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Little Mark III or GK MB500
- Thread starter funkysurfer
- Start date
The master at 2?!? I presume you like some overdrive. I want as much clean power as possible. Master on 10. From there, I barely need to put the volume past 3.
Ok. I just got back from another not so local GC. They only had the Markbass Little Mark Tube 800 head. I played it through a GK Neo410 cabinet because I currently have a Peavey 410TX and it was either that or a Goldline 4x10. I'm sure neither compare to my cab but I didn't have many choices.
I have found that out of the SD 1200 (played through Markbass 2x10, not sure about model), LM Tube 800 (played through the above and a Markbass 15) and the LMII (which was in the form of a Markbass Mini CMD 121P) that I am liking the Mini CMD 121P sound the best. FWIW, I was able to play the CMD 121P again at this GC and it sounded great ...again.
So what should I do?
1) Buy the CMD 121P and sell my Peavey cab.
2) Buy a LM III head, see how it sounds thru my Peavey.
I like the verstility in option #2, but if I'm not happy with #2, a seperate cab is $500 for a Markbass 12 or possibly more from another manufacturer. We're talking approx. $1100 in this case VS. $900 for the CMD 121P that I'm totally diggin.
And, another thing concerns me... VOLUME! All the Markbass amps dialed in didn't sound very loud to me. I also played a GK 700RB thru the 4x10 Neo (too sizzly for me) and I swear the thing was much more louder than the Tube 800. Are the Markbass amps wattages overrated?
I'm not playing in a band at the moment, but plan on it in the near future. Will I be OK with the Markbasses 300 watts for the time being?
I have found that out of the SD 1200 (played through Markbass 2x10, not sure about model), LM Tube 800 (played through the above and a Markbass 15) and the LMII (which was in the form of a Markbass Mini CMD 121P) that I am liking the Mini CMD 121P sound the best. FWIW, I was able to play the CMD 121P again at this GC and it sounded great ...again.
So what should I do?
1) Buy the CMD 121P and sell my Peavey cab.
2) Buy a LM III head, see how it sounds thru my Peavey.
I like the verstility in option #2, but if I'm not happy with #2, a seperate cab is $500 for a Markbass 12 or possibly more from another manufacturer. We're talking approx. $1100 in this case VS. $900 for the CMD 121P that I'm totally diggin.
And, another thing concerns me... VOLUME! All the Markbass amps dialed in didn't sound very loud to me. I also played a GK 700RB thru the 4x10 Neo (too sizzly for me) and I swear the thing was much more louder than the Tube 800. Are the Markbass amps wattages overrated?
I'm not playing in a band at the moment, but plan on it in the near future. Will I be OK with the Markbasses 300 watts for the time being?
Personally i would go for option 2 because i can replace cab if things doesn't sound good on the peavey or replace the Little Mark for another Markbass in the future ....... but i'm sure the Little Mark will last ages if not forever ......
Option 1 is good if you want to downsize everything or only take one thing with you when you do a gig .......
To me Markbass head sound great with Markbass Cabs ....
Option 1 is good if you want to downsize everything or only take one thing with you when you do a gig .......
To me Markbass head sound great with Markbass Cabs ....
- Jun 16, 2005
- 3,584
- 31
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Spector, Aguilar, Darkglass
my vote goes to the mb2500. i always go to music stores and try out the markbass stuff but i just cant get in to them.. i dont know what it is about them.. i think its in the weird in between where its warm... but not "tubey" warm enough for me to like.. but its not as crisp as i would like.
disclaimer: ...ive been drinking and i hope this makes sense
disclaimer: ...ive been drinking and i hope this makes sense
Is that Peavey 410TX an 8 ohm cab?
If so, I would say get the CMD121P and keep the cab around just in case.
I have the CMD151P, which can keep up with any drummer. But my gut told me to pick up another 15" 8 ohm cab just in case. Boy, am I glad I did. There have been a couple of occassions without PA support where I really needed the extra cab and the ability to put the LM head into 4 ohm 500 watt mode.
CMD121P plus extension cab FTW.
I find the LMII/III to be well rated in terms of volume. Definitely louder other amps I've owned like the GB Shuttle 6.0, eden wt405, carvin b800 etc.
If I were you I'd buy a LMIII from GC and "demo" it for 30 days. If you dont like it, bring it back. If you do like it, you can save some cash and buy a used LMII off the TB classifieds. That amp and a quality 410 should be plenty of volume.
