EmmettC

I have to respectfully disagree, it definitely affects the sound of all my basses, even with the mids rolled off it makes all of them sound a little more honky than normal, that's not necessarily a bad thing and it helps them cut through in the mix, but it is there and it's definitely more noticable on the active basses, but it does colour the sound. The EBS affects the tone too, but that enhances the ultra-high end, which I like, each to their own.

I'm a huge fan of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, I love the bass (and guitar) playing, not such a fan of the later band, but do agree that the bass is always perfect for the song. Another great unsung hero.

I use it all the time, especially on 5 string where there's alot more strings to keep under control.

I spent today playing all my basses through both amps, and the Markbass is good, but it takes a lot of tweaking, and the EBS still blows it out of the water. I think I'll look at a few smaller cab options for the HD350, but I think the combo is still ideal to leave in the function band lock-up and use when the EBS is impractical. I'll still be using the EBS for my original band where "my sound" is more important anyway. If anyone wants to swap me for an EBS combo though...........

[quote name='1976fenderhead' timestamp='1340966254' post='1712094'] I'm a 10-year SWR user and did like MarkBass (heads only). Really liked the filters, definitely set those first as they define the character of the head, so you can get 'your' character, then EQ. My only problems with them were I'm not a fan of Low Mid / High Mid EQ knobs (prefer 1 parametric band) and I couldn't get a focused sound on the lower frets of the E string, too boomy and undefined, and if I set the sound for it to be more defined, the higher notes would lack bottom. Maybe I'd learn to deal with this, but trying on the shop (1 cab only, 210 usually) that's the impression I got: undefined bottom and couldn't fix it. I imagine with a B string it would be awful. [/quote] This probably explains it better than I did. I use the low B for quite a lot of the set, so using the Precision isn't an option really.

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1340960627' post='1711972'] I found I never liked the sound of my Ray with my LMIII, I think it's a combination which just didn't work. My other basses sounded much better. Have you tried any other basses through the MB? [/quote] I tried it with the Yamaha too, wasnt great either. I'll try the others with it today, but I really like my Ray, and it's my go-to gig bass, the amp will go before the bass. I'll try it with the rest of them today.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1340959740' post='1711955'] OK, they get the job done but so does an Ashdown. [/quote] There's an Ashdown in a rehearsal room I use and I prefer it to the Markbass, I just turn off the eq section of the amp and it works great. [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1340960053' post='1711965'] i`ve only ever used a Markbass amp at quiet volumes, and on its own, wasn`t that impressed. But, every time I`ve seen a bassist use one, in the mix, they`ve been great. I also find this with my Schroeder cab - not that good on its own, but with the band, it`s awesome. Try standing way out front on a soundcheck with the Markbass - when you hear how it fits in the mix with the band, you may well just change your mind. [/quote] Funnily the guitarist in the band, and the sound engineer both really liked it, I guess it's a personal taste thing too, but perhaps they heard something I didn't........damn those 10 foot leads

I did evenyually get a sound I like, mostly using the East preamp on my bass, but it still wasn't a match for my EBS, which I leave almost flat on the bass and amp. It certainly isn't the worst sound, I guess I just like the EBS sound more. Ilike the colour scheme,it matches my motorbike.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1340929169' post='1711770'] It may be a case of mutual incompatability with your Markbass and it's time to get yourself another amp. [/quote] I think this is the case, but the Markbass does sound better than any amp I've use in Whistle Binkies. Off Topic, I used a TC Electronic Combo at a Metaltech gig recently and it was awesome........horses for courses.

[quote name='JakeBrownBass' timestamp='1340928897' post='1711768'] Obviously i'm a big EBS fan, so if you've come from the HD350 i can't recommend the Reidmar enough. Thats exactly the transition i've made. [/quote] I definitely will go down the reidmar route once I've sold the Markbass, but luckily I still have the HD350 and Proline, I don't think I'll ever let that rig go.

