MarkBass - worth the price?

[TonyP-]

Everyone is going to have an opinion here.

I can understand when folks look for something different (just to spice things up) I owned the Promethean and the LH1000 as well.

Both great amps, I just appreciate the Markbass more when I come back to them. (This is for both J style and Ray style basses)

 

[Tony G]

Not a fan of the MB cabs but my F1 was great and was with me for 50+ gigs.

Weird that It had a very loud fan that always freaked me out. Lots of noise from a 1" fan IME!

Something to be said for a head that fits in almost every gig bag though....

Strange....my F1's fan makes almost no noise.

 

[Doug Parent]

The fan on my F1 doesn't make noise either....hmmm.

My take...there are different flavors of MarkBass heads, hard to judge them all at once. I found the LM2 to be a bit "loose" in the back end compared to the F1/F500. .....Yes agreed it is a flatter tone and does not have the complexity and nuance of say a tube driven head, BUT, in a live setting, the focus and punch are what make my tone clear and present.

My favorite tone was through a Demeter pre/Crown power rack, but for all it's glory it lacked the really cutting dense punch and quickness that I get from the class D F series Markbass heads.

 

[bassman64]

They don't indeed colorize your bass guitar sound -- that's how you bass sounds in the first place. It's easy to add valve/dirt et rest on top of it but harder to produce a punchy clean amp that shows the real bass guitar sound.

so, where does the sound of all these amps come from, the speakers or the electronics going to the speakers?

 

[bassman64]

To give a better example. If I use my ATK through a GK or Ampeg I get the GK rails sound or the Amped valve saturation sound which is nice, but I might as well use any other bass guitar to sound pretty much the same. While with a MarkBass setup I could hear -- amplified -- the ATK sound which is 70% Ray plus the ATK spin on it.

Or, if someone has a crappy bass with no characteristics, that's what they will hear on a MarkBass system. Same with sloppy playing, a MB system is brutal with less technical players.

I had a MB Jeff Berlin and hated the Sound of my Rickenbacker through it. now, I am no Rickenbacker purist, its just the bass i like playing best so dont label me as biased when I say this>>>

my Ric is no crappy bass....the way you describe it, the Ric should sound like pure gold through it

"Same with sloppy playing, a MB system is brutal with less technical players"

ok then, I guess you just nailed it down for me. I suck so bad I shouldnt be allowed to have such nice gear.

 

[bassman64]

oh BTW, I have a Markbass super booster. bought it for the filters. I have an Ampeg B100R, a Ric and a Steinberger.

the filters are fantastic with my amp and more so the Steinberger than the Ric. it adds some serious crunch to the Steinie and the ric will get old school thud, smooth and silky

to be, the best feature of the markbass line

 

[voronfly]

Markbass heads are the most honest heads. If you have crappy bass, it will sound crappy through markbass. However, the clean sound adjusted with voicing filters can be very damn nice. And it is effect pedal friendly. Not to mention the weight. Using LMKII as a backup for GK stack.

 

[Alrod]

I have a LM III w/Ampeg 410HLF. I really like this setup. As a new player I like the way it helps me play better technique wise. It is very articulate and picks up all the nuances of my playing. I am not sure I agree with it being flat. To me it is warm and honest (garbage in, garbage out?).

 

[Russell L]

Played both my Traveler 151P cabs through my LMIII head yesterday at a gig. I'm telling you, this rig really sounds good for all genres (except for the flats on my basses---but I'm shooting for old school sound). At first I fiddled with the eq knobs, and filters, thinking I was adjusting for the room. But, by the second set I was back to all the eq knobs at noon. Only the VLE knob was at 2:00 to cut some highs due to using my fingernails. All the other tones I got were found with my plucking hand location, for each song's need. I hear many folks say they don't like Markbass cabs, although they like their heads. But, seems to me that the cabs sound great. For me to have such a great sound with everything nearly neutral like that says a lot about Markbass gear, IMO.

I only wish my cabs were lighter. While 45.75 lbs. each isn't much, it's still enough to be hard on my old back. They were originally advertised at 37.3 lbs. That's why I bought the first one. Come to find out it was a misprint. By the time I was ready for a second identical cab (that's the way, right?) it was too late to change. So, now I have two that weigh more than I wish. If I had it to do over again I'd get two of the Randy Jackson cabs, or maybe two Club 151s. As it is, I'm gassing for a Barefaced Compact, too (29 lbs., I think it is). Nonetheless, my Traveler 151Ps sound great, though. I ain't dead yet, so I'll schlep 'em til I can't anymore.

