Markbass - the evolution revolution

[choad42]

Now you've really put me off them!!

As for the OP - bet you live in the west end of the city don'tcha!!

Paul

Nope, north of the city actually. Now that L&M carry Markbass, soon Markbass will be everywhere. I don't mind following this trend, neither does my back. I have to admit though that my first encounters with Markbass were infact in the westend at ClubBass.

Cheers,
Paul Theriault
Bassjones
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[JimmyM]

I benefit from people not thinking things through all the time. I have people get rid of gear that's potentially great because they wouldn't spend that other half a second trying to figure out what may be at the root of what they're experiencing. Then I get the gear, maybe something like a bass, and do something as simple as set it up and suddenly the garbage bass is a killer. So was the problem with the bass?

Yeah, must've been. For my own sake I should probably stop telling people to actually think things through.

So don't sppnd the time thinking through gear, folks. I'll see you in the classifieds.

Well now you're just making me look like a rube, Brad. Two things separate me from the rube, though...

1. If I don't know how something works, I am not above moving a knob to see what happens, nor am I against asking someone what it does and how it works.

2. I never plunk down dollar one unless I know it will work. With one notable exception...my P Lyte. I thought I could actually use it stock. But it took a couple pickup changes. 10 years ago I'd never have bought it, but I needed a light Fender because of shoulder soreness, so that is one piece of gear I actually massaged with pickup changes to make it work. Works great, too. Blindfolded I couldn't tell the difference between it and a regular PJ. Due to a recurring soreness, though, I was forced into it and did it grudgingly.

So let's not lump me into the category of people who don't think. I'm in the category of "knows what he likes when he hears it."

 

[choad42]

With a title like the evolution revolution who could resist?

Sorry for the childish comment I fired at you earlier, I took the slam against Markbass personally for some reason - now that's childish 'eh?:scowl:. I do respect everyones right to play any gear that they choose. However for the few out there like me, don't worry, there's hope yet to replacing all of that back breaking gear you've been dealing with for years.

The intention of this thread was just as Brad stated, to lure as many curious bass cats in as I could hence the title. So far it's worked like a charm.

Cheers,
Paul Theriault
Bassjones
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[coreyfyfe]

No sweat man.

Like I said, good suggestion about the cabs, I'll look into it.

 

[allexcosta]

Everything Markbass sounds mud and boring...

 

[Brad Johnson]

It is his opinion which he is entitled to. I took offense when he went after the first person to suggest a different opinion.

He takes offense so you take offense?

Okay.

To answer your original question, I read the thread because it had the potential to carry new information, which it did in the suggestion to try a MB head with another brand of cab. Until now, I have only played them through MB cabs and did not like the sound. I use a custom cab and am very particular about the sound of it, so it peeked my interest to continue reading the thread.

So you're saying that you heard garbage and assumed it had to be both their amplification and their speakers that were the cause? That it never occured to you that the amp might drive your custom cab?

Okay.

 

[BassmanPaul]

Nope, north of the city actually. Now that L&M carry Markbass, soon Markbass will be everywhere. I don't mind following this trend, neither does my back. I have to admit though that my first encounters with Markbass were infact in the westend at ClubBass.

Cheers,
Paul Theriault
Bassjones
Link Removed

Ahhh! Northerners! That explains it all!!!

To be fair I am not a bass head kinda guy. That said I do find the the amp sections of my various rigs to be the heaviest parts. I have thought about something lighter but I do find the MB stuff to be quite ugly. I have not played through one yet but I have been assured that the amps can be set flat which is how I use my systems. I also own 4Ω cabinets (Acme B2) and as I always use a minimum of two I would need an amp capable of driving 2Ω or one that has a "stereo" power section each capable of 4Ω. Maybe two amps.........

Paul

 

[JimmyM]

The advantage of the Markbass heads is that they're easily hidden if you think they're ugly.

 

[BassmanPaul]

The advantage of the Markbass heads is that they're easily hidden if you think they're ugly.

WHAT!!! become a closet Mark Bass user???

