** ThunderFunk vs. LittleMark II **

[Smallequestrian]

Its funny, I have had a bunch of heads, including the two mentioned here, and I have no idea which ones had a mute and which ones didn't.

Ever since I bought my Strobostomp, I don't really care.

Me lubs my Strobostomp!

 

[jmain]

I plug the tuner into the fx send and turn down the master. Just a little signal and you can tune. Works for me. I like the mute button on the iAmp, but it's no big. I turn down the pre and unplug to preserve battery life for my onboard.

 

[KJung]

Its funny, I have had a bunch of heads, including the two mentioned here, and I have no idea which ones had a mute and which ones didn't.

Ever since I bought my Strobostomp, I don't really care.

Me lubs my Strobostomp!

I used to take the Stobostomp to gigs, but have stopped, since the darn thing is almost as big as my amp head.

There's something strange about the 'true bypass'... I can't quite remember, but it's only 'true bypass' in one mode but not the other, which is the one that I needed. The point being, I noticed the unit inline in my tone.. very subtle, but enough for me to keep it at home for setting and checking intonation, and going back to my mini-tuner for the gig... plugging it in when I need it.

Do you know what I'm talking about... it was strange... you had to set the DIP switches a certain way to get the 'true bypass', but then you lost other features and functionality.

Great unit though, and talk about accurate tuning!!

K

 

[Jeff Moote]

There is no wrong or right answer here. I could care less about a tuner mute, since I use your method, but I sure can understand those that desire one (especially if you use front of house support).

It drove me nuts that my original beloved Thunderfunk only had a post EQ out (I don't know what sound company the poster above works with, but a pre EQ send is a huge no-no in my world!), but obviously, many don't ever play with front of house support, and some are fanatical enough to carry DI's like the Avalon that are larger and heavier and more expensive than their backline heads.

It drove me nuts that Walter Woods eliminate the direct out on his amps about 10 years ago... many don't care.

I can actually understand the Markbass logic of 'defeaturing' (is that a word) their smallest head, which is probably used mostly by jazz trio guys and small gig guys who never even think about this stuff, and adding some additional features to the more powerful heads that might be used in more 'rock club' settings where some of this stuff becomes more important.

Just musing.... don't even know if I'm making a coherent point

I think it's coherent - you get a +1 on all of that from me

 

[KJung]

I plug the tuner into the fx send and turn down the master. Just a little signal and you can tune. Works for me. I like the mute button on the iAmp, but it's no big. I turn down the pre and unplug to preserve battery life for my onboard.

I dont' have a mute button on my new iAmp There is a speaker off, but that doesn't mute the direct out.

 

[KJung]

Not really. Could care less, and pre-EQ DI a big no-no?

Another one of my typo's... yes, of course... I meant to say POST EQ DI is a big no-no I fixed my post!

 

[tallboybass]

I used to take the Stobostomp to gigs, but have stopped, since the darn thing is almost as big as my amp head.

There's something strange about the 'true bypass'... I can't quite remember, but it's only 'true bypass' in one mode but not the other, which is the one that I needed. The point being, I noticed the unit inline in my tone.. very subtle, but enough for me to keep it at home for setting and checking intonation, and going back to my mini-tuner for the gig... plugging it in when I need it.

Do you know what I'm talking about... it was strange... you had to set the DIP switches a certain way to get the 'true bypass', but then you lost other features and functionality.

Great unit though, and talk about accurate tuning!!

K

Yeah Ken, you can have either true bypass or DI out, but not both!

 

[Jeff Moote]

Not really. Could care less, and pre-EQ DI a big no-no?



Yeah, presuming you meant the opposite, it made sense.

Another one of my typo's... yes, of course... I meant to say POST EQ DI is a big no-no I fixed my post!

Yeah, that's better

I don't care to get into debates with guys while the studio clock is ticking about whether some piece of gear they've never heard of actually is true bypass or does or doesn't introduce noise. Compared to studio gear, and in the eyes of most engineers regarding any stompbox device IMO, even a $160 Peterson is "cheap". That's no slag on its quality at all, so no offense intended.

When I was discussing 'cheap' I wasn't referring to price at all, but rather the quality. You're right though that while you and I both know it's a good unit with true bypass/quiet operation some studio guys may doubt it. That said, if you're a hired gun on the session, you listen to them. If you're not and it's your session, you can tell them you'll use whatever you please. I'm tired of people not familiar with gear ripping on it just because they won't take the time to get educated.

I appreciate the suggestion of just unplugging. It indeed doesn't send a loud pop through the speakers if doing so, though it isn't dea silent either so hopefully there's none through the DI if doing so. Doubt I'd ever get comforatble with that method at full volume into a PA though. Plus I also like to lend gear and I'd rather not be telling someone "oh, just unplug" as that can easily go wrong if they unplug from the bass instead.

IME it is 100% quiet through speakers and DI with the input on the LMII. I don't lend gear, but I can see what you mean if someone mistakingly unplugged at the bass end - that always kills me when people do that through a nice amp, or worse yet a PA at volume.

 

[KJung]

Yeah Ken, you can have either true bypass or DI out, but not both!

That was it... strange! The whole point of that to me was to have true bypass, going to your amp and front of house, and then being able to totally mute both signals when tuning. Obviously, whoever designed that pedal is not a player.

However... GREAT unit for tuning... accurate enough to do intonation set-ups at a fraction of the cost of a Peterson 'mechanical strobe' tuner.

K

 

[Infernal Affair]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but why not get a cable with a G&H quiet jack put in for switching basses since the Markbass is muteless? I have one of them and it seems to work just fine.

Invalid Link Removed

You could also go with those cables that have mute switches built in. A friend of mine has one of those. Works well. That way you don't have to worry about tuner pedals and bypass.

