Double Bass Markbass Nano Mark 300 impressions?

[oren]

I usually bring my fdeck hpf with me, but I haven’t found it necessary. My goal is to minimize the number of electronic pieces I need to worry about!

 

[Barcza]

I usually bring my fdeck hpf with me, but I haven’t found it necessary. My goal is to minimize the number of electronic pieces I need to worry about!

Yeah, I have the same philosophy, I just use my Headway only on no amp, monitor or in-ear monitor gigs...Thats way I searching amp, works without any pre with Wilson K1 PU.....

 

[Ric Vice]

Of course that depends on the type of pickup and amplifier you own. I haven’t used the Headway EDB-2 as a FOH preamp for quite sometime. Since it doesn’t have a separate volume control on the line out to the amp or speaker. I’ve tried a cord with a passive volume control but the gain was uneven. This is something I wish Headway would address, but looking at the box there doesn’t seem to be any room for an additional trim pot.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

Of course that depends on the type of pickup and amplifier you own. I haven’t used the Headway EDB-2 as a FOH preamp for quite sometime. Since it doesn’t have a separate volume control on the line out to the amp or speaker. I’ve tried a cord with a passive volume control but the gain was uneven. This is something I wish Headway would address, but looking at the box there doesn’t seem to be any room for an additional trim pot.

I'm not sure I understand the problem here. You need different output to FOH and speaker/amp?

 

[Ric Vice]

Since there is no control over the line out, it's somewhat difficult to send a signal FOH and back to an amp, because generally, if the signal is
hot enough for the mains, it can be to much to send back to the amplifier, or powered speaker. I would frequently get into a situation where
the line out was sending to much to the backline. The Grace Designs Felix takes care of this by adding a op amp and volume control on the amp out.

 

[DirkP]

Markbass was one of the first Bass amp companies to use Class D power amps with SMPS. The F1, F500, and LMK. Apparently they didn’t sell well enough to continue producing them.

I don't get that. IIRC the early Markbass Amps were SMPS with A/B power amps and later they switched from A/B power amps to class D. And all the time they did and still do sell well enough???

 

[Ric Vice]

I don't get that. IIRC the early Markbass Amps were SMPS with A/B power amps and later they switched from A/B power amps to class D. And all the time they did and still do sell well enough???

Well, all I know is that the LMK was removed from the catalog witnin a couple of years, and the F100 and F500's were gone after @5 years. They took them out of the line and didn't replace them, until the Big Bang and more recently the Nanomark. It's quite possible

they were just A/B power amps with a SMPS. That certianly makes sense, regardless the didn't build them for very long. I've not heard of a company continuing a line didn't sell well, that's one of the reasons they went with Guitar Center in the U.S. which appears

not to have worked out. I've owned three Walter Woods Amps a MI-100-8, MI-400-8, and a Electroacoustic Ultra. Both of the MI series were A/B with a SMPS. The Electroacoustic which I still own is Class D with a SMPS. All of those amps were great.

 

[Zbysek]

Well, all I know is that the LMK was removed from the catalog witnin a couple of years, and the F100 and F500's were gone after @5 years. They took them out of the line and didn't replace them, until the Big Bang and more recently the Nanomark. It's quite possible they were just A/B power amps with a SMPS.

From what I know, F1 and F500 were class D.

Little Mark II and early Little Mark III were class A/B.

I seems to me that F1 and F500 are well regarded in my part of the world. Markbass has a strange policy of introducing many products and then discontinuing some of them without apparent reason...

 

[DirkP]

The LMK - Little Mark II - was sold for years, a huge success and replaced with the similar LMIII. The first LMIII were SMPS with an AB power amp just like the LMII. Without further notice - some customers critizised this - the power amp was changed to class d during the early years of the LMIII.

On edit: haven't seen that Zbysek's post already contains this info, sorry!

 

[Ric Vice]

The LMK - Little Mark II - was sold for years, a huge success and replaced with the similar LMIII. The first LMIII were SMPS with an AB power amp just like the LMII. Without further notice - some customers critizised this - the power amp was changed to class d during the early years of the LMIII.

On edit: haven't seen that Zbysek's post already contains this info, sorry!

Unfortunately, Little Mark’s aren’t great Double Bass amplifiers, with a 500 K Ohm input impedance and the EQ section that’s very mid forward I find them difficult to use with out a Preamp and even then some of the B&C speakers they used weren’t ideal either. The Nano Mark 300 is a great DB amp because the input impedance is 2 Meg Ohm and the EQ section eliminated the VLE and VPF controls. Just my take.

