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Marshall bass amplification?


highwayman
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The Higher end Marshall rigs are fine, but their combos apparently weigh more than most cars & are built out of things that like to fail.
I've never seen any bass rigs by Blackstar (that's not to say that they don't make any though).

The only other companies that come to mind from the guitar side are Fender & Orange.

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[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1458989198' post='3012614']
Marshall bought EDEN a while back and put all its 'bass' eggs in that basket effectively.
[/quote]

Oh, I didn't know that.... well thats the end of Eden then. :angry:

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I love both the vba and DBS series.
I've been a DBS user for many years now, and totally love the sound. The vba is gorgeous too.

The trouble is that Marshall have never really been accepted as a major brand by the bass playing community, despite there being a good number of 'name' players that have used them in the past. Such a shame. Since marshall's acquisition of Eden, I've not seen any on a live stage, let alone heard of any endorsers

Afaic you can keep your markbass, Aguilar, trace etc, and I'll be extremely happy with a solid Marshall backline.

Edited by dudewheresmybass
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[quote name='basshead56' timestamp='1459128016' post='3013755']
Three simple letters, VBA B)
[/quote]

Indeed. The Very Big Amp.

I love mine...even if it is in for repair. Again. :blink:

I can imagine the conversation that sparked this design happening after a few too many drinks at the Christmas bash one year. :P "I've had this really good idea..."

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Yep, Marshall bass gear is good - even the MBS series was decent enough. Problem is, when you`re such a big player in one particular field (as Marshall obviously are in guitar amps), many seem to think that you can`t be all that in anything else. The DBS series was great, and have heard a few people using the VBAs which are immense. The VBA 412 I had was probably one of the best cabs I`ve ever had the pleasure of using, just weighed the same as a small planet so had to offload because of that.

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As someone who came back to playing about 7 years ago, Marshall's problem seemed to be they just didn't seem interested. It wasn't gear I even considered buying when I came back to playing. They were, at that time, producing heavy, unreliable and unappealing amps and cabinets. Others were producing more appealing gear at similar or better prices.

They suffer from being regarded as a guitar amp manufacturer and to some extent the bass range being an after thought. Even now there seems to be little effort in getting EDEN 'out there'. It's a great brand with a good reputation and you can barely find it in the UK

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[quote name='spyder' timestamp='1458990823' post='3012629']


Oh, I didn't know that.... well thats the end of Eden then. :angry:
[/quote]

Not really - when US Music owned Eden they did a good job of damaging the brand. Since Marshall took over they have a better UK and worldwide distribution channel, new products and have tempted some of the old team back to the fold according to Talkbass :)

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[quote name='Fitz666' timestamp='1459350446' post='3015682']
Don't forget Laney....
[/quote]I use a Laney R3 head at our rehearsal room and it's quite impressive, took me ages to find out who made it as it hasn't got Laney on it anywhere just R3 on the front and BLT industries on the back

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I have a DBS7400 amp and it's immense! 400 watts RMS but with a peak of 4Kw.

It also sounds good superb in an easily controllable way, and the valve/SS pre-amp blending actually makes a difference (unlike, in my experiance,a lot of the modern valve pre-amp amplifiers).

However, I also have an LM3 which sounds pretty good at a fraction of the weight.

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I had one of their combos with a 15" speaker, but that was at least 10 to 15 years ago. It sounded great, but was too heavy for me to lift easily even then. The other problem was that the cooling system was the noisiest I have come across; ok for a gig but annoying for anything else. Practicalities meant it had to go.

Edited by DBerriff
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[quote name='amnesia' timestamp='1459579055' post='3017753']
Its a combination that works really well for me too - valves plus modern cabs.
[/quote]
I owned a MKII Superbass for many years and it really was a good sounding valve amp with most cabs. I've never really been that interested by any of their solid state or hybrid amps since. I'm surprised Marshall haven't joined in the resurgence in recent times of quality 100watt tube bass heads that have appeared from certain manufacturers. What if...a Superbass MkIII 100watt all tube offering? It might just up their profile in the bass department.

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[quote name='dangoose' timestamp='1459718701' post='3019004']
What if...a Superbass MkIII 100watt all tube offering? It might just up their profile in the bass department.
[/quote]

After getting my MkII out the sleeve what was apparent to me was just how much wasted space there is. Almost a quarter of one side of the chassis is empty. All they need to do with a MkIII is make it a bit more compact so it can sit neatly on today's cabs. Also 'gain' is well catered for with Orange at al. They could find a market for a clean lower wattage amp that displays the tone through the back end, erm, like the MkII.

I don't think you really need 200, 300 or 400 watts

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I've been using a Marshall 410 something or other combo recently in rehearsals while I wait for my Matamp to be fixed. To be honest it sounds great!

Cali76tx and sft into the front end and it gets me to my usual sweet spot. I'm able to shift from dub reggae sounds through to funk and all the way into heavy territory just by altering my right hand and/or using a plectrum, and the amp copes admirably. No complaints from me :)

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