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Markbass Hiss

Chris Ashworth

Chris Ashworth

Dec 26, 2019
10
3
#1
I have a mark bass Multi amp that I run with 2 markbass Marcus miller 102 cabs.
The amp has quite a lot of hiss (Hiss) annoyingly loud

nothing plugged into the input
master output at 0
not changed by the eq or gain
Doesn't get louder until passed 50% on the master vol

Any Ideas?
 
Last edited:
#5
Markbass amps have a decent amount of white noise. You will hear it running. I never really noticed it with commercial cabs but I could really hear the second I fired up my full-range cabinet. Still, I would think your noise is excessive based on your description.
 
#9
Okay, this is weird. So here's where I'm at:

I have a MB Little Marcus 800 and a NY122. Hooked up, there's VERY little hiss. Ok. Good job.

Last month, I picked up a MB CMD121H, and, when I power it on, even with everything at 0, there's this audible hiss. It's not super bad.... but man, it definitely is distracting when I'm practicing at home. I'm unsure if it's meant to be there as I don't have others to compare it against. Should I also just take it in? I bought it online and it was their only stock of this, so.......
 
#10
adudenamedruby said:
Okay, this is weird. So here's where I'm at:

I have a MB Little Marcus 800 and a NY122. Hooked up, there's VERY little hiss. Ok. Good job.

Last month, I picked up a MB CMD121H, and, when I power it on, even with everything at 0, there's this audible hiss. It's not super bad.... but man, it definitely is distracting when I'm practicing at home. I'm unsure if it's meant to be there as I don't have others to compare it against. Should I also just take it in? I bought it online and it was their only stock of this, so.......
Click to expand...

Likely the piezo tweeter. I find them quite annoying, although only really noticeable at home not onstage.
My CMD121P was like that. I went as far as buying an aftermarket tweeter, but then never installed it. The LMIII head (which is what's on those combos) does not produce that hiss when using other cabs (tweeterless).

Some people disconnect the tweeter entirely. You can bypass the whole crossover and just use the built-in speakers full range. They sound better, in my opinion.
 
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#15
adudenamedruby said:
Okay, this is weird. So here's where I'm at:

I have a MB Little Marcus 800 and a NY122. Hooked up, there's VERY little hiss. Ok. Good job.

Last month, I picked up a MB CMD121H, and, when I power it on, even with everything at 0, there's this audible hiss. It's not super bad.... but man, it definitely is distracting when I'm practicing at home. I'm unsure if it's meant to be there as I don't have others to compare it against. Should I also just take it in? I bought it online and it was their only stock of this, so.......
Click to expand...

Yeah that’s basically the same situation I’m in, also worry that it would be unusable if you wanted to mic it up to record.


I spoke to a repair shop that does markbass warranty work who are going to take a look.
 
#17
I just got my 210-500 shipped in from WWBW/Musician's Friend, hooked it up, and there's an instant white noise hiss...
The only way to kill it, is to dial the "Old School" knob to full. Reading this thread, I'm guessing "Old School" means no tweeter... and that knob is a filter that progressively cuts the circuit.
Torn on shipping it right back, as I have a gig in three days where it would be useful. The old AI doesn't cut it for a big hall.
 
#18
Ed Hawke said:
I just got my 210-500 shipped in from WWBW/Musician's Friend, hooked it up, and there's an instant white noise hiss...
The only way to kill it, is to dial the "Old School" knob to full. Reading this thread, I'm guessing "Old School" means no tweeter... and that knob is a filter that progressively cuts the circuit.
Torn on shipping it right back, as I have a gig in three days where it would be useful. The old AI doesn't cut it for a big hall.
Click to expand...
Hiss did annoy me a bit with my CMD121P combo when practicing at low volumes at home. Not a problem at all on gigs where it was brilliant. It depends what you want the combo for? If mainly at home then get something else; if gigs, then it might be worth keeping. I'd use it on your first gig without using the old school filter and see what you think then.
 
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#19
Sparky Mark said:
Hiss did annoy me a bit with my CMD121P combo when practicing at low volumes at home. Not a problem at all on gigs where it was brilliant. It depends what you want the combo for? If mainly at home then get something else; if gigs, then it might be worth keeping. I'd use it on your first gig without using the old school filter and see what you think then.
Click to expand...
THIS ∆∆∆∆∆∆∆∆
 
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#20
Sparky Mark said:
Hiss did annoy me a bit with my CMD121P combo when practicing at low volumes at home. Not a problem at all on gigs where it was brilliant. It depends what you want the combo for? If mainly at home then get something else; if gigs, then it might be worth keeping. I'd use it on your first gig without using the old school filter and see what you think then.
Click to expand...
WWBW/GC/MF did refund, and replace with brand spanking new... for $40 more. (I had bought an "open box return" for 20% off) The replacement came in two days, and had a markedly lower volume hiss, so I DID use it for two gigs with the "Old School" knob dialed up just a hair. I didn't notice any pass through hiss when connected to the board/mains/monitors... so it must be the actual piezo tweeter, or at least something post pass through.
It ticks the right boxes... light, loud, faithful (for the most part).
 
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