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Marshall Bass Amp ?

#21
Guys,

I'm gonna step up and admit i'm complete wrong and said the wrong thing that i shouldn't have done. I admit i dislike marshall bass stuff but still i shouldn't said things that i haven't try it out. I only try out the lower end marshall stuff thats all.

To the original post,

Just ignore what i said about the marshall bass and take advice or review on the ones that try it in here.

Also i want to mention to someone that critize my english. I live in UK but i'm not english, so english is not my main language.

Again, apology for saying what i said before.
 
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#22
Thanks, Badboy, I'm sure we all appreciate the fact you stepped up to the plate & withdrew your remark.

I had an old Marshall 3520(?) 200W rack head a while back. After reading a lot of negative stuff(!) about bass Marshalls, it completely blew me away. It had one of the best-voiced low-mids I have as yet come across.

Being only 200W, I found it didn't have enough headroom for the gigs I was doing at the time (it'd be ok now) and I moved it on.
 
#23
badboy1984 said:
Guys,

I'm gonna step up and admit i'm complete wrong and said the wrong thing that i shouldn't have done. I admit i dislike marshall bass stuff but still i shouldn't said things that i haven't try it out. I only try out the lower end marshall stuff thats all.

To the original post,

Just ignore what i said about the marshall bass and take advice or review on the ones that try it in here.

Also i want to mention to someone that critize my english. I live in UK but i'm not english, so english is not my main language.

Again, apology for saying what i said before.
Click to expand...


Badboy , good of you to admit you were wrong , take it easy !

Dave.
 
#25
I agree with the other posters that are calling for Marshall to offer something with a competitive price here in North America. The Lemmy's are $3500 or so plus shipping on Ebay. I would love to try one but not at that price. The VBA400s are listed at around $2400, give or take, if you can find them. That is a lot of money to try out something that you may not like. I am trying to convince one of our local Marshall dealers to bring in a VBA. Pretty loyal GK user but having a head that says "Marshall" on it sitting on my cabs is just so rock'n'roll. Gives me serious GAS!
 
#26
In Europe VBA400 costs less than $2000 which isn't much for all tube amplifier (note that prices in Europe are usually twice bigger than in US) and in UK you can get it online for $1300. I was never thinking of Marshall as a bass amp (I don't know why) but since few months I really want to play one ;)
 
#29
badboy1984 said:
Guys,
Also i want to mention to someone that critize my english. I live in UK but i'm not english, so english is not my main language.

Again, apology for saying what i said before.
Click to expand...

Sorry I commented on your English. I really thought someone might be using one of those translators, but it was unkind and unproductive to have pointed that out. Your English is no worse than my bass playing. I'm a functional but far from outstanding player and I've been excited about getting a MB450H, so I was dismayed by your negative comments. Best wishes in any event.
 
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#30
+1 for a return to civility

i've tried a few of the smaller marshall combos, is all. They were OK. Deep and vintagey- to my ears, lo-fi and dark. I kind of want to try my guitarist's JCM500 through my bass cab...but i think his tubes are shot- it's really mushy sounding with guitar.

But now I'm curious about the VBA400, although I will probably never own one I'd like to try it out. Oh well.
 
#31
I think the high end Marshall gear will always be very expensive in the US due to it being made in the UK and the same has always been true about Ampeg gear in the UK. I thought Ampeg prices might have come down a bit due to their production being moved to Vietnam but seems not.
I have yet to see a Lemmy head over here in shops or on Ebay but would like to compare one to the VBA.
 
#33
I own a Marshall VBA 400 and 4x12 cab. Got it second hand for £800. It's a beast of an amp. Loads of headroom. I primarily use it in conjuction with my Rick 4003, a couple of Ashly SC40 preamps (one each for the bridge and neck pickup).
I use the Ashlys for eq.
I agree that the Marshall tone section is limited, to say the least, but if you have the patience, you can end up with just about any tone you like.

The amp also puts out an insane amount of volume. Plus it's pretty clean. Obviously if you want 'dirt' it's there if you need it.
The VBC 4x12 cab is absolutely awesome. So much warmth and punch, even at low volumes.

All in all, I'm very impressed with both the amp and cab. SVT's etc are the clear favourites, but if you get the chance to check out a Marshall , at volume, then do it. You might be pleasantly surprised.
 
#34
Zzounds sells a Marshall 450 watt head (MB450H) for $499. and a Marshall 8x10 cab (MBC810) for $899. I was just window shopping for a Marshall bass amp when I saw this link. I honestly don't know how it compares to the Ampeg SVT amp but it's less than half the price. Oh yeah the cab is 4 ohm if anyone cares. Can anyone tell me if there is a huge difference in quality between them?
 
#37
hailet said:
Zzounds sells a Marshall 450 watt head (MB450H) for $499. and a Marshall 8x10 cab (MBC810) for $899. I was just window shopping for a Marshall bass amp when I saw this link. I honestly don't know how it compares to the Ampeg SVT amp but it's less than half the price. Oh yeah the cab is 4 ohm if anyone cares. Can anyone tell me if there is a huge difference in quality between them?
Click to expand...

I had the combo version (MB4410). The amp section is exactly the same. I posted a couple of comments about it. Good. Very versatile. Powerful. And very, very good for the price.

Cons? Heavy (the combo was 52 Kg!). Check how much the MBC810 weighs, it might be a lot.
 
#38
I use a MB450 head and it suits me.
Having used ampig,ashdown,hartke and others.
It is very loud with good tone,been totally reliable so far.
I also use rolands as well which are very good but discontinued.
I would love a VBC 4x12 cab and I will get one when one turns up at the right price.
For the price they are good gigging amps
 
#39
Rusty Chainsaw said:
I'm not a fan of Marshall's current bass range (the MB stuff is only so-so, to my ears), but their DBS stuff from the early/mid-90s was awesome. Huge tone, headroom to spare and loads of tone-tweaking options. I seem to recall they were the first bass amps available with Speakon connectors too - apparently they were necessary because of the sheer amount of power and headroom available!

Their only downside was the sheer size and weight of the cabs - they were enormous and very, very heavy. Even the 2x10" weighed more than most 4x10"s, and the 4x12" and 2x15" cabs were back-breaking.

Marshall - if you want back in to the world of bass amps, bring out a new DBS range, with neodymium speakers, and get Chris Wolstenholme from Muse (a longtime DBS user) to endorse them. They'll fly out the doors.
Click to expand...

A rehersal room my old band used had a DBS7400 and matching 215, man, that amp was AWESOME! If I saw one going nearby, I'd have to struggle to not buy it!

VBA400 was also an awesome amp, one which I also sadly missed out on. Going used, but in brand new condition, for £500 with the matching 412 cab. Sadly it was only a few weeks after I bought my SVT so had no cash! (though the SVT is still an amazing amp!)
 
#40
I think it's unlikely they'll be releasing anything new for bass anytime soon. They seem to be directing everybody who enquires about their bass gear to check out the Eden stuff at the moment, since they own Eden now.

Shame. As I said above, I'd love to see a new Class D-powered version of the DBS gear - what an awesome amp that was.
 

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