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Is Markbass sound similar to?
- Thread starter DavidEdenAria
- Start date
This.
I play different models in rehearsal studios. They all sound "Markbass", the difference between each model is quite subtle IMHO.
You can set them pretty neutral (if it means anything), and they generally have 2 filters. The name change between model, it's either "VLE and VPF" or "Old school and Scoop", but it's always the Markbass typical tone signature.
I personally think they sound quite dry. Hook up a cheap bass and play with slightly sloppy technique and they will sound terrible.
Hook up your coffee table boutique model with hand wound pickups that use wire made from oxygen-free copper that comes from the Swiss alps and magnets out of meteors, and play with precise, impeccable technique and they sound great, following every nuance of your finger strokes.
Most MB amps will be quite neutral with the EQ at noon.
Thanks I was looking for a similar comparison...I know they don't sound like GK 800RB I own but just curious if anything is similar such as my Eden Metro.
I have heard only Markbass live I can think.of...I don't get out much ha but I've heard some clips.
Any links on YouTube that are good examples?
Also I'm likely not after a combo just a head..thanks!
Great workmans amps in general, I had Little Mark II and III. Like said, transparent sounding but can do vintage or scoop. That VLE (vintage) filter works great if you need that sound with one flick of a wrist.
OTOH I never played Markbass cab that I liked. Of course YMMV.
OTOH I never played Markbass cab that I liked. Of course YMMV.
Thanks I read a lot of dislike for the yellow speakers lol.
I'm curious about headroom with hotter pickups as well?
The VLE is interesting
and easily and quickly utilized.
Several years ago, I bought a Little Mark III as a backup for an Eden E300t tube head. One night a preamp tube failed, so I finished the gig with the Markbass. The rest of the band told me how good it sounded. Some said they liked it better. I didn't think it was better but, if no one else heard the difference, carrying a 7 pound head instead of a 70+ pound head had a definite appeal. I got a used LM III for a backup and sold the Eden.
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If something sound like markbass, I'd look elsewhere.
I like flat sounding, transparent cabs, and MB cabs I tried were not like that.Thanks I read a lot of dislike for the yellow speakers lol.
I'm curious about headroom with hotter pickups as well?
The VLE is interesting
As for MB amps, input gain has wide response so no problem with any bass I used.
Back in the 80s we played in various rehearsal Studios that had multiple rooms with different bass amplifiers.
I used to like the color of the tone in some of those bass amplifiers at the studios.
Currently, I prefer the Markbass amplifier because now I hear what I believe to be the authentic tone of each individual bass.
With Markbass there is a clear tone distinction among the Rickenbacker, Precision, Jazz and Ernie Ball basses without amplifier color added.
I used to like the color of the tone in some of those bass amplifiers at the studios.
Currently, I prefer the Markbass amplifier because now I hear what I believe to be the authentic tone of each individual bass.
With Markbass there is a clear tone distinction among the Rickenbacker, Precision, Jazz and Ernie Ball basses without amplifier color added.
I've been using Little MarkBass amps for......I don't know, 16 or more years. I like them a lot because they are simple to use and simple to make eq changes for altered sounds.
I don't find that MB has some kind of trade mark sound. They sound like a high quality bass amps to me.
Now, bass cabs, that's a different story and IMO, that is where "the sound" is. After years of different bass cabs, the Acme Low B 2-10 is my favorite! It can do a + or - 3 db of the 41 hz open E string. It's amazing how many bass cabs............CAN'T!!!!!!!!!! Gotta hear my open E at full glory!
I don't find that MB has some kind of trade mark sound. They sound like a high quality bass amps to me.
Now, bass cabs, that's a different story and IMO, that is where "the sound" is. After years of different bass cabs, the Acme Low B 2-10 is my favorite! It can do a + or - 3 db of the 41 hz open E string. It's amazing how many bass cabs............CAN'T!!!!!!!!!! Gotta hear my open E at full glory!
careful with getting a used MarkBass head: after a decade or slightly more of active usage the power amp tends to die (not sure that for every head, but on TalkBass a lot of folks experienced it) and the only possible repair costs, well, less than a new head, but not by that much.
that is: avoid old used heads unless they're dirt cheap. one having several years in likely will have no problems.
no personal experience with Eden, but I've compared a Reidmar with a Little Mark and found them pretty close. sure, there're differences (like MarkBass has uniformly-eqd sound with quiet and loud sounds and doesn't overdrive), but they seemed like different flavors of one sound to me. my other head at the moment was a Phil Jones and it was massively different from both.
that is: avoid old used heads unless they're dirt cheap. one having several years in likely will have no problems.
no personal experience with Eden, but I've compared a Reidmar with a Little Mark and found them pretty close. sure, there're differences (like MarkBass has uniformly-eqd sound with quiet and loud sounds and doesn't overdrive), but they seemed like different flavors of one sound to me. my other head at the moment was a Phil Jones and it was massively different from both.
