Markbass...Thoughts? Love? Hate?

[Brad Johnson]

If it's cheaper to throw it away than repair it, doesn't that tell you something about it's worth? I have heard, although I'm not an EE, that these are made of odd value components that you won't find "off the shelf". Something tells me that a lot of the costs that figure into the retail price of this amp is shipping. That's not necessarily a bad thing and a previous poster is right in saying that that's the way some things are going. Bravo, it's a good and valid business plan. Quite apparently, it's a plan that also works. Just don't know if I want to throw $600 into a Bic lighter of an amp. I hear that MB and GC is good about replacing them though.

"If it ain't worth fixin'..."

I am biased, no doubt. We have plenty of good amps that are made here in the US and I try to support the home team whenever possible.

We need a snopes.com for music gear.

 

[jnewmark]

It may be that boombap's difinition of dull is a bit off from what we normally think. It may not be the eq, but the actually sound. Have you ever gotten on a rig, fired it up, and it just sounds, for lack of a better way to put it, "alive". And no matter how you set it, it still sounds "alive". I don't know any other way to put it. I've seen a few rigs like that. I think personal taste may also figure into the mix and maybe certain amps just don't work with his touch, his angle of attack, his whatever...

The first time I fired up my F1 head, it sounded more " alive " than any other head I ever played.

 

[BassyBill]

Please guys - let's knock off the trolling / troll feeding / bickering like 5 year olds / smugness / general asshatitude. I just spent ten minutes clearing up in here.

Thanks
Bill

 

[electracoyote]

I am biased, no doubt. We have plenty of good amps that are made here in the US and I try to support the home team whenever possible.

This is a great point. And I had every intention of giving the GK and GB stuff a fair chance, and I'll bet I would have been very impressed.

Then I found a Jeff Berlin combo used in like-new condish for $550.00.

That ended that.

 

[jnewmark]

This is a great point. And I had every intention of giving the GK and GB stuff a fair chance, and I'll bet I would have been very impressed.

Then I found a Jeff Berlin combo used in like-new condish for $550.00.

That ended that.

For what it's worth, I tried GB and Carvin also. Then I tried an F1. I liked the Carvin but was having issues with two separate heads, so I went with the MarkBass. I now own two: the F1 and the TA501. But, those new Carvins are pretty tempting!

 

[gilla]

I actually have the rear potted 6x10

you really don't like it?!?! I figure you could probably pull about $750 american for it used

 

[Crabby]

I'm late to the markbass party but just aquired an LMIII this week and am very impressed. As a Shuttle 6.0 user for the past few years, I was really looking forward to trying the LMII/III amps as they seem to be the rival to the Shuttle 6.0. These amps could not be more different.

I still like the Shuttle for what it was but this LMIII is really impressing me. I love how with everything set dead flat, it sounds pretty much perfect. Its tighter then the Shuttle but somehow warmer at the same time with a lot more natural low end. The Shuttle had to be tweaked just right to get my sound out of it where the LMIII just seems to be ready to go.

Very nicely built as well. So far I am really pleased.

 

[JimmyM]

though i think there's a bit of fos-ness in many of these posts, one thing is true...it will probably be cheaper to throw your lmii out when it breaks than to get it fixed. of course, that all depends what's wrong with it, but if it's a board...someone on here paid over $400 to replace a board in one. as much as i love the lmii sound, i don't know...that seems kind of wrong to me.

but it has zip to do with it being made in italy. markbass has never operated in the usa without a repair center in the usa. they used to only have one in boston, but now they have several. it's one thing to not like the stuff...it's another to lie about it or go off half-cocked with bs you're saying to try to impress someone. wanna impress me? buy me dinner.

 

[Bob Rock]

Originally Posted by pbasswil
Speaking of which: was Mark Bass the first co. to center two mid controls in the 175 - 250 and 750 - 1000hz vicinities?
- pw​

That's right! -- they've always had 4 band, haven't they? But are they always placed in those great freq areas? I haven't tried a GK amp for ages; I'd like to try one of their micro-heads.

I checked my GK Manual for my 1001RB, the 2 mid controls are centered at 250 & 1000.

 

[iammr2]

though i think there's a bit of fos-ness in many of these posts, one thing is true...it will probably be cheaper to throw your lmii out when it breaks than to get it fixed. of course, that all depends what's wrong with it, but if it's a board...someone on here paid over $400 to replace a board in one. as much as i love the lmii sound, i don't know...that seems kind of wrong to me.

but it has zip to do with it being made in italy. markbass has never operated in the usa without a repair center in the usa. they used to only have one in boston, but now they have several. it's one thing to not like the stuff...it's another to lie about it or go off half-cocked with bs you're saying to try to impress someone. wanna impress me? buy me dinner.

So, what is fos-ness?

