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Double Bass Mark Bass

flowinowen

flowinowen

Jun 9, 2010
86
2
westminster, CO
#1
Forgive me if there is already a thread on Mark stuff, BUT....I am looking at Mark Bass rigs. I feel I have settled on these but I'm not going to pass up a better opportunity. I need some info from the bass world. What kind of gear are people using? I need a rig that will sound well for both acoustic and electric bass. I've been using a Mini CMD 121p for big band, combos, and New grass shows and I like the versatility of it. I am looking for a lightweight rig, the ability to switch between acoustic and electric basses, nice tone control, etc. Let me know about your MarkBass experiences or other amps to check.
Thanks!
 
#2
Hi - I looked at and almost bought a Markbass combo but decided that I liked the versatility of a head w/separate cabinet, since for EB I often need more volume (I now have two 1x12 cabinets that I can use together or just one as needed - for more flexibility).

I had a Little Mark III head initially but ended up selling it and going with a Genz Benz 6.0 shuttle head instead, just as small and lightweight (it fits in my backpack!) but I found the GB to have a warmer sound and more versatility. They are often for sale at a reasonable price over on the EB side of the forum; lots of good options for small cabinets these days, too. I felt that the Markbass cabinets were very high-priced compared to the other options out there.

My 2 cents...
 
#3
flowinowen said:
Forgive me if there is already a thread on Mark stuff, BUT....I am looking at Mark Bass rigs. I feel I have settled on these but I'm not going to pass up a better opportunity. I need some info from the bass world. What kind of gear are people using? I need a rig that will sound well for both acoustic and electric bass. I've been using a Mini CMD 121p for big band, combos, and New grass shows and I like the versatility of it. I am looking for a lightweight rig, the ability to switch between acoustic and electric basses, nice tone control, etc. Let me know about your MarkBass experiences or other amps to check.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Flowinowen,
I demoed several Markbass amps including a Little Mark II and an F1 personally I think they sound better with electric bass. On the other hand some Talk Bass players really like them. Markbass uses a 500 k ohm input impedance that needs a buffer preamp like the FDeck HPF/PRE to match up with a piezo pickup. If I were going with with a MarkBass the F500 would match up with my bass better than their other models. I find that the VLE and VPF aren't as useful with DB as they are with EB. Just my opinion though.

Ric
 
#4
What I'm using, and which sounds equally awesome
with my Carvin Icon 6P Fretless, and with my fully
carved Hungarian, is the Genz Benz Streamliner 900.

So far I'm just driving a Bergantino AE112, what's nice
is I can carry that in one hand, and the 900 has this
great padded gig bag with a shoulder strap so that
goes on my other side :)

It has 3 tubes in it, and this cool blue plexi front
panel, I actually tried the thing a couple times in the
local store and walked out thinking it wasn't for me,
but then I decided to get serious, and took it on trial
so I could hear it in my own environment.... it never
went back :p

It has way more power than I need right now, but its
kinda like that fine purr of a really powerful engine, it
just warms the heart :cool:

I'd give one a try before you decide if you can.
 
#5
@jfv are you using a pickup or a Mic on your upright?

@Ric Vice I have a MOTU Ultralite MK3 that I'm using to mix my onstage sound with thats got built in preamps. Any ideas on how this would help out with the 500 k output? And yes, the VLE and VPF don't do much of anything except add some mud to my mix.
 

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