Not Happy with My New Markbass Rig

[audiomitch]

In that case, I think strawberry ice cream is way over-rated.

I can not accept that. If anything, chocolate is over rated.

 

[TheRealAliG]

A 210 might not be a "stand-alone-solution". I use the LMIII with the Traveller 210 and the Traveller 115. Sounds veeeeery huge. Try to find some spare money & get the extra cab.

 

[georgestrings]

The magnet type will have little to do with the tone when compared to other parameters of the cabinet (and amp).

Have you tried it live yet? I've played some setups solo that I've thought sounded like trash, but in a live situation were just down right spectacular.

Solid advice right there, IMO - many times a rig that sounds amazing doesn't translate to that in a band mix, and sometimes one that doesn't sound all that great by itself does fantastically in a band mix...


- georgestrings

 

[TheRealAliG]

Or add the VT-Pedal...

 

[kosmicwizard]

^ +1. I scrolled to the bottom to add this and look what is already there? Cheers.

 

[80'sRocker]

Comments like this always make me smile. The stuff's "over-rated" because... er... lots of people like something you don't? So they're all wrong, and you're right?

In that case, I think strawberry ice cream is way over-rated.

Yet not as over-rated as vanilla!

 

[KJung]

All I know is what I hear after 28 years of playing bass. I have had lot's of SS amps: Hartke, Trace Elliot, SWR Red Head, Ampeg SVT3, Marshall rackmount, even a Peavy Megabass. There are a few good SS heads out there, but they will never touch the sound of tube heads IMO, and I am fairly sure if we did a poll of all the players on here, the tube will win out. (There may even be a poll already).

Nope. Sorry. All tube heads are wonderful for what they are, as are solid state amps. Of the 100 or so professional bassists I am in regular contact with, exactly zero use tube heads. Why is that? Well, it is because the professional bassists in my universe (freelance 'gun for hire' bassists) all play the type of gigs I do, jazz, pop, funk... the type of gigs the lend themselves to a more clean, quick, solid state sound. As a matter of fact, when many of these guys (and me!) are stuck with an SVT as backline, we drive the fridge with our Genz, Markbass, GK, Walter Woods, AI heads. They just sound WAY better for 'our' type of tone, just like I assume a tube amp sounds way better for 'your' type of tone.

Also, hybrids have very little to do with a tube power section, and many hybrids like Eden and SWR have a tube execution that really doesn't impact the tone at all.

Old, well worn topic. It comes down to the old 'I know what I like and therefore you should like it too' sort of thing that makes me tired

I am not at all disagreeing with the fact that you love tube amps. Just disagreeing that you would be speaking 'bassists in general

 

[yamaha]

I own and tried a huge inventory of Markbass cabs, heads, and combos. I have to say the transporter 210 is amongst my least favorite, especially as a stand alone. At any somewhat loud level, it isin't near as rich as all their other cabs. The 115 is WAY better alone, as are the 12's, and the ''standard'' 210 is also a nice sounding cab, even on it's own.

 

[KaseOfBass]

Just got a CMD 102P combo and I think it's anything but thin. It'll get it's first gig tonight so we'll see how it performs in that set of circumstances but I'm confident it'll do just fine. I'll admit that when I first tried Markbass I simply hated it. That is, until I found what sound I was looking for. Like was said before me, Markbass seems to take exactly how your bass sounds and amplify it without too much coloring - if any at all. That's what I've come to love about this brand.

I had started practicing through my computer when I purchased the Ampeg SVX program. Liked it for the Ampeg sound but I found myself turning the actual Ampeg modeling off in the program so what I heard was just my bass without their modeling - and I liked it. I started searching for an amp that would faithfully reproduce "that sound." Hellllllo Markbass!

 

[Mike Shevlin]

Nope. Sorry. All tube heads are wonderful for what they are, as are solid state amps. Of the 100 or so professional bassists I am in regular contact with, exactly zero use tube heads. Why is that? Well, it is because the professional bassists in my universe (freelance 'gun for hire' bassists) all play the type of gigs I do, jazz, pop, funk... the type of gigs the lend themselves to a more clean, quick, solid state sound. As a matter of fact, when many of these guys (and me!) are stuck with an SVT as backline, we drive the fridge with our Genz, Markbass, GK, Walter Woods, AI heads. They just sound WAY better for 'our' type of tone, just like I assume a tube amp sounds way better for 'your' type of tone.

Also, hybrids have very little to do with a tube power section, and many hybrids like Eden and SWR have a tube execution that really doesn't impact the tone at all.

Old, well worn topic. It comes down to the old 'I know what I like and therefore you should like it too' sort of thing that makes me tired

I am not at all disagreeing with the fact that you love tube amps. Just disagreeing that you would be speaking 'bassists in general

Yep~ I agree 100%. When I walked into a big east coast music store in 1982 at age 15 to buy an Ampeg head, I tried a bunch of the 80lb. beasts and couldn't get the sound in my head. Then I plugged into a 23lb. Sunn Coliseum 300 and it was love at first note~ they even threw in a poster of Gene Simmons standing on a pile of them breathing fire or something.

 

[Mike Shevlin]

A 210 might not be a "stand-alone-solution". I use the LMIII with the Traveller 210 and the Traveller 115. Sounds veeeeery huge. Try to find some spare money & get the extra cab.