Paul

 

[Brad Johnson]

Well now you're just making me look like a rube, Brad. Two things separate me from the rube, though...

I'm not making you look like anything, Jimmy. That wasn't my intent. I was pointing out that some people make judgement more quickly than others and don't have a problem with doing it with less data. That's just how some folks are. You left out the first half of my post.

1. If I don't know how something works, I am not above moving a knob to see what happens, nor am I against asking someone what it does and how it works.

But you say that if something doesn't knock you out immediately. You can't immediately become familiar with unfamiliar gear... can you?

2. I never plunk down dollar one unless I know it will work. With one notable exception...my P Lyte. I thought I could actually use it stock. But it took a couple pickup changes. 10 years ago I'd never have bought it, but I needed a light Fender because of shoulder soreness, so that is one piece of gear I actually massaged with pickup changes to make it work. Works great, too. Blindfolded I couldn't tell the difference between it and a regular PJ. Due to a recurring soreness, though, I was forced into it and did it grudgingly.

And I don't know, and I mean really know if something will work on a gig until I take it on one. What you and the other poster are saying is that in a very short period of time you can discern if something will work for you. Since the MB line has unfamiliar filters to most people (including me at the time), that could give a false impression. And that impression is the immediate one you make a decision on.

So let's not lump me into the category of people who don't think. I'm in the category of "knows what he likes when he hears it."

I think I explained my position pretty clearly. If you think you can make a snap decision without spending time, which is what you initially said, cool. Not a lot of room for "what ifs?" if you've already made a decision based on no more than what you know at the time.

 

[choad42]

I don't like the tone of Markbass. I've played a handful of them and they all bored me. Also the superlightweight thing started before these came into being.

I see not this revolution you speak of.

Fair enough. I see it as a revolution because I have been carrying back breaking rigs around since 1986, because all the lightweight stuff up until the last few years sounded, well, lightweight. Anyways, when I started playing bass I remember having two types of amps to choose from, heavy and brutally heavy. So personally, I consider an amp design that sounds as good as Markbass, but weighs less than a bass guitar itself as a revolutionary event in bass amp design and the obvious evolutionary aspect is self explanatory. I agree that I might be a little over excited with this stuff, but for good reason. I can set-up and tear down in a few minutes thanks to the lightweight stuff. I sound good no matter the room or venue and it actually cost me less than most of the rigs I've used in the past. When it comes down to it, we all choose gear that serves us best. I just felt I needed to get the old soapbox out and do a major shout out for Markbass.

Oddly I actually found everything to sound boring and muddy no matter the bass or the amp until I acquired my F Bass.....hmmm.

Cheers,
Paul Theriault
Bassjones
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[choad42]

Ahhh! Northerners! That explains it all!!!

To be fair I am not a bass head kinda guy. That said I do find the the amp sections of my various rigs to be the heaviest parts. I have thought about something lighter but I do find the MB stuff to be quite ugly. I have not played through one yet but I have been assured that the amps can be set flat which is how I use my systems. I also own 4Ω cabinets (Acme B2) and as I always use a minimum of two I would need an amp capable of driving 2Ω or one that has a "stereo" power section each capable of 4Ω. Maybe two amps.........

Paul

Hey Paul,

LOL......don't even get me started on how the amp looks! That yellow is as ugly as all get out, but I love the tone and the weight. These Markbass amps are quite deceiving being so ugly and light at first sight. I normally wouldn't have even given them a second glance, but the positive words here at TB and from other bassists I know led me to try 'em out. No regrets so far!

I run the head as flat as possible, the dynamics of my F Bass come through clear and defined. Better than my last rig for certain. I have used it in both 8ohm and 4ohm modes, the latter is much fuller obviously. I usually get PA support on gigs that the Markbass wouldn't be able to cover by itself so I don't need to worry about running out of horsepower. I am quite content with this amp for now. The amp actually suits me as I'm not very pretty either.