 

[SJan3]

I don't get that. IIRC the early Markbass Amps were SMPS with A/B power amps and later they switched from A/B power amps to class D. And all the time they did and still do sell well enough???

Yep, My Littlemark3 circa 2009 is a class A/B amp. Later, they went to class D.

 

[SJan3]

The Markbass amps remind me of the old SWR amps in terms of voicing. I’ve never been able to find my sound on any of the ones I’ve tried.

Wow! Totally disagree with this. My Littlemark3 and Nano 300 are NOTHING like the SWR amp I had. I've had the Littlemark3 over 12 years and running. Love the thing!
By contrast, I strongly disliked every SWR amp I played and I didn't realize just how much I disliked my SWR until I sold it.
No comparison between SWR and MarkBass, IMHO.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

@SJan3 maybe I’ve only played the wrong ones with the low impedance, as Ric mentions above? I have a grad student who has a Markbass 112 combo that sounds really good.

 

[Zbysek]

Unfortunately, Little Mark’s aren’t great Double Bass amplifiers, with a 500 K Ohm input impedance and the EQ section that’s very mid forward I find them difficult to use with out a Preamp and even then some of the B&C speakers they used weren’t ideal either.

After having used Markbass gear for numbers of years, I am of the opinion that it is the cabs which are mid forward, not the amps. I agree on the necessity of preamp, though.

The Nano Mark 300 is a great DB amp because the input impedance is 2 Meg Ohm and the EQ section eliminated the VLE and VPF controls. Just my take.

Btw: VLE and VPF can be eliminated (by turning CCW).

 

[SJan3]

@SJan3 maybe I’ve only played the wrong ones with the low impedance, as Ric mentions above? I have a grad student who has a Markbass 112 combo that sounds really good.

That happens. I've played certain models that didn't speak to me when others did.
I prefer the classic MarkBass LittleMark heads and didn't much like the newer Little Marcus. Others rave about the Little Marcus.
It's all personal taste and I guess that's why we're all so fortunate to have many great choices.
P.S. realizing that you're playing double bass, I can't speak with the same authority regarding that instrument. It seems that other double bass players prefer the MarkBass NANO head.
I visited one of your videos. Wonderful!

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

@SJan3 Thanks, and no worries! The experience I had that sticks as not liking the sound was at the JEN conference in 2019. There was a MB 210 combo for supplied backline and I just couldn't find an uncompressed sound with it. But like I said, I have a current student with a 112 that sounds great, and a former student who had one of those little tiny cube amps that pushed way above its weight class.

 

[SJan3]

@SJan3 Thanks, and no worries! The experience I had that sticks as not liking the sound was at the JEN conference in 2019. There was a MB 210 combo for supplied backline and I just couldn't find an uncompressed sound with it. But like I said, I have a current student with a 112 that sounds great, and a former student who had one of those little tiny cube amps that pushed way above its weight class.

I agree! I have both 1x12" and 2x10" Markbass cabinets. I much prefer the 1x12" and am thinking of trading the 2x10" in.
So, I'm wondering if it was the speakers and not the amp that you didn't like..

 

[SJan3]

Well, all I know is that the LMK was removed from the catalog witnin a couple of years, and the F100 and F500's were gone after @5 years. They took them out of the line and didn't replace them, until the Big Bang and more recently the Nanomark. It's quite possible

they were just A/B power amps with a SMPS. That certianly makes sense, regardless the didn't build them for very long. I've not heard of a company continuing a line didn't sell well, that's one of the reasons they went with Guitar Center in the U.S. which appears

not to have worked out. I've owned three Walter Woods Amps a MI-100-8, MI-400-8, and a Electroacoustic Ultra. Both of the MI series were A/B with a SMPS. The Electroacoustic which I still own is Class D with a SMPS. All of those amps were great.

F1 and F500 were Class D.

 

[Ric Vice]

Just so you all know, Markbass has "revised" the Nano
Mark 300 line and added the Nano Mark 300 with a built in compressor tied to the volume contro.. As
of this the original Nano Mark 300 is also available.

 

[PhatBasstard]

Just so you all know, Markbass has "revised" the Nano
Mark 300 line and added the Nano Mark 300 with a built in compressor tied to the volume contro.. As
of this the original Nano Mark 300 is also available.

Nano 300 Mark II.
Bi-frequency compressor.
It has a gold face plate.
There's one on Reverb right now for only $318.