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Double Bass Markbass F1

#21
I have a Markbass CMD 121p for double bass and love it. I use the K&K Rockabilly system and play country slap and pizz on a fully carved with guts. Works great. I use a pre so input impedance is not an issue. I didn't use a pre for years. Not good. Yeah it works if you have your rig, but what if you DON 'T have it. Say at a festival where you have to walk in. Played one a few months ago. Carried the bass for 7 blocks then got to the stage and a SVT was waiting. Not exactly an acoustic rig. I plugged into the DI and used the SVT for a monitor. Everyone said it sounded great. I've walked up to rigs at festivals with a realist, plugged in and nothing. I use a pre, and I think the markbass sounds killer for upright. The Woods should sound better since you pay almost 4 times as much for it (or more), but the markbass holds its own with a little work. Lots of upright guys find something that works and stick to it. Underwood with GK or Woods anyone? Oh i mean everyone. It isn't the only solution.
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#23
So the differences between the LMII and the F1 are:

1. LMII has a balanced (XLR) input. Anybody using it? larry maybe. :)
2. Size, weight.
3. Price.

Is that right? robgrow you said the preamps were the same, yes? What about the power amps?

I downloaded the owner's manuals and could not spot any other variances, but maybe I missed some things. The controls and the specs look identical to me. What would cause them to sound different?
 
#24
What about the power amps?


LMII - Class A/B
F1 - Class D

I own both but the LMII rides in the back seat.
The F1 is my go to amp! The F1 with the Epi UL-410 (2)
is a perfect match. It absolutly kills in the mix!
Clear with a little bit of grind to it. The F1 is a winner! IMO :D

DSC00924.jpg
 
#25
bolo said:
So the differences between the LMII and the F1 are:

1. LMII has a balanced (XLR) input. Anybody using it? larry maybe. :)
2. Size, weight.
3. Price.

Is that right? robgrow you said the preamps were the same, yes? What about the power amps?

I downloaded the owner's manuals and could not spot any other variances, but maybe I missed some things. The controls and the specs look identical to me. What would cause them to sound different?
Click to expand...


Per Joey's post above, the F1 is a class D amp, the LMII is a traditional class A/B. They both are SMPS, hence the small size and weight.

The class D amp allows the F1 to put out the same power in a smaller box.

The F1 is a bit tighter in the low end, and a bit more upper mid present, which seems to work great with DB.

The preamps are the same, minus the XLR input on the F1.
 
#29
I had a Markbass SA450(LMII with parametric mids), for a little over a year, and I was never really happy with the sound for Double Bass. The input impedance is a bit on the low side for piezo pickups, and I found that a lot of low end needed to be cut. I have played through the F1 as well. A little tighter sound, but there is just something about the mid range with the Markbass amps that doesn't seem to work for me with the Double Bass. If it works for you, thats great! They are ultra light, with a ton of power. I think with the electric they sound really nice. I traded my SA450 for an Eden WT405, and for me it crushes the sound of the Markbass. Great doubling amp. Twice the weight...
 
#30
Thanks Adrian...I have a wt800 that works pretty well for DB (as does the Thunderfunk, and Walkabout), but it would be nice to have a micro-ish solution sometimes too...
 
#31
I like the WT405 because it is less colored sounding with a tight low end. It also has a high input impedance which is suitable for piezo. Its a great amp for doubling. I often wonder how the new WTX260 amp from Eden sounds... If I can find one I'll have to check it out.
 
#32
Adrian Juras said:
I had a Markbass SA450(LMII with parametric mids), for a little over a year, and I was never really happy with the sound for Double Bass. The input impedance is a bit on the low side for piezo pickups, and I found that a lot of low end needed to be cut. I have played through the F1 as well. A little tighter sound, but there is just something about the mid range with the Markbass amps that doesn't seem to work for me with the Double Bass. If it works for you, thats great! They are ultra light, with a ton of power. I think with the electric they sound really nice. I traded my SA450 for an Eden WT405, and for me it crushes the sound of the Markbass. Great doubling amp. Twice the weight...
Click to expand...

I have not had luck with the regular Markbass heads either. The impedance is quite low for piezos. It was best with the Realist (which I believe Marco P. uses with his Markbass amps), but I am not a huge Realist fan (Rev Solo II for me). The regular Markbass heads sound great with electric but awful with the Rev.

My best doubling amp so far is the head from the Markbass AC101. It is not super high power (350W 4ohms) but it is WAY loud enough for jazz.

The top channel is low impedance (500k) with a combo jack and phantom power. This is actually my electric channel in that it sounds just like the LMII.

The bottom channel is 3-4meg and works great with piezos of all stripes. It is alot fatter sounding than the Acoustic Image amps and works great.

The reverb/chorus effects on the right side are kind of superfluous for me but sound good (I use the chorus a little bit with my fretless jazz bass).

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#36
macmrkt said:
New Markacoustic separate head and a new 1x12 combo coming - we have the previews in our NAMM coverage. The head, which is common to all models, seems revised a bit.
Click to expand...

It doesn't look like the head has changed appreciably except for the notch filter which is a nice addition. The big news is the nice looking 1x12 combo version. This should open it up to DB players who can't get by on the 1x10. It should also be an excellent doubling solution. Nice product!!! (Now when will it be here in 2011 :p)
 
#37
Wilbyman said:
It doesn't look like the head has changed appreciably except for the notch filter which is a nice addition. The big news is the nice looking 1x12 combo version. This should open it up to DB players who can't get by on the 1x10. It should also be an excellent doubling solution. Nice product!!! (Now when will it be here in 2011 :p)
Click to expand...
Knew you'd like it. However, If I'm not mistaken the 1x6 and 1x10 combos have the tweeter adjustment control on the side. The prototype 1x12 didn't show it. I pointed this out to the Markbass guys and they will look into this issue.
 
#39
Brent Nussey said:
Wilbyman -

Have you tried plugging a mic into the AC101's top channel (with the combo input jack)?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have used it with the 48v phantom power mod (not really a mod, you just had to connect a jumper on the earlier version to get the phantom power connected) and it works great. The combo jack is also the 500k impedance "electric" channel and it sounds better with electric bass than the 4meg input (500k = same as the LMII).

The smartest thing they did was ditch the effect for the notch filter...I actually like the chorus for electric sometimes but the notch filter is much more practical.

W
 
#40
macmrkt said:
Knew you'd like it. However, If I'm not mistaken the 1x6 and 1x10 combos have the tweeter adjustment control on the side. The prototype 1x12 didn't show it. I pointed this out to the Markbass guys and they will look into this issue.
Click to expand...

I don't actually find the tweeter attenuator necessary on the AC101 combo, because the tweeter is so un-aggressive that there isn't a good reason to turn it down. It adds a little air to the sound but it isn't really too strong. I could go either way on it (tweeter/no tweeter).

W
 

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