Markbass Micromark 801 Opinions?

[Fritsflow]

Genz Benz Shuttle 3.0... 170 watts clean power, 300 with an extra cabinet.
I own one for several years now for livingroom practice and small rehearsals/gigs.
It is as big as a 801. Bit expensive maybe but used not so very.. Also nice for upright.

 

[madbanjoman]

The Micromark 801 is my main gigging amp. I play in an acoustic trad jazz trio and I don't need a lot of power and the 801 is light and sounds great and can be powered for hours with a Duracell Powerpack 600 for those gigs that there isn't any power.

 

[barrybass33]

I just tried the 801 out but I'm still on the fence about it...

And I own a bunch of mark stuff already.

 

[pbass888]

I've been using my 801 for restaurant gigs and just did my first outdoor wedding with it tonight. only a trio , guitar alto and bass, but about 50 people and large garden setting. Sounded way better than my gk mb150 ever did. It makes my 121 and lm II sit in the closet collecting dust. Great mark bass tone and surprisingly loud.

 

[anton72]

My 801 is my main practice amp for about 2 years already. I had Minimark (2x6) before but could not stand the hiss from the piezo tweeter so I sold it.

 

[darrenmt]

I guess the Micromark variants are good for practice at reasonable volumes and are nicely compact. IMO the Micromark 602, 801, 802 aren't full featured and have much more limited cone excursion and far less power while still being quite costly. Not to say they don't sound good. They definitely do. They just don't have the grunt of the Minimarks.

I still feel the CMD 121P is the best combo Markbass has ever made. They can be pushed much harder, are more powerful, full featured and give full power @4ohms with ext. cab plus they are still very light and compact. It's probably the loudest, most powerful combo of this size i have ever come across.

 

[soundtim]

Great little amp. Just did a gig with a 6 piece band yesterday with it. Loud enough as a bass monitor with a quiet drummer. First gig from which I walked (!) home carrying my bass rig in one hand. In my opinion there's no better lightweight combo as portable and with such a solid sound. If you're into mobility and use public transport it makes much of a difference if your combo weighs 5 or 13 kg an how compact the dimensions are. Definitely not just a practice amp. Also nice for recording if you like the mark bass sound. Combining the VPF with my tonepot on a precision bass results in a pretty good recording sound. Only downsides: really noisy fan which can bother you while practicing at home (my 600 Watt Genz Benz Head is much quieter) and the auxiliary input is routed before the VPF. That's kind of stupid as you EQ the aux-in with the VPF. Price might be a little bit to high but keep in mind its a professional amp and not a cheap made in China practice amp. The sound stands for itself to proof this.

 

[lukaspearse]

So after a bunch of Internet research, I had to order a MicroMark 801 to hear it for myself.

It seemed that all of the demonstration videos or reviews I could find had somebody slapping and popping or playing aggressively with a pick through the little MicroMark. I just wanted to hear some bass, so I took a chance!

I am a very very impressed. I have played a few restaurant gigs, several rehearsals and then a concert hall date with the PA coming out of the direct output of the Mark Bass 801. My Fender precision and my upright with a fishman full-circle both sound very accurate and surprisingly punchy.

One remarkable thing is that the fishman sounds great without the need for a buffering preamp. That's one less thing to take to the gig. And when you're already carrying an upright bass…

I have been using a Markbass LM II with a whizzy 10 cabinet for a number of years and still really like it, but the Mark Bass 801 fills at least half of my gig requirements.

It may be just a practice amp if you are into playing metal or hard rock or with a loud drummer, but for playing songs with singers or Jazz it's just right.

 

[TragicWinter]

I'm looking into the 801/802 combos for my acoustic group. I play a Boulder Creek EBR6-N5 through an Ampeg BA110. Our drummer is on the louder side, but I need more watts without gaining any size or weight to the cab. I set the EQ flat on my amp, but have to run it around 1:30-2 on volume.

 

[basseux]

The only issue with the mini cmd121p it's that it is too powerfull to play at home.
You need to put the gain very low or the master volume behave like on/off button, which makes the sound a bit flat.

I bought a micromark 6" for 329€ right before it was replaced by the 801 and it's really perfect to practice at home.

 

[victornicholls]

I used mine playing five string fretless with a 40-piece wind band at a 80-seat theatre. It worked well set at half way. Great tone.

