Have used a LM2 for a year.... they are discontinued, and come up on the used market for cheap...
works for me.. all flat...
works for me.. all flat...
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I need some opinions about Markbass PLEASE!
- Thread starter Maiden Bass
- Start date
You've got to be kidding me!!!
These are not field serviceable and anyone who tells you they are is not telling the truth. I am friends with an electronic wizard who owns a huge shop in Florida and he told me to stay away from these!
I'm thinking that the 500 watts won't be enough for me, so maybe I'll just get these instead -
http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Markbass-Little-Mark-800-Bass-Amp-Head?sku=484169
http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Markbass-Distorsore-Bass-Pedal?sku=484188
What do you think???
http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Markbass-Little-Mark-800-Bass-Amp-Head?sku=484169
http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Markbass-Distorsore-Bass-Pedal?sku=484188
What do you think???
Since we don't know what kind of venues you play in or what you're battling on stage (Marshall stacks?), it's hard to know what would be "loud enough." But with the Markbass heads you'll likely hit the limit of what your cab can handle long before you've tapped all of the potential of the head (talking the 500w models into 4 ohms).
I use a MB combo, the little CMD 121P, which is essentially an LMII into a single 12. Just tonight I took on three guitarists (two with 50w Fender tube amps and one with a 50w Marshall), a drummer and a keyboard player, and I never had to push my master volume above 50%. That's the loudest I've ever played that amp indoors (I've done outdoor gigs with an extension cab). People are continually shocked by the grunt contained in that tiny little box. I prefer the SS over the tube models. When I want tube tone, I coax that out of my VT Bass pedal.
As others have stated, the MBs are very versatile, and very warm and organic for SS amps. Players who like a more modern hi-fi sound in a SS lightweight head tend to gravitate toward Genz-Benz or SWR. I need a more vintage tone, and the VT Bass plus Markbass has got the magic for these ears (which have been listening to every kind of amp imaginable for 30+ years of playing in bands).
I can't imagine that you'd be dissatisfied with the LMIII. If you were running 4 ohms (two 8 ohm cabs is ideal), you'd find that 500w to be hella loud.
I use a MB combo, the little CMD 121P, which is essentially an LMII into a single 12. Just tonight I took on three guitarists (two with 50w Fender tube amps and one with a 50w Marshall), a drummer and a keyboard player, and I never had to push my master volume above 50%. That's the loudest I've ever played that amp indoors (I've done outdoor gigs with an extension cab). People are continually shocked by the grunt contained in that tiny little box. I prefer the SS over the tube models. When I want tube tone, I coax that out of my VT Bass pedal.
As others have stated, the MBs are very versatile, and very warm and organic for SS amps. Players who like a more modern hi-fi sound in a SS lightweight head tend to gravitate toward Genz-Benz or SWR. I need a more vintage tone, and the VT Bass plus Markbass has got the magic for these ears (which have been listening to every kind of amp imaginable for 30+ years of playing in bands).
I can't imagine that you'd be dissatisfied with the LMIII. If you were running 4 ohms (two 8 ohm cabs is ideal), you'd find that 500w to be hella loud.
Skip the Mark IV altogether for reasons you mentioned. My impression of sitting in the local GC for an hour playing with one is they made on the cheap. (Chinese?) They sound pretty decent but not a lot of variance in tone. Oh, I played the tube one. Didn't care for the cabs either. I am Pbass heavy rock player.
Markbass equipment is made in Italy. Their manufacturing standards are on a par with or better than most American manufacturers. Having over the years spent ridiculous amounts of time and money carting gear made by other manufacturers to the repair shop (Ampeg anyone?), I find the bulletproof reliability of my Markbass gear a huge relief.
And variance in tone? Between the VLE and VPF filters and four-band EQ, I don't know how much more tone shaping you could want. Cranking the VLE gets you into total vintage vibe, while working the VPF gets you Marcus Miller by the truckload. The problem most people have when they audition these amps is they think that setting these filter knobs at 12:00 is "flat." It's not... flat is all the way counterclockwise. Put both of these filters at noon and the amp will sound crap... they'll be counteracting each other to a large extent. Maybe if you're not finding enough "variance in tone" it's because you're playing a P.
Their cabs are a mixed bag, I will agree. The Traveler 2x10 is maybe the worst sounding cab I've ever played through. Their standard 4x10 is good, but not great. The New York 121 and 151 cabs are nearly mystical... for the size and weight they are best in class. Try before you buy.
I'll just say that the MarkBass stuff gets tons of good press here at TB but, that said, I've played their amps at GC and never have been wowed. Sure, it sounds pretty good, but I put it at a notch above Carvin. It may be that my personal taste in tone just doesn't jive with MB. I like clean, articulate tone from bottom to top; not too rich in the low mids ... just even-steven. I'm a new fan of the Shuttle, which I bought on the basis of reviews here, never having played one. I lucked out, because the Shuttle 9.0 is right up my alley.
Yeah Munji, it seems that there are two pretty well-established camps here with the MB and GB Shuttle when it comes to the tiny titan heads. And it seems that the Shuttle fans are looking for that super-clean, even hi-fi response across the entire range, while the MB fans are digging the more grunty low-mids and a bit of vintage blur in the tone.
