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Markbass ? Why the dislike ?

#343
onosson said:
In my experience, the VPF is the most useful contour control I've ever used.
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I've played, but do not own any Markbass gear. With that caveat, I have to say the most attractive feature(s) in the Markbass head design in my mind are the VPF and VLE. They are truly very versatile in terms of voicing and useful enough that I think Markbass actually made a pedal of them at some point (Super Booster or something like that) - not sure if it's still in production.
 
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#344
I have an LMIII, the Italy version. Using 2 Hartke Hydrive 112. I'm not sure how someone can say they dislike "the sound" when its capable of tons of sounds. I love the VLE, especially in a live sitution, turned to 12, maybe 1:00. Really a mix friendly sound. Dial back a bit if i need funky highs. VPF knob can give monster thickness and bottom. I leave it off most of the time, then might use it a bit on ballads like Journeys Faithfully. These are not sounds that take a bunch of fiddling. The eq knobs all straight 12, except the bass dial back a tad. It really works well for me, and i truly enjoy the sound punching outta my cabs all night. All this and light and portable. If i had to lug my old SWR & 87 lb Mesa115 cab to every gig, id probably quit or use my Sans-amp.
 
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#345
Ant Illington said:
I've NEVER played thru an amp of any brand and found it to be unusable or, really, even unacceptable. Especially throw in bass eq or eq pedal and voila.

Lots of people like pooping here more than playing. Many people hate many things here. Nothing is unanimously loved, not even Jaco nor Jamerson nor the unquestionbly great new guy named with a J, whoever he may be. These poopie people, and there is no shortage of them making TB frequently inaccurate, frequently are denying their fear of practicing more and facing their own limitations or they are merely pawns in the game of people who want to sell them fake happiness in the form of the perfect equipment.

There are, of course, the real gearhead, scientist types always seeking a true, quantifiable ideal but the vast majority are the first two. Ignore it. Play more bass.
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100%+
 
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#346
DiabolusInMusic said:
I think a lot of people are turned off by the colour. The fact their cabs have that mid bump instead of a ton of lows is something that turns off the average Joe. Additionally, I don't think many people understand their controls. As a Markbass player, I often pick their amps when trying out gear at the store. Every single time I turn on a store Markbass amp some fool has cranked both the VLE and VPF knob so, obviously, the amp sounds friggin' horrible.
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they're called knobheads in the UK
 
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#347
I wasn't aware of any movement for the dislike of MarkBass.

I have read many posts wherein the poster slags MB, either their own unit or the name in general.
But that's TB; one man's jewel is always another's POS.
I can recognize that when MB was first intro'd to the USA, it was a breakthrough rig; now that there are many small powerful heads available, it's easy to compare MB unfavorably with any of the others, if you so desire.

I was kind of sad to see them being manufactured in place other than Italy, but that's manufacturing.

My (non-Italian) LM 800T is a great amp that keeps up w/ anything. (Except my Quilter!:D, which nothing else does either).
 
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#349
The original made in Italy a/b poweramp design was fantastic.

The newer made in Asia class D versions of the little mark sound anemic/sterile in comparison.

I moved to a Glock blue rock head (which is a great class D amp properly designed and executed) and my Bergantino HS410 cab. Much better than markbass on every level
 
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#350
I had the older Italy stuff. A 501 Head, and the discontinued 2x15 cab. It was nice. Kind of gassing for the new Ninja 250 2x10 combo. Looking for a small combo for clubs. ( For both electric and Upright )
 
#351
BaticaBG said:
Played couple of them, I dont like them, but thats my personal opinion, I cant say they are not good, but to me they have some MP3 sound quality like that some frequencies are missing, but once again thats is my personal opinion...
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This mighe thing that I mentioned earlier in the thread! I like MArkbass, but something is missing! There is about the tone they have that, as good as it is, is just not right! Kind of like eating a really well-made pumpkin pie, without whipped cream, ya know?
 
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#353
I have had two Markbass amps in my life..... an F500 a few years ago that I totally loved and regretted selling... and a Big Bang I just got this weekend. I was comparing the Big Bang to my Super Bassman 300 running both through my Bergantino NV610. I wont lie, there were times when I was playing the Markbass that I thought I was playing the SB. I guess that leaves me in the loves rather than hates club. I think they make great amps and my personal experience has been a positive one.
 
