Markbass LMIII vs. Thunderfunk TFB550

[paulerip]

I was hoping someone could give me a comparison between the LMII (or III) against the Thunderfunk TFB550. I'm looking to pick up a light, punchy, decently loud rig that needs to be very road worthy. I've tried the LMII's and like them but am finding some of the TFB550's for close to the same price and have always heard great things about them (but never been able to play through one).

 

[KJung]

I gigged the TF550b as my main gigging head for a couple years and replaced it with an LMII (and currently an F1). My buddy Tber Vision did the same thing a while back.

I have a lot of comparisons posted, but they might be hard to find with a search.

In general, both are great. Both will generate about the same volume (although to my ear the LMII has a bit more ooomph). The TF is all about warm, punchy tone. It is a bit attenuated in the deep bass versus the LMII, but has a bit more low mid character (punch). The primary difference is in the highs. The LMII has the capability of generating 'SWR type treble response' if you want it, which is great for slapping and a more modern tone. It has a very nice passive tone control that acts as a nice, natural treble roll-off. It's not a particularly 'bright' head like the F1 (i.e., lot's of upper mid brightness), but it has a beautiful, smooth treble extension to it that sounds great with roundwound strings.

So, I could get the LMII to sound quite a bit like the TF550b by rolling off the low end of the LMII a bit, and softening the treble response with the VLE. However, I couldn't go the other way... that deep bass and sparkle up top are just not in the TF550b's voicing.

Both are great, and the new LMIII adds a more fully featured DI, making the DI closer to the very nice TF DI.

I greatly prefer the LMII, but if you are a bit more into 'old school warmth and punch' it's hard to beat the TF550b.

Hope that helps.

 

[paulerip]

Thanks for the reply. Could you (or anyone) shed some light on the differences between the TF550 and the TF550B, I believe the B has some improvements but I can't find any sites that say what those are....

 

[KJung]

Thanks for the reply. Could you (or anyone) shed some light on the differences between the TF550 and the TF550B, I believe the B has some improvements but I can't find any sites that say what those are....

The differences are very minor. I had a TF550a and did 'upgrade' to the B, but more because I like the 'greatest and latest', for better or worse

The 550b's primary difference, if I remember correctly, was the addition of a pre EQ DI (nice), a mute switch, and integrating the 'switch' into the circuit board versus the somewhat 'hobby shop' looking baseball bat mini switch in the 'a'. The heads sounded identical to me.

There was a preamp chip change in the mid production cycle of the 550b (called the 'golden chip' or something like that). I couldn't hear any difference.

So, it's more of a 'feature improvement' thing with the 'b' versus the 'a' than a meaningful difference in volume or tone.

 

[burk48237]

The other advantage the TF has is that it has a bit more oomph if your playing into an 8 ohm cab. The volumes of the amps into 4 ohms is roughly equivalent, but at 8 ohms the LM II seems to run out of headroom a bit quicker. This seems to be a problem with all the mini heads I've played so far. I thought I read Markbass has addressed this issue in the LM III. I bought Ken's old TF and I would agree with his assessments. I personally prefer the TF (bit more old school). I slap only occasionally while Ken is mofo slapin fool. He even slaps on country tunes.

 

[Quadzilla]

I slap only occasionally while Ken is mofo slapin fool. He even slaps on country tunes.

Show off!!! !

 

[KJung]

I slap only occasionally while Ken is mofo slapin fool. He even slaps on country tunes.

Actually, you have your story confused. I got slapped by a female singer in a country band

 

[Arranger]

The differences are very minor. I had a TF550a and did 'upgrade' to the B, but more because I like the 'greatest and latest', for better or worse

The 550b's primary difference, if I remember correctly, was the addition of a pre EQ DI (nice), a mute switch, and integrating the 'switch' into the circuit board versus the somewhat 'hobby shop' looking baseball bat mini switch in the 'a'. The heads sounded identical to me.

There was a preamp chip change in the mid production cycle of the 550b (called the 'golden chip' or something like that). I couldn't hear any difference.

So, it's more of a 'feature improvement' thing with the 'b' versus the 'a' than a meaningful difference in volume or tone.

There is apparently a bit more to the differences. Dave Funk made the following remarks to me directly in an e-mail regarding other concerns (great support, by the way):

"The hum-bucking wire was added to the 550's after the hum was increased due to the higher power. I discovered this myself, and then a couple of years later found that AMP BH-420 had a similar wire! For comparison, the 420 had a hum level of ~3.5mV. The 750 with the wire has a typical hum between 0.8mV and 1.1mV. All the 550's and 750's have the wire except for the early 550-A's. Don't know the serial numbers."

 

[KJung]

There is apparently a bit more to the differences. Dave Funk made the following remarks to me directly in an e-mail regarding other concerns (great support, by the way):

"The hum-bucking wire was added to the 550's after the hum was increased due to the higher power. I discovered this myself, and then a couple of years later found that AMP BH-420 had a similar wire! For comparison, the 420 had a hum level of ~3.5mV. The 750 with the wire has a typical hum between 0.8mV and 1.1mV. All the 550's and 750's have the wire except for the early 550-A's. Don't know the serial numbers."

Yes, Dave has made a few improvements on the way. I was comparing the production 550a's to 550b's. No difference at all that I can hear, and both my a and b were very quiet. However, I did have one of the first 550a's, and it did go back for a bit of tweaking after a few months. I would think any 550a out there now has these few minor fixes that make them very similar to the later b's.