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Markbass Megathread PART 2

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#927
Roscoe5 said:
My GC rep is bringing in an R500 tomorrow for me to check out! ...and if I like it, I'll return my 2nd LMII and take home the R500.

Oh, ...and I have an Epi UL310 on the way!!! Just think ...

R500
Epifani UL310

Wouldn't that make a Sweet rig of joy? :hyper:
Gary
Click to expand...

I really look forward to hearing what you think of that rig! Oh, and if you get the R 500, and then later fall out of love with it, you know who to call! :D
 
#931
Well gang, I saw, I touched, I listened ... to the R500! :eek: And I got a chance to directly compare to an F1 and LMII. (Using my Bergie HT/EX cabs and my Nordy Vj5 bass)

Here's a review I just wrote dedicated to a very fun shootout:

Markbass R500 - F1 - LMII Shootout http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=356547&goto=newpost

In short, I did not buy the R500. :hiding: Nor did I did trade my (second) LMII for the F1. I concluded that for my needs for an ultimately versatile amp, the LMII is stunning. It is a shining example of what a great amp and a great value should be. It is clearly the most versatile and best sounding amp of the three I tested. (To my ears, IMHO/IME) The LMII has a presence, fullness, and quality of tone couple with awesome responsiveness. It remains incomparable to anything else I've tried. It is especially remarkable at the price point.

Brief synopsis:

R500 - Tube, wooly, spongy tube sounding amp. Reminded me of a DB750 tone. Didn't 'seem' as loud, but that tube slowness might be responsible for that. I may equate the perception of a more powerful amp to the quick, solid state responsiveness of the LMII. I could NOT get a slap tone I liked on this amp. It does not have VPF knob or VLE. (Doesn't need the VLE) It's like the VLE is turned up all the time. Didn't do it for me. But for fingerstyle, blues, old school tone, the R500 might make you happy.

F1 - This is perhaps an over generalization. The F1 sounded perhaps quicker, a little thinner than the LMII. If it sounded brighter, it was because the low's and mids do not have the sweet fullness that the LMII possesses. The F1 however is an amazing marvel of engineering, given its power and performance in a head this size!Day-am. How'd they do that? When played loud however, I felt the lows and fullness sounded compressed. That to me was a deal killer compared to the LMII. But for moderate volumes, it had no excuses to make to anyone.

LMII - The LMII has more presence, and a bit more depth (or warmth if you prefer) compared to the F1. The highs sound slightly richer harmonically. It's hard to describe. The LMII just seemed to present all notes with a sweeter, fulller tone, and punch. When played loud, it was very responsive and just seemed like it had more power in reserve compared to the F1 and the R500. The LMII is simply a great amp. I think I admire and respect it more than ever before. I was able to get an R500-like tone by dialing up more VLE. But I could not get a good slap/funk tone (in comparison) from the R500 no matter what I tried. If you want to know what an R500 sounds like, dial up the VLE knob on your LMII to 12 o'clock or a little more. Bump the low mids and now you have that chewy tubey tone of the R500.

The LMII is "it" for me. It does it all. :D

Gary
 
#933
Thanx for the Reviews!! I'm still loving my LMII. I forget tho. Is the R500 the all tube Markbass or is it another, a hybrid .... what is it?? I know what the F1 is & have a LMII, & since I LOVE ALL tube amps-the LMII is THE ONLY s.s. amp I've ever LOVED!!! So IMHO--it MUST be DARN good!!!! Such a powerful & versatile li'l devil!!! But "I know Nuthink.... NUTHINK" of the R500. pray tell....
 
#935
Gary
Thanks a ton Pal... you curbed my gass once again.
I really want another one too, but the SA450 is holding me back. If in fact it sounds identical to the LMII, this will be my next amp for sure because of the extra patching feature and eq mostly. It would be worth the extra bucks and become the main amp. I just wish somebody could a/b them or could get my hands on one to try. Doesn't seem to be any around.

Has anyone out there a/b'd the Mark Bass SA450 and LMII ?
 
#936
Thanks, Gary! Hmm... my recollection of the R 500 was that while it certainly could get that tone you are talking about, with a little bit of treble boost and without much tube gain (and more master gain), it had a more open, airy clean tone. Again, my test conditions were not ideal, though.

The nice thing is, that this confirms what a great fit the LMII is for you (and for many others, myself included!). :)

Tom.
 
#937
Big String said:
Gary
Thanks a ton Pal... you curbed my gass once again.
I really want another one too, but the SA450 is holding me back. If in fact it sounds identical to the LMII, this will be my next amp for sure because of the extra patching feature and eq mostly. It would be worth the extra bucks and become the main amp. I just wish somebody could a/b them or could get my hands on one to try. Doesn't seem to be any around.

Has anyone out there a/b'd the Mark Bass SA450 and LMII ?
Click to expand...

Boy, it should sound identical.. same power amp, same specs, etc. I guess the Q on the mids might be different. The Q and center freq's on the LMII mids are so perfect (and the F1 also) to me. The semi-parametric mids on the SD800 seem to have a tighter Q, which I don't dig as much. However, that could be just a difference in the voicing of the amp, so not sure there. However, I pretty much run all these amps flat, so the mids are a little bit of a moot point for me. I do cut just a touch of hi mid with the 410UL(I) though, but not with the (II).

With that 60 day return, I would just call a large city GC like downtown Chicago and have them send you one... then you will know!!!
 
#938
Ken
The website is confusing to me. The specs are of course different as they demonstrate different numbers due to the eq etc. Much of this is meaningless to me as I don't know the technical applications and how it equates to the difference in the amps. At the bottom it is noted that the SA450 is a digital power section. I believe we discussed this before, but I can't find the post or pm.. my bad.

from the website.
All models are equipped with Markbass-designed digital power supply circuitry.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#939
Just got it
an hour ago!
:hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper:
Mr001.gif

Mr002.gif

Mr003.gif

Mr005.gif



and just for fun.
Old Head.
Mr004.gif

New Head
Mr005.gif
 
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