Gallien Krueger and Ampeg and Fender have their own versions for about half the price. I love the Markbass tone but frankly since they moved their operations to Asia I think that leveled the field for all of them.
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Smallest amp you’ve been impressed by?
- Thread starter Inconnu
- Start date
I almost bought the Ampeg before ultimately choosing the GK. I also looked at the comparable Hartke as well. I play GK and Ampeg with equal fervor, but lately the scale has been tipping a bit more toward GK. I'm glad you like your li'l 'peg though!
I think f3=67 Hz refers here to being 3 dB down from flat response at 67 Hz.
No worries! f3 kinda looks like it could be a foot, cubed (cubic foot). Though, if it's a cubic foot at 67 Hz, how big is it at other frequencies?Yup! Thank you. That's why I buy PRE-BUILT finished speaker cabinets!
Ummmm, that would be a question for Passinwind, Aged Horse, or the AK or MAS builders. Me? Haven't the slightest clue...
Sorry! My attempt at a joke. If the cab's a certain size (a cubic foot, or whatever) at one frequency, it shouldn't change at others (unless you're playing really hardUmmmm, that would be a question for Passinwind, Aged Horse, or the AK or MAS builders. Me? Haven't the slightest clue...
).
I understand it's all in good fun....Sorry! My attempt at a joke. If the cab's a certain size (a cubic foot, or whatever) at one frequency, it shouldn't change at others (unless you're playing really hard
1. I dunno. It's all relative. (Ba-dum!)
2. Get me twenty pairs of headphones you don't want back and some soldering skills and I'll let you know.
Yup. That's just a very well thought-out little cab. I just got mine back today after loaning it to another player for awhile. I was starting to miss it!
I've played through the MAS 18 (though not the final version), singly and in a stack of two. In terms of sheer depth (f3 in the mid 30s, I think) and staying clear and responsive at that depth, not only have I not heard another small cab rival it, I haven't heard another bass cab that rivaled it -- this includes various Bergs, Glocks, Aggies, Mesas, Ampegs, Markbass, GKs, my Hathor 1203 -- even my other (and larger) MAS cabs. The depth and especially the quality of the bass is better than the subs at a lot of clubs. The last time I was impressed in a similar (but, given the volumes involved, much closer to bowel-moving) manner was years ago at a DJ Shadow show -- I don't know what he was using for subs, but it wasn't the standard fare (at least not around here and in my humble experience of such things).This little cab is a mind-boggler.
The "deep fundamental" approach isn't the only way to "handle a B-string" but the 18 is the best execution I've heard of that concept -- clear, articulate, no boom, no flab -- in a bass cab.
That's pretty cool. I remember hearing an Acoustic Image combo for the first time maybe 11 or 12 years ago -- don't remember the model, but it was the first time I'd seen an amp with a down-firing speaker. The player (a professor at uni, playing in quartet with piano, sax, and drums) seemed to be using it just for a lift -- the bulk of his sound coming from his DB -- but I remember being impressed with how non-boxy the tone was and how well-integrated the sound was with the acoustic sound of the DB. Might have helped that he was playing in a nice hall, but I recall that I didn't realize he was amplified at first -- just thought he had a huge sound! -- and asking him about it afterward. This might have been before I discovered Talkbass -- and it was a couple/few years before I took up electric bass again after a long layoff and started looking at amps -- so it was an innocent reaction, uncolored by internet-fueled expectations. (Not sure if I can have innocent reactions to gear anymore!)
What'd that amp's poor mom do to deserve to be chucked?
Among tiny amps I've played, the BB was impressive for the big yet natural feel of its low end. I had an early, defective one (so, to be fair, I only played it at home before it went back), but now and then I think of trying one again. I am curious to see if they come out with another version with just a tiny bit more control and one or two other small refinements, but I could see it being a satisfying amp to play on many gigs.
I have a CMD 121P. Haven't played it out for awhile because the head-portion cuts in-and-out now, but I've been surprised more than once by the situations in which that thing has not only kept up, but asserted itself. I remember it really popping on a night when I should have brought more amp -- playing with several horns, etc. -- and another bass player being shocked by the sound of it. It's voiced to make the most of its box volume and power handling in busy mixes of that type (though not, IMO, necessarily for deep bass). For all the "boutique" stuff I've tried since -- and for all the slagging Markbass gets on TB -- I still think it's an impressive little combo.
However, since you mentioned size vs. output, the Hathor 1203 is almost exactly the same size (though, granted, a cab, not a combo) and, played side-by-side with the Markbass, has a more solid low end and a more clear, balanced, and (to my ear) pleasing presentation overall. It's not as quite as efficient, but I'm pretty sure that it will go at least as loud (and likely louder) with sufficient juice. I tried the Hathor stacked with the Markbass (just at home) and the result was good -- I liked the sound better than the Markbass alone (though there might have been some small weirdness in how the stack reacted to EQ changes... don't recall for sure), but I am convinced that I'd like two Hathors stacked that much more.
This isn't to slag on the Markbass at all, just to say that the Hathor is a really nice cab that capably fills a similar niche (though a more direct comparison would be to the NY 121 cab).
Given that the cost of a Hathor 1203 is $650+shipping new and the NY 121 cab is $599 at Musician's Friend, I suggest that any TBers looking at the latter check out the former as well -- again, not a slag on the CMD at all, just an appreciation for the Hathor.
In terms of output-per-cubic-foot, the MAS 18 is also super-impressive. In terms of voicing, I'd put the Hathor in between the 18 (deep, clear, open) and the Markbass (more middy, relatively speaking), though the Hathor and 18 are both better-integrated in their sound (both use dedicated mids vs. the piezo tweeter, which I think plays a part, and Duke has had a hand in the crossovers of both).
