Mark bass... transparent?

[Nitkin]

I agree. I was not impressed with the Markbass amps. In reality what i have noticed that the heavier amps sound better. I love the Alembic pre but with a heavy crest or crown... Look Out. I do believe in the future the lighter amps will sound as good. But I never heard anybody say something like the Markbass sounds better than an alembic and crown or Crest. Or even the Aguilar 750. Even a Carvin B1500 (Which is about the same price). As far as light amps. The Eden, EA, EBS all sound better than the light Markbass, But not a separate pre and a Crown or crest CA6 or CA9. Now I have not heard the tube markbass amps but what I heard at the NY bass I was not impressed at all.

i have to agree here.
I was in Italy one year ago and found a shop which had new and old series amps. Spend some time with my bass and found two guys(drummer and guitarist) next to me. They had rehearsing space right in the same block. I had to leave some cash in a shop before we went out to try those amps in a band situation. Fortunately they had there same aguilar 4x10 as i have .
Finally i bought two HT-503 amps and i`m happy since then.
But anyway...new light heads are great when you need really hi-fi sounding bass

 

[svtb15]

But anyway...new light heads are great when you need really hi-fi sounding bass

The markbass head+cab does not sound hi-fi to me at all... quite the opposite.. Someone brought up earlier, that it may in fact be the cabs and not the head that sounded murky mids and shy lows.. I did not have the opportunity to try the head on a separate cab like a bergy though..

To me hi-fi has always been extended lows and highs.. but not by EQing it in making it sound EQed..
hi-end that goes way up to maybe 18k or so and lows that extend very deep and a flat response from one extreme to the other throughout the freq spectrum..

And markbass to me sounded truncated on each extreme of hi and low and not very articulate in the crucial mid freqs.
My ears are real good.. I had then tested a year ago and they are still right on.. But I have used ear protection my entire career which I think really helps.

My opinion revolves around my Reference sound (Crown amp- Alembic pre) which to ME is huge, tight, fast, articulate, warm and many other adjectives..
Others will have a different point of reference which is fine and perfect for them. (That does sound a like some politically correct line designed to not hurt ones feelings which makes me want to puke)… but good sound is Subjective. Many think Bella Bartok is not music but it sure is.
I think in the future they will get the huge sound in lightweight design, but it is just not there yet according to my REFERENCE point .. IMO

 

[emjazz]

I feel that the Markbass amps are very good for what they offer. The cabs are ok to me but I prefer others. On a gig my markbass head through two berg 112's sounds very nice. With a more powerful amp they sound much better. However, I carry the amp over my shoulder and it gets the job done admirably. There is not a digital amp that sounds like a big, humpin leadslead (ca9 etc...). The only one that comes real close is the one that Jim Bergantino is using because it incorporates dsp. Even that one though doesn't have some of the postive attributes of a big, heavy amp. I'm sure it'll happen some day but it hasn't happened yet. The Markbass amps are quite transparent with the right cabs, not with their own. Are there better amps out there? For you, maybe (anyone reading this). For me it's the best digital amp available. Truthfully, as soon as I can afford a Bergantino IP112 the markbass is gone. I do dig it for the time being though.

 

[svtb15]

I feel that the Markbass amps are very good for what they offer. The cabs are ok to me but I prefer others. On a gig my markbass head through two berg 112's sounds very nice. With a more powerful amp they sound much better. However, I carry the amp over my shoulder and it gets the job done admirably. There is not a digital amp that sounds like a big, humpin leadslead (ca9 etc...). The only one that comes real close is the one that Jim Bergantino is using because it incorporates dsp. Even that one though doesn't have some of the postive attributes of a big, heavy amp. I'm sure it'll happen some day but it hasn't happened yet. The Markbass amps are quite transparent with the right cabs, not with their own. Are there better amps out there? For you, maybe (anyone reading this). For me it's the best digital amp available. Truthfully, as soon as I can afford a Bergantino IP112 the markbass is gone. I do dig it for the time being though.

i agree the bergantino IPs sound great