Markbass ? Why the dislike ?

[Funkee1]

Neither. It's 300. 500 if you have an extension speaker attached. As per their website and my own experience. The 600 is power draw from the wall socket.

Good choice!

 

[GwenOnBass]

Is there a Markbass rep here on the forum?

My sense is even if a MarkBass rep reads these forums, there will be no consideration of changes to the product line until sales begin to slide.

 

[Thumb n Fingers]

I like my LMIII but to nitpick I'd say it can be a little too compressed sounding and harsh in the high mids. They are not great for slapping IMO if it is your thing.

I've owned it for years and it has been really useful and easy to carry around with plenty of power.

I've found that LMII in the CMD121 combo's sounds pretty good for slapping. Work the EQ and use the VPF (turn the VLE to 0) and it gets a pretty nice scooped slap tone. I'm also doing that with an Suhr pre onboard my Jazz, so I'm sure that carries a little into the equation also (and also set scooped). I'm not sure what the difference is between the LMII and III, but if you're finding harsh mid highs, that might be what they tweaked.

 

[henryjurstin13]

My sense is even if a MarkBass rep reads these forums, there will be no consideration of changes to the product line until sales begin to slide.

I'm sure you are right... besides, they are selling product - so, it'll likely be a "it ain't broke, don't fix it" situation. I was just curious if there was a rep who might chime in & discuss some reasons for things like the rat fur which we know, everyone hates. Or, some reasons for other design points. Lately I've spent more time over at TheGearPage, and I know there are employees from Digitech, Line 6, and Carr who chime in and explain things directly from the company's standpoint.

 

[smcgov]

After playing just with Mesa D-800 , Demeter and Magellan 800 this last year, I pulled out my Mark Bass SA450...WOW! What a fantastic amp and sound...Big Clean Cutting and Oomph
No wonder I used it for ten years
Still love my LMII but the semi para mids of the SA450 really adds something

so it can hang with the above mentioned amps?

 

[TuneMan]

My bass player had two MarkBass heads, he had a spare cause one was always in for repair. He used my D800, and sold both his MarkBass heads and bought a Subway.........

 

[FirewalZ]

I said it earlier in the thread but it bears repeating......
I do like the MB sound, they have their own thing happening and sound really good. However, I dont think they are competitively priced and are simply too expensive for many of us weekend warriors. If you go new amp shopping at your local GC, the MB stuff is nearly twice the cost of comparative products on the floor. Although some could argue the MB stuff sounds "better", I cant justify paying 50% or higher more to get maybe 10%-15% better sound/features.

 

[Ender_rpm]

I said it earlier in the thread but it bears repeating......
I do like the MB sound, they have their own thing happening and sound really good. However, I dont think they are competitively priced and are simply too expensive for many of us weekend warriors. If you go new amp shopping at your local GC, the MB stuff is nearly twice the cost of comparative products on the floor. Although some could argue the MB stuff sounds "better", I cant justify paying 50% or higher more to get maybe 10%-15% better sound/features.

I dunno about this. I just went through a process to upgrade from my old LM2. Tried VT500, LM3, and TH500. The LM3 is the middle price wise @~$600. Now if you bring the Rumble or PF500 into it, sure its a little pricier. But there's not a $300, 500 watt head I feel is really a competitor.

That said,the way the new Class D poweramp effected the LM sound compared to the A/B of the older LM2 I have made me send it back. Working with the TH500 for now, not entirely content. Seems to be more muffled, less snap in the high end, but retains more higher harmonics. Odd.

 

[Funkee1]

I said it earlier in the thread but it bears repeating......
I do like the MB sound, they have their own thing happening and sound really good. However, I dont think they are competitively priced and are simply too expensive for many of us weekend warriors. If you go new amp shopping at your local GC, the MB stuff is nearly twice the cost of comparative products on the floor. Although some could argue the MB stuff sounds "better", I cant justify paying 50% or higher more to get maybe 10%-15% better sound/features.

See, I don't get that! Markbass is about the same price as GK, and cheaper than Ampeg at the GC near me. It's more expensive than Fender, Acoustic and some of those, but i also sounds better and works better. I would think that's worth the higher price!

But that's just me..........

 

[FirewalZ]

I dunno about this. I just went through a process to upgrade from my old LM2. Tried VT500, LM3, and TH500. The LM3 is the middle price wise @~$600. Now if you bring the Rumble or PF500 into it, sure its a little pricier. But there's not a $300, 500 watt head I feel is really a competitor.
That said,the way the new Class D poweramp effected the LM sound compared to the A/B of the older LM2 I have made me send it back. Working with the TH500 for now, not entirely content. Seems to be more muffled, less snap in the high end, but retains more higher harmonics. Odd.

See, I don't get that! Markbass is about the same price as GK, and cheaper than Ampeg at the GC near me. It's more expensive than Fender, Acoustic and some of those, but i also sounds better and works better. I would think that's worth the higher price!
But that's just me..........

When I walk into my local GC...MB is clearly the highest price when you compare with other products with similar/same speaker configuration and power. Tone is totally subjective and I understand some think they sound so good that the additional cost is worth it. I agree they sound great and possibly better than other competitors, just not "better enough" to pay $200-300 more for the same speaker/power.

