Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Markbass Megathread PART 3
- Thread starter Kelly Lee
- Start date
When I get my 69 SVT restored, I'm going to use them both on gigs at the same time. I'll stack the B-15N on bottom, the Markbass combo on that, and then the 8-10 on top!
OK, so I have some work to do on the logistics...sorrrrrrryyyyy!!
OK, so I have some work to do on the logistics...sorrrrrrryyyyy!!
Yeah, a muddy mess... like the SVT!
Let's see... he's got the bass around 1 o'clock, the freq selector looks like it's on 4 which IIRC is 1.6khz, so he's boosting there slightly, treble is boosted and the bright switch is in (+9db @ 8khz).
How clean it's running depends on how hot the input is. Assuming it's clean and the head is healthy, when plugged into a modern cab settings like that can remove your eyebrows from thirty feet. The notion that these heads are inherently muddy is just plain wrong ime. It depends on how it's setup, how it's used and what it's plugged into. The biggest and glassiest top end I've ever heard has come from an svtcl.
So there.
So.. today I was running a Hartke Transporter 410 and my Fender 210. Kinda makes me want to get rid of the UL-410 cuz that rig was too fun.
Joeykun
pronounced ジョーイくん
- Jun 22, 2007
- 4,200
- 16,150
- Disclosures
- Endorsing: LAKLAND SADOWSKY GENZLER DARKGLASS NORDSTRAND TEMPLEBOARD KIRLIN DRSTRINGS ACCESS
I gigged my LMII thru a UL410 Series 2 on Saturday night. I got more compliments from other musicians that were in the crowd as well as my band mates on the overall tone of my rig.
It was a small room and I had no PA support. The low end died towards the back of the room. So, I lowered the tweeter in the cab a bit and boosted the bass on the LMII. That did the trick. The bass was heard throughout the club and was very clean and punchy. The mix sat well with my 2 guitar players and a power drummer. We got a little louder towards the last set. However, I had plenty of headroom and was very pleased with my bass sound all night.
It was a small room and I had no PA support. The low end died towards the back of the room. So, I lowered the tweeter in the cab a bit and boosted the bass on the LMII. That did the trick. The bass was heard throughout the club and was very clean and punchy. The mix sat well with my 2 guitar players and a power drummer. We got a little louder towards the last set. However, I had plenty of headroom and was very pleased with my bass sound all night.
I gigged my LMII thru a UL410 Series 2 on Saturday night. I got more compliments from other musicians that were in the crowd as well as my band mates on the overall tone of my rig.
It was a small room and I had no PA support. The low end died towards the back of the room. So, I lowered the tweeter in the cab a bit and boosted the bass on the LMII. That did the trick. The bass was heard throughout the club and was very clean and punchy. The mix sat well with my 2 guitar players and a power drummer. We got a little louder towards the last set. However, I had plenty of headroom and was very pleased with my bass sound all night.
Very cool! Good call on the tweeter. There is a LOT of sound in the Epi tweeter, and turning it up too high can really fool your ear regarding what is happening out in the room. The 9-10 o'clock setting for the 410UL sound beautiful to me, and the LMII/F1 pairing with that cab is wonderful!
Nice to hear the good gig report on running an LMII thru a UL410 Series 2. I'm currently using an Eden WT800B with mine but a friend stopped over last week with his LMII and it got me thinking. We A/B'd both amps through the Epi UL2-410 and my Berg HT-322 (both 4 ohm). All combinations sounded good but there were some pronounced differences. The Epi 410 was slightly darker sounding and punchier than the Berg 322 which had a more open low end and dominant hi freq horn. We had the Epi 410 tweeter set at 11:00 and the Berg tweeter at -3dB.
