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Double Bass Some love for the Markbass Micromark 801?

#21
“Let’s be careful out there ladies and gentlemen”

I tried out both the 801 & 802 when they first arrived at GC. Great form factor. Not enough tone shaping onboard. TC Electronics has a 2/8 combo for @ the same price with a full
EQ section. Just my take.
 
#22
It's nice to see there are more lovers of the Micromark 801. For those, here's a recommendation and a question.
The recommendation (if not known already):
There's a fitting cover available: the DV Mark Little Jazz cover (made for the guitar amp that has exactly the same size as the Micromark). There's even a fitting gigbag that I use: the Meinl MQW-10 Cuica Bag. That bag fits like a glove for the Micromark, and it has an extra pocket for e.g. a Fishman Bass Platinum pro and cables.
The question:
I read here that some are using the Micromark with a Fishman Bass Platinum Pro. I use the Fishman too, but only on the balanced input of my Markbass CMD 121. When I tried it on the Micromark I got a problematic 'hiss', no matter if I used the balanced or the unbalanced out on the Fishman (with fairly short cables and Neutrik connectors). Anyone else encountered that problem (and found a solution)?
 
#23
HateyMcAmp said:
I’ve always been curious about this thing. The lack of tone shaping always scared me away, but on the other hand I tend to enjoy the markbass set more or less flat for DB. When I was shopping I ended up going with the Phil Jones Bass Cub, which is still only 11 pounds but has two fully eq-able channels, plus some extra wattage.
Click to expand...

That's what I found when I demoed one at GC. I loved the size and power and you could use an external preamplifier for tone shaping. For ultimate portability I think either the TC Electronics BAM 200 or the Nano Mark 300 with a small cabinet

are ideal choices for DB. Just my take however.
 
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#24
I thought I'd bump this thread since I'm now using a Markbass Micromark 801 regularly. I picked another one up a few months ago when Guitar Center had them on sale for $350. I had purchased and returned a used one previously and commented on this thread that I found the lack of EQ limiting, but I've been playing some gigs where I could really use a tiny, gig-able amp I decided to try the Markbass 801 again with the addition of a Fishman Platinum Stage preamp. By itself, the amp is fine as a practice amp for electric bass, but with the addition of the preamp I've been using this amp for drummer-less upright bass gigs and I've been very pleased with the sound. Since I have other, larger Markbass combos my bandmates get a kick out of seeing me show up with a miniature version of my amp. In additional to offering more EQ options and a HPF, the preamp gives me more useable volume since it adds gain and I suspect I could use this combination on a gig with a drummer since most of the groups I play upright bass with are not especially loud.

- Steve
 
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#25
I bought one of those from that sale,too. I used to have one of the 6” ones, and thought it was pretty amazing,
so I had to try the 8” version out. I always use my Tech 21 VT pedal to preamp any of my various Markbass heads,
to get a bit of grit in the sound. It’s a great little combo for lighter musical settings.
 
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#26
woodyng2 said:
I bought one of those from that sale,too. I used to have one of the 6” ones, and thought it was pretty amazing,
so I had to try the 8” version out. I always use my Tech 21 VT pedal to preamp any of my various Markbass heads,
to get a bit of grit in the sound. It’s a great little combo for lighter musical settings.
Click to expand...

I use my Markbass gear for both upright and electric bass and I can see using a Tech 21 pedal as well. I used to have the Sansamp Para Driver which works well for both basses.

- Steve
 
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#27
There's a place I play occasionally that has one as a house amp. To me, it delivers a personality - less sound, and I would love some more eq possibilities. The stuff I've done is acoustic piano trio with singer (other way round, actually) and it has enough volume. I much prefer my PJ Double 4 if I were to pick.
 
#29
lurk said:
There's a place I play occasionally that has one as a house amp. To me, it delivers a personality - less sound, and I would love some more eq possibilities. The stuff I've done is acoustic piano trio with singer (other way round, actually) and it has enough volume. I much prefer my PJ Double 4 if I were to pick.
Click to expand...

Isn't the personality component more a function of the player than the amp?
 
#31
lurk said:
I guess I'm not expressing it well. I feel that the amp has a sound, and everything I play kinda has that sound, especially in the lower register. Hard to explain.
Click to expand...

Have you tried using it with a preamp? For me, that’s what changes it from a practice amp to something I can play gigs with.

- Steve
 
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#34
Alain Bass said:
An alternative to the 801 could be the Mark acoustic AC 801 P
https://www.markbass.it/product/ac-801-p/
I jam saturday on a cafe shop where the bass player had this amp.
Looks similar to the 801, but with an EQ witch is more friendly than the 801, and a tweeter.
Click to expand...

That looks interesting. My main amp for double bass in the Markbass AC101 which they now market as an acoustic guitar amp although the description still says it can be used for acoustic bass. I like it better than the Acoustic Image amps I've owned. Markbass makes some nice stuff.

- Steve
 
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#37
Funny, that Marcus Miller one weighs 25 pounds, which is only five pounds less than the 300/500W CMD 121 (which of course costs twice as much).

The best part of my MicroMark is that it weighs 11 pounds (it's the Italian one; the Indonesian ones weigh about 15).

I assume the 10-inch speaker and larger cabinet (compared to the 801) is the reason for the increased weight.

And the Marcus Miller one is actually $50 less than the 801 (maybe because it's less compact/light? I don't know).
 
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#39
So, I decided to weigh my old MB MicroMark (made in Italy) and sure enough, it does weigh a 14 pounds 11 ounces.

I'm pretty sure I read a spec sheet when I bought it (new from MF ten years ago, I guess) that they weighed just under 11 pounds in the past (the number 10.57 pounds seems to be stuck in my head), and always took that as fact. But I can't argue with the scale.

The functional layout between the older and newer ones is a little bit different. The headphone output jack and power switch are on the back of the amp in the newer Indonesian ones, while they are on top on my older Italian one.

A few years ago, I had bought a back-up Indonesian one when they went on sale for $350 a while back at MF. Unfortunately, they sent me a broken one, so I had to replace it under warrantee (which pretty much killed the good deal I thought I got). To be honest, the second one sounded and felt just like my original one, so aside from the layout difference (I was always trying to turn on the new one from the top), they performed identically.
 

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