Sweet. I have a ric 4003. 2011 model with the new Chechan board. Love ricks too. I bet that did sound sweet.
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Markbass mini rigs
- Thread starter JPMcGuire
- Start date
Here is my current rig. I think one of these little mark rigs would look great in the family pic
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=248910&d=1328200890
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=248910&d=1328200890
The Minimark is the best one by far, IMO. It's still significantly smaller & lighter than your typical combo without having to make amplifier power output, EQ control or extension compromises that you do in either of the Micromarks. It also has the best value for the price point compared to the others & is usable in a lot more situations.
I'm in the minority but I like the piezo & I haven't noticed any high frequency buzzing unless there are your typical ground loop, hum problems in a certain situation. But pretty much any cab that has a tweeter in use, you will have this.
The Micromark has the best tone of them & it's the smallest combo possible that still has enough volume to play with a drummer up to medium volume. The Micromarks are great, but just not quite enough to play with most drummers. And they're missing the second EQ knob. There's so many tones you can dial in with those two knobs on the Minimark, there's hardly any need for outboard EQ. But having only the VLE on the micro series is a lot more limiting. Also the Micromarks will not take any extension cab.
I have been using the Minimark for years at rehearsals & smaller gigs too which it has become invaluable. I A/B'ed both Micromarks side by side with it at Guitar Center. It was no contest, the Minimark has the most extended, detailed sound & the best tone with the controls set flat. You can push it a lot more too before it breaks up & not be overly worried about boosting your lows by a small amount.
I was also surprised that I prefer the original Micromark to the Micromark 801 when I played them. The 801 was only marginally louder and they're much closer in maximum volume & low end extension to each other than you would suspect. The 801 sounded a little wooly & rough in the upper mids by comparison, so & I prefer the tone of the original.
The original Micromark would be my second choice followed by the Micromark 801 as least favorite of the MM series.
I'm in the minority but I like the piezo & I haven't noticed any high frequency buzzing unless there are your typical ground loop, hum problems in a certain situation. But pretty much any cab that has a tweeter in use, you will have this.
The Micromark has the best tone of them & it's the smallest combo possible that still has enough volume to play with a drummer up to medium volume. The Micromarks are great, but just not quite enough to play with most drummers. And they're missing the second EQ knob. There's so many tones you can dial in with those two knobs on the Minimark, there's hardly any need for outboard EQ. But having only the VLE on the micro series is a lot more limiting. Also the Micromarks will not take any extension cab.
I have been using the Minimark for years at rehearsals & smaller gigs too which it has become invaluable. I A/B'ed both Micromarks side by side with it at Guitar Center. It was no contest, the Minimark has the most extended, detailed sound & the best tone with the controls set flat. You can push it a lot more too before it breaks up & not be overly worried about boosting your lows by a small amount.
I was also surprised that I prefer the original Micromark to the Micromark 801 when I played them. The 801 was only marginally louder and they're much closer in maximum volume & low end extension to each other than you would suspect. The 801 sounded a little wooly & rough in the upper mids by comparison, so & I prefer the tone of the original.
The original Micromark would be my second choice followed by the Micromark 801 as least favorite of the MM series.
Yesterday, I got together with some friends and I brought my Minimark for them to use. We ran a few nice Rick basses through it, a modified 4004 Laredo (AGC preamp, blackened, strung BEAD), a slightly modified 4004C (stacked VT for each pickup), a few 4001V63s (one which has an early '60s magnetic horseshoe pickup in it, with the .0047µF cap in-line, of course) a slightly modified 4004LK (VVVT controls), '69 4001 (no mods
), early '73 4001 (stock); they all sounded glorious, in their own special ways, through the amp.
I am the owner of the LK referred to above and I must say that I was so taken with the Minimark that I bought a used one from this forum last night. I had played through one several years ago and liked the tone and power but wasn't in the market for a small amp at the time......now I sold my gigging rig and needed a quality home noodling amp and this will more than fit the bill.
.....and I do believe that I just beat you out for the one I scored here last night. I'd say "sorry" but......
