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Double Bass Mark Bass question

joel kelsey

joel kelsey

Aug 1, 2006
403
4
46
Chicago, IL
www.soundcloud.com
#1
Hi,
This may be a dumb question, but....I left my MarkBass Cmd 112 combo. In my car for a couple hours while I was playing a gig without an amp. It was very cold outside, but I had to leave the amp in the car because I needed to use it at my next gig later in the evening. When I got to the next gig and turned the amp on, it did not work. I had to wait about 15 or 20 minutes before it kicked on even though the power was on. Is this normal? I have been gigging for a long time, and I have never had an amp not work because of the cold. Has this happenend to anyone else, with any amp?
Thanks
 
#2
I had one of those, and left it in the car all the time. I never had that problem. Had someone steal the amp out of my car though! Now I have an AI

That sounds to me like it has to be a broken solder trace somewhere. The amp gets cold, everything contracts, and a solder traces breaks. Then it warms up, and the broken connection is bridged. That's the only explanation I could think of.
 
#3
PB+J said:
I had one of those, and left it in the car all the time. I never had that problem. Had someone steal the amp out of my car though! Now I have an AI

That sounds to me like it has to be a broken solder trace somewhere. The amp gets cold, everything contracts, and a solder traces breaks. Then it warms up, and the broken connection is bridged. That's the only explanation I could think of.
Click to expand...


Thanks man. Sucks your amp got stolen. Was it insured? Did they break your windows?
 
#6
Depending on the electronics, the transformer may have needed a little warm up time since you say it was so cold outside. While I'm not familiar with this re: amps, it is common with other electronics. 15-20m does seem excessive though. Depends how cold it was. Big difference between -20F in MN and +30F in PA. Cold is relative. I'm in CA and 45F is cold to me. :p By the way, I'm totally joooooooonesing for a Markbass 121P. Got a Carvin stack, which I love, but want portability too. Total GAS I know.
 
#7
Chris Fitzgerald said:
A bunch of stuff? Weren't you playing a Wizzy and a Woods last time I saw you?
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You know, I never owned the Walter Woods and the Wizzy at the same time, which is a shame, because that would have been a really nice little combo. It's been at least three years since I sold the Woods, I think, and that Wizzy went out the door last month (though the Wizzy 12 M-line is my one cabinet now--two Wizzies was fun, but see above about the schlep.)

The bunch of stuff I'm talking about is the Wizzy 12 M-line, an AI Clarus, an Avalon U5 or an fdeck pre/Sadowsky pre combo (because I think the Clarus sucks when I just plug a pickup straight into it), a Heil PR40 in its little cosmetics-case-looking box, and a mini-mic-stand. Plus the two power cables, one speaker cable, one mic cable, and either two or three patch cords. And the stool. Oh, and the bass.

Sure, I don't need all of this stuff. So when I take just the cab and the AI, the cab is a little more than I like to carry in one hand for some distance with a bass and a stool and bag with the amp/cables in it (the old one-trip load-in I often want or have to do), and the AI without the gadgets sounds really pedestrian to my ears, so sometimes I think "if it's not going to sound like anything special (no mic, no $600 direct box or whatever), why don't you just get a little combo amp you can carry around easily, and put your two cables (power and patch) in your bass bag, and forget about the hassle?" Especially for those restaurant gigs or wedding receptions where you just need a little bump of sound reinforcement.

The answer to that question is that the AI/cab simple setup really does sound way better than any combo amp I've ever played through, in spite of how dissatisfied I get with it. I've gigged quite a bit with my brother's Polytone, and my old GK MB150, and with the Acoustic 10" combo I use in my office for electric bass lessons (two channels, but not much else to recommend it), and all I can say is "yuck." But it there were a no-"yuck" answer out there, I'd be interested.
 
#8
Jeremy Allen said:
You know, I never owned the Walter Woods and the Wizzy at the same time, which is a shame, because that would have been a really nice little combo. It's been at least three years since I sold the Woods, I think, and that Wizzy went out the door last month (though the Wizzy 12 M-line is my one cabinet now--two Wizzies was fun, but see above about the schlep.)
Click to expand...