The WT800B has a nice warmth and a little grind with lots of power and headroom but the LMII has a little better clarity and focus without being harsh - very nice. The WT800B is rated at twice the power of the LMII and I don't want to give up too much headroom but you don't seem to need as much power to be heard with the Markbass. The tight low end on the LMII seems to work well with these cabs. The WT800B is a fine amp with lots of features, good voicing, and gobs of power but in the end it's how the instrument/amp/cab combination works for the sound you're trying to put out.
I did most of my testing with an ash/maple Lakland 55-94 but I have an alder/rosewood Valenti PJ5 coming in March. I was quite impressed with the LMII but need to add this PJ5 into the mix before getting serious about any gear changes. Looks like April might see me taking my rig and basses to Guitar Center for a closer look.
The WT800B has a nice warmth and a little grind with lots of power and headroom but the LMII has a little better clarity and focus without being harsh - very nice. The WT800B is rated at twice the power of the LMII and I don't want to give up too much headroom but you don't seem to need as much power to be heard with the Markbass. The tight low end on the LMII seems to work well with these cabs. The WT800B is a fine amp with lots of features, good voicing, and gobs of power but in the end it's how the instrument/amp/cab combination works for the sound you're trying to put out.
I did most of my testing with an ash/maple Lakland 55-94 but I have an alder/rosewood Valenti PJ5 coming in March. I was quite impressed with the LMII but need to add this PJ5 into the mix before getting serious about any gear changes. Looks like April might see me taking my rig and basses to Guitar Center for a closer look.
Man, I lugged that SVT for 20 years, long after all my bass friends went to smaller rigs and goofed on me for lugging around so much. **** them. I love that amp, I really don't care what anyone says. And I'll be loving it again in a month when it's fixed.
But for the majority of my gigs, I'll be using my Markbass combo or my LM II
But for the majority of my gigs, I'll be using my Markbass combo or my LM II
Let's see... he's got the bass around 1 o'clock, the freq selector looks like it's on 4 which IIRC is 1.6khz, so he's boosting there slightly, treble is boosted and the bright switch is in (+9db @ 8khz).
How clean it's running depends on how hot the input is. Assuming it's clean and the head is healthy, when plugged into a modern cab settings like that can remove your eyebrows from thirty feet. The notion that these heads are inherently muddy is just plain wrong ime. It depends on how it's setup, how it's used and what it's plugged into. The biggest and glassiest top end I've ever heard has come from an svtcl.
So there.
Just to give an idea of what I have been using it with basses effects etc, as shown in the pics I boosted everything just abit past 5, like 6 or 6.5 tops, and i have found that it sounded pretty good along with the other rack units i run it with. Now unfortunately i don't have tons of experience toying around with the new stuff in bands at the momment. The head has had very little use and is practicly new, same with the cabs. I use a fulltone bass driver as well for overdrive and again not too bad. Basses range from both passive to active, sting rays, spector euro 5 LX, warwick thumb, fenders etc.
It is a powerful head and i definitley agree with it being able to blow your eyebrows off!...lol
I looking at the LMII. I do some wierd stuff that involves the effects send and return. Given the send and return are wired in parallel, can I plug my bass into the main input and mix it with something coming into the return?
Yes. That's exactly the purpose of an effects loop that's wired in parallel - to be able to mix two signals. You could even plug a CD player, MP3 Player, or drum machine into the parallel effects return and practice thru your amp this way.
Nice to hear the good gig report on running an LMII thru a UL410 Series 2. I'm currently using an Eden WT800B with mine but a friend stopped over last week with his LMII and it got me thinking. We A/B'd both amps through the Epi UL2-410 and my Berg HT-322 (both 4 ohm). All combinations sounded good but there were some pronounced differences. The Epi 410 was slightly darker sounding and punchier than the Berg 322 which had a more open low end and dominant hi freq horn. We had the Epi 410 tweeter set at 11:00 and the Berg tweeter at -3dB.