Yes! Just when I finished posting I noticed seller posted at the exact same time. I may go for a new one with the coupons coming out.
just saw this thread... i bought a micromark in early december... sounded decent- but was not even enough for my practicing desires... local gc got the 801 in store... exchanged my 6" for the 8" (801). i play at alot of 'house' meetings... this is perfect. yesterday- just for kicks- i hooked it up to my hartke hx112 cab... it is 60 watts at 4ohms... AMAZING volume and low end! i have a mb 12 combo for gigs- but the 801 does a nice job for small meetings... bit probably not enough for coffee house...
I use my Minimark on top of my Club121 for my pub gigs but have found that it can stand a fair amount of clean boost before the input (I use a DHA VT1 DI) which gives it a nice meaty tone and more headroom.
This is plenty loud enough for my rock/blues band with guitar/keys/drums. I've never had a problem with the piezos in any of my Markbass cabs. They don't get at all noisy with my Sandbergs' active circuits (although I have had a noise problem with an Akai compressor).
The Minimark piezo is very quiet but, as with all of their cabs, the crossover is set quite high and hardly cuts in at all compared to most other makes of cab I've used.
This is plenty loud enough for my rock/blues band with guitar/keys/drums. I've never had a problem with the piezos in any of my Markbass cabs. They don't get at all noisy with my Sandbergs' active circuits (although I have had a noise problem with an Akai compressor).
The Minimark piezo is very quiet but, as with all of their cabs, the crossover is set quite high and hardly cuts in at all compared to most other makes of cab I've used.
Came in the mail. It was a used one from music123 however didn't power up! I called and they are sending me a brand new one for tha hassle!
It might just be the IEC power cable. When I got my first Markbass amp, a LMII brand new in the sealed box, years ago, it would not power up. I finally swapped out the power cable for a different one and it was fine; I chalked it up to a loose contact in the IEC connector on the cable.
Long time lurker on this board, first time posting. Guess I just never felt the need to speak up about something.
Picked up a Micromark 801 last night at Guitar Center in Concord, CA. Was specifically looking for something that was small, as light as possible, loud enough for a 3-piece rehearsal or small show with direct out for larger gigs or recording. Have been using an old and knocked around SWR Workingman's 10 for both bass guitar and electric upright for some time now. I'm far beyond the time when hauling around a large dual-cab rig makes any sense whatsoever.
At 11lbs with an 8-inch speaker built into a 10.5" cube (rear-ported), I was skeptical. plus, I thought it was a little pricey (even after the President's Day GC Sale of 15% off), but their 30-day exchange policy made it a safe bet. I'd read a lot about the Markbass product, but hadn't played through one before.
All I can say is WOW. The SWR is rated at 80 watts, but this 50 watt amp sounds louder, cleaner, and far more articulate. Even more impressive is how well the 8" speaker manages the low B at full volume with less flutter than the SWR.
The Micromark 801 also weighs in at less than 1/3 of the SWR, and is much more compact. As a second-floor apartment dweller with no desire to enrage my neighbors, I can practice at very low volume without sacrificing tone.
Go Markbass. I'm a new fan!
Picked up a Micromark 801 last night at Guitar Center in Concord, CA. Was specifically looking for something that was small, as light as possible, loud enough for a 3-piece rehearsal or small show with direct out for larger gigs or recording. Have been using an old and knocked around SWR Workingman's 10 for both bass guitar and electric upright for some time now. I'm far beyond the time when hauling around a large dual-cab rig makes any sense whatsoever.
At 11lbs with an 8-inch speaker built into a 10.5" cube (rear-ported), I was skeptical. plus, I thought it was a little pricey (even after the President's Day GC Sale of 15% off), but their 30-day exchange policy made it a safe bet. I'd read a lot about the Markbass product, but hadn't played through one before.
All I can say is WOW. The SWR is rated at 80 watts, but this 50 watt amp sounds louder, cleaner, and far more articulate. Even more impressive is how well the 8" speaker manages the low B at full volume with less flutter than the SWR.
The Micromark 801 also weighs in at less than 1/3 of the SWR, and is much more compact. As a second-floor apartment dweller with no desire to enrage my neighbors, I can practice at very low volume without sacrificing tone.
Go Markbass. I'm a new fan!