Markbass worth the price? Hell, yes! IMO.

 

[bassdude51]

IMO............all modern day made bass amps sound excellent. (Generally speaking.) All of them are full range @ 20hz to 20,000hz. So what matters to me and perhaps for you too is ease of use. I mean how quickly I can change from one type of sound to another.

I love MarkBass amps and have 2, LMII. They are sooooo easy to use and change sounds. They are very well made too!

Some bass amps are very complex and have all kinds of dials and eq bars, etc and it can take a lot of time to fiddle around and tweak or worse yet, make a major sound change.

The MarkBass amps can do all the different sounds so easily with just a few knobs.

But, there are other amps that are easy to use too.

I read one review of the LMII (includes the LMIII) and it said that it's 500 watts is over rated and that it is more like 425 watts. So be aware of that.

I know nothing about MarkBass cabs and use the Acme B-2. I did call MarkBass and they do not sell replacement speakers! That is totally no good if you ask me! Blow a speaker, one has to buy a whole new cab! Unacceptable!
As for your Hartke, if it ain't broken, don't replace it! If it works, it works.

Good luck to ya!

 

[iabssplyr]

Here's my current take on MB. I'm using Tge CMD

 

[iabssplyr]

Here's my current take on MB. I'm using the CMD121 and New York ext cab and as much as I don't care for the tone at lower levels, say during practice, once you get the duo to gig levels it takes on a whole new sound. I can cut through about anything and that's with all the amp controls flat, only my Jazz' tone control being used. So as much as I suffer with a daily bout of GAS and am always looking for the "next best amp rig," I must admit my MB stuff works perfectly fit me, particularly outdoors.

 

[Russell L]

IMO............all modern day made bass amps sound excellent. (Generally speaking.) All of them are full range @ 20hz to 20,000hz. So what matters to me and perhaps for you too is ease of use. I mean how quickly I can change from one type of sound to another.

I love MarkBass amps and have 2, LMII. They are sooooo easy to use and change sounds. They are very well made too!

Some bass amps are very complex and have all kinds of dials and eq bars, etc and it can take a lot of time to fiddle around and tweak or worse yet, make a major sound change.

The MarkBass amps can do all the different sounds so easily with just a few knobs.

But, there are other amps that are easy to use too.

I read one review of the LMII (includes the LMIII) and it said that it's 500 watts is over rated and that it is more like 425 watts. So be aware of that.

I know nothing about MarkBass cabs and use the Acme B-2. I did call MarkBass and they do not sell replacement speakers! That is totally no good if you ask me! Blow a speaker, one has to buy a whole new cab! Unacceptable!
As for your Hartke, if it ain't broken, don't replace it! If it works, it works.

Good luck to ya!

I wonder if you can buy speakers directly from B&C? There must be some way to replace them.

 

[svt1233]

Yes they are amazing. I had doubts too because of the price but I finally took the price and bought a cmd 121p and a new york 121 cap and absolutely love them.

 

[PaulieBe]

I bought a Tube 800 about a year ago and really diggit. Mostly because it is LOUD and light. I use it for in town gigs.

On the road I encounter a lot of rental gear and have sampled many of the new amps (against my will most of the time.) When I initially played one a couple of years ago at a reh space in NYC I immediately thought, "Oh, now there is a great sound with no fuss." I like that it has minimal tone controls. Everything was at 12 o'clock and the bass knob at 2 or 3 and it sounded like a million bucks. (I ignored the 2 superfluous filter knobs.)

I am always looking for the old SVT experience in a new bass amp (I have 2 mid-70's that are my go-tos): Turn it on, plug in, and sound awesome. If I can't do that I move on and usually refuse to knob-fiddle. This is the closest yet in feel of that experience to me: ease of operation, immediate satisfaction.

I don't know anything about the speaker cabs. I've never used them.

My one caveat: I do think that the visual side of the MarkBass line gets a low score. I mean, that yellow detailing is kind of an eyesore. I think of police tape immediately. I like that the Tube 800 was spared this for the most part; the root beer brown is pleasing.

Great amp.

 

[Bassamatic]

I have nothing but praise for the little CMD 121P. Totally blew away everything else I tried that was small and powerful. I totally believe that it is the best thing that MB makes. I did NOT like the 2x10 version. They did not have a matching add-on cab at the time, so I bought a little Schroeder 2x12 and the stack of 3 12s and 500 Watts is beyond amazing and it all fits in the trunk of my car.

My feelings are proven when a couple of super pros in our neighborhood borrow the little amp from time to time for small jobs and always rave about it afterwards.