- Dec 18, 2000
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- greenboy designs: fEARful, bassic, dually, crazy88 etc
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I think Markbass just.....
- Thread starter USAJO
- Start date
svtb15
Inactive
- Mar 22, 2004
- 13,004
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- I play it all. Whatever works for the gig. Q+
yeah.. thats what i thought too...Maybe they didn't know how to set them?
Its only my opion but the MB is no SVT or TF.. I like my TF better than my SVT.. way Better... The Markbass fills a certain niche though... and thats great..I dont like the way the MB responds when you really get on it hard... to me it sounds and feels sort of loose and murky in its delivery... by murky i dont mean not bright.. it can get bright if you want.. all fine but not my thing..
Understood... and I get extremely tight, deep, full range sound when I get on it hard. I can make it intentionally sound murky but can't imagine that happening with me playing, using any of my basses, with this amp set flat.
Go figure.
I, also, get a good sound when digging in on my LMII. But I didn't like the MB cabs I tried much- a 4x10 , a 2x10 & a 1x15" - maybe they were in bad rooms or set in a bad spot or summink, but I've liked the LMII thru other cabs FAR more- Just IMHO!!
The cabs aren't the greatest in terms of tone. they are definately more a GK style tone (gritty mids) than a berg ht322 style tone(smooth everything). but i'm willing to sacrifice something that the audience won't even notice(tone) for something that I will notice, weight. my 104hf weighs in the vicinity of 60lb. thats pretty damn light for a seriously loud 410.
besides, as soon as you add a PA, keys, drums, then all the rigs sound the same.
besides, as soon as you add a PA, keys, drums, then all the rigs sound the same.
Well I just purchased a Markbass amp and well I am impressed and pleased with the result. No hype, just a great little amp that I can carry in a little lap top bag over a shoulder.
I lugged a peavy megabass for years, this sounds better and weighs nothing.
I lugged a peavy megabass for years, this sounds better and weighs nothing.
I'm not sure why some people aren't convinced about the MB cabs.
Top quality B&C speakers (very warm for neos) and well constructed. I'm a particular fan of the 121H and my combination of the 102p and STD102HF.
I liked my old Eden 410xlt but the MB cabs have a much nicer tone IMO. I certainly wouldn't describe them as having gritty mids. Like the LM11, they seem to give a true representation of the sound of your bass.
I understand some people don't like the yellow though. I don't mind the speakers (better than the Ashdown blue) but the logos are a bit garish !
I've only tried them in stores. I like my cabs more... the MB cabs didn't convince me to buy them on the spot. Sound and price figured into that.
That's why.
I love my LMII but never really dug the cabs (I have only played through the tens IIRC) They definitely had more of that "eden" style tone to me. I A/B'd a 410 MB and a 410 Sadowsky and found the Sad much clearer and punchier. The MB cab wasn't bad sounding at all- it just wasn't my thing. I prefer a flatter, clearer sounding cab. I use EA cxl112s or an EA Whizzy if I am looking for a more coloured cab.
compared to the berg the MB had a lot of mids. but then which cab doesn't? its just a different voicing.
if i can get a bigger car, i might hve to go back to the berg, because it was absolutely the best sounding cabinet i have ever heard.
if i can get a bigger car, i might hve to go back to the berg, because it was absolutely the best sounding cabinet i have ever heard.
This was just what I've experienced & heard with my own ears! Hopefully-like I was with the LMII - I can be shown sometime that I was wrong!
what about the higher wattage mark heads ? anyone have some serious gigg experience with them ???
For coloured cabs, they sound pretty flat with a microphone
That could be. Again, I've only tried them in stores with store basses. Not exactly an optimal testing ground. Being used to what I am used to, they didn't sound like they were in the same vein. YMMV.
I have tried the 15" the 2x10", 4x10" and the 1x12" cabs from markbass. First I wouldn't compare it with eden, eden has a very shiny tweeter, which I can't stand, and markbass has a very musical one, you just hear the highs but not the zinging.
And the fastest setup I've heard so far was my LMK with the 1x12", killer fast full range mini rig of doom! And the sound remained present with distance, not like f.e. Peavey 4x10 cab I experienced that moving away 3 feets from the cab was already mud.(In the height of my head!)
I think people are just too much interested in the look. They don't like funky looking stuff!
And the fastest setup I've heard so far was my LMK with the 1x12", killer fast full range mini rig of doom! And the sound remained present with distance, not like f.e. Peavey 4x10 cab I experienced that moving away 3 feets from the cab was already mud.(In the height of my head!)