Cheers,
Paul Theriault
Bassjones
Link Removed

 

[eff-clef]

When i was in the market for a new amp my dealer gave me a LM2 to try for the weekend. I A/B-ed with the head i have now, an EBS classic 450 (same cab, same bass, same cables even) and it took me about 1/2 a second to find out that the LM2 doesn't have balls, or at least not very big ones.

So, it's not for everyone, like you seem to be suggesting.

That may be why you didn't like the LMII. If you only played it for a second how could you get it to sound good. Plus the EBS450 is $400 more and 4 times heavier. At 4 omhs it is 400 watts not 500 watts like the LMII. The LMII is a very powerful head. It certainly has balls. You just may prefer the tone of the EBS.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

To those who don't like the tone of the LMII....

Do you like the sound of your bass? As Kjung has mentioned numerous times, the LMII scopes quite flat. So what you are hearing is YOUR bass... granted you must have eq flat and filters off.

Now if you like a coloured tone, the LMII will definitely not be for you (at least without eq changes).

Balls?

I've never had my LMII past 11:00 (and that was outside). Usually its around 9:30. Gain at 1:00. Again EQ flat, filters off.

More heavy balls than a bowling alley!

 

[phat daddy]

I've followed this thread with great interest-- I'm a Markbass user for over a year now. I actually use and love the MB 4x10 front ported cab as well as the CMD 102P 2x10 combo. I agree that Markbass is a revolutionary product, however I don't think it's for everybody, simply because nothing is for everybody. Many cats love coloration from amps and depend upon it-- I used to be one of them. My tastes have changed over the years-- 10 years ago I would never buy a head without a good 12ax7 glowing in the preamp, a huge parametric eq, and ever so many filters to play with.

I'm not saying people who like big eq's and tubes are wrong-- I wasn't wrong when I liked them. I'm just saying thank God for all the varieties of amplification, cause no one company can make the right one for all of us.

As for being a proud Markbass user now-- when I first got mine I was just as excited as the OP of this thread, so I understand that as well and I'm not trying to make anyone look foolish.

Peace guys
Shawn

 

[JimmyM]

But you say that if something doesn't knock you out immediately. You can't immediately become familiar with unfamiliar gear... can you?


And I don't know, and I mean really know if something will work on a gig until I take it on one. What you and the other poster are saying is that in a very short period of time you can discern if something will work for you. Since the MB line has unfamiliar filters to most people (including me at the time), that could give a false impression. And that impression is the immediate one you make a decision on.

I think I explained my position pretty clearly. If you think you can make a snap decision without spending time, which is what you initially said, cool. Not a lot of room for "what ifs?" if you've already made a decision based on no more than what you know at the time.

I judge every amp by its flat sound. This takes a lot of the guesswork out of it for me because I figure if it sounds good flat, any filters or anything are icing on the cake and I don't really care if they work or not. I'm not a big tone-tweaker. More often than not I have two tones in the course of a gig...P and PJ. And I judge all amps by how close they sound to an SVT. So my criteria is simple. Hey, what can I say? It does work for me.

 

[Red Planet]

Not everyone wants Yellow and Black, some do.

That sums it up. The notion that everyone should be or would be using this stuff before it's over with is simply a little skewed.

Takes all kinds.

 

[coreyfyfe]

That it never occured to you that the amp might drive your custom cab?

If it doesn't sound good with the stuff it was designed for, why would I deem it worthy to purchase?

 

[Chris Ramlar]

No sounds, no revolution... =P

 

[JimmyM]

If it doesn't sound good with the stuff it was designed for, why would I deem it worthy to purchase?

Because the cabs are a real love-em/hate-em thing whereas the heads are universally great through anyone's favorite cab. I like the way Markbass cabs sit in a mix, but they have a bit of a goose of the upper mids and a bit of a rolloff on the low end. They're like a Precision...in a band they sound great but by themselves they can sound a bit unpretty. And they've all got that unique Markbass tonality, from the little MiniMark right up to their 810. But the heads are a lot more universal. You plug that LMII into an 810 SVT cab and it sounds just like the SVT at a medium volume. It doesn't bloom like the SVT as you turn it up, but at a medium volume, I'm hard pressed to tell the difference.