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Double Bass MarkBass with DB?

K

karlgustav

Aug 30, 2005
49
0
Europe,Estonia
#1
Is anyone gigging with a Markbass head or combo?
I saw happy bass players on the BG side of the forum.But how is it working with DB?

that question came up pecause I am looking for a head +cabinet combination to replace my KG MB150s .I need more power,headroom,and different cabinet combinations.

what would you use if you need one rig for DB and BG?
 
#2
karlgustav said:
Is anyone gigging with a Markbass head or combo?
I saw happy bass players on the BG side of the forum.But how is it working with DB?

that question came up pecause I am looking for a head +cabinet combination to replace my KG MB150s .I need more power,headroom,and different cabinet combinations.

what would you use if you need one rig for DB and BG?
Click to expand...

Karl,
I don't know wheather this would be a problem or not but the Mark Bass amplifiers have input impedances of 500 kOhms. You would definitely need a buffer preamp with those heads. I'm not aware that they have a distributor in the United States as yet, but I could be wrong. Warranty Repair could get pretty costly between
continents if you're amplifier had to be repaired.

Interestingly enough, you're MB 150s has a 1 meg Ohm input impediance which makes it much more compatable with most piezo pickups. It looks like most of the GK line has a 1 meg Ohm input. So this might be the way to go for a single rig.

Ric



Ric
 
#3
thank you for the tought

but what you sed about distribution in US really does not apply in my case as I live in Europe.
I saw froem your profile that you´r useing WW,wich is naturally on top of the great amp head list,but what would be something under 500 usd (used,street price),that you would recomend?
or what would be a good pre?
 
#4
Hi,
im in the same situation, I got to get a amp.
I wanted EA i amp500 first, the EQ is nice on that one. and I tryed it with a whizzy cab, EQ all flat through a stratb. It soundet really good
But im also in Europe and one i amp costs me as much as a markbass with a cab, if it breaks .....
and one good point markbass has a balanced XLR in !!!!!!
The EQ section is'nt as versatile as the i amp but I could get a good sound.
if you put something like a Presonus EQ3B between it will be pretty much all you need. I tryed the amp with a other cab and also the 15 mini combo and the 12 mini combo.
the amp is good for shure, but the speaker of the combos sound very hard especialy the 12mini. I guess it is also because the
Cabinet / Driver configuration.
It works but it is really not much air in there and the port goes out of the backside........ not good.
I know that there are Drivers witch can work with a very small volume, but there is some limits and drawbacks to it.
the 12 mini soundet very good with BG. not really a super low bass but very clear, punchy and loooooud !!!!
if you have a 2 12 cab at 4 ohm its dangerous for the ears i think.
its a very strong amp. I think it is the same with all those new amps no loss in heat and power almost down where the amp usually would shortcircuit, meaning delivering stable current even @ very very low impedances.
That hard sound could also be from the cone material and the way the whole driver is made. a other thing I didnt like is the hiss of the piezo tweeter. The hiss was much less almost gone with a other cab.
I would get the amp and try to find a good cab.
I think the EA Whizzy cab is really good.
that has to do with the type of driver wich is in there and maybe some with what they call TML. But I doubth that it is really a tml. I think it is more like a Bassreflex box. It is in a way the same.

Did any one ever see the inside of it ?
how long is that port ???
30 cm ? ( 1foot)
120 cm ? (4 foot)
210 cm ? (7 foot)
If its 1 foot /30 cm its closer to bassreflex
if its 120cm we could call it a TML.
i might be wrong with the Whizzy not being a TML but i would be surprised if that is the case.

where are you in Europe ?
Im working on a cab with a 12* fullangedriver I dont know how its going .to sound, but the simulations looked pretty good.
if you want more infos about it you can pm me

I hope that helps.
 
#6
karlgustav said:
thank you for the tought

but what you sed about distribution in US really does not apply in my case as I live in Europe.
I saw froem your profile that you´r useing WW,wich is naturally on top of the great amp head list,but what would be something under 500 usd (used,street price),that you would recomend?
or what would be a good pre?
Click to expand...