The WT800B has a nice warmth and a little grind with lots of power and headroom but the LMII has a little better clarity and focus without being harsh - very nice. The WT800B is rated at twice the power of the LMII and I don't want to give up too much headroom but you don't seem to need as much power to be heard with the Markbass. The tight low end on the LMII seems to work well with these cabs. The WT800B is a fine amp with lots of features, good voicing, and gobs of power but in the end it's how the instrument/amp/cab combination works for the sound you're trying to put out.
I did most of my testing with an ash/maple Lakland 55-94 but I have an alder/rosewood Valenti PJ5 coming in March. I was quite impressed with the LMII but need to add this PJ5 into the mix before getting serious about any gear changes. Looks like April might see me taking my rig and basses to Guitar Center for a closer look.
+1, and exactly what I hear with both those cabs and both those heads. It's amazing how close to the volume of the WT800b the LMII can get into a large 4ohm cab, and the tighter voicing makes up the difference in pure wattage on the gig to my ears. The LMII/F1 into a 410UL (II) is a thing of beauty to my ears and back!
Regarding the HT322, I greatly prefer the F1 into that cab (based on my 's' cab experience). The wider voicing and lower SPL make this combination not quite as impressive as with the 410UL, but it sounds good, and gets plenty loud for most applications. And, the slightly tighter voicing of the F1 and the slight upper mid voicing of the head helps to flatten out the polite mids and big low end I hear in that cab.... the F1 with the older Berg HT's is really cool for that 'uber hi fi' sort of tone (I call it an Anthony Jackson tone, for lack of a better descriptor).
The Epi is a really bright cab to my ears, one I also can turn the tweeter down on sometimes (which is something I rarely do 'cause I like the crisp stuff up top). If the Berg is even brighter, I'm thinking it'd be too much for me.At least for my current tastes, the UL410 is completely the shiz in every way, and works amazingly well with my LMII (as well as anything else I plug into it). I will admit, I've never gigged with a Berg, so take that into consideration, but really, I'm so happy with the Epi there's simply no reason to consider another cab in this size class... especially one that weighs like over 70% more (not to open a can of worms here, but it is a big deal to me, at least).
I have a Mesa 400+. That's a heavy ass head. I just can't carry 50 lbs of amp PLUS the cab any more.
It sounds nice, but so does my Trace combo.
Yes. That's exactly the purpose of an effects loop that's wired in parallel - to be able to mix two signals. You could even plug a CD player, MP3 Player, or drum machine into the parallel effects return and practice thru your amp this way.
that made me think - what if I plugged my SVP Pro's input to the fx Send of the SA450 and the SVP's out to the fx Return on the SA450 while the bass is plugged into the SA450...
I'm really not sure it would be any different from just going bass>SVP>SA450>cab through the SA450's input or any different than going straight from the SVP's out into the FX return in but who knows?
be back with a detailed report in a few hours.
well,
after spending some time with it I can say that using the SVP like an effect through the fx loop yielded better results and the tone was livelier then when using it in front of the MB or running the bass into the SVP and the SVP into the fx return input.
frankly - I took the SVP Pro out of the fx loop and enjoyed the pure MB tone much better.
the crispiness of the tone, it's ability to sound clear and clean but still deep and warm strikes me everytime I unplug the Ampeg SVP and go back to pure MB....
after spending some time with it I can say that using the SVP like an effect through the fx loop yielded better results and the tone was livelier then when using it in front of the MB or running the bass into the SVP and the SVP into the fx return input.
frankly - I took the SVP Pro out of the fx loop and enjoyed the pure MB tone much better.
the crispiness of the tone, it's ability to sound clear and clean but still deep and warm strikes me everytime I unplug the Ampeg SVP and go back to pure MB....
50 lbs. is nothing! Try carrying a 69 SVT, long before people cared about making them lighter. The newer ones feel like Markbass heads compared to a 69.
Yeah, the Mesa lacks the wood case, but it has 6 more power tubes!
What's the SVT, like 85 lbs or something?
