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Markbass ? Why the dislike ?

#81
gsgbass said:
This Markbass Mini CMD 121P / NY 121, works fine for me. No thin sounds, a really good full, deep bass sound here. QC is very good also. I've used a few other Combos, but the Markbass is my choice hands down.

anu4kKA.png
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My right too
 
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#83
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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+1000000!!!
 
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#84
Didn't like the cabs but I use two of the heads (Big Bang and 800) and am extremely satisfied with the tone, the weight, the reliability.

Wanna clarify about the cabs, here's the thing. They're very midrangy, and as a result, very, very loud. So you can cover a very large venue with a small amp. It's an approach that works very well, but it's just not a tone I like very much. So I went with something else. That being said, I'm probably going to end up with a 121H one day as that little combo can cover a room like you would not believe.

ETA: Read the thread and a couple of things. They are expensive. Bought both mine used, not nearly so expensive. Have one Italian and one Indonesian head, the Indo head (the Big Bang) gets more work just because it's a bit smaller. God knows it's loud enough regardless. My Italian 800 is total overkill for my gigs so it tends to stay at home and be my very high-powered bedroom amp. Doesn't seem to be a difference in visible or audible build quality.
 
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#85
gsgbass said:
This Markbass Mini CMD 121P / NY 121, works fine for me. No thin sounds, a really good full, deep bass sound here. QC is very good also. I've used a few other Combos, but the Markbass is my choice hands down.

anu4kKA.png
Click to expand...


I have this same rig. Sounds better than anything that size has a right to.

I like my Berg cabs a little better, but it's tough to beat those tiny 1x12 boxes for great sound in a small light package.
 
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#88
I play a Berlin CMD151P. Love it. For me a combination of needs: I wanted one, manageable, 15 combo to cover 80% of my club gigs (rock, blues) with no FOH. For the other 20% I add an old SWR 15 cab that I put a new Eminence in. (Budget didn't allow for the NY 15 cab.) When there is FOH, only the combo.

Not crazy about the rat fur, the colors don't bother me, but what tipped the scale for me was the GC sale ($899) and the fact that it's so light I can walk into any other genre of gig (jazz, country, Latin, folk...) with it in one hand, and have as big and fat a sound as I need. And it fits in the back seat of my Nissan extra cab...

Edit: also as for the VLE and VPF, another thread, a fine gent posted Mark Bass' actual frequency response graphs for both, so we can see visually what they do. The VLE not only rolls off highs, but also rolls off low lows, with essentially a flat plateau for the rest. The VPF is a pretty hard mid cut, with I think also a very low low roll off.

Anyone have those graphs handy?
 
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#91
I tested a LMIII many times and had a F1 for a while, and both were bland to me.

Their cabinets are OK, nothing more (had a 151HF and currently have a NY604).

I guess I am looking for something with a little more color (GK and Ampeg).

The build quality was awesome though.
 
#92
The brand bashing and sporadic gripes are a part of the TB landscape. If there is merit to a complaint because of poor service, subpar reliability or design issues- this will show up as a megathread and it will be easy to find in a search. Otherwise, play what you like and ignore the chatter.
(I am a happy owner of a discontinued MoMark 500)
But, since you asked...:rolleyes:...
1. The amp I own is downright ugly.:roflmao:
2. Their marketing...specifically, the re-hashing of existing models with limited-edition or anniversary models with updated graphics is a real head scratcher. The Ninja? Is the amp going to carry out a stealthy assassination?:confused:

Seriously though, if you can easily get to your sound with their gear then I don't see how you can go wrong. I haven't heard of any reliability issues lately.
peace!
 
#93
I've been a happy Markbass user for the past 5 years. I get big compliments on the tone of my LMT800 and NY604 cabinets. I see more and more MB at shows so they have really taken hold in the market. The orange drivers and GC partnership do create some dislike, but the gear is solid.
 
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#94
I LOVE Markbass amps but I HATE their cabinets and/or drivers. I dunno what it is - whether its the cabinet itself, or the drivers that they use - but I'm never happy with the sound of their amps in the room. I use my LMII when I'm recording, but tend to use GK or Ampeg live.

Some folks here suggested buying the MB Superbooster, to get around this issue... I want one so bad.
 
#95
Ekulati said:
...a fine gent posted Mark Bass' actual frequency response graphs...Anyone have those graphs handy?
Click to expand...

Not sure exactly what you were referring to, but I had made this graph of the MarkBass pre and posted it a few years ago...might be handy.

LOW= BLACK
LOW MID= RED
HIGH MID= BLUE
HIGH= YELLOW
VPF= GREEN
image.jpeg
 
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#100
Marcus Willett said:
Not sure exactly what you were referring to, but I had made this graph of the MarkBass pre and posted it a few years ago...might be handy.

LOW= BLACK
LOW MID= RED
HIGH MID= BLUE
HIGH= YELLOW
VPF= GREEN
View attachment 1043261
Click to expand...

This is great, and explains a lot to me. I tend to use both the VPF and VLE knobs, in fact I find I can get the tone I like in most cases using only those two. If I use the EQ at all, which depends on the room for the most part, I tend to bump the high mids up, and roll the bass back a touch. The high mids are the one frequency that the VPF doesn't do much with, and the bass boost of the VPF is probably just a bit too much if the room is particularly resonant. This graph makes it all make sense :)
 
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