From this description I would say Markbass is more my style than GB, however I was reading on here about the new GB that's coming out which is supposed have more of that vintage sound.
You are most likely hearing the voicing of the Markbass cabs, versus the heads on your GC trials. The MB heads are extremely balanced and even (versus the Genz stuff)... that isn't a 'better or worse' thing, but different.
- Mar 11, 2010
- 244
- 18
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Höfner, Pyramid Strings, Dr. No FX & Asterope cables
Hard to generalize here. My tone goal is even, clean, relatively accurate tone reproduction with just enough midrange distortion to provide 'character' to the tone (versus the more hi fi sort of thing... that absolutely pure, clean midrange that some describe as 'sterile' that you hear in the EA stuff, the TecAmp Puma and other amps). There are quite a few heads in the Markbass line-up that provide this.
I have quite a few clips up on my Youtube site with various cabs and various Markbass heads, if you want an idea of what the 'clean' tone of some of the Markbass heads. Wonderful to my ear.
The Shuttle amps have much more of a prevoice built in (very bright, a bit of low mid bump, and much more midrange distortion (not 'bad' distortion at all, but that 'character thing').
That being said, if I really wanted a 'tube' sort of thing, even though that Markbass Little Rocker or whatever it is called sounds amazing (those little micro tubes should last 100 years), I would probably look for an amp like the GK MBFusion or the new Genz Streamliner that had a more complex multi 12ax7 sort of preamp design.
For clean, even, relatively accurate reproduction, the Markbass LMIII and F500 are among the best I've heard. I like the Genz Shuttle 9 quite a bit also! MB has done a very good job of providing a line of heads that covers a LOT of ground... from clean tube-like warmth (LMIII) to grindy aggressive overdrive (LM Rocker, R500) to very pure hi fi (800 Series) to punchy, clean, even solid state tone (F1, F500), etc., etc. Pretty cool.
IMO, the quality and design of the MB and Genz heads is virtually a dead even, and quite a bit above GK, Carvin, etc.
He was using the term 'service' in a different way than you interpreted. His point was that tube should most likely last forever, and never need servicing at all, which I assume was part of the reason they chose that design. That clip of the LMRocker sounds amazing to me.
That being said, you might want to check out the Genz Streamliner when they are introduced in about a month. They have 600 and 900 watt versions (I've found the Genz wattage ratings a little 'hopeful', but the 900 watt will still outperform the 500 watt MB heads), and they have a very old school class A preamp with three 112ax7's. Might be the thing for what you are looking for. However, for price, size, weight and reliability (the MB stuff has just an amazing reliability record... you rarely see any posts about problems with the heads), I would not eliminate that LMRocker out of hand.
Thanks!!!
Oh man way too many choices here, lol.
The new GB has my interest now too, I would love 3 12ax7's!!!
I think I am gonna hold off ordering until the first part of January, which will give me time to think!
Thanks!!!
Oh man way too many choices here, lol.
The new GB has my interest now too, I would love 3 12ax7's!!!
I think I am gonna hold off ordering until the first part of January, which will give me time to think!
When it gets this close to NAMM, it usually is a good time to take a little break and see what is announced next month. The good news is, Genz (to their great credit), never announces an amp at NAMM that isn't ready to ship, and since they use a more 'mom and pop' dealer network, their new stuff gets out to the market very quickly (I already have a preorder in with RocketMusic, andd Greg, the owner is a TBer).
Markbass is good at getting their new products quickly into production, but in the US, their problem is that they have to talk Musician's Friend and Guitar Center (their only retailers) into ordering and stocking the new items, and there is usually a 6 month or longer delay. Other companies (GK, Epifani, etc.) announce stuff that isn't even close to being produced, which is kind of uncool IMO.
Anyway, lots of good stuff that should get you where you want to go with not much weight, and without breaking the bank (i.e., the selling price of the Genz Streamliner is $899 from Rocket Music... not bad).
Good luck with the search. I tell you what, that LMRocker clip sounded DARN good to me... all this stuff is cool in its own way.
How many people carry a spare pre amp tube anyway ? None. It will get lost or get smashed at some point. How do you know the spare isn't faulty ?
Who changes tubes at a gig ? Nobody.
Like someone is going to have the tools and open their amp in the middle of a gig to change a tube and know that the problem is the tube ? Just go to your back up plan.
Easily fixed at home with a soldering iron.
i played a LMIII at GC and loved it, heard a band at a bar, there bass player was using one too and it was rocking the place
NOW you're talking. You won't be sorry with this rig, and I highly recommend you spend some time with it experimenting with the countless tones and flavors that you can get from this. You'll need good speakers - preferably high-excursion, hi-watt speakers (I use 2 Avatar B410 Neo cabs with great success). Played a cavernous venue last week opening for Eddy Money, to a 1000 people. The sound guy DI'd my line output and had to turn the house sound off because my amp was more than sufficient to fill the place with hot, phat bass. (That was at 1/4 Gain and less than 1/2 Volume).
My double stack topped with my car-radio-sized LittleMark III 800w KILLED! I could easily have cranked it up but then nobody would've heard the rest of the band, and it might have created roof leaks from the air pressure expansion.
DO it!