Anyway I'm still GASing for the Littlemark II, and I'm still undecided between that and the Genz Benz Neo-Pak. It's a good thing I don't have the money to spend.

 

[Mr_Dave]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but why not get a cable with a G&H quiet jack put in for switching basses since the Markbass is muteless? I have one of them and it seems to work just fine.

Invalid Link Removed

You could also go with those cables that have mute switches built in. A friend of mine has one of those. Works well. That way you don't have to worry about tuner pedals and bypass.

Anyway I'm still GASing for the Littlemark II, and I'm still undecided between that and the Genz Benz Neo-Pak. It's a good thing I don't have the money to spend.

Neutrik just came out with a version of this too...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Alistair R]

Neutrik just came out with a version of this too...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Dangit, I just bought two Bass centre leads with standard neutrik jacks! Berga...

 

[Akami]

Neutrik just came out with a version of this too...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I've got a dozen of those on the way in right angle configuration.

Can't wait to try them out.

 

[Bassguy1]

I just got the LittleMark ll bass head yesterday and gigged with it last night. I ran it into an Ampeg SVP CL (which is just about as light as the LM ll) all tube preamp then went from my bass (57 Fender P RI) directly into the pre amp. What an incredible smooth, dreamy, creamy tone...like butter. The LM11 light weight and power combined with an all tube pre amp is an incredible combination. I highly recommend both pieces of equipment

 

[murphy]

Has anyone tried one of those Radial I/O mute buttons?
Are they silent switching?

 

[B String]

I've got a dozen of those on the way in right angle configuration.

Can't wait to try them out.

Please tell me where to get a few of these right angled
silent jacks.

 

[BurningSkies]

Depending where I play, some sound men are used to guys that don't have a clue or have noisy DI's or make radical changes pre-DI without cause or warning etc etc. I assure them ahead of time that I have a clue and that my gear performs well, and that I won't inadvertently send a loud "pop" or whatever through the amp.

I have no problems with my basses holding tuning, but I like to double-check because I can never really know if someone's bumped into it, etc. when I wasn't looking. I don't use a stand - one less thing to carry - so if I leave a bass on the floor or against the wall a change in tuning is possible.

The volume being turned down, or a stomp tuner, won't prevent a *very* loud accident if someone bumps it over (knocking the volume up) and/or steps on the mute/tuner at the same time. That's happened, so fool me twice (well, it'd be thrice in this case) then shame on me, and then I can't blame a sound man for thinking I'm one of those clueless guys. With a mute I know it won't happen again. I know I have a lot of options to prevent this - I find them all much less preferable to a mute.

I could also just turn the amp off, I know, but many send a 'pop' when doing so (though apparently not the LMII but I haven't tried that via DI yet) and that puts unnecessary wear and tear on the amp - once things are set, I like to leave them as much as possible. Like guitarists with "stand by" - standard feature on any decent guitar amp made in the past 20 years.

Also in studio, I don't find many engineers that like to see amp fiddling once everything is set, or a cheap stomp tuner in-line.

Again though, that's just me. My experiences, most of which I learned the hard way. It's a feature that I have heard many, if admittedly not a majority, of other players pine for and that's also a feature MarkBass thought was important enough to include on their "higher end" amps.

Hmmm. When I get a new tuner, it probably won't be on the floor. It will be up on my cab next to my head as the LMII is so small. I've always used rack tuners in the past, therefor never have a problem with anyone stepping where they shouldn't. I also never use any effects pedals, so never have had this problem.

There is no wrong or right answer here. I could care less about a tuner mute, since I use your method, but I sure can understand those that desire one (especially if you use front of house support).

It drove me nuts that my original beloved Thunderfunk only had a post EQ out (I don't know what sound company the poster above works with, but a post EQ send is a huge no-no in my world!), but obviously, many don't ever play with front of house support, and some are fanatical enough to carry DI's like the Avalon that are larger and heavier and more expensive than their backline heads.

It drove me nuts that Walter Woods eliminate the direct out on his amps about 10 years ago... many don't care.

I can actually understand the Markbass logic of 'defeaturing' (is that a word) their smallest head, which is probably used mostly by jazz trio guys and small gig guys who never even think about this stuff, and adding some additional features to the more powerful heads that might be used in more 'rock club' settings where some of this stuff becomes more important.

Just musing.... don't even know if I'm making a coherent point

I don't think that a 500w amp necessarily makes it a small gig amp. The bigger the gig, the more front end support and monitoring you have, so I've never felt the need to carry a monster amp.

As a player who plays predominantly reggae music, I prefer post-eq DI. Otherwise unknowing sound men at random clubs decide they want to 'brighten up' my tone. I always feel that I have more control to keep my EQ where it needs to be when its post rather than pre. Unfortunately, I spend my life dealing with 'rock' sound guys. They never do me any favors out front. I've played 'my sound' long enough that I'm not tweaking knobs during stage time nor am I going from bright to boomy dependent upon the song. I'm locked in to 'my tone'.

 

[jmain]

I dont' have a mute button on my new iAmp There is a speaker off, but that doesn't mute the direct out.

I had the 800. But you know, I could be thinking of the speaker mute. You're right, it doesn't mute the direct out. Been a while....or so it seems.

 

[Akami]

Please tell me where to get a few of these right angled
silent jacks.

Here's a link to info on the right angle plugs.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

After seeing them at this site I contacted a seller on e-bay who had other Neutrik connectors and asked about them.

He sent me a reply and if I recall correctly they were $7 or $8 ea.

NP2RX-AU-SILENT

You can get the number of the plug at the Neutrik site easily enough, but here it is anyway.

 

[Smallequestrian]

FYI,
The higher end Markbass heads don't have an onboard mute. The mute is only accessible with an optional footswitch.