Markbass - the evolution revolution

[choad42]

Because the cabs are a real love-em/hate-em thing whereas the heads are universally great through anyone's favorite cab.

+1 I really wanted to give the Markbass cabs a fair shake, however after hearing them in both a retail setting and a live setting I didn't like the sound. I really don't like the "hey, look at me" yellow cones either, seems kind of cheesy, sorry. Anyways, some people really dig the Markbass cabs so they can't be all that bad. For me Epifani and Bergantino have set the standard in modern bass cab design and sound.

Cheers,
Paul Theriault
Bassjones
Link Removed

 

[eff-clef]

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

Markbass cabs shine in real gig situations. What sounds good at Guitar Center usually isn't cutting enough at gig levels. Rock music in particular. Hi-fi sound is great in quieter settings like jazz/fusion , modern funk, or contemporary gospel. Most rock and pop music needs more mids( which the Markbass cabs do well) to be heard and felt. That is not as pretty sounding at the store. This is also true in recording. If you played one at a gig (assuming you play rock of some sort) I think you might not have the same opinion.

 

[48thStreetCustom]

Hey Markbassist. Seriously, How does the solid state LMII compare to a tube amp? Does it really have the warmth?

No offense, but I'm a little leary. I've been reading about various SS tube emulators for about 15 years. They get a little bit of press and then disappear. Is the Markbass just another gimmick?

 

[KJung]

Hey Markbassist. Seriously, How does the solid state LMII compare to a tube amp? Does it really have the warmth?

No offense, but I'm a little leary. I've been reading about various SS tube emulators for about 15 years. They get a little bit of press and then disappear. Is the Markbass just another gimmick?

If you really love tube amps, I would not really recommend any SS amp, including the MB SS options. While there are a few TBers that talk about the MB heads like the LMII as having a lot of tube character, most of us hear them as what they are, very tight, clean, musical SS heads. There is nothing in the Markbass marketing literature that suggests that the SS amp line is meant to emulate a tube amp tone.

That being said, there are a number of hybrid models that do achieve a 'tube-like' vibe, and of course, the all tube 300 is a tube amp

 

[JimmyM]

If you really love tube amps, I would not really recommend any SS amp, including the MB SS options. While there are a few TBers that talk about the MB heads like the LMII as having a lot of tube character, most of us hear them as what they are, very tight, clean, musical SS heads. There is nothing in the Markbass marketing literature that suggests that the SS amp line is meant to emulate a tube amp tone.

While I'm one of the people who says the LMII does sound tubey, I would agree with that. It doesn't do what tube amps do. But it DOES come very close. Only you can decide how close it comes for your tastes, though.

 

[Eublet]

The LMII is worlds apart from a tube amp IMO. Nothing even similar about them. Just because an SS head can be warm in tone doesn't make it tube-like. If I were going to start listing SS heads that sounded tubey, I'd put heads like the ag500 or tfb550 much higher on the list. The LMII is clean, clean, clean, through and through. Not even a hint of "extra" harmonic content like a tube head. And certainly none of the pillowy bloom. It hits hard and quick.

IMO.

 

[cnltb]

...I really don't like Markbass...

 

[JimmyM]

...I really don't like Markbass...

I care. Really, I do.

 

[cnltb]

I care. Really, I do.

Why??

 

[bugbass]

Markbass cabs shine in real gig situations. What sounds good at Guitar Center usually isn't cutting enough at gig levels. Rock music in particular. Hi-fi sound is great in quieter settings like jazz/fusion , modern funk, or contemporary gospel. Most rock and pop music needs more mids( which the Markbass cabs do well) to be heard and felt. That is not as pretty sounding at the store. This is also true in recording. If you played one at gig (assuming you play rock of some sort) I think you might not have the same oppinion.

+1. The MB cabs are great!! Love them!! I`ve used them for almost two years, so I don`t base this on a 1/2 second store-test..

