Markbass ? Why the dislike ?

[_sky_]

I have a Markbass micromark and that 9inches cube is amazing! The only thing I might have against Markbass are their prices. But one thing is certain...when having a Markbass product you are having a top quality product

 

[chris_b]

Too many people hear with their eyes. The Markbass presence on a stage is very cleaver marketing and they sound pretty good to me and, it seems, a lot of other bass players.

Thin sounding cabs? That's got to be User error.

On the other hand, I don't understand the marketing or business logic behind producing so many products and then discontinuing them at the rate they do. To my ears they got it right with the LMT and LM2. What happened between then and now?

 

[DirkP]

The CMD121p is (still) one of the best products in the bass amp world. If you want a good sounding lightweight, small and powerfull combo.No dislike for Marbbass from my side.

 

[Rabidhamster]

My name isn't mark

 

[Novarocker]

@_sky_ I agree wholeheartedly about the price tags, though they do seem high quality. The amps seem nice when I've tried em, but just a bit sterile IMO. Though the vpf and vle (I think that's what they're called) give you some awesome usable tones.

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 how they're making tiny little cabs that still pump, but I'm with ya on Mesa. I'd much rather have my 2x12 than a mark cab. IMO they're in the same bracket as Orange. Stellar amps, just you gotta pay a premium for em. The cabs, meh.

I think they're ugly and look like something Stryper would have used for their shtick, but this is the first time I've ever posted that thought. Usually if i don't have something nice to say blah blah, but you did ask

Edit to add > Can't say I've seen or heard of a lot of hate for them. And I'm glad they're out there (like orange), adding color options to the traditional black. I'm waiting on a Purple brand

There's a guy who makes Green amps, I think it's Matamp. They do all sorts of colors. Here's a purple: matamp purple - Google Search

 

[Neil2094]

I've got a 1x15P traveller cab. After years of lugging a drum kit around, and making a switch to Bass, I wanted some light and portable. Aside from the God awful tweeter, which I have disconnected, the cab sounds great. It is light, portable, great sound and fits in the boot leaving enough space to get my other gear in.

 

[TinIndian]

They don't do it for me. No hate, I don't think they are garbage. They just aren't what I'm looking for. That's why there is more than one company making amplifiers.

One size does not fit all.

 

[SteveHeissner]

Some prefer Ford. Some prefer Chevy. Some prefer Dodge. Why should bass amps be any different?

 

[Cosmo Dalton]

I played one or two and the sound didn't jump out at me. I have seen people use them in an oldschool tone capacity like Mowtown, R&B, Soul, etc. I have also heard they do not retain their value worth a flip. I think they look cool, though.

 

[primusfan1989]

1) I hate the aesthetic they choose, black and yellow... Stryper?
2) I don't care for their tone, like it works for slap bass or that super fusion bass tone but doesn't really work for my tastes
3) They don't seem to be made well. I can think of three friends off the top my head who've had more than one warranty replacement on their markbass gear

 

[Thumb n Fingers]

Extremely happy MB user. Now, I will say that I think that perhaps dialing in "your" tone requires just a little bit more patience than with some other amps... but the payoff might be worth it. Kill the VLE, VPF when you start to dial in; adjust those in as you see fit. I don't use the VLE (makes them sound like the older Acoustic brand amps to me) at all. I turn down the low to about 10 o'clock, but boost the VPF to about 3 o'clock and that solves some of the clipping issues without affecting the tone as mentioned previously (at least with the CMD121). Also fixes what someone else mentioned about having very prominent mids. Especially on an active bass with the low pre-amp set pretty full. I do change the setting a little when I go to a passive bass.

Honestly, I don't care about what they look like... they could be pink with orange shag carpeting for all I care... I don't use them for their looks, I use them because I can get "my" sounds out of then...and to a much lesser degree, their weight.

I have also previously used GK and Hartke gear over the years and loved them too. I've never fallen in love with Ampeg, but I know many that have. It can definitely be a Ford, Chevy, Dodge thing... I think that summed it up pretty well.

 

[Thumb n Fingers]

I played one or two and the sound didn't jump out at me. I have seen people use them in an oldschool tone capacity like Mowtown, R&B, Soul, etc. I have also heard they do not retain their value worth a flip. I think they look cool, though.

not so sure about value retention... I can't find used gear around my area at a reasonable (let's say 40-50% off of retail) prices. They seem to move pretty close to 75% of the retail used. Then again, I don't see a whole lot of used MB posted either. If I'm only saving 25%, I'll go the whole 9 yards and get it new and not have to worry about how mistreated it may have been.

 

[bench]

i have an old combo-head (= little mark 2). like it a lot. can't say anything about the quality since the production moved away from italy...

 

[Buszkock]

I'm never publicly expressed this in the forums... but I just don't like the look. They are just too !!YELLOW!! for my tastes, which are subjective of course.
That said, I played a small head called the Little Mark Tube that sounded really nice. Very warm and clear!
If I wanted to suggest a mark bass setup, I'd recommend that paired with a high end cab like a Berg 2x12.
If I had a rig like that at 15 I would've loved it, yellow printing and all.

 

[baxter_x]

Personnaly I never really liked their sound. Their heads sound way too much solid state and their cabs are too "neutral" for me.
I'm a SS guy as I own an Ampeg SVT 4 Pro and a Mesa Titan V12. Even if these heads are actually SS amps, I feel they are way more usable, quicker and warmer.

 

[Andersson]

For all the haters... they have one cab (151) in black also

 

[pudgychef]

Haven't seen much anti markbass sentiment...
I used a Jeff Berlin combo for a while...no issues

 

[GwenOnBass]

Several MB products would be of interest to me but for:

• The amp's voltage is factory preset for the country of sale. Perhaps this is user-configurable but I don't see where. I can buy a hairdryer that I can switch between 110 and 220. And I see some manufacturers offer amps that auto-sense the voltage.
• The color schema. When last in the market for a rig, some here at TB advised me: yes it's ugly but you'll get over it. Bzzzzt. Wrong.
• I don't like to see speaker cones, period. Don't care if they're yellow or purple or green. Seeing speaker cones puts the hurt on my eye. Several otherwise excellent cabs don't make the cut when money is burning a hole in my pocket.
• The branding takes up a disproportionally massive portion of the gear's visible real estate. I'm (sometimes) okay with branding when it's tasteful and subtle. If they are paying me to be seen with their gear then that's another story.
• The rat fur. I'm the bass player, not the cleaning lady.

Clearly I live beyond their marketing demographic.

 

[Marley's Ghost]

The NY604 cabs also have black cones.

 

[cchorney]

I have a CMD102p with a 102HF. I don't particularly like the "by myself" tone because it's too midrangey, but in a band context at volume it sounds great and cuts thru the mix. For me that's where it does the job it needs to do. I don't care about the yellow or the label - for me that stuff is neither a plus nor a minus. The only reason I would trade this rig is for something smaller/lighter/just as loud/still cuts thru.

At home settings - lots of mid scooping, a bit of VLE.
At gig settings - all tone settings at noon, VLE and VPF both at 0.

Pros - lightweight, good "in the mix" tone
Cons - expensive, cabs don't lock together (maybe because I stack on their sides)