I think people are just too much interested in the look. They don't like funky looking stuff!
When I bought my LM-II I played it through the rear-ported 4x10 before playing it with my Berg stack. I played the 4x10 in a quiet studio and it sounded great. Really super punchy, nice tight lows, the only thing was the highs got a bit overbearing at loud volumes (I wasn't too much of a fan of the tweeter).
My Bergs aren't quite as punchy, although it is two 12's versus four 10's. But they sound smoother, more articulate, and the highs sound so sweet at any volume (the HT tweeter is magic). The Bergs keep up quite well in terms of volume and low-end as well.
The deciding factors when I chose my cabs were portability and availability. I really can't see myself carting around a 4x10 these days no matter how light it is, but that's just preference. I would have like to try the Markbass 12's but they're not in Aus yet, and the Bergs have me hooked.
I definitely wouldn't rule out the Markbass cabs as an option, but to me the Markbass heads seem like a great match for most cabs so the options are endless. I played mine through an SWR Goliath III and it's the best I've ever heard an SWR cab sound. It was only pushing 300 watts but it sounded (and felt) truly amazing.
My Bergs aren't quite as punchy, although it is two 12's versus four 10's. But they sound smoother, more articulate, and the highs sound so sweet at any volume (the HT tweeter is magic). The Bergs keep up quite well in terms of volume and low-end as well.
The deciding factors when I chose my cabs were portability and availability. I really can't see myself carting around a 4x10 these days no matter how light it is, but that's just preference. I would have like to try the Markbass 12's but they're not in Aus yet, and the Bergs have me hooked.
I definitely wouldn't rule out the Markbass cabs as an option, but to me the Markbass heads seem like a great match for most cabs so the options are endless. I played mine through an SWR Goliath III and it's the best I've ever heard an SWR cab sound. It was only pushing 300 watts but it sounded (and felt) truly amazing.
All depends on the cabs I guess. When my mate had a go at my rig (I'm using Berg cabs), he cranked it and started playing some picked lines in drop D reeeeally hard, and it sounded killer.. tight yet throaty, never loose or murky (although like BJ said, you can make it as murky as you want). The whole setup just roared!
I've not had the chance to try Berg cabs but I guess that I'd probably like them.
What confuses me is the contradictions regarding perceptions of the MB cabs on here. Too middy/mid shy, scooped/flat neutral/coloured etc.
Looking at the reviews most of the magazines seem to confirm Marco's mission statement of neutrality.
All I know is from dealers I have spoken to is that the MB stuff ( not just the heads) is selling very well in the UK at a time when overall business is poor.
My old 410XLT is still where I left it when I px'd it for my gear 18 months ago (along with other Eden cabs part exchanged by others). Meanwhile the Markbass stock has been rotating nicely.
I realise that there are more choices in the States and Markbass may or may not be the best option at a certain price point but I'd just like to counter some of the "heads great, cabs not so " vibe.
What confuses me is the contradictions regarding perceptions of the MB cabs on here. Too middy/mid shy, scooped/flat neutral/coloured etc.
Looking at the reviews most of the magazines seem to confirm Marco's mission statement of neutrality.
All I know is from dealers I have spoken to is that the MB stuff ( not just the heads) is selling very well in the UK at a time when overall business is poor.
My old 410XLT is still where I left it when I px'd it for my gear 18 months ago (along with other Eden cabs part exchanged by others). Meanwhile the Markbass stock has been rotating nicely.
I realise that there are more choices in the States and Markbass may or may not be the best option at a certain price point but I'd just like to counter some of the "heads great, cabs not so " vibe.
+1 (inside joke)
Originally I was leaning towards a Genz Benz Neo-Pak since even though I'm more than capable of lugging around my pre/power amp setup, I have to lug it around more often than not up stairs and I don't need that much power. I read a lot about the Markbass Littlemark II from well informed guys like Brad and decided to try it out for myself. I've only gigged with the LMKII once so I haven't really gotten the hang of the controls for tweaking the sound I want just yet. (Plus for some reason my L-2000's bass knob was set all the way down without me knowing which was a big boner on my part. Talk about sounding thin.
) However, I think it'll sound great once I get the hang of it and play with a band more.To me I think Markbass just came at the right place at the right time and is marketing to the right people. Of course there's hype, but like Brad said I think it's justified. All the marketing in the world won't turn a poop product into something good. People want it and are willing to stand by it.