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
I used SWR cabs and Eden heads primarily for years, until I wanted lighter and more modern/current options. I preferred Eden heads, even through the SWR cabs. I still use my Eden WTX-500 fairly frequently. I moved over to MarkBass cabs and heads primarily about 6 years ago during COVID because the price for entry was very cheap at that point. Eden and MarkBass are more similar than they are different, IMO. I've used Eden with MB cabs, MB heads with SWR cabs, and MB heads with MB cabs. IMO, even with the differences in voicings of the cabs and EQ sections, as long as you have what you want to hear in your head and understand how frequencies work and what you need to cut first to get in the same ballpark.... you can make most anything work. I never went into MarkBass in general thinking 'well, this is the sound I'll now have to live with.' Nor did I expect any of the MB gear to sound exactly like SWR or Eden. Nope.... I just spent time with all aspects of the EQ section and got to know it. I do have to EQ things differently depending on the combo of head/cab I'm using, but it's all workable and pleasant. I've found that my MarkBass Big Bang (now sadly discontinued) is one of the most versatile heads I've ever used with all of its EQ options.
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Seems any amp would (should?) respond the way you describe how MB responds to a cheap bass played with sloppy technique vs. a boutique bass played well.
Is there an amp that makes a cheap bass played with sloppy technique sound good? Sounds like an amp designed for me, but I'd expect them to be out of stock most of the time.…
My experience with the one and only MB amp I've owned (MB Little Mark 250 Black Line) is that it's relatively easy to get a decent tone out of it. Set flat is not bad, but I don't run mine completely flat. The only way I can describe it is "dry" sounding, but I'm not sure I can explain "dry sound" with words. It has the MB flavor that's not necessarily bad, but if you don't like it, it can't be totally dialed out with its onboard EQ. I've never run it with a different preamp, so I don't know if the power amp section is completely transparent.
My experience with MB cabs are similar to others; they sound like they sound & if you don't like it, you really can't cure it. I've played through several that were provided on a back line and don't plan on buying one.
I have some friends that do live sound for festivals. They've tried to mic a few different MB cabs (1x10 and 1x12 in MB combos) at the request of the bassists / owners of the amps. Their opinion is that a MB cab mic'd is not good and not curable with their gear & ability to mix live sound.
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
Stick a mic in the wrong spot and you can make ANY cab sound like poo. Sometimes the EQ settings for on stage use do not lend themselves well to FOH use when mic'ed, especially with a small combo not moving a lot of air with a single speaker. I'd take that 'opinion' with a grain of salt. The FOH engineer should have requested a pre-EQ direct feed as a supplement.
in my opinion they have sound that's all their own. Played one at GC and bought it. Played it at one gig and found I got lost in the mix. "Vanilla" is a word that comes to mind.
Sorry for bending this even further away from OP's query, which is on heads, but something I've noticed with a pair of MB 2x10s I power with an old Hartke head is that I don't care for the sound sometimes when I'm positioned directly in front of the thing, but when I step off-axis, it sounds really nice. The Hartke is a fine-sounding lead sled and not in this equation.
I'm comparing with the two Peavey 2x10s I'd previously used forever, and which over the decades I'd been able to compare favorably with SWR, Eden, Bergantino, etc. Those 85-pounders were really good sounding cabs. But the MBs sound good too, just in a different way.
I'm comparing with the two Peavey 2x10s I'd previously used forever, and which over the decades I'd been able to compare favorably with SWR, Eden, Bergantino, etc. Those 85-pounders were really good sounding cabs. But the MBs sound good too, just in a different way.
I owned a LMII along with a Tonehammer 500. My feeling was that the Tonehammer was a bit more forgiving. Some treble pulled back, some dirt tuned in and a slight bit of sloppieness will be tolerated. Not so on the Little Mark. It does not do dirt and stays super clean, and with no sugarcoating, your playing is represented with shocking accuracy.Seems any amp would (should?) respond the way you describe how MB responds to a cheap bass played with sloppy technique vs. a boutique bass played well.
Is there an amp that makes a cheap bass played with sloppy technique sound good? Sounds like an amp designed for me, but I'd expect them to be out of stock most of the time.…
That is not easily found out, since the FX loop position is a bit weird on the MB heads - if you go into the FX return, the EQ still works.
I don't exactly mean dry, although I mean dry. It sounds like you would imagine your bass would sound if a dry sounding amp was connected to it. There is no clear hump or scoop anywhere. Every frequency is present, none too present.
I used mine by starting off with everything at noon and then correct a bit for taste - but I almost never ended up with any of the EQ knobs outside the area of 11-1 o'clock.
Yes. That's absolutely true. I find that especially the lows on MB gear sound very true, not big and pillowy, not warm. Neither cold. Just represented the way it is - and that's somewhat rare. I found the Trickfish amps go in the same direction, but my sample size is too small to really speak on them - and the comparison might not be helpful at all, since Markbass is more or less a mainstream brand where Trickfish is boutique and niche.
Yeah, I would not recommend mic'ing a Markbass rig. I don't see the qualities a mic setup could transport outweighing the problems that come with mic'ing a cab, compared to using the DI out of the amp.