I meant the M-line Wizzy 12, but was totally off about the Woods. I think I got you and the Toad confused for a minute there. You know, gear whore TBer from up north of here...

The bunch of stuff I'm talking about is the Wizzy 12 M-line, an AI Clarus, an Avalon U5 or an fdeck pre/Sadowsky pre combo (because I think the Clarus sucks when I just plug a pickup straight into it), a Heil PR40 in its little cosmetics-case-looking box, and a mini-mic-stand. Plus the two power cables, one speaker cable, one mic cable, and either two or three patch cords. And the stool. Oh, and the bass.
Click to expand...

Ok, that's a lotta stuff. :D

Sure, I don't need all of this stuff. So when I take just the cab and the AI, the cab is a little more than I like to carry in one hand for some distance with a bass and a stool and bag with the amp/cables in it (the old one-trip load-in I often want or have to do), and the AI without the gadgets sounds really pedestrian to my ears, so sometimes I think "if it's not going to sound like anything special (no mic, no $600 direct box or whatever), why don't you just get a little combo amp you can carry around easily, and put your two cables (power and patch) in your bass bag, and forget about the hassle?" Especially for those restaurant gigs or wedding receptions where you just need a little bump of sound reinforcement.
Click to expand...

1) Folding dolly w/built in bungie cable...especially if you take a stool (as I do), because you can cram a buncha that other **** inside the stool legs when they're inverted, as they would be if you set the cab on the bottom. I've got three of these dolly things, one of which I'd be happy to loan you if you have eyes (or have Jacob/Jason bring up your way next time you guys are swinging at the Bear). Seriously - I don't carry as much stuff as you, but with a dolly I can still one trip it.

2) What pickup are you using that sounds so pedestrian with the AI amp?

3) Next time you're in town, you've *gotta* let me check out the U5. Pretty please with a Guinness on top?



The answer to that question is that the AI/cab simple setup really does sound way better than any combo amp I've ever played through, in spite of how dissatisfied I get with it. I've gigged quite a bit with my brother's Polytone, and my old GK MB150, and with the Acoustic 10" combo I use in my office for electric bass lessons (two channels, but not much else to recommend it), and all I can say is "yuck." But it there were a no-"yuck" answer out there, I'd be interested.
Click to expand...

I can dig it. I've been trying to get more into the FUNGUS mode of just plugging and playing with the AI/Wizzy thing. I've even considered making a combo out of it with a tie-down strap to save a little setup time. Keep us posted on the MB if you check one out.
 
#9
Jeremy Allen said:
How do you like the amp, Joel? You're one step ahead of me--I've been looking at that as a combo amp because I'm tired of schlepping around a bunch of stuff.
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I like it a lot. It works great with my DB and EB. I can plug in and play. The Markbass works without me having to EQ it at all. It also sounds better when I leave it on the floor. The sound is good and not too electricy. The amp is very light as well. The sound is useable, I'm cool with it. The Markbass is not muddy, not too bright, and it does not get in my way. I would not recomend using the DI, but other than that it is cool. Not perfect but good. You can try mine out anytime you want. I've been meaning to come down to hang with you if you have the time.


Amps were making me mad so I stopped caring so much about what I can't control. I also came to realize that I was expecting the amp to do too much. Now I focus on my acoustic sound. IMO the amp should not matter that much if you can get a decent sound on your own. I realized that I was getting so worked up about what people were thinking about my sound, that my playing was suffering. I have settled on the Markbass and given up on finding the "perfect rig". Sorry about the rant, but to sum it up, Markbass sound=close enough for jazz.....
 
#10
I've been using a Realist these days. I don't prefer it to the Full Circle, but I've purchased four FC's in the last two years, none of them is in my possession anymore (three on basses that were sold/traded, one on a bass that was wrecked), and I just haven't brought myself to purchase #5 yet. The AI/Wizzy combo actually sounds fine, and so does the Realist; I'm as happy with the set-up as I can be with an amp, I think. But I'm never really happy with any amp, you know? So I figure, at times, since I'm not going to be 100% thrilled anyway, it might be nice to have something to just grab and run along with.

Thanks for the cart suggestion, Chris; one of the guys around here has one and it looks nice.

