Markbass ? Why the dislike ?

[Kijuer]

I used to love them. Had many heads and cabs.
Then I started playing through Mesa amps & cabs and...what can I tell you...MB felt so not-punchy, mild and pillowy in comparison.

To each his/her own anyway, what sounds great for me might be crap for s.o. else and viceversa so...but after trying something different from MB, I never went back to it and I never would.

 

[WG Plum]

For me, I just find them ugly. Nothing more than that.

 

[JimChjones]

This "my friend says" type of argument is anecdotal and worthless.

When such comes up I am always reminded of an incident from my days in the motorbike trade. I was comparing notes, as you do, with my opposite number from a shop about ten miles away. The subject got onto Honda mopeds. At the time they had two ranges. Range C was simple, minimalistic and made in Belgium. Range E was complex, sophisticated and made in Japan.

We both had very polarised opinions. One range had a high level of warranty claims, lots of trouble for the customers and we did all we could to steer customers towards the more reliable choice. On that policy we agreed. What we disagreed about was which range was trouble! They reckoned the C range was best, and E nothing but trouble, and we reckoned the E range was great! Ever since then I've been very wary about such evaluation, even by people in the relevant trade.

 

[SJan3]

I used to love them. Had many heads and cabs.
Then I started playing through Mesa amps & cabs and...what can I tell you...MB felt so not-punchy, mild and pillowy in comparison.

To each his/her own anyway, what sounds great for me might be crap for s.o. else and viceversa so...but after trying something different from MB, I never went back to it and I never would.

..and that's your personal preference that you're entitled to. But, "never" is a very long time. Perhaps they come out with an amp that knocks your socks off. Will "never" still apply? FTR, I like Mesa gear just fine!

 

[HelpImaRock]

My Markbass LMII head has held up well since I bought it here almost 10 years ago. Not sure how much wear it had on it previous to that. The only change I would make is putting the effects loop post-eq. Otherwise, it's a solid amp and I'd seriously consider buying another if this one developed issues.

 

[aus_bass]

Don't like the tone, don't like the look. No headphone out or Aux inputs.

 

[Confunk]

MB LMT800 paired with Bergantino HS-410:

 

[Kijuer]

..and that's your personal preference that you're entitled to. But, "never" is a very long time. Perhaps they come out with an amp that knocks your socks off. Will "never" still apply? FTR, I like Mesa gear just fine!

You're right, "never" is a longshot.

 

[LiptonJigglers]

Never cared much for the amps (had to many issues for my liking). Always struggled getting a tone I liked.
Love their 15's. Especially 152H cab with B+C drivers.
Utterly Fat Mammoth tones from that cab and my old (1980's) 600 watt solid state amp.
So fat, we named our band after it's quality of sound..

 

[woodyng2]

I used to love them. Had many heads and cabs.
Then I started playing through Mesa amps & cabs and...what can I tell you...MB felt so not-punchy, mild and pillowy in comparison.

To each his/her own anyway, what sounds great for me might be crap for s.o. else and viceversa so...but after trying something different from MB, I never went back to it and I never would.

I had a Mesa Walkabout /Scout 12 combo, never could find the magic settings on the controls,
and it tended to make all 12 of my basses sound the same. I bought the MARKBASS CMD121p combo,
and played them side by side,with the markbass controls flat, and really thought it made all my basses sound more
“Live” and definitely brought out individual characteristics better. A few years later, I sold the Walkabout head and put the Markbass combo head in the Scout cab….THAT was a great sounding combination.
I’ve sold all of it, don’t know if I’m going to need another amp in the future, but if I do, the new version Markbass 1-12” combo looks real interesting.

 

[fretlessbass]

I’ve had my CMD 121p for about 6 years; great amp….does the job for most of my gigs—and all of them, when combined with the Traveler 123 cab.
I’d concur with woodyng2: Each of my 8 electric basses definitely retains its distinctive sound when played through this amp…and, while I generally keep the tone controls flat, I find them highly effective when I need to make adjustments for the room.
I did, however, need to replace the speaker recently; I don’t recall ever pushing it:
Oh well, I guess the good news is that I like its appearance better with a black speaker cone.
RE Markbass, to paraphrase the great philosopher Grace Jones: It’s not perfect, but it’s perfect for me!

 

[4Mal]

The MB stuff I have tried over the years was just OK. Given it's Guitar Center exclusive... I have no reason to try further.

 

[Confunk]

I would/will NEVER dispute anyone's choice of amplification. Why would I? Why should I?
Wassit to me?

Over the years, I've had or have had:
Mesa
Ampeg
GK
Tec Amp
Ashdown
Quilter
Thunderfunk
AER
and of course MarkBass. (LMIII & present-day LMT-800)
(I'm sure I'm forgetting something...)

I can see why Markbass won't please every player for whatever their style, approach and goals are.
I haven't ever used a MB cab, no need to with what I've already got.

Still will testify that IMO for my gigs, the LMT 800 checks all the boxes and has not given me any issues at all throughout. (That *&&^$ "Mute" method though!)

 

[Rojd]

I like Markbass quite a lot. I have 3 amp heads and 2 are Markbass.

I have a Little Mark 250 Black Line that my wife bought for me 4 years ago. About 1.5 years in, it had a scratchy/noise issue related to the volume knob. I sent it in for repair under warranty to the authorized shop in CA. They replaced all the pots and it's been awesome ever since.

I have a Markbass TTE800 that sounds glorious and is a joy to play.

 

[pepj]

When I've had to use them, its all been a bit 'ok' but not really for me.
I just haven't heard anything expiring and I have better options.
I did enjoy an 810 at a rehearsal studio but not pursued that further. I have 3 cab rigs so don't need the fridge.