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#355
Funkee1 said:
It is the weirdest thing, but in some rooms, I really love the tone of mine (Jeff Berlin CMD Players School single 15 combo, if you forgot), but in some others, I really hate it, and for the life of me, I can't figure out what's different!
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Maybe you should pay atention on positioning in the room since it has a rear reflex openings...by the way I have also purchased the same ampa I and am very satisfied about how it sound...tried markbass earlier but coudnt find some decent sounds...this one sounds excellent
 
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#356
blubass said:
It's easier to find what you're looking for if you actively search it.

There's nothing wrong with Markbass.

Just like boxers or briefs, Bud light or Miller lite, Democrat or Republican; everyone's got an opinion and they can't help but share it, especially if there's a forum set up for just such a thing, or someone specifically asks a question like, say, Markbass? Why the dislike?
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In my opinion there's a lot wrong with Markbass. All the great players that endorse Markbass make it look like bass heaven, but they're all in it for the money. I.e. Richard Bona never hears his Markbass on stage: he only hears a DI mix through his in-ears. He doesn't care what it sounds like as long as he's payed by Markbass.
By the way: I don't blame him for that or all the other endorsers, a musician has to make a living and this is part of it.
The problem with Markbass is: they sound terrible. I've tried all the combos and they all have the same problem: ugly hard mid frequencies en very aggressive high frequencies.
I own a Fodera bass and I played it on many Markbass amps and combos, but I don't hear my bass. All the qualities and rich sounds of the instrument drown in the Markbass noise. What I hear is not my bass but I hear Markbass amp and speaker. The sound that it produces has nothing to do with the sound of my bass.
I tested it with a trained musician if he could hear if I played my Fodera over a Markbass combo or if I played a cheap $200 bass I picked up in the store. He couldn't tell the difference.
When I switched to an Eden combo standing next to the Markbass he could tell the difference immediately without any hesitation.
In other words: if you buy Markbass you hear Markbass (lots of ugly mids an highs) but the sound has nothing to do with what you put into it. Why they have not been exposed yet for what they are is probably because most people play cheap bass guitars and are impressed with the noise these combos produce and of course all the well payed endorsers keep them afloat.
So Markbass makes highly overrated equipment and is a hype, more than a quality product.
 
#359
Ritsaard said:
In my opinion there's a lot wrong with Markbass. All the great players that endorse Markbass make it look like bass heaven, but they're all in it for the money. I.e. Richard Bona never hears his Markbass on stage: he only hears a DI mix through his in-ears. He doesn't care what it sounds like as long as he's payed by Markbass.
By the way: I don't blame him for that or all the other endorsers, a musician has to make a living and this is part of it.
The problem with Markbass is: they sound terrible. I've tried all the combos and they all have the same problem: ugly hard mid frequencies en very aggressive high frequencies.
I own a Fodera bass and I played it on many Markbass amps and combos, but I don't hear my bass. All the qualities and rich sounds of the instrument drown in the Markbass noise. What I hear is not my bass but I hear Markbass amp and speaker. The sound that it produces has nothing to do with the sound of my bass.
I tested it with a trained musician if he could hear if I played my Fodera over a Markbass combo or if I played a cheap $200 bass I picked up in the store. He couldn't tell the difference.
When I switched to an Eden combo standing next to the Markbass he could tell the difference immediately without any hesitation.
In other words: if you buy Markbass you hear Markbass (lots of ugly mids an highs) but the sound has nothing to do with what you put into it. Why they have not been exposed yet for what they are is probably because most people play cheap bass guitars and are impressed with the noise these combos produce and of course all the well payed endorsers keep them afloat.
So Markbass makes highly overrated equipment and is a hype, more than a quality product.
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My Markbass sound is nothing like you describe, and I can most definitely hear the difference between my Wal and Warwick fretless basses (both strung with La Bellas). If there was an overwhelming Markbass sound I wouldn't be using one...
 
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#360
Ritsaard said:
...Markbass amp and speaker. The sound that it produces has nothing to do with the sound of my bass.
I tested it with a trained musician if he could hear if I played my Fodera over a Markbass combo or if I played a cheap $200 bass I picked up in the store. He couldn't tell the difference. When I switched to an Eden combo standing next to the Markbass he could tell the difference immediately without any hesitation.
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Let's be clear on this: I tried out a MarkBass rig at Guitar Center a few years back, using an active bass (I think it was a Schecter) with EMGs, and didn't care for it at all. I ain't no MB fanboy. But there are other ways of explaining your experimental results than "MB is crap". It could simply be that the Eden had the pre-amp gain set up so as to emphasize the input level difference between the cheap $200 bass and your beloved Fodera, while the Markbass was set up to normalize things more. That changes things, both in the signal behavior and in psychoacoustics. The human ear+brain tend to hear small differences in level as differences in quality.
 

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