^Yep~ thats the deal. Another idea is to get a hold of the brand spanking new Club 151 cab that I tried at last years NAMM show. It REALLY sounded great with the LMIII and is full, rich & articulate.

 

[Tonegasm]

I hear you on the Markbass stuff - way overrated

It's not overrated, you just don't dig it.

I don't like it either, FWIW.

 

[JimmyM]

Nope. Sorry. All tube heads are wonderful for what they are, as are solid state amps. Of the 100 or so professional bassists I am in regular contact with, exactly zero use tube heads.

ahem.

Why is that? Well, it is because the professional bassists in my universe (freelance 'gun for hire' bassists) all play the type of gigs I do, jazz, pop, funk... the type of gigs the lend themselves to a more clean, quick, solid state sound. As a matter of fact, when many of these guys (and me!) are stuck with an SVT as backline, we drive the fridge with our Genz, Markbass, GK, Walter Woods, AI heads. They just sound WAY better for 'our' type of tone, just like I assume a tube amp sounds way better for 'your' type of tone.

Also, hybrids have very little to do with a tube power section, and many hybrids like Eden and SWR have a tube execution that really doesn't impact the tone at all.

Old, well worn topic. It comes down to the old 'I know what I like and therefore you should like it too' sort of thing that makes me tired

I am not at all disagreeing with the fact that you love tube amps. Just disagreeing that you would be speaking 'bassists in general

you're right about that. most bassists i see use ss. i don't think there's any doubt ss outsells tube by a quite large number. but i'd be willing to bet most bassists use hybrids at least and do like tubes in their paths.

btw, don't know if you're speaking of the sm-500 when you say the tubes were ineffectual in swr stuff, but i could get some decent grind and even full on od with the tube in my sm-500.

 

[KJung]

ahem.


you're right about that. most bassists i see use ss. i don't think there's any doubt ss outsells tube by a quite large number. but i'd be willing to bet most bassists use hybrids at least and do like tubes in their paths.

btw, don't know if you're speaking of the sm-500 when you say the tubes were ineffectual in swr stuff, but i could get some decent grind and even full on od with the tube in my sm-500.

1 out of 100

+1 on SWR versus Eden with the tube... still pretty subtle compared to Mesa and a few other executions, but at least it was a true tube preamp versus the Eden, which had a stange execution where the tube didn't impact the voltage or something.

+1 Nothing wrong with hybrids, tube amps, solid state amps, class D, class A/B, toroidal power supplies, SMPS, etc., etc. Very rare to I every run across an amp and say... 'that sounds bad'.

 

[nozkcb]

I have a MB 2x10 (CMD 102p) combo and for its size, I think it sounds pretty darn good. The sound is fairly flat, and while it does not have the same dimensional depth/warmth as something like an SVT, Aguilar, SWR, etc., if you crank up the VLF control, it warms up the sound a bit and gets it close to tube. I also use the medium 115 MB cab for larger clubs, and it sounds really good. I get complments all the time on my tone, really.

Again, it's not vintage 8x10 SVT great however, the whole system weighs about 2/3 of what an SVT head alone weighs.

Put it this way, my perfectly great sounding SVT 4 pro and HLF 4x10 haven't left the basement in about a year since I got the MB system.

I guess it's really a matter of how big your vehicle is, and how strong your back is?

Fortunately, I did not get the combo. The issue for me may very well be the Markbass 210 cabinet. Before hitting flush on the whole rig, I will check out some other cabs....

is the flatness of Markbass cab have to do with Neo drivers or "Markbass Neo drivers" do you think?

 

[Stinsok]

Sorry about the disappointment, but thanks for the post. Often we want to like our expensive purchases so much that we overlook flaws. Take it back.

 

[plangentmusic]

Have you ever used high end studio mixing headphones?

At first, they seem a little flat and lifeless. That's because they're accurate. Cheaper headphones add phony EQ boosts to make them appear richer.

After a while you start to realize that the headphones that seemed flat are really clearer, purer and more transparent.

It's the same with the LilMARK. Pure clean power.

It's how you, and your bass, really sound.

And that's why I like mine

 

[john_g]

Im another one that loves the MB amps but not a huge fan of the cabs. I havent tried them all though....I run my LMII through an Ampeg 210AV on small gigs and it sounds great.

 

[ebozzz]

I think strawberry ice cream is way over-rated.

It is.....

 

[DwaynieAD]

I have a 210 traveler and Markbass LMIII which I just got. Honestly, It's just OK, I am not loving it.
I find the rig sounds pretty flat (not eq wise) 2 dimensional and I am wondering if its this the cabinet, neo drivers in general? More low middy than deep, sterile sounding on the top end.

I am replacing an Eden Metro which sounds very good, but it weights 95 lbs. Regardless if you love Edan or not, the little rig sounds huge.

Not sure what to do as I can not A/B different Markbass cabs as GC can't keep these things in stock. Maybe I want the Tube version of this amp....

Anyone got any similar impression of this particular rig and would love some suggestions

I played the little mark III and the 212 neo cab at GC and found it to be very similar in sound to my GK rig. Idk how this helps you, just wanted to chime in I guess