I had my first gig with my Markbass 2X10 combo tonight, and in some respects it was just as expected, but overall I feel a bit disappointed. It was loud enough, it's angled up so I get to hear it perfectly without being too loud, and most importantly it was small, and light enough to lift with one hand. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of the tone, it just sounds very Mid-y, there's plenty of low end, and the highs were ok, but maybe lacking for some real brightness, but I just couldn't get rid of the honkyness. The backstory.......my last amp was an SWR 350 workingmans head and 4x10 cab, it was great I had it for years and I replaced it with an EBS HD350 and a Pro-line 4x10, which is even better,in fact I don't think I've ever played through a better rig, ever. However, I joined a function band about 3 months ago, and the EBS rig is a bit too big, physically (the volume knob makes it the perfect amp for any occasion), and I and (more importantly) my band-mates were getting sick of lugging it in and out of venues 3 times week. I decided I needed a small amp, preferably a combo so my band-mates couldn't forget the head if I wasn't around while the van was being loaded, but one loud enough for a decent size gig. I read everything I could, but, living in Edinburgh, I didn't actually try anything, and from what I read, I narrowed it down to a reidmar or a markbass. The Markbass won, by being cheap on ebay and being a combo, but I was wrong, so wrong. The sound isn't bad, in fact one of the guitar players loved it, but I couldn't make my Stingray sound like itself, or at least how it sounds through an EBS and an SWR. So....do EBS and SWR colour your sound in a way I like, or does the Markbass colour it in a way I don't, which is a truer representation of the sound of the Bass?

That looks great so far, it's good to see spare parts going to good use.

This is why my Ray5 is still my main bass, I play weddings and different keys are easier. Neither is right or wrong though.

Hmmmm, I'm still torn. My main bass is a stingray 5, but I still love my P bass, and I have serious gas for a Jazz with a P neck. In my original band the low notes are handy, and even though only a low D is really necessary it's nice to have the extra range as alot of our songs are in D. It's my function band that makes me unsure which is best......we have a few singers and depending who's on a particular gig the keys can change gig to gig, I find a 4 string easier to play so it might be easier to transpose on a 4, but I keep using my 5 because I find it easier to learn a song and just move the position around as needed and this is definitely easier on a 5. It also gives me the option of lowering the key instead of going higher, and I definitely wouldn't want to use a drop-D on a last minute key change, but a 4 is definitely more fun to play because it feels natural..............

I'd love on of these, in fact if I ever go back to playing 4 string I'll get one and get a normal Jazz control plate and scratch-plate arrangement for it. It would look less Hoppusy then too.

[quote name='JakeBrownBass' timestamp='1339743168' post='1693491'] Hmm, this entire story is one persons word against the other. I don't think we can dismiss what Americano is saying just because the OP is a member here. If they have issues that they still need to sort out, they should do it. Just not on a public forum where it's going to end up like a playground fight. [/quote] +1

I think you're a lucky one voodoosnake, I still have my favourite bass ever, my '72 Precision. My problem is that I need 5 strings for one of my bands, and I really like having a low B, so my ideal bass would be a '72 P, with 5 strings.......even a modern Precision 5 just doesn't do it, I don't like the low Bs. I like my SR5, and my G&L5, but they're just not the same.........I fear I'll never have what I want. I'll guess I'll just have to keep buying more basses.

I was looking for a small cab recently, and today a Markbass 2x10 combo arrived, the 1x15 will arrive next week. It will look great beside the EBS rig I needed the small cab for............how many amps is enough?

(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) [i]Higher and Higher[/i], after years of playing this repetitive simple line it still intrigues me how well it works.

How come when someone else is selling something I want it's gone before I get a chance to buy it, but when I'm selling something no one wants it????

we usually put drums, guitar and bass down before vocals, I quite often have to change my bass line after the vocals are done so I don't clash with the vocal melody. Guitars usually keep strumming away in D (he loosens up his fattest wire a bit and it changes it to D).

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1339142056' post='1684160'] Put your bass down. Listen to what the rest of the instruments are doing paying particular attention to the drums and vocals. Sing the bass line (in your head if your actual singing's not very good). Now pick up your bass and play what you've been singing. [/quote] +1 This also stops you just playing the same patterns over every song.

To be honest, if I was in the audience, the vocals would make me leave before the bass started. And once everybody had gone home he might aswell enjoy himself.