 

[donstrenz]

+2. But I have never heard any of the other cabinets mentioned. I suppose I might like Epifany, Bergantino, or Shroeder more if I heard them but I'm in no rush to because I'm very satisfied with my MB 15 and 2-10's. A young bass player sat in on our gig last weekend for a few songs so I got to hear the MB rig from a distance and it sure did sound good.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

I've liked both the cmd 102 combo and 121H combo, which of course include the head in the cabinet.

However, in general I am not a big fan of their cabs. They sound *okay* but quite frankly they strike me as average and nothing to get too excited about... unlike the MB heads. Epifani cabs ARE above average and are my cabs of choice along with schroeder. I am fairly particular in my choice of bass tone. If I could afford Berg cabs I'm fairly certain I'd like them too.

I have very limited experience with tube amps so I have very little to offer in that regard.

 

[choad42]

I care. Really, I do.

LOL.....Jimmy, your starting to sound like me.

Cheers,
Paul Theriault
Bassjones
Link Removed

 

[Brad Johnson]

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.

I do the same... but if you don't know what flat is for that amp...


The LMII is a great example of that. Most people didn't initially know how the filters work, didn't notice that it shows where off is on the front panel and set them both at 12 o'clock... and complained about the scooped sound or the lack of highs. Remember that?

Ever check out an Alembic preamp? The same thing happened on a regular basis with that because people NOT KNOWING WHAT FLAT WAS set the tone controls at 12. I've seen people do it when they unwittingly run the low pass on a biamp head, not realizing it's biamped or that it's even crossed over. User error or ignorance isn't a legit reason to dismiss an item IME.

This isn't about knowing what you like, it's about not at least taking the time to get familiar with unfamiliar gear. You simply can't do that in 1/2 a second... unless of course you immediately love what you hear. And even then you really need to make sure you're not just having your skirt blown up over the newness of the experience.

You can bet that on any amplification I say I don't like, it's based on more than a cursory glance.

 

[Brad Johnson]

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

You're right. Hey, if that works for you then cool.

I've never bought into the matching of a a brand's components a looooong time ago. Just because a company makes a great speaker doesn't mean it'll automatically make other components that are equally great.

And if you seriously think it was "designed for" their cabs alone, cool again. If that were the case they'd likely only sell combos.

 

[Turnaround]

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

Paul

Even some of us east-enders go to Club Bass.

As far as opinions go, I believe everyone is entitled to his own, even if he is dead wrong!

 

[choad42]

I do the same... but if you don't know what flat is for that amp...


The LMII is a great example of that. Most people didn't initially know how the filters work, didn't notice that it shows where off is on the front panel and set them both at 12 o'clock... and complained about the scooped sound or the lack of highs. Remember that?

Ever check out an Alembic preamp? The same thing happened on a regular basis with that because people NOT KNOWING WHAT FLAT WAS set the tone controls at 12. I've seen people do it when they unwittingly run the low pass on a biamp head, not realizing it's biamped or that it's even crossed over. User error or ignorance isn't a legit reason to dismiss an item IME.

This isn't about knowing what you like, it's about not at least taking the time to get familiar with unfamiliar gear. You simply can't do that in 1/2 a second... unless of course you immediately love what you hear. And even then you really need to make sure you're not just having your skirt blown up over the newness of the experience.

You can bet that on any amplification I say I don't like, it's based on more than a cursory glance.

+1 There is definitely a certain amount of culture shock when going from amps requiring numerous if not continual tweaks to obtain the necessary tone versus a head that works wonderfully when set totally flat as opposed to my last amp that required never ending adjustments that still never sounded quite right IMO ( Yorkville XS400 ). I noticed immediately that the dynamics produced on my bass were captured and amplified quite authentically via the Markbass head when it was set flat. I really feel in control of my sound now, everything that starts at the bass changes very little if at all once it exits the speaker cabinet. It still throws me for a loop when I pick it up though, that light weight goes against everything that I have ever known about bass amps. I accepted the fact a long time ago that I would more than likely always end up lugging heavy gear around if I wanted to be a working bassist, so the new light weight gear is a God send in everyway for me.