I assume your talking about me when you say going off half-cocked. I quantified that statement by saying "I'm not an EE, but...". That came from another bass forum where a gent had trouble with his LMII and his local tech tried to fix it. True or not, I don't know. The players there are very objective and respectful of others opinions, so to me they are a bit more credible.

Looks like jnewmark knows what I meant by "alive" sound. Good for you, sir. If you're in heaven with that F1, I'm happy for you. Good sound is easy to get. But it's special when you get that sound you just love.

 

[JimmyM]

So, what is fos-ness?

I assume your talking about me when you say going off half-cocked. I quantified that statement by saying "I'm not an EE, but...". That came from another bass forum where a gent had trouble with his LMII and his local tech tried to fix it. True or not, I don't know. The players there are very objective and respectful of others opinions, so to me they are a bit more credible.

i am respectful of people's opinions. you, otoh, said something about not being able to get it repaired anywhere else but italy. from day one, peter murray has said that there was a usa repair center and they were working on others. so while i respect your opinions, i don't like to let misinformation fly so easily. if we're so horribly lacking in credibility here, how come i caught it when someone on the other board didn't?

btw, fos-ness is "full of ****-ness." that wasn't directed toward you, but more to the bickering going on.

 

[jnewmark]

So does anyone have a list of USA repair centers? I went to the site but could'nt find it.

 

[iammr2]

i am respectful of people's opinions. you, otoh, said something about not being able to get it repaired anywhere else but italy. from day one, peter murray has said that there was a usa repair center and they were working on others. so while i respect your opinions, i don't like to let misinformation fly so easily. if we're so horribly lacking in credibility here, how come i caught it when someone on the other board didn't?

btw, fos-ness is "full of ****-ness." that wasn't directed toward you, but more to the bickering going on.

No, I've never said that you could only get it repaired in Italy. I don't think anyone has said that. It would be extremely cost prohibitive. What I did say was if it breaks, you just take it to GC and they give you another one. This is great for the enduser in that there's no time to wait for a repair. Outstanding for the customer! I take it from what you say here that they go to a repair center.

So, what happens to the repairs? Do they go to eBay, get sold as refurbs, go back to GC as replacement units?

 

[funkmangriff]

I use an aguilar DB410 with my LMII, sounds great and has plenty of power for my situations.

im buying a new my cab and can't decide whether to get a 210 or a 112, and again i can't decide to go for mark bass or aguilar. it's probably best for me to stick with aguilar as pairing two differant brand cabs might cause phasing, apparently.

 

[JimmyM]

No, I've never said that you could only get it repaired in Italy. I don't think anyone has said that. It would be extremely cost prohibitive. What I did say was if it breaks, you just take it to GC and they give you another one. This is great for the enduser in that there's no time to wait for a repair. Outstanding for the customer! I take it from what you say here that they go to a repair center.

So, what happens to the repairs? Do they go to eBay, get sold as refurbs, go back to GC as replacement units?

i've heard they either go back as replacement units for warranties that have some time on them or they get sold as refurbs/b stock.

anyway, sorry if i misunderstood what you said. many people have, indeed, said that about markbass stuff.

 

[gilla]

Won't guitar center do repairs on markbass. I know they sell them there. I guess it would really depend on whether or not you bought it there but last I checked you could only buy markbass there or online.

 

[ksandvik]

Yes, GC is the only place in US where you could purchase or get them serviced. There are GC stores just everywhere so that's a bonus.

 

[jnewmark]

So does anyone have a list of USA repair centers? I went to the site but could'nt find it.

anybody ?

 

[WoodyG3]

Mucho +1!
Uh...no...it doesn't beg a strong reaction. If I were the OP, the best opinions to me would be the honest ones. The cliques here are horrible about shouting down dissenting opinions.

SHUT UP!!! Just kidding, just kidding!!!

boombap, did you try more than one? I plugged a Jazz into that Jeff Berlin combo and it sounded really good. Won't buy one though. For one, it's uglier than s&*t! That's subjective and/or doesn't matter to many folks though. To me, it looks cheap. Another reason is that it is a throwaway amp. "We don't fix 'em, we just replace 'em." That to me says cheap components, although businesswise, it might make sense. I've heard of reliability issues with some, but all companies have those. Guess I'm just not sold on the throwaway quality at this point.

IMO, it's far from a throw away amp. Markbass is in Italy. Do you want to wait for a piece of equipment to be shipped to Italy for repair, then shipped back? Wouldn't you rather get a replacement right away and take it home with you? It's just good customer service.

I don't have any reliability figures, but I've heard and read very few problems with Markbass stuff. It's high quality stuff, IMO.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[ksandvik]

I've used my MarkBass gear for two years now (estimated 150 gigs or so.) Zero problems. If something happens, I will take it to GC that is three miles from my house.