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markbass review

D

darkfinger

Feb 22, 2007
377
1
46
The Great White North
#1
Hey all,
had a show the other day. The headliners were nice enough to let us use their back line. Man these guys had nice gear.
Bass amp: Markbass (I don`t remember which model but it was a really small combo....I think it had a single 12 inch speaker.)
Rythm Guitar amp: Huge Soldano stack
Lead Guitar amp: Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier (I think) with a 4 ten cab...sweet.

I have never played through a Markbass before and after reading all the warm and fuzzy reviews of them here on talkbass was chomping at the bit to give one a try. Unfortunately no one carries markbass here in Winnipeg that I know of so when I walked into the club I almost fainted with excitement seeing that lil` ol MB sitting there.

I eagerly unpack my bass (MIA fender P strung with flats) tune up and plug in. The volume was set at about 12 o`clock and given the size of the amp I figure it`s going to be somewhat under powered for the size of the venue...Well it turns out that I was oh so very wrong! The thing was absolute thunder!

My first impression was that it sounded like s**t! Other than sheer volume it sounded hollow and thin. Unfortunately we didn`t get to play around too much before the sound guy did a super basic sound check and turned on the stereo loud enough to drown us out.

So there I am sitting at the bar, feeling somewhat anxious because I`m faced with this really wussy sounding amp when we get the call to start our set.

I walk on plug in and start up the opening riff to our first song. The amp still sounds awful and I`m not at all happy....until the drums and guitar comes in. All of a sudden this wee little markbass is sitting perfectly in the mix, cutting through where my Fender Bassman which is way more powerful would be struggling, and sounding just a pretty a can be. Which is more like the thunder of a four stroke 450 cc dirt bike at the starting line. (this gig was with my dirt bike rock band...it`s like stoner rock but faster.) I could not believe how great that little amp sounded and I would have traded my bassman to the owner of the m.b. in a hearbeat if I thought he would have gone for it.

anyways,
I now know why so many people around here dig those amps.:bassist:
 
#4
I wouldn't say my Markbass amp sounds TERRIBLE by itself. :eek:

But I do agree in as far as...

1) When practising at home, I tend to EQ a little differently to how I would on a gig (not drastically, but enough to notice),

2) You do need to use one of these on a gig to really appreciate just how very, very good they are.
 
#5
It's funny. I ran my old LM-II (getting another one soon!) into a pair of Berg 112's, and at home, it really sounded quite bad. I was always cutting this boosting that, etc. Never got a tone I really dug.

Take it out on a gig, all controls flat and filters off. BAM! Perfect. Live is definitely where it counts.
 
#7
I've always played the MB at GC where you got 17 school kids rockin' out to w/e they're rockin' out to on half-stacks that daddy's about to buy, and it always sounded real good there. Also I was always playing it with MB cabs too... which those lil' cabs pack a huge punch!!! To me it was a lil' tooo bassy, just a tad... but I'm still contemplating pickin' one up in the future.
 
#10
I do'nt really agree with you guys.

I certainly think a Mb (in my case a LmII with two 121 transporter mb cabs) sounds great in the mix.

But I also like my sound when playing solo at home.

Strange,

Maybe just a matter of taste.

All in all we share the same mb love so no prob!

;):bassist:
 
#11
Per the above post... for those reading this thread... remember that the review is based on a small MB combo amp. There are many posts discussing the voicing of Markbass cabs, which some love and others don't like at all. There seems to be general agreement that they have a strong midrange character that can sound very nice in a mix, and maybe a little harsh, compressed and 'dull' when played solo.

This IMO has NOTHING to do with the very pure, even, voicing of the Markbass heads. The LMII, F1 and SD800 (the only heads that I have experience with) are about as pure as you can get IMO (the LMII was put on the scope and seems to be virtually flat with the tone controls centered and the filters off). An LMII through a Berg HS can punch and growl, and through an Epi310UL can funk and sizzle. They surely aren't scooped in the mids like some other 'hi fi' voiced SS heads, but they aren't 'over burped' either... just a very nice combination of purity and punch, with just a touch of grit in the mids to give them some character IMO and IME.

It's best to listen to the heads and cabs from any company both together and separately prior to really coming to a 'tone conclusion' regarding the entire line of gear IMO:)
 
#17
This is interesting. I have a CMD 102P combo amp (2-10). While yes, it does sound good with the band, I think it sounds awesome at home by myself as well. So much so, that I haven't even been using my rack system that has been my go-to rig for many years. (EV Q66 power amp; SWR Grand Prix preamp; Bag End Q10 BXD {410} cabinet). It's a great rig, but after playing the MB combo since November, I'm just in love with it's tone. I'm surprised so many of you think it sounds like s##t by itself. That certainly has not been my experience.
 
#18
Goofball Jones said:
So what we're saying is that none of you can play a solo by yourself in the middle of a gig.

Interesting....

:D
Click to expand...
You know, I'm sure a lot of people interpreted your comment as a wiseguy comment, but I think it's a perfectly legit comment and I'll try to answer it.

I happen to like the tone I get from my Markbass 12" combo cab because I don't like to scoop. I believe that whatever works with a band will also work for a solo and other than switching from P to PJ pickups, I don't do any tone-tweaking during a gig unless there's a problem, and usually it's just rolling off some highs to de-harsh my sound. I think folks who think the Markbass cab sounds ugly by itself but great in a live setting like a more scooped sound because it's purty by itself and may not realize the need for mids.
 
#19
Jeff K said:
This is interesting. I have a CMD 102P combo amp (2-10). While yes, it does sound good with the band, I think it sounds awesome at home by myself as well. So much so, that I haven't even been using my rack system that has been my go-to rig for many years. (EV Q66 power amp; SWR Grand Prix preamp; Bag End Q10 BXD {410} cabinet). It's a great rig, but after playing the MB combo since November, I'm just in love with it's tone. I'm surprised so many of you think it sounds like s##t by itself. That certainly has not been my experience.
Click to expand...

+1 on CMD 102P. I love the tones I can get from mine either solo or within a group.
 
#20
KJung said:
Per the above post... for those reading this thread... remember that the review is based on a small MB combo amp. There are many posts discussing the voicing of Markbass cabs, which some love and others don't like at all. There seems to be general agreement that they have a strong midrange character that can sound very nice in a mix, and maybe a little harsh, compressed and 'dull' when played solo.

This IMO has NOTHING to do with the very pure, even, voicing of the Markbass heads. The LMII, F1 and SD800 (the only heads that I have experience with) are about as pure as you can get IMO (the LMII was put on the scope and seems to be virtually flat with the tone controls centered and the filters off).
Click to expand...

On reflection I think that the cabs have the same pure even sound that the amps have - it's just that they can make you feel a little naked when you hear all that sound soloed.

Also I think certain cabs in the range can seem a little "spikey" sounding at low volume without the shelter of the band's sound.

This, IMO, is due to most cabs scooping out the high mids where the MB cabs are truer sounding. I also find MB cabs to be very percussive and not harsh at all.

You really should try a few of the cabs Ken if only to be able to state authoritively YOUR opinion - I can't see you disliking the 610HF for instance.
 

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