Markbass Megathread PART 2

[KJung]

I haven't heard about the reliability problems of the UL502, and a search here on talkbass really doesn't yeild anything about it. Could you point me in the right direction on this one?

Yes, I agree with your assessment of the UL502, warm yet crisp, punchy, and full. But you are right, this amp has its tone, and the eq is very subtle. I don't really use the channel switching, but it is nice to have it, and I don't use the scoop button. However, the UL502 has a lot of features, and if I should ever want to use them in the future, there they are. The UL502 is almost like a swiss army knife to that effect. Most of the time you just use the knife blade, and sometimes the scissors. But if you need one of the other tools on it in the future, well, there it is.

DI issues right at the start.... seems totally fixed now, but was enough to move me away initially. I was more reacting to the 'reliability post' above. There really don't seem to be enough of these out there to really gauge the reliability issue one way or the other. Very few posts on these in general. That's one of the reasons we all focused on the 502 so much in a recent shootout. It was one of the few heads that I've never seen, heard, nor played. Again, it's very nice.

K

 

[Brad Johnson]

Well, I guess I'm comparing mine to the Saturn car. Remember, when the Saturn first came out, it was the bomb, the best thing since sliced bread. The car will never break down, etc. Well the Saturn is a decent car, but as the years went on it let's just say it couldn't / wouldn't ride as smooth as other brands.

I think the LMII will be a nice serviceable amp...........a great back-up........but will it be durable, dependable, etc?

And Brad, I disagree with you to this extent....if I make thousands of dollars on ONE corporate gig does that mean if I use the amp on a gig, and then it fails, it's worth it? I'm sorry, amps with proper care, should last years & years.

Peace!

Again...
I haven't been babying mine for the year's worth of gigs I've subjected it to. With the five gigs I did last week mine paid for itself... again. Twice. YMMV

You can disagree with that all you want. In the meantime, AGAIN, over the course of a YEAR's worth of my personal gigs, no problems. And I got compliments on my sound on the majority of them. And while it was doing that with no problems, it paid for itself a multitude of times. You're asking will it be reliable, I'm saying mine has been. I don't have to ponder that question. I know for a fact "mine" is.


Anyone who wants to feel it's cheap, can't be reliable, is just hype, etc. is fine with me. I honestly don't care. I'm not disagreeing with those opinions, I'm offering my experience ONLY as a counterpoint.


So no, I'm not going to debate your point. People can read both of our statements and draw their own conclusions.


I will say that you have a somewhat faulty memory about Saturn. When did anyone ever say their cars would never break? Most likely just another case of people "hearing" what they want to hear.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Maybe some of the thinking on the LM2 being cheap or poorly built stems from the American stigma of "if it isn't giant and heavy, it must be poorly built"? I opened my LM2 up when I was mounting it to peek under the hood and it was very clean and everything was solid. Any component that had a possibility of moving had a blob of glue on it to prevent that.

You gotta admit, the SVT (or perhaps a db750) head sure does seem more impressive than the LM2 from an American perception.. mmm.. F350 trucks... Hummers (Original, thank-you very much). I don't mean to be political or whatnot, but it is true, and I am certainly guilty of this!. To paraphrase Homer Simpson, "I'm an american! I want my beer cold, my tv loud and my bass heads Huuuuuuuuuge!"

You could be right... reminds me of the lawyer in Jurassic Park talking about the night vision goggles the kid was playing with.

OTOH most people know that downsizing can actually make an item more expensive, desirable, etc.

If the "cheap" comment is based on selling price, talk to the people outside the US who can't get the same amp as "cheap" as we do

 

[kevbassman]

Yu know...it's pretty crappy when I have to defend myself for VOICING MY OPINIOn ..but here goes:

Go to my prior posts...I never , ever stated the LMII was bad. I own one. One of my numerous posts stated the LMII sounds great with my Epifani 2 x 12 cab. IMO the LMII blew away the Epi with that cabinet.

Hype.........I didn't say the bass was all hype...what I said was it will take years to see if this product was/ is the real McCoy or all hype.
A year from know we could all be raving about a new bass amp that folds up like an Ipod! (I wish!)

I'm entitled to my opinion. There is no right or wrong as we all have different opinions on things.

