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The Combo Club

Super bummed out... my markbass has a really bad hissing going on. This will be 2nd combo in a row that I'll need to take back. I got the pro coverage so I should be fine but still annoying. I can't seem to dial in a good tone anymore either. I'm not sure if that is from using the ampeg more lately but there is something amiss.

I know they aren't the warmest things out when flat, but with the EQ and filters you can get vintage warmth.

I hate to say it but it may be a while before I give MB another go. 2 combos in a row with faults may be a sign.
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I got my undergrad degree in Management Science (it’s far clearer if we call it logistics) and the differences between calculating a constrained shortest path for a single shipment vs. a collection of constrained shortest paths for an arbitrarily large number of shipments is mind boggling. By “constrained” I mean that we aren’t allowed to use ideal, a.k.a. direct, routes, we have to use the routes that are actually available to us. Sometimes this means that a shipment from China to California may be as likely to fly over the Mediterranean as over the Pacific because the Westbound flight would otherwise be half empty while the already fully loaded Eastbound flight means flying another half load. That’s a waste of aircraft, crews and fuel. It works that way with trucking as well: A shipment from Dallas, TX to Peoria, IL may go first to Chicago because the total cost is [counterintuitively] lower.
 
Thank you, Yes I would like to join the Club...Much appreciated :thumbsup:

To our latest member, TK4261, you are now known as #228! My sincerest apologies for being so late in getting you this coveted spot in our club. I appreciate your patience. Please add us to your signature so that wherever you travel, all the other bass players will become envious of your status. Thanks again for showing interest in the Combo Club!
 
So the Peavey combo that I ordered from a store in California apparently made a pass by it's home world on it's way to my house.
View attachment 4138308

I can't wait to get this. While Monday can't get here soon enough, I don't want to rush thru my weekend either. Hopefully it will magically run a bit early and arrive over the weekend. Meridian is relatively close by.

Hang in there, TT. I'm sure it'll be worth the wait. There'll be plenty of time to try out the new combo. Yeah, let's not hurry this weekend along too fast!
 
Thanks! I really like my old Ampeg 115 but I am wondering if I wouldn't want something a bit smaller if I start going to rehearsals and such in the near future. It sounds like it would be fine for just about any situation I could find myself in.

WBB, do not, I repeat, do not fantasize you're gonna get the same bass sound from the Vox as your old BA-115. Now, you may enjoy the tone of it as much, as it does have a vintage flavor to it, but that tiny 8 will only mimic low end in a small room and with limited though robust power.

Unfortunately, the folks from Vox do not, at this time, sell a combo that would compete with a 100-watt 15" combo. With their NuTube creation, I think they could offer those of us who enjoy something different from the Fender/Ampeg/ vibe (yeah, I know). Then you could gig with it and get that thick, tube-like tone at a higher volume.

So if you want what it offers, take the plunge and enjoy. Otherwise, I'd be shopping for a true 100-watt combo built for band practices and gigs.
 
Super bummed out... my markbass has a really bad hissing going on. This will be 2nd combo in a row that I'll need to take back. I got the pro coverage so I should be fine but still annoying. I can't seem to dial in a good tone anymore either. I'm not sure if that is from using the ampeg more lately but there is something amiss.

I know they aren't the warmest things out when flat, but with the EQ and filters you can get vintage warmth.

I hate to say it but it may be a while before I give MB another go. 2 combos in a row with faults may be a sign.
View attachment 4138751

At the risk of offending MB owners, of which my rule is we do our best not to trash others' equipment, your post here is exactly why I jumped off the Markbass train a couple of years ago. Nothing to do with mechanical failure, and I'm sorry you're going through that, but more this line:

I can't seem to dial in a good tone anymore either.

I, for the life of me, couldn't get what I was wanting to hear in my head. Without the use of the VPF and VLE controls, to me, it's oatmeal served in a sock. Now go back a thousand posts a few years ago and I admitted that I wanted that blank canvass that I could sculpt my own tone from. Well, guess what? I couldn't. Nothing I tried sounded decent to my ear and that's my problem, not anyone else's. But why eat cold toast when you could be snacking on a piping hot Pop-Tart? (Hmm...I must be hungry because that's the second breakfast reference made in the same para) So off went my 112 combo and 112 ext cab for a very reasonable price to a guy in the Quad Cities who was updating his rig. I then went out and purchased my first Rumble separates rig, which led to my Amegs, and as they say, the rest is history.

Yep, nuage, the 'Peg spoiled ya with that old school thump and you've grown to like it. Now the Markbass sounds anemic and a bore to play through unless it's Mark Berlin noodling with a jazz group. There I think it sounds great and is right at home. Bob Segar? Bring on the vintage, baby!

Again, respect to owners of Markbass, a brand that has enjoyed a finely-earned reputation for being a high-quality product (still a notch below PJB, but that my humble opinion). You decide for yourself, but don't be surprised you begin re-evaluating the situation and doing something about it. You have my full support.
 