 

[Ender_rpm]

When I walk into my local GC...MB is clearly higher when you compare speaker configuration and power. Tone is totally subjective and I understand some think they sound so good that the additional cost is worth it. I agree they sound great and possibly better than other competitors, just not "better enough" to pay a $200-300 more for the same speaker/power.

Ah, I was only referring to heads, I use other cabs. CArry on

 

[FirewalZ]

Ah, I was only referring to heads, I use other cabs. CArry on

No worries....I think the v3 Fender Rumbles are really skewing the pricing model for other competitors. You really can get a great professional quality sound out of those for a budget price. Even if you dont like the tonal footprint, even the most "gear snobby" among us have to admit they sound pretty darn good given the price.

 

[TuneMan]

A friend of mine liked my Subway but couldn't afford one. He bought a Carvin BX500 and it sounds really close to the Subway, for a little over $300. The build quality isn't the same, and the Subway plays better with other brand cabinets than the Carvin, but it sounds really good for the price.

 

[murphy]

Well both my Markbass heads are AB , not class D

In ten years+ I have never had a problem with my heads....Solid reliability
I am sorry others have had a different experience

I love my Subway head....but must admit I still think the SA450 sounds even better

I shall keep both....Forever!!!

 

[west al]

The Combo Head ll that's in the Mini CMD 121P, and the CMD 121H, is basically the same head as the Little Mark lll head. The only difference in the two, is the Combo Head ll doesn't have a top panel attached to the top of it, since it's mounted in a cab. Other than that, they're the same setup, and functioning head.

 

[jefff100]

Whats not to like?
If you dont like it, dont buy it.

I just picked up the 102P traveller cab. I'll probably pull the logo off the grill as I typically use it vertically and looks a little odd that way.

I needed something small and light that sounded good. This fit the bill on all counts. I drive mine with a GK MB series head. Again small and light, easy to get good tone in all situations. Last night I played my G&L 5 string with the acoustic group through the MB cab and was abld to get a nice old school woody tone as well as a more full humbucker grind on the rock numbers.

The Markbass cab does both my upright bass and both my 5 string electrics well.

Yeah, its pricey for a 210 cab. I got mine as a "blemished" special from MF, which dropped the price from 599 to 479. Then they were recenty running a 10% clearance on all openbox items, which made it fairly reasonably priced. I cant find the blemish.

I'm not selling my Epifani cabs but this is much easier to carry around if you're parked 3 blocks away.

 

[QuickGloves175]

I think they lost a lot of support when they moved the manufacturing from their home in Italy to who knows where now, then they changed to using unknown drivers in their cabinets. Plus the only place you can get them is Guitar Center, which is the most hated place on TalkBass. Their sound seems to be an aquired taste as well.

I personally don't hate them and even considered their 121 cabinets because I love that form factor. But I can't deal with carpet covered cabinets and went the Mesa Boogie route to get much better support and warranty, plus made in the USA for about the same price.

I love Mesa and Markbass. The first couple times I played thru Markbass cabs I really didn't care for them at all. But the problem was I was testing them through EdenWT 400 with 2x10 and the second time I demoed it was thru an Ampeg SVT CL with 2 1x15 cabs. Then one day I was absent mindedly looking at it thinking, dang, that 4x10 looks pretty cool. And it had a Markbass LM 800T on top. I loved the way it sounded from the first note. I loved it so much I brought my GK Backline 600 in, tried them together and immediately put it on layaway. Sounds better IMO than Ampeg, SWR, Hartke, and most other 4x10 's. I still dislike the sound of their 2x10's quite alot, but the "standard" 104hf was a home run for me. And nobody can believe the sound it can pump compared to its weight. Consider speaker configuration as well as amp because yes a cab should sound transparent and let any amp shine, and this one does. Just reinforces that I strongly dislike the Ampeg and Eden sounds, at least for my personal needs and uses.

 

[QuickGloves175]

Yes, but the other way around. The VLE (Vingtage Loudspeaker Emulator) rolls off the highs. I'm not sure what VPF stands for but it scoops the mids.

Variable Pre-shape Filter

 

[Makatak]

The only issue I had with the LM250 Little mark II I had was the lack of handy features. Ill never own an amp now without some form of compressor/limiter, aux in and headphone out for practice/rehearsal. Apart from that they are well designed amps that can be transported easily and look great.

 

[MattyH]

I went through a MarkBass stage a while ago. Mostly for portability with the gigs I was doing.

I found the cabs were soooo lacking. Incredibly sterile. No character, nothing that stood out. Yes, this may be the signature sound. And it may be great for some people. But not at all what I wanted.

The heads on the other hand I loved. After ditching the cabs, I held onto the LM3 and used it through a few different Ampegs for a while. LOVED IT. Ampeg heads and cabs paired together always seemed so muddy to me. But the LM3 through the 410HLF was so punchy. Loved that rig. I've also used a bands backline while filling in a few times. A 2x10 GK and a MarkBass F1. Also pretty nice.

Michael League always has nice tone though!