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Markbass Megathread PART 3

#581
JimmyM said:
Great! Now I really have a dilemma! I have the 12" on order, but after ABing my LM II between my combo and my B-15N cab, I really think I should have bought the 15". The combo sounds very full and rich, but it's missing that big round low end that comes out of my B speaker. And together it's a dream sound! Unfortunately, I have already ordered a $75 Tuki cover for the 12" cab and I've already sent back one Tuki cover for an amp I decided not to keep, and I'd feel bad about doing it again to them since everything is made to order. So now I will have a 12" combo and a 12" ext cab, and since everything is 8 ohms, if I get an 8-ohm 15" there's apparently no way I can hook up 3 cabs together without using another amp (MB has a 4 ohm minimum).
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That's the beauty of this... you get the sound you're supposed to get with a biamp without having to actually do it. You just need cabs that match up, giving the other cab what it's missing.

Do I cancel the 12" and order the 15" and eat the money for the Tuki cover and pray someday that someone else will want it for a fraction of what I paid for it? Or do I keep both 12"s and buy a used 15" cab? And is there a way to use a 15" and 2 8-ohm 12"s that won't drop me to below 4 ohms? I have to tell you that I'm leaning toward cancelling the 12" and getting a 15" cab. But I hate buying stuff I can't use, and knowing that I spent $75 on a Tuki cover and not being able to use it will eat away at me. And it's not like the 12" won't put out the 40hz that the 15" does.

I think I'm going to quit playing bass altogether rather than this constant torturing and second-guessing myself ;)
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You should be able to move the Tuki cover here for what you paid for it or at least very close... the buyer won't have to wait for the cover to be made. I agree, if I'd already sent one back I wouldn't do it again.

I'd try the 12 since it's coming anyway, you can always return it. If it doesn't do it I'd look for aBag End S15 cab with black carpet... the price is usally very reasonable on them used, they're about a small as a 1-15 cab cab be
 
#582
figuredbass said:
You all make excellent points about cutting low end, or just not having it in excess. But I think I'm one of the exceptions here. I absolutely have to hear a decent amount of fundamental down to 30 Hz.
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I also love really deep low end. Most bass tone controls work much higher, 50 to 150 Hz, so they are adding that boomy stuff, plus a lot of high impedance pickups doesn't even go down as low as they should.

Since I put low resistance pickup in my bass I get a really deep bottom on the low B without all the boom. It's all very balanced, and I can thicken it up as needed.
 
#583
Brad Johnson said:
That's the beauty of this... you get the sound you're supposed to get with a biamp without having to actually do it. You just need cabs that match up, giving the other cab what it's missing.


Brad,

I always thought a Bag End S-15 would sound good paired with a GS112 with the LMII. The BE for mid punch and the Aguilar GS112 for the low end booty. This is based on hearing both cabs independently and knowing the strengths of each cab, but I have never owned both at the same time to test this. I just went with the LMII and UL310. :D
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#585
Welp, I'm just now reading the responses, but I just got back from GC where I slaved the 12" combo into a Berlin combo. And as much as I like MB stuff, I didn't get the warm fuzzies that I did with my B-15 cab into the 12" combo. Freq response on the low end sounded about equal between the 12" combo and the Berlin, so I think the Berlin rig is much more well-suited to a single 15" combo but not enough difference from the 12" to matter like it does with the B-15 cab.

So if I do the 15", I'll either load the B with a more powerful driver or I'll buy a 15" cab with more ultra-low response than 40hz. In any event, I'm proceeding ahead with getting the 12" cab and keeping the Tuki cover. I love Tuki covers!
 
#587
You may be right about that, but looking at the specs of the Berlin combo and the Traveler 15", they're equal on the low end freq response, and so is the 151HR. The 151HF with the front port, however, goes down to 35hz, 5 more hz than the other cabs. This might be the answer I'm looking for, but if I had the choice between getting shot in the head and paying $800 for a single speaker cab, I'd really have to think it over.
 
#588
JimmyM said:
You may be right about that, but looking at the specs of the Berlin combo and the Traveler 15", they're equal on the low end freq response, and so is the 151HR. The 151HF with the front port, however, goes down to 35hz, 5 more hz than the other cabs. This might be the answer I'm looking for, but if I had the choice between getting shot in the head and paying $800 for a single speaker cab, I'd really have to think it over.
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That's why I recommended the Bag End. They turn up often for $300 or less.

Again, it reallyisn't about how low the cabs goes on paper. The benefit of the cab can't be revealed in a simple Xhz-Ykhz figure IMO.
 