I know there are many other folks building light weight, great sounding heads besides Markbass, but you eventually have to know when to say when and get on with making music. I could've tried the GB Shuttle before the Markbass SA 450 and maybe I would be praising that amp instead right now. As it turns out, I tried the Markbass first and it get's it done. What can you do?

Hopefully some of my fellow bass cats will take this thread for what it is, just this working class, bass schmo's enthusiastic shout out for Markbass. I don't spend the majority of my time playing jazz or fusion, it's usually rock, classic R&B, a little funk, some country and some Reggae here and there. So I need a real world amp with as few bells and whistles as possible. I know the last thing TBers needed was another Markbass thread, but I felt obligated to say something. That's how pleased I am with the Markbass SA 450, now where's that damn mute switch Marco and Peter?

Cheers,
Paul Theriault
Bassjones
Link Removed

 

[Brad Johnson]

That's how I took it.

 

[JimmyM]

I do the same... but if you don't know what flat is for that amp...


The LMII is a great example of that. Most people didn't initially know how the filters work, didn't notice that it shows where off is on the front panel and set them both at 12 o'clock... and complained about the scooped sound or the lack of highs. Remember that?

Ever check out an Alembic preamp? The same thing happened on a regular basis with that because people NOT KNOWING WHAT FLAT WAS set the tone controls at 12. I've seen people do it when they unwittingly run the low pass on a biamp head, not realizing it's biamped or that it's even crossed over. User error or ignorance isn't a legit reason to dismiss an item IME.

This isn't about knowing what you like, it's about not at least taking the time to get familiar with unfamiliar gear. You simply can't do that in 1/2 a second... unless of course you immediately love what you hear. And even then you really need to make sure you're not just having your skirt blown up over the newness of the experience.

You can bet that on any amplification I say I don't like, it's based on more than a cursory glance.

My time is too valuable

But really, I'm not a big gearhead like most of you guys are. I like gear that sets up easily, doesn't require great amounts of tweaking, etc. And I don't have the patience to reap the great reward out of an amp I don't like immediately because I already have amps that are no-brainers. And I really don't get why you think that's so bad. Even when I get time to spend with gear I didn't like at first glance, I still don't like it and can't think of an exception, so what am I? The crazy one here?

But if makes you feel better, Brad, I did recently spend about 3-4 minutes each with a couple Shuttle combos before I decided not to buy one. Of course I had no intentions of buying one anyway, but I knew within 5 seconds that the 6.0/12T was a very nice amp but not what I'm looking for. I just spent a little extra time with it because the 6.0 has a tube preamp, which really didn't change my mind in the end, but I wanted to make sure you thought I did it justice. Would have liked a 3.0/8T, though. That's a snazzy little combo that I liked immediately.

So there!

 

[Brad Johnson]

My time is too valuable

But really, I'm not a big gearhead like most of you guys are. I like gear that sets up easily, doesn't require great amounts of tweaking, etc.

So do I. And? My LMII is very easy to set up... once you understand how it works.

And I don't have the patience to reap the great reward out of an amp I don't like immediately because I already have amps that are no-brainers. And I really don't get why you think that's so bad.

I really don't get what's so hard to understand about what I'm saying.

If you went to check out an LMII and it was set with all knobs at 12:00 and you didn't know any better, would you be happy with that sound or immediately dismiss it?

Even when I get time to spend with gear I didn't like at first glance, I still don't like it and can't think of an exception, so what am I? The crazy one here?

If that's what you need to think this is about, trust me... I'm more than used to it by now.

But if makes you feel better, Brad, I did recently spend about 3-4 minutes each with a couple Shuttle combos before I decided not to buy one. Of course I had no intentions of buying one anyway, but I knew within 5 seconds that the 6.0/12T was a very nice amp but not what I'm looking for. I just spent a little extra time with it because the 6.0 has a tube preamp, which really didn't change my mind in the end, but I wanted to make sure you thought I did it justice. Would have liked a 3.0/8T, though. That's a snazzy little combo that I liked immediately.

So there!

So you didn't do what you say you do? And you did what I said made more sense to me?

So there right back atcha!