Markbass LM3

[frankie5string]

Hadrien uses a LittleMark3 according to one of his interviews.

There’s an MM1000 amp at one of our rehearsal spaces that’s made in Indonesia.
I think the Little Marcus was also made in Indonesia.

 

[SJan3]

There’s an MM1000 amp at one of our rehearsal spaces that’s made in Indonesia.
I think the Little Marcus was also made in Indonesia.

Yep

 

[Nebadon2000]

#bemorefrench; Na I don't want to 'be more French'; I am to much of a 'Hipster' for that

 

[Zbysek]

My LM3 was made in 2010 and it is Class A/B…

 

[Low Class]

Definitely not Talkbass gossip; Markbass recognised the subtle tonal differences between its class AB and class D powered amps when it introduced them and described it :-
View attachment 5119553
Whilst all Markbass amps share a common basic tone, a difference is discernible when doing a true side by side comparison.

Yep, I was one of those that posted the difference when the class d version came out. It was night and day to my ears.

 

[ReeV0]

So... picked up the LMIII today... it's class D despite being made in 2010 in Italy

Interesting to compare it to the LM800, the latter looks much more beefy

 

[Sparky Mark]

So... picked up the LMIII today... it's class D despite being made in 2010 in Italy

Interesting to compare it to the LM800, the latter looks much more beefy

That is an example of a LM3 that has been repaired by replacing the original class AB power board with a later class D unit. The QC label in the centre of the PCB shows it was made in 2016 with a pass date of 26 August 2016.

At least you'll be able to compare any tonal differences between the first generation 800 watt and later 500 watt class D power amps.

 

[mcnach]

So... picked up the LMIII today... it's class D despite being made in 2010 in Italy

Interesting to compare it to the LM800, the latter looks much more beefy

That's strange, I haven't heard of any class D LM amps that early on, I think they were introduced in 2012-13. I wonder if it's been repaired post-2013, any signs that this could be the case? It looks like most 'repairs' seem to involve replacing a whole board rather than fixing individual components, so they may have replaced the power supply with a newer one if that were the case?

Do you like how it sounds?

I've had 2013, 2012 and 2009 versions. I liked them all. I still have the 2009, not because it was class A/B, but because it was the latest I had.
First I had a combo (2013). Then a head (2012). Then sold the head and got a LMT800. Then sold the lot and went with Genz Benz for a while. Then back to LM3 (the 2009). It's a backup these days, but it's still a great amp. I'd be happy with either version, to be honest. Side by side I may have some preference, but class D or A/B, they all sounded great to me.

 

[mcnach]

That is an example of a LM3 that has been repaired by replacing the original class AB power board with a later class D unit. The QC label in the centre of the PCB shows it was made in 2016 with a pass date of 26 August 2016. At least you'll be able to compare any tonal differences between the first generation 800 watt and later 500 watt class D power amps.

well spotted!

 

[ReeV0]

That is an example of a LM3 that has been repaired by replacing the original class AB power board with a later class D unit. The QC label in the centre of the PCB shows it was made in 2016 with a pass date of 26 August 2016.
View attachment 5124629
At least you'll be able to compare any tonal differences between the first generation 800 watt and later 500 watt class D power amps.

Interesting. My LM800 has a manufacture date of 2018, so I imagine it'll be much the same.

 

[Sparky Mark]

Interesting. My LM800 has a manufacture date of 2018, so I imagine it'll be much the same.

The designs are different so you should hear a difference side by side. It's very hard to compare if you don't have two identical cabs so you can switch very quickly between the two amps. I would describe my 800 watt Momark amp, which most likely uses the same power amp as the LM800, as being very balanced and accurate with a bigger low end whilst the 500 watt class D LM3 was more low mids forward punchy and closer to the AB LM3 than the 800 watt unit.