If you're set on the cmd121p try pairing it with an epifani ps112. THAT pairing sounds spectacular and is quite easy to move around.
If I were you I'd buy a LMIII from GC and "demo" it for 30 days. If you dont like it, bring it back. If you do like it, you can save some cash and buy a used LMII off the TB classifieds. That amp and a quality 410 should be plenty of volume.
If you're set on the cmd121p try pairing it with an epifani ps112. THAT pairing sounds spectacular and is quite easy to move around.
I have the LMIII and Shuttle 6.0 right now and I can concur that the LMIII at 8 ohm (single AE112) is much louder than the Shuttle. The Mrs. came upstairs because she actually noticed the difference in tone though. She likes the Shuttle quite a bit. I am far from done fiddling around wth the two amps though.
Pulled the trigger on the LM III today! That baby is on it's way.
Considered it used, but was able to get 15% off at music123.com. $510 shipped. Can hardly wait...
For those of you interested in getting some gear this weekend, type in "surprise" in the coupon code and you'll get 15% off.
Considered it used, but was able to get 15% off at music123.com. $510 shipped. Can hardly wait...
For those of you interested in getting some gear this weekend, type in "surprise" in the coupon code and you'll get 15% off.
Wow, good price. I see TB'ers trying to unload them for more than that here on the classifieds.
Take your time and read about the VLE and VPF filters, and experiment.
Let us know how it sounds with that Peavey 410.
Enjoy!
Thanks. I will definitely be spending a lot of time experimenting with this amp. I have tried so many different heads/combos on my quest, and just loved the tones I was getting with the Markbass line. I dig its simplicity, sound and the voicing of those 2 filters.
To answer your question about your previous post, the Peavey is 8 ohm. I can't wait to hear how it sounds with this head. I think it will match up well.
I have owned 3 GK heads over the years. I like the clean sound, price, easy to dial in EQ, and most of all I like the fact that when plugged into a GK, you do not have to max your volume on your instrument to get that great sound with little to no finger noise. I have bought so many amps and continued to circle around to GK. Last July I sold my big rig(Fender 300T) and went with a LMIII as I wanted to go with a smaller rig while traveling. I really liked my LMIII, but once again I am missing the GK sound. I think it is because at rehersal I will bring my P-Bass one week and my Jazz the other...the EQ is sounding so off to my ears. I am having trouble finding the sound I want as I play mostly R&B-Funk now. Before I was playing Blues and Classic Rock so I was hooked on the warm sound...now my LMIII just is not doing it, and I am also thinking of going with the MB2 or MB500, or even a Genz shuttle 6.0.
Do these little GK amps sound like the GK 700's?
Do these little GK amps sound like the GK 700's?
You're SOL. The Shuttle is a really good amp with tons of features, including headphones out. Killer DI. About half the weight of the LMII. Just a great little amp, and this is coming from someone who uses a LMII.
I sold my Markbass LMII Marco Limited Edition 08, and purchased the MB500. The LMII is just too warm when set flat. The VLE is pretty much a passive tone control...you can get the same effect using the tone/eq on your bass. I'm suprised that the LMII has no limiter or mute button.
I prefer the overall tone and features of the MB500. It has two channels with an included footswitch, 2 Speakon jacks, limiter, mute button, and is loud as hell.
I prefer the overall tone and features of the MB500. It has two channels with an included footswitch, 2 Speakon jacks, limiter, mute button, and is loud as hell.
So I actually played around with the LMIII and hooked it up to my Avatar 410 4ohm, ok so that is what I remember, the Balls and clean sound.
The LMIII sounds thin when going into 8ohms. My 8 ohm cab is nice but when you turn the volume up, the sound get's a little muddy.
The full 500 wts thru 4 ohms you have more control while keeping it at low volumes. Maybe I should get another Avatar 112 8ohm to match at rehersal instead of just going into 8ohms......IT Never ends $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
The LMIII sounds thin when going into 8ohms. My 8 ohm cab is nice but when you turn the volume up, the sound get's a little muddy.
The full 500 wts thru 4 ohms you have more control while keeping it at low volumes. Maybe I should get another Avatar 112 8ohm to match at rehersal instead of just going into 8ohms......IT Never ends $$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