 

[victornicholls]

Used my 801 for a ceilidh at the Sidmouth Folk Festival with a seven-piece acoustic band (clarinet/violin/accordion/sop sax/bagpipes/percussion/guitar). Everything going through the PA for 200 or so dancers. The combo was the perfect monitor for me and my Wal fretless. And unbelievably portable, with amp, music stand and leads fitting into a holdall. Another triumph for the Micromark.

 

[madbanjoman]

I am going to revive this dead thread! I have owned and played my Micromark 801 for 5 years and it still amazes me how loud it’s for its size. Fun fact, we had a water disaster and my 801’s cover was covered in water. Not sure if the amp got wet. The cover leaves the handle exposed. I waited a week before daring to plug it in and turn it on. Either the water didn’t get inside or it dried either way it’s working great!

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Does the Micromark 801 have standard bass and treble controls?

 

[madbanjoman]

No, it has a mid scoop knob that I leave off. For EQ I have been using a Zoom ms50 bass pedal.

 

[iagtrplyr]

Does the Micromark 801 have standard bass and treble controls?

I concur with madbanjoman's response. You get volume and VPF controls and that's it. VPF fattens the bass and treble with a mid cut. I'm always careful not to go too far with it if I'm running the volume up because you'll run out of gas faster. About 9:00 works pretty well. I tend to run my Zoom pedal before it and that gives me more tonal options.

Will, don't waste your time even considering this one as a GK replacement because you'll be disappointed. It's built well and plays real clean, but compared to the small Ampeg or GK it's not even close, tone-wise. That, plus it's way more expensive than the other two. I like it, but am thinking of selling it in favor of one of the Fender modeling amps. Yeah, crazy, but winter is coming and I usually lose a few brain cells with the cold.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

I concur with madbanjoman's response. You get volume and VPF controls and that's it. VPF fattens the bass and treble with a mid cut. I'm always careful not to go too far with it if I'm running the volume up because you'll run out of gas faster. About 9:00 works pretty well. I tend to run my Zoom pedal before it and that gives me more tonal options.

Will, don't waste your time even considering this one as a GK replacement because you'll be disappointed. It's built well and plays real clean, but compared to the small Ampeg or GK it's not even close, tone-wise. That, plus it's way more expensive than the other two. I like it, but am thinking of selling it in favor of one of the Fender modeling amps. Yeah, crazy, but winter is coming and I usually lose a few brain cells with the cold.

I’m with you on the brain cells part Brudda!

 

[bassadvisor]

If you allow me to revive the thread... I uploaded a review of the amp. In Spanish, English subtitles will come later today or tomorrow.

 

[StatesideRambler]

I want to try the Micromark with my Ampeg SCR-DI pedal. I suspect that’ll give me all the flexibility I’d want. (See sig for my Markbass credentials. I’m a small Ampeg fan, too.)

 

[BobDeRosa]

So after a bunch of Internet research, I had to order a MicroMark 801 to hear it for myself.

It seemed that all of the demonstration videos or reviews I could find had somebody slapping and popping or playing aggressively with a pick through the little MicroMark. I just wanted to hear some bass, so I took a chance!

I am a very very impressed. I have played a few restaurant gigs, several rehearsals and then a concert hall date with the PA coming out of the direct output of the Mark Bass 801. My Fender precision and my upright with a fishman full-circle both sound very accurate and surprisingly punchy.

One remarkable thing is that the fishman sounds great without the need for a buffering preamp. That's one less thing to take to the gig. And when you're already carrying an upright bass…

I have been using a Markbass LM II with a whizzy 10 cabinet for a number of years and still really like it, but the Mark Bass 801 fills at least half of my gig requirements.

It may be just a practice amp if you are into playing metal or hard rock or with a loud drummer, but for playing songs with singers or Jazz it's just right.

Sorry I'm late to the party here, but I just bought a used 801 a couple weeks ago and am absolutely blown away by it for almost exactly the same reasons @lukaspearce is. I also play upright with a Full Circle (and P basses as well), and I'll second everything he says. This little gem has not let me down yet, in either volume or tone, and I don't bother with any up-front EQ. Love the simplicity -- not to mention the under-12 lb. weight.