Based on what I've heard of the Hathor, I'd expect those two Changelings (like a "Hathor+") to sound pretty darned good.
Ha! Fair enough!
What's the biggest?
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Yup. That's just a very well thought-out little cab. I just got mine back today after loaning it to another player for awhile. I was starting to miss it!
I've played through the MAS 18 (though not the final version), singly and in a stack of two. In terms of sheer depth (f3 in the mid 30s, I think) and staying clear and responsive at that depth, not only have I not heard another small cab rival it, I haven't heard another bass cab that rivaled it -- this includes various Bergs, Glocks, Aggies, Mesas, Ampegs, Markbass, GKs, my Hathor 1203 -- even my other (and larger) MAS cabs. The depth and especially the quality of the bass is better than the subs at a lot of clubs. The last time I was impressed in a similar (but, given the volumes involved, much closer to bowel-moving) manner was years ago at a DJ Shadow show -- I don't know what he was using for subs, but it wasn't the standard fare (at least not around here and in my humble experience of such things).
The "deep fundamental" approach isn't the only way to "handle a B-string" but the 18 is the best execution I've heard of that concept -- clear, articulate, no boom, no flab -- in a bass cab.
That's pretty cool. I remember hearing an Acoustic Image combo for the first time maybe 11 or 12 years ago -- don't remember the model, but it was the first time I'd seen an amp with a down-firing speaker. The player (a professor at uni, playing in quartet with piano, sax, and drums) seemed to be using it just for a lift -- the bulk of his sound coming from his DB -- but I remember being impressed with how non-boxy the tone was and how well-integrated the sound was with the acoustic sound of the DB. Might have helped that he was playing in a nice hall, but I recall that I didn't realize he was amplified at first -- just thought he had a huge sound! -- and asking him about it afterward. This might have been before I discovered Talkbass -- and it was a couple/few years before I took up electric bass again after a long layoff and started looking at amps -- so it was an innocent reaction, uncolored by internet-fueled expectations. (Not sure if I can have innocent reactions to gear anymore!)
What'd that amp's poor mom do to deserve to be chucked?
Among tiny amps I've played, the BB was impressive for the big yet natural feel of its low end. I had an early, defective one (so, to be fair, I only played it at home before it went back), but now and then I think of trying one again. I am curious to see if they come out with another version with just a tiny bit more control and one or two other small refinements, but I could see it being a satisfying amp to play on many gigs.
I have a CMD 121P. Haven't played it out for awhile because the head-portion cuts in-and-out now, but I've been surprised more than once by the situations in which that thing has not only kept up, but asserted itself. I remember it really popping on a night when I should have brought more amp -- playing with several horns, etc. -- and another bass player being shocked by the sound of it. It's voiced to make the most of its box volume and power handling in busy mixes of that type (though not, IMO, necessarily for deep bass). For all the "boutique" stuff I've tried since -- and for all the slagging Markbass gets on TB -- I still think it's an impressive little combo.
However, since you mentioned size vs. output, the Hathor 1203 is almost exactly the same size (though, granted, a cab, not a combo) and, played side-by-side with the Markbass, has a more solid low end and a more clear, balanced, and (to my ear) pleasing presentation overall. It's not as quite as efficient, but I'm pretty sure that it will go at least as loud (and likely louder) with sufficient juice. I tried the Hathor stacked with the Markbass (just at home) and the result was good -- I liked the sound better than the Markbass alone (though there might have been some small weirdness in how the stack reacted to EQ changes... don't recall for sure), but I am convinced that I'd like two Hathors stacked that much more.
This isn't to slag on the Markbass at all, just to say that the Hathor is a really nice cab that capably fills a similar niche (though a more direct comparison would be to the NY 121 cab).
Given that the cost of a Hathor 1203 is $650+shipping new and the NY 121 cab is $599 at Musician's Friend, I suggest that any TBers looking at the latter check out the former as well -- again, not a slag on the CMD at all, just an appreciation for the Hathor.
In terms of output-per-cubic-foot, the MAS 18 is also super-impressive. In terms of voicing, I'd put the Hathor in between the 18 (deep, clear, open) and the Markbass (more middy, relatively speaking), though the Hathor and 18 are both better-integrated in their sound (both use dedicated mids vs. the piezo tweeter, which I think plays a part, and Duke has had a hand in the crossovers of both).
Based on what I've heard of the Hathor, I'd expect those two Changelings (like a "Hathor+") to sound pretty darned good.
Ha! Fair enough!
@MarkA thank you for an excellent assessment of the higher end stuff we talk about here on TB. I owned the Hathor 1203's (a pair) and struggled to get the "colored" growly tone I used to get out of my USA Peavey's in the 80's. I think they were just too high quality for me!
The two things that really intrigue me about what you reported-- the MAS 1.8 and the Quilter BB800. I live on an island in Alaska and probably won't be able to try something like that for a while. I know that the MAS 1.8's have just started rolling out and the Quilters have been around for a while. I'm very interested in trying both together. I'm betting that would be a pretty lethal combination. I like pairs of speakers so the only thing that would concern me is when stacking two MAS 1.8's will they properly stand and be able to hold the Quilter? Thanks again for the great reviews.
@Mike Arnopol we (or a couple of us) were talking about your MAS 1,8 cabs. I noticed on your website that there's an 800 watt powered cabinet option available. Is that just a power module that needs some sort of preamp, or could an active bass work straight into the input? Thanks
Wow! 135 posts!
Thanks for all your replies!
I’ve got a few things to try out.
A Traynor SB112 is at the top of my list.
Thanks for all your replies!
I’ve got a few things to try out.
A Traynor SB112 is at the top of my list.
I remember playing through one of these GK MB200s back in the late 80s early 90s and being impressed at just how much volume they could produce.
