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Need more heft from my LMIII - Little Marcus 800?

bob atherton

bob atherton

Mar 8, 2005
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#1
I'm finding my Markbass LMIII is not giving me the scale of sound that I would like. I just tried an Ashdown ABM 500 amp into my Markbass cabs and that sounded pretty good in the scale of sound department, though the amp (part of a combo) would be too big for me to use.

I've been using Markbass for a few years now a love the size, sound and reliability of their kit. Would the Little Marcus 800 give me a bigger, fatter, punchier sound than my LMIII? My tone is pretty old school without much top end
 
#3
Before you buy another amp, try an eq pedal, or any other eq you can run between your bass and amp.

The LMIII is different than many amps in that there is a big gap between the low control and low-mid control. The lows are centered at 40 Hz while the low-mids are at 360 Hz. You may like some more control in between there, say 100-250. A pedal would save you some dough.
 
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#5
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I have a LM800 head and it doesn't give me any different sound than my LM3 .
It just has more power.
I don't know what you're using for cabinets but in my experience, adding speakers generally gives me more punch than adding watts.
My little mark combo head pushing 6 tens at 4 ohms is more fat and punchy than my little mark 800 pushing four tens at 8ohms
Both are running 500 watts

A little mark 800 @4 ohms will be better than a little mark 3 @ 4 ohms of course.
I have no experience with the Marcus Miller stuff. I've always played std. little marks and when it came time for a new rig , I went with what I know works for me
 
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#7
Russell L said:
Before you buy another amp, try an eq pedal, or any other eq you can run between your bass and amp.

The LMIII is different than many amps in that there is a big gap between the low control and low-mid control. The lows are centered at 40 Hz while the low-mids are at 360 Hz. You may like some more control in between there, say 100-250. A pedal would save you some dough.
Click to expand...
Good idea. maybe some sort of graphic EQ pedal .
 
#9
Russell L said:
Also, check the Markbass thread. Lots of talk about the Marcus, cabs, LMs, etc.

Don't listen too much to criticism about Markbass cabs. Some don't like them, but some don't like other brands as well.
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I like the cabs, quite a lot. As I say the Ashdown amp sounded pretty decent through the cabs.
FWIW I own 5 MB cabs and use them in different configurations, depending on which of my 3 bands I'm in, and which venue..!
 
#10
Did you try boosting the VPF the using the VLE to roll-off the highs?

With the Ashdown did you have the "magnifier" engaged? That's essentially an octave effect.

A Marcus might work better for you, or the Big Bang is widely regarded as the most thumping down low of the MarkBass line.
 
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#11
StayLow said:
Did you try boosting the VPF the using the VLE to roll-off the highs?

With the Ashdown did you have the "magnifier" engaged? That's essentially an octave effect.

A Marcus might work better for you, or the Big Bang is widely regarded as the most thumping down low of the MarkBass line.
Click to expand...
Yes and no. I use a touch of both but will try quite a bit of both. Does anyone know at what bass frequency the VPF boosts? Thanks, Bob
 
#17
bob atherton said:
Yes and no. I use a touch of both but will try quite a bit of both. Does anyone know at what bass frequency the VPF boosts? Thanks, Bob
Click to expand...

The VPF boosts highs and lows., they say. Or it cuts mids, giving a scooped sound. Markbass lists the center frequency at 380Hz. In use, to me, it feels like it boosts the highs and lows. I assume the area around 380 Hz is what gets left behind. Anyway, whichever way you call it, you end up with a mid-scooped sound. You can easily get lost in the mix with too much use of the control. You can also make your speaker run out of excursion at high volume, especially if you play with a heavy hand. If you hear clicking that's likely the cause.

Use it sparingly, or at least carefully.
 
#20
I never loved the Markbass cabs, seemed to have a boxiness to them that didn't sit well with my ears. Not really sure what you mean by the "scale" of the tone, But I'd probably go with an HPF and experimenting with some EQ settings before jumping to new gear.
 

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