#589
Saluki said:
Brad Johnson said:
That's the beauty of this... you get the sound you're supposed to get with a biamp without having to actually do it. You just need cabs that match up, giving the other cab what it's missing.
Click to expand...


Brad,

I always thought a Bag End S-15 would sound good paired with a GS112 with the LMII. The BE for mid punch and the Aguilar GS112 for the low end booty. This is based on hearing both cabs independently and knowing the strengths of each cab, but I have never owned both at the same time to test this. I just went with the LMII and UL310. :D
Click to expand...


The one time I've heard one with an Aggie GS112 it sounded very nice. Not as tight as my setup with a smaller 1-12 cab but still very nice.
 
#590
Brad Johnson said:
The one time I've heard one with an Aggie GS112 it sounded very nice. Not as tight as my setup with a smaller 1-12 cab but still very nice.
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I'd say they sound "pretty". I had a pair of them and was fairly frustrated with them. They sounded really nice in the basement, but are kinda' scooped, and I always felt they got lost in the mix too easy without using EQ to compensate.
 
#591
JimmyM said:
Welp, I'm just now reading the responses, but I just got back from GC where I slaved the 12" combo into a Berlin combo. And as much as I like MB stuff, I didn't get the warm fuzzies that I did with my B-15 cab into the 12" combo. Freq response on the low end sounded about equal between the 12" combo and the Berlin, so I think the Berlin rig is much more well-suited to a single 15" combo but not enough difference from the 12" to matter like it does with the B-15 cab.
Click to expand...

I by no means have a great ear for these things, but I thought I would add my observations.

IME, there is a definite difference in how much volume the Berlin can handle in the low frequencies than the 12" combo, its the second reason why I chose it over the 12" combo. (First being the absence of a tweeter)

I have no doubt that the 12" combo is suitable for most peoples needs, but I found when I start cranking up the volume on the 12" combo, that it breaks up sooner than the Berlin.

That being said, I think what you are hearing from the B15 cab is a 15" with more internal volume. I know you said that based on Markbass' specs that the frequency response between the different 15" cabs/combos are all the same, but I highly doubt it as there is just too much difference in internal volume for all those cabs to sound the same. I bet if you compared the the Berlin to a traveler or 151hf with a Little Mark attached you would notice much different in the low end response.

One more other thing that either KJung or Vic has proposed, is that the Little Mark seems to function better when running at a 4 ohm load (as when you were with the B15) vs. two 8 ohm loads with the combos slaved.
 
#592
Brad Johnson said:
That's why I recommended the Bag End. They turn up often for $300 or less.

Again, it reallyisn't about how low the cabs goes on paper. The benefit of the cab can't be revealed in a simple Xhz-Ykhz figure IMO.
Click to expand...
Well it gives me a better idea of what to look for, at least. At least now I know that I have 40hz pretty much covered with a 12". And all I want out of a 15" is the ultra-low freq response. I don't know what the specs are on my B-15N cab, but I do know it gets it. It's too bad its driver is underpowered. It's really not a hard cab to move at all and if it could even handle 200w, I'd feel better about using it live. Replacing the driver is out of the question, though. But i I get a 15" cab, I want it to be based on this B-15 pretty much entirely. It's not too large, not too small, and puts out a lot of ultra-lows. Can the Bag End do that? If so, I'll be on the lookout.
 
#593
Smallequestrian said:
One more other thing that either KJung or Vic has proposed, is that the Little Mark seems to function better when running at a 4 ohm load (as when you were with the B15) vs. two 8 ohm loads with the combos slaved.
Click to expand...
IMHO, while I do think the LMII benefits maybe a little more running at it's optimal 4 ohm load vs 8 ohms as compared to some other amps, I don't think it's enough to be concerned over.

Put another way, for example, if I had two 8 ohm 210 cabs, and for some smaller gigs I'd like to use a single 210, I would not feel compelled to get a third cab to get the 4 ohm version.
 
#596
Smallequestrian said:
I by no means have a great ear for these things, but I thought I would add my observations.

IME, there is a definite difference in how much volume the Berlin can handle in the low frequencies than the 12" combo, its the second reason why I chose it over the 12" combo. (First being the absence of a tweeter)

I have no doubt that the 12" combo is suitable for most peoples needs, but I found when I start cranking up the volume on the 12" combo, that it breaks up sooner than the Berlin.

