs and this MarkBass rig has become my live set up.

IMG_0523.gif

Peter Murray said:
petersland said:
The Markbass speakers are designed to move like that. And I honestly haven't heard of one blowing. Ever!
To get real feedback on these (or any) cabs, make sure you talk to people who have used them on gigs. Our cabs are designed to sound great live with a band, not in the music store. Many people describe being unimpressed in the store, and then blown away on the gig.

Cheers,
Peter
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
#10
Oh dear!:hmm:

Now you Guys speak up.

Unfortunately here in Perth Western Australia, us Bass players are dictated to by most music stores who stock and sell the high turnover gear such as Laney, Behringer, Randall, Hartke, Warwick, etc.
The few stores who do sell the high end boutique gear have no stock and we need to commit to buy when ordering.

This has left me with doing hours and days of research using forums such as this to try and make an as informed decision as I can.

I made the mistake of ordering a PJB setup and although was great, didn't suit me.
I tried a Genz Benz neopak 3.5 and 212 cab. My sound but didn't have the headroom. I couldn't wait 4 months for the Shuttle.
Tried the LMKII and loved it.
So the decision was made and I hope it is right or my Wife will kill me.

Oh well, more sleepless nights until the rig gets here.
I will let you know how it goes, hopefully kickass.:bassist:

Cheers for your input, Peter
 
#11
Pete.
Im in the same situation over here in the UK. There is only one shop that sells Epifani and they didnt have a UL212 in stock so had to order on line.
Im more a 1x15 person (i have a UL115) so going to a 212 was a bit of a shock at first but now i love it.
This is what i use for most of my gigs and i cant say enough good things about the rig. We dont use PA support at most of our gigs but this has not let me down. The pic was taken at a holiday camp we were playing to over 300 people. big room and wooden stage. It had more than enough headroom to sound pretty amazing.
The LMII was not used that night but was sitting there as a spare in case the SA450 failed. of course, thats not going to happen ;-)

171530929_ovgKz-L.jpg
 
#12
chris.gotfunk said:
I strongly suggest Epifani. I used my Epifani 310 and a 212 for years and they were by far the best cabs I had. I had the older models and the newer ones are much more amazing!!!!
I have spent a lot of time with the Markbass cabs and quite frankly, they scare me. Go play through some of them, and watch how much the speakers move. They look like they are about ready to bust out of the enclosure. I think they are good cabs, but that sight just scares me.
That is my two cents.

Peace,
Chris
Click to expand...


Sorry, I don`t get it, why is it a bad thing that the speakers move alot?
I`ve played my 104HF for almost 1 1/2 years now, and I love it. Maybe not as impressive soloed as my previous EBS, Aguilar and SWR cabs, but sounds better than any of them live on stage.
 
#14
dave_bass5 said:
Pete.
Im in the same situation over here in the UK. There is only one shop that sells Epifani and they didnt have a UL212 in stock so had to order on line.
Im more a 1x15 person (i have a UL115) so going to a 212 was a bit of a shock at first but now i love it.
This is what i use for most of my gigs and i cant say enough good things about the rig. We dont use PA support at most of our gigs but this has not let me down. The pic was taken at a holiday camp we were playing to over 300 people. big room and wooden stage. It had more than enough headroom to sound pretty amazing.
The LMII was not used that night but was sitting there as a spare in case the SA450 failed. of course, thats not going to happen ;-)

171530929_ovgKz-L.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks Dave.
Nice rig.
I feel alot better now.
Pete:hyper:
 
#15
You've chosen two cabs for your poll that sound VERY different and that kind of makes any recommendations a bit meaningless. Anybody ABing these would be likely to have strong preferences either one way or the other and the only way to tell for sure would be to try them yourself, although that may be difficult in Oz, I know.
 
#16
bassybill said:
You've chosen two cabs for your poll that sound VERY different and that kind of makes any recommendations a bit meaningless. Anybody ABing these would be likely to have strong preferences either one way or the other and the only way to tell for sure would be to try them yourself, although that may be difficult in Oz, I know.
Click to expand...

Agreed but at least he is getting comments from owners of these cabs. If these are the two he is looking at but cant try, user experience is the next best thing IMO.
Of course, end of the day its all in the ears.
 

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