Karl,
Walter Woods are very nice amplifiers, but they come at a premimum price. I think at this time I would reccommend a GK MBE or MBS heads. They are very reasonable and have a 1 meg ohm input that will work with most piezos. They are small, light weight,and have Direct outs. GK Makes a MBX cabinet that is also
very inexpensive.

Ric
 
#7
I tried a MarkBass LMII with their Traveler 102P cabinet for a short while with DB. The sound was excellent. I went straight in with a Full Circle pickup. Eventhough its rated at 500K ohms in put impedance, it worked great. I'll post more on this very affordable and seemingly excellent product when I do more tests.
 
#8
I'm using a Thunderfunk TB550 on a BagEnd 210.

The Timbre control is a great control that can thin things out a bunch or add huge lows with one twist...no other adjustments needed.

If I need to drop out the bottom to keep the DB from booming, it takes about 0.000243 seconds.

It also has a clean/dirty channel...I don't use it much though, the dirty side that is.

But, overall, it's like 15lbs and 500w and matches up with any of the similar switching units.
 
#11
I just got a LMII head from ctregan and have spent some time with it at home. So far, it's a real winner for both DB and electric. My two DB's, one with a Realist and the other a Full Circle both sound great straight in with the EQ flat. I believe the tone is more neutral than the Focus which always sounded overly middy, and then muddy as the volume increased. Will know more with some real world experience.

Doubling? My active bass straight into the effects return works great. The main input is available for DB.

As much as I have liked and trusted AI, it may be time to move on.
 
#13
Nope. It lacks phantom power, so condenser mics are out. I haven't had much luck with mics anyway. I suppose a dynamic would work, but it doesn't seem that important to me.

Your question regards the LMIII but I believe the pre is the same as the LMII. Only the output power has been increased.
 
#14
Just my two cents: I used to have a LMII, which is a killer amp with electric bass, but sounded terrible with both my double bass and EUB (NS Design). Now I'm using an Acoustic Image Contra, which sounds wonderful with both DB and (especially when hooked to my 2x10 Nemesis speaker) Electric bass...
 
#15
macmrkt said:
I tried a MarkBass LMII with their Traveler 102P cabinet for a short while with DB. The sound was excellent. I went straight in with a Full Circle pickup. Eventhough its rated at 500K ohms in put impedance, it worked great. I'll post more on this very affordable and seemingly excellent product when I do more tests.
Click to expand...

Same here, I have the realist pickup though. I really like the sound with my electrics and upright.. although the upright sound leaves much to be desired because my actual DB isn't the best and the MarkBass amps really bring out the true sound of the instrument. just my $.02
 
#16
I thought of using the XLR input for acoustic bass (coming from my fishman platinum's XLR Out) and using the 1/4" main input for my electric bass. I wonder if it would work OK using the amp this way. (So, no mics at all.)

The LMII and LMIII are all the same regarding the input features and pres they have I believe.
clink said:
Only the output power has been increased.
Click to expand...

Has the output power been increased? The web site doesn't say so.
 
#17
The Realist/AI is a difficult relationship, always sounding too full and uncontrolled as the volume increased. I think the MarkBass is going to be much better.

Again, my old ply with a Full Circle pickup sounds great as well. Although designing a perfectly transparent amp is impossible, it seems whatever coloration MarkBass has is one that I like.
 
#18
pallino said:
Just my two cents: I used to have a LMII, which is a killer amp with electric bass, but sounded terrible with both my double bass and EUB (NS Design). Now I'm using an Acoustic Image Contra, which sounds wonderful with both DB and (especially when hooked to my 2x10 Nemesis speaker) Electric bass...
Click to expand...

That has been my experience as well. Other than the Mini CMD combo from Mark Bass(which sounded quite good for doubling), I couldn't really get a great sound with the Markbass amps using my DB. I think the EQ is a little more suited for electric. I really like the AI stuff for both DB and Electric. But YMMV.
 

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