That being said, I think what you are hearing from the B15 cab is a 15" with more internal volume. I know you said that based on Markbass' specs that the frequency response between the different 15" cabs/combos are all the same, but I highly doubt it as there is just too much difference in internal volume for all those cabs to sound the same. I bet if you compared the the Berlin to a traveler or 151hf with a Little Mark attached you would notice much different in the low end response.

One more other thing that either KJung or Vic has proposed, is that the Little Mark seems to function better when running at a 4 ohm load (as when you were with the B15) vs. two 8 ohm loads with the combos slaved.
Click to expand...

Really? If so, I really disagree with that. I've been far happier with two 8 ohm cabs than any of the single 4 ohm cabs I own.
 
#597
Smallequestrian said:
I by no means have a great ear for these things, but I thought I would add my observations.

IME, there is a definite difference in how much volume the Berlin can handle in the low frequencies than the 12" combo, its the second reason why I chose it over the 12" combo. (First being the absence of a tweeter)

I have no doubt that the 12" combo is suitable for most peoples needs, but I found when I start cranking up the volume on the 12" combo, that it breaks up sooner than the Berlin.

That being said, I think what you are hearing from the B15 cab is a 15" with more internal volume. I know you said that based on Markbass' specs that the frequency response between the different 15" cabs/combos are all the same, but I highly doubt it as there is just too much difference in internal volume for all those cabs to sound the same. I bet if you compared the the Berlin to a traveler or 151hf with a Little Mark attached you would notice much different in the low end response.

One more other thing that either KJung or Vic has proposed, is that the Little Mark seems to function better when running at a 4 ohm load (as when you were with the B15) vs. two 8 ohm loads with the combos slaved.
Click to expand...
Good post. Volume...not an issue with me. I do some pretty high volume gigs, but I can't take any more useable volume than the 12" combo puts out before the speaker breaks up. I love loud, but not overbearing.

And I do agree that I'm probably hearing more internal volume than the Berlin. But the Traveler 15" is about the same size as the Berlin, and the HR 15" is on the small side as well. But the HF is significantly larger, plus it has a front port, so I would imagine its ultra-lows are bigger and badder, especially since its freq response is 35hz and not 40. In most practical situations, you'll never miss the extra 5hz, but since my ultimate goal here is to sound like one side of a set of big studio monitors or PA cabs in a smallish live rig, I would kind of like to have that option. So I'll definitely use the cab's freq response as a selling point, though not the only one.

BTW, I notice no appreciable difference in tone between the LM II operating at 300w or 500. Just headroom.
 
#599
JimmyM said:
Well it gives me a better idea of what to look for, at least. At least now I know that I have 40hz pretty much covered with a 12". And all I want out of a 15" is the ultra-low freq response. I don't know what the specs are on my B-15N cab, but I do know it gets it. It's too bad its driver is underpowered. It's really not a hard cab to move at all and if it could even handle 200w, I'd feel better about using it live. Replacing the driver is out of the question, though. But i I get a 15" cab, I want it to be based on this B-15 pretty much entirely. It's not too large, not too small, and puts out a lot of ultra-lows. Can the Bag End do that? If so, I'll be on the lookout.
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IMO this had nothing to do with with ultra lows. If it did I'd probably still be running a subwoofer:D.

I'd bet my EA VL208/VL110 stack goes lower than my Nahas rig...and I'd choose the Nahas rig every time. I'll whip out a completely scientific term to explain why... "bottom". I prefer the bottom of my Nahas rig. It's big yet completely controllable, can easily get louder than I need, never booms, sounds open, cuts though in the mix and never breaks up. It goes low enough for me. As such my amplification doesn't have to waste time reproducing in a band I don't need. Less work for the amp... a good thing.

Other than that they're merely just okay;)
 
#600
JimmyM said:
Good post. Volume...not an issue with me. I do some pretty high volume gigs, but I can't take any more useable volume than the 12" combo puts out before the speaker breaks up. I love loud, but not overbearing.

And I do agree that I'm probably hearing more internal volume than the Berlin. But the Traveler 15" is about the same size as the Berlin, and the HR 15" is on the small side as well. But the HF is significantly larger, plus it has a front port, so I would imagine its ultra-lows are bigger and badder, especially since its freq response is 35hz and not 40. In most practical situations, you'll never miss the extra 5hz, but since my ultimate goal here is to sound like one side of a set of big studio monitors or PA cabs in a smallish live rig, I would kind of like to have that option. So I'll definitely use the cab's freq response as a selling point, though not the only one.
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I wish you could hear my rig.
 

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