As far as the Avalon goes, here's what I told Unkie Toad yesterday: "Bottom line: yeah, it sounds cool. "Magical," even, in some situations (though it's a non-factor in others, somehow). So what? You wanna schlep it, in a rack bag, to every little dinky restaurant gig and jazz casual where no one hears you or cares anyway? No. But it does nice things as a DI in a big hall, and as a preamp for an electric bass going straight into the power amp of an AI Clarus it's the answer to the question "how do I make this sound like a good amp for bass guitar?"

I've still got some experimenting to do with it; I usually use the EQ presets, and there are a few that are really really great for the Realist (one of them sounds perfect by itself, but the mids are really cut so it doesn't carry through well, and one of them makes the Realist sound like the Full Circle). I used it just as DI but into my amp, without any of the presets engaged, last weekend, and during the gig I thought "huh, sounds like the Realist and, as usual, it needs some EQ." But then I got home and listened to the recording and noticed that the tone with just the DI was very...separated? and full? and the low notes popped out very clearly? It was a more "amplified" sound than just the AI (I did a bunch of different settings at that gig to see what sounded like what), oddly, but it really spoke well.

Topic for another thread, I reckon.
 
#11
joel kelsey said:
I've been meaning to come down to hang with you if you have the time.
Click to expand...

Come on down! Our semester's all over but for the shoutin'.

joel kelsey said:
Now I focus on my acoustic sound. IMO the amp should not matter that much if you can get a decent sound on your own. I realized that I was getting so worked up about what people were thinking about my sound, that my playing was suffering. I have settled on the Markbass and given up on finding the "perfect rig". Sorry about the rant, but to sum it up, Markbass sound=close enough for jazz.....
Click to expand...

You are a wise man.
 
#12
Jeremy Allen said:
Thanks for the cart suggestion, Chris; one of the guys around here has one and it looks nice.
Click to expand...

I meant what I said - my third one folds in but not down, but has those big soft rubber wheels that are totally stair-friendly, and you're welcome to give it a test drive if ya want.

As far as the Avalon goes, here's what I told Unkie Toad yesterday: "Bottom line: yeah, it sounds cool. "Magical," even, in some situations (though it's a non-factor in others, somehow). So what? You wanna schlep it, in a rack bag, to every little dinky restaurant gig and jazz casual where no one hears you or cares anyway? No. But it does nice things as a DI in a big hall, and as a preamp for an electric bass going straight into the power amp of an AI Clarus it's the answer to the question "how do I make this sound like a good amp for bass guitar?"
Click to expand...

Question: I use a short stool with an extra wide seat. Any chance one of these could mount underneath, getting rid of the necessity of carrying it? Does the power cable detach? Next time you're down here and don't mind me piggybacking, let me know and I'd love to check it out for 5 minutes on a break or whatever (there's beer in it for you). Sounds interesting!
 
#13
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Question: I use a short stool with an extra wide seat. Any chance one of these could mount underneath, getting rid of the necessity of carrying it? Does the power cable detach?
Click to expand...

This might work. The power cable does detach; the unit is quite a hog, though. It's like 12lbs, 8.5" wide and 12" long. Makes the AI Clarus look like a shrimp!
It is nice. I'd like to compare it to the Summit thing, though, since most of the information I've gleaned online indicates that the TD100 is a better-sounding gadget. Phil may send me his to A/B if he ever finds it.
 
#14
Jeremy Allen said:
You are a wise man.
Click to expand...

Thank you sir...GAS is a disturbing condition. When I was stressing the whole amp thing, I realized that most of the people I play with cannot hear a huge difference between amps. That made me realize that I am the one making the sound that the people I play with like, not the amp. My sound is good and getting better, why should I care about the amp? Why do I keep trying to find a new and better amp? Who is gonna hear the difference that I hear? Other bass players that may be in the audience? Am I that petty and insecure that I want to have the nicest bass amp and and pickup so other bass players will like me, know that I practice a lot, and think I'm cool or something? Why do I care what they think anyway? After asking myself these questions, I did not like the answers... I think an amp is only gonna sound so good, no matter what the brand is. So now, I have picked an amp that I like, and have moved on. i guess you could say my GAS is in remission. Again, sorry for the rant....
 

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