I never, ever called the LMII cheap. If I was in the market for a new head, would I purchase the 502 or LMII. It depends....how am I financially, what am I using the amp for, huge venues, small clubs, coffee houses, etc. There are allot of factors.

I also beleive I stated...for the money this head can't be beat.

And I have no idea what this troll thing is thqt a few of you are mentioning.
I'm my own man......just because I may not agree with the majority does not make MY OPINION OR YOUR OPINION LESS VALUABLE.

"nUFF SAID.
I've been playing for over 25 years.

 

[CElton]

I'm also feeling this amp is all hype....and I own one for God's sake!

 

[kevbassman]

When a few of you young bucks get older, and run into back, knee, joint problems.....you wil understand how valauble this NEO series is for lightweight cabs, and amps like the LMII.

Like I tell anyone, if it works for you use it.
I'm not a tech head......I mean is a 500W solid state amp louder than the 250W all tube head? Not necessarily.....is the LMII louder than the Epi UL502...but all means.
Does louder mean better...............IMO..........no.

Allot of you love these Schroeder cabs.................I played thru one and personally do not care for them, especially comparing it to a Berg or Epi.
I used to play a Avatar cab that sounded great.
Some people get too caught up in the "I'm playing the same rig that FLEA does" routine.....does that make you play or sound like FLEA......no. It's your fingers, tech, etc. that may have you play like that person.

 

[kevbassman]

That was in response to another post. I can show other posts where I praised the LMII. And I can change my opinion daily if I want to...can I not?

I can't voice my opinion?

Freeddom of speech anyone? Bill or Rights?

 

[CElton]

When a few of you young bucks get older, and run into back, knee, joint problems.....you wil understand how valauble this NEO series is for lightweight cabs, and amps like the LMII.

Like I tell anyone, if it works for you use it.
I'm not a tech head......I mean is a 500W solid state amp louder than the 250W all tube head? Not necessarily.....is the LMII louder than the Epi UL502...but all means.
Does louder mean better...............IMO..........no.

Allot of you love these Schroeder cabs.................I played thru one and personally do not care for them, especially comparing it to a Berg or Epi.
I used to play a Avatar cab that sounded great.
Some people get too caught up in the "I'm playing the same rig that FLEA does" routine.....does that make you play or sound like FLEA......no. It's your fingers, tech, etc. that may have you play like that person.

Not sure where this came from? When you say "young bucks" are you referring to me? I have been playing longer than you although I'm not even sure what that means or has to do with anything.

Now you take the tangent to the Schroeder cabs??? Why? Like you said, play what works for you.

 

[kevbassman]

Brad, I wasn't debating you.....just voicing a opinion. That is all. i respect your opinion. Pls. respect mine.

And actually if anything.....you have to love the Markbass marketing team. Their stragety is SOLID....
Sell a good product at a great price........I can almost guarantee that in a year or so, that LMII head will not be $600.00 or lower.
MB is trying to install their product in the USA market. I respect that. IMO they have a great marketing department.
Other MFG's could learn allot from those individuals at MB.
Peter Murray has answered all of my questions in PM's. He's actually helped me in a couple of matters.
I thank him for that & respect him for that. That
goes along way with me. Old school.

HAve I sold my LMII.......nope....because I know it will serve my purpose for what I want it for.
Again, I never stated the LMII was a bad unit.......I just like another amp better.
Price wise..the LMII is second to none in the under $600.00 price range.
I hope this clears the air with some of you. If not, oh well..I tried....it's not worth wasting anymore time on. Life is too short.

 

[kevbassman]

No, when I was young it was so cool to have the Ampeg SVT & the cab....even though it weighed a ton......it was the amp to use....because we were young & strong like buck!

For me....not anymore.....I complain about lifting my 95 lb Berg cab!

I'm too old! LOL

But still love playing....as we all do.....

 

[vision]

I'm also feeling this amp is all hype....and I own one for God's sake!

Hype.........I didn't say the bass was all hype...what I said was it will take years to see if this product was/ is the real McCoy or all hype.

And I can change my opinion daily if I want to...can I not?

I can't voice my opinion?