Sonar concurs. This is what the new band has at the studio and I just can't seem to dial in what I want for tone/sound. I'll be toting my GK MB212-ii to the next rehearsal...
That gk is one the options I'm eyeing. For now I'd live get a 210 extension cab for the Ampeg, quick cheap upgrade.

@iagtrplyr I can't say I'm unable to dial up a tone I like. When I went to GC to have it looked at i plugged in one of the 102p they had to show them the poop sound difference. Something has gone wrong with the amp unfortunately. I was very happy using my GT1000CORE in the FX loop of the MB and pulling great metal and dub and synth tone out of it, as well as warming it up. I guess the quality control problems are a result of "in housing " the speakers and moving production out of house. It was glorious while it lasted.

I'm not saying I'll never try another, but maybe I'll get just a head or maybe try one of the tube amps. The guy I bought the ampeg from actually plays one of the tube markbass heads through an ampeg 410.
 
Sonar concurs. This is what the new band has at the studio and I just can't seem to dial in what I want for tone/sound. I'll be toting my GK MB212-ii to the next rehearsal...

Do it, Bigs. The GK is the Biggie tone and that’s what you outta be playing through. It didn’t matter if it’s MB, ABC, or XYZ, if you don’t line the way it sounds then what’s the point?

I’m just getting done working on “Theme for an Imaginary Western” with an acoustic guitar video a guy did himself. Tonight, I found the Ultra Low. I wouldn’t use it for everything, but I gotta admit, it filled the lower frequency spectrum with ease.

Gotta get to sleep. Do it, my man!
 
That gk is one the options I'm eyeing. For now I'd live get a 210 extension cab for the Ampeg, quick cheap upgrade.

@iagtrplyr I can't say I'm unable to dial up a tone I like. When I went to GC to have it looked at i plugged in one of the 102p they had to show them the poop sound difference. Something has gone wrong with the amp unfortunately. I was very happy using my GT1000CORE in the FX loop of the MB and pulling great metal and dub and synth tone out of it, as well as warming it up. I guess the quality control problems are a result of "in housing " the speakers and moving production out of house. It was glorious while it lasted.

I'm not saying I'll never try another, but maybe I'll get just a head or maybe try one of the tube amps. The guy I bought the ampeg from actually plays one of the tube markbass heads through an ampeg 410.

Lots of options, nuage. You could always look into having someone inspect the Markbass. Maybe it’s something fixable. A tube version might rock ya better. Just don’t get down about it. Keep telling your fingers, “It’s not you” over and over. Works for me! :hyper:
 
WBB, do not, I repeat, do not fantasize you're gonna get the same bass sound from the Vox as your old BA-115. Now, you may enjoy the tone of it as much, as it does have a vintage flavor to it, but that tiny 8 will only mimic low end in a small room and with limited though robust power.

Unfortunately, the folks from Vox do not, at this time, sell a combo that would compete with a 100-watt 15" combo. With their NuTube creation, I think they could offer those of us who enjoy something different from the Fender/Ampeg/ vibe (yeah, I know). Then you could gig with it and get that thick, tube-like tone at a higher volume.

So if you want what it offers, take the plunge and enjoy. Otherwise, I'd be shopping for a true 100-watt combo built for band practices and gigs.
I wasn’t really thinking about that. I was just thinking about a smaller combo that would put out enough volume for a rehearsal or small gig. I am thinking this would be more like what I want however it’s a bit more than I want to spend. However I don’t think I would be needing this for like another 6 months or so.
Trace Elliot ELF 1x8" 200-watt Bass Combo Amp
 
Lots of options, nuage. You could always look into having someone inspect the Markbass. Maybe it’s something fixable. A tube version might rock ya better. Just don’t get down about it. Keep telling your fingers, “It’s not you” over and over. Works for me! :hyper:
Yea I'm shipping it to their service guy in Cali. But we spoke on the phone for a while and did some troubleshooting and he thinks it's failed. If he can fix it I'll be super happy. If not then I've got some decisions to make.
 
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I wasn’t really thinking about that. I was just thinking about a smaller combo that would put out enough volume for a rehearsal or small gig. I am thinking this would be more like what I want however it’s a bit more than I want to spend. However I don’t think I would be needing this for like another 6 months or so.
Trace Elliot ELF 1x8" 200-watt Bass Combo Amp

Collective TB wisdom holds that 8 inch speakers can't do the bass thing until someone is rude enough to say, out loud and in front of people, "SWR Henry 8x8". At which point someone else says the poll is invalid because there is no "carrots" option.

What I can state is two 7 inch drivers in a PJB cab delivers a lot of luscious bass. We've club members with Markbass 1x8 combos who are absolutely happy with their choice. I've no experience there. My experience with the Elf head is positive. It's its very own thing and some are going to love it and some are going to hate it. Bring up the gain for some hair and there's some compression that goes with it. To me, it sounds very musical, as does the EQ. I play my Elf (and 2 PJB Cab 27s) a lot and prize the modularity.

And on the subject of modularity, were I poised to play an Elf combo, I'd go for the 1x10 to match with the 1x10 extension cab. Word at the Elf club is the 1x10 is a little warmer, a little smoother than the 2x8. Depends on what sound you've in mind to sculpt ....