The issue is you said one thing, then backtracked and said you didn't say it. Of course we're all entitled to our opinions. But when you say a product is "all hype", you are downplaying other's opinions..."hype" insinuates that the fact that me saying that I love the tone of my LMII isn't really true, I'm just jumping on the bandwagon.

You're free to change your opinion daily, but don't be surprised if you're called out on it.

 

[Vic]

PS...Has anyone usesd the LMII as a pre-amp with your poweramp? Are you just using th line-out.
From memory..there isn't a pre-amp out that I recall.

PM Vic for info. I don't think it works very well, due to the relatively low output of the DI, and the lack of a true pre-amp out.

Correct. There is no preamp out, the DI does work, but will not drive a power amp to full output, and the efx send is not suitable because it's strictly pre-EQ/filters, so it has no tone shaping on it. This is my one primary frustration with this amp, but even so, it's not really that big of a deal. That kind of operation was not a design goal for this amp.

That said, the SA450, which is basically the same amp, but with a few other minor features, should street for about 150 more, and has an adjustable DI which should be PLENTY hot enough. Supposedly, GC should be carrying those at some point... maybe even yet this year.

For me, this "issue" has fallen by the wayside, as I'm now just using the amp as designed... a killer lightweight integrated head. Currently with a 210/112 stack, but also with a 110 and a 112 (both Epifani). My "big rig" is something else I'm also very happy with.

 

[Vic]

...I would agree with the overall assessment that the LMII looks to be made very nicely, though like any product, there may be a few bad eggs in the bunch.

Also, with the "heavier/bulkier seems more reliable", this doesn't really sit with me...

+1

 

[kevbassman]

Hey, did I tell you guys that the MB LMII is the best amp I've ever owed?

No! You're kidding?

The more I work with the amp, the more I will love it / hate it.

I'm sure it will be pointed out to me! LOL

 

[Vic]

I'm sure it will be pointed out to me! LOL

No big deal, but I think it's just 'cause you've said the amp is "all hype" in two different threads now, so it seems to be kind of a soapbox thing, and when it's a negative thing like this, folks tend to push back a bit.

At least for me, if something really is all hype, then it's no meat/potatoes... no genuine worth... without the "buzz", it's literally nothing... likely not even worth evaluating.

IMHO, even if you don't like everything about the LMII (which DOES include me), I really don't think the MB stuff deserves that classification. Seems to me it's proved its mettle pretty respectably.

FWIW, anyway.

 

[Tony G]

Here is my review on the Gator and Gig Skinz Small mixer bags for the LMII: http://talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=364847

 

[Brad Johnson]

That was pretty obvious, wasn't it?

 

[Brad Johnson]

Brad, I wasn't debating you.....just voicing a opinion. That is all. i respect your opinion. Pls. respect mine.

I know... you disagreed with something I said. I don't see where anyone even hinted that it wasn't okay to do that. In the meantime, I laid out my relatively long term experience with my amp. Any problem with that?

And actually if anything.....you have to love the Markbass marketing team. Their stragety is SOLID....
Sell a good product at a great price........I can almost guarantee that in a year or so, that LMII head will not be $600.00 or lower.

No, you can GUESS. That's about all. It's been a year and it's still the same price.

MB is trying to install their product in the USA market. I respect that. IMO they have a great marketing department.
Other MFG's could learn allot from those individuals at MB.
Peter Murray has answered all of my questions in PM's. He's actually helped me in a couple of matters.
I thank him for that & respect him for that. That
goes along way with me. Old school.

HAve I sold my LMII.......nope....because I know it will serve my purpose for what I want it for.
Again, I never stated the LMII was a bad unit.......I just like another amp better.
Price wise..the LMII is second to none in the under $600.00 price range.
I hope this clears the air with some of you. If not, oh well..I tried....it's not worth wasting anymore time on. Life is too short.

The problem, no offense intended in the slightest, is that you seem to need to clear things up with yourself first. I'll respond further on your other post.

 

[Vic]

Here is my review on the Gator and Gig Skinz Small mixer bags for the LMII: http://talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=364847

Nice! Thanks!

 

[Tony G]

Nice! Thanks!

No problem.

They are both nice cases with each having pluses and minuses that the other doesn't.