Guinness21

[quote name='BassManGraham' timestamp='1413920929' post='2583708'] No doubt that a Sterling would sound great through a hybrid amp, but the LMIII is definitely worth a serious listen too. I have found Markbass gear to be very reliable. I have always a bit wary about the relative fragility of valve amps. I like hybrid amps and modern cool running preamp tubes are probably less fragile than hot running power amp tubes, but I would struggle to transport an all tube head these days. Yeah the VLE & VPF are great features for vinatge tones, but I wouldn't say they completely replace that classic valve amp warmth. Music Man basses Stingrays & Sterlings tend to be quite punchy and to my ears have more mids than Jazzes and Precisions. My MM Sterling sounded great through my various Markbass rigs & combos and the mids definitely helped it cut thru the mix very nicely. [/quote] Good to know (that you have a similar bass to mine and it sounds good with a markbass amp). Well if I went for an LM III, I think I'd end up slightly rolling of the treble and boosting the bass.

Good point, i suppose my stingray would cut through loud and clear then. But then, there are the vle and vpf features. In fact, maybe those make the warmth from a tube preamp redundant, maybe I'd be better off with the regular little mark.

Thanks BassManGraham, all of this is really helpful That's very interesting about the hybrid amps - I play a stingray, so unsurprisingly there's a lot of top end sparkle and a bit of clank. Briefly looked at the gk mb fusion, but even with the tube there was a brightness baked into the tone. I guess I thought, in principle at least, the warmth from a hybrid amp with my bright stingray would equal a great, balanced sound. Do you think that would be the case? Atm I cut through plenty. I'd forgotten about the vle and vpf features of Markbass heads - that kind of makes the warmth from a tube redundant. Maybe I'd be better off looking at a regular Little Mark III.

I'm so gutted that Fender shut down Genz Benz, and tbh I don't really see why. I was lusting after the shuttle 9.2 and nx2 cab for a while, can still find them used I guess.

[quote name='BassManGraham' timestamp='1413894858' post='2583211'] Yeah I was absolutely gutted that Fender dropped Genz Benz production, I discovered Genz Benz almost too late. BassDirect were selling off a lot of Genz Benz stock, so I at least I got a great deal, before they completely disappeared. Yeah was considering the TC BH550 which has a helluva lot going for it, but I won't be deciding until my BG250 DI out issue is resolved! I have used Markbass exclusively for the several years, (until I got the Genz Benz), but still love Markbass I've still got a Mini CMD121P with LM head - marvellous little combo. Just fancied trying something different like a little GK or Eden etc! [/quote] Yeah that's a shame about genz benz Even if the bh550 puts out 550 watts, I'm not sure how I'd feel giving my money to a company that gets so 'creative' with their power ratings, it all stinks a bit to me. Even though they make great heads, I decided GK produced too clanky a sound for my liking, taking my bass' sound into consideration. I think the front runners for me are the Ampeg pf800, the Aguilar th500, the Orange terror bass and the little mark tube. Then again, the only reason the LM tube is a contender, is because I thought the addition of the tube would warm the sound up a little, but from the sound of things it doesn't really do that. I mean what does the LM iii sound like?

[quote name='BassManGraham' timestamp='1413143261' post='2575271'] I am a huge Genz Benz fan and use either a Shuttle 9.2 or 12.2 in my main rig racks. A complete travesty that their "parent" company Fender put the boot in and discontinued production of Genz Benz gear![/quote] I knew they had discontinued the nx2 cab, but didn't know this - gutted Was considering getting a genz benz shuttle 9.0. I think the TC BH550 is a strong contender, but then TC have been know to tell porky pies about the true output of their amps, so until someone tests one I wouldn't touch one with a 20ft barge pole. GOing off what I hear about it, the orange terror bass is worth considering. There's also a few Markbass heads you could have a look at - like the big bang, the Little Mark III and the LM Tube.

Fair enough Does the lmIII have a signature tone to it? What I mean is does it sound warm, or does it sound bright?

I suppose another option is stacking 1x15's, I suppose that would be easy to move about. The only thing is whether the rig would be tall enough for my liking. For example I could stacked Orange obc115's or Ampeg pf115he's. I know very little about 1x15 cabs though - anybody any experience with either the Orange or Ampeg cabs mentioned above?

I actually didn't know that the genz benz was no longer available new, but already I've spotted a few used ones around. I think my ideal sound-wise is the hd 212, and while I could use a trolley to move it around, I'd be storing it upstairs which could be a pain. That is a good point leroydiamond, I could combat the modern sounding cn212 wit a warmer head - I know the th500 has a vintage sound to it, and the little mark could warm up if the blend was on the tube preamp. The pf800 has an ultra lo button, which could boost the lows, and the shuttle 6.2 has the tone shaping features.

That's interesting to hear, a lot of people on here and on Talkbass say the tone hammer has a very vinatge and warm sound to it.

Thanks, appreciate the post So how does the LM tube sound without the vt di?

Bringing this thread back from the grave! I play a stingray and at some point in the hopefully not-too-distant future I'll be looking to get a class d amp and (probably) 2x12 cab. I love the top end sparkle of my stingray, but I want something that delivers the low end for an overall balanced sound. Now I know if you have a cab with harsh highs, you can control that with the eq from your head. BUT, I'd rather just have a cab that produces the sound I want in the first place, leaving me to get the desired tone from my amp head, than have to fight one that doesn't. Right, with all that said I'll mention the contenders. If I can afford them, I can't not look at berg cabs. I love the height of the hd and cn 212's. In an ideal world, I'd want the sound of the hd with the weight of the cn. I think the hd is the sound I want, but it weighs too much, and though the weight is great, I'm led to believe the cn has more pronounced highs - which isn't really what I want. I don't know much about how the Genz Benz nx2 or the Aguilar db212 sound, so it would be great to hear from anyone who owns either of them. And though it's a bit heavier than those I've just mentioned, the Markbass 104hf is a contender too. Apparently (haven't been able to try one) it has a fairly warm sound to it, which is what I'm after. So there you have it - no idea what amp head I'd be getting yet, it's between the aguilar pf800, the orange terror bass, the little mark tube, the tone hammer 500 and the genz benz shuttle 6.2. I know it's hard to offer advice, but if you were me what would you go for?

[quote name='phatbass787' timestamp='1412636247' post='2570728'] So how many real watts will these be... Or are we talking TC super quasi compressed watts [/quote] Yeah, before I'd ever consider buying one I'd need to know the real power output.

If the 800 is 800w and not TC telling more fibs then i'll definitely be interested.

Thanks man Well a trip to bass direct is long overdue haha, they stock the markbass, aguilar and orange stuff. And, if the tc bh800 is actually 800w and not just another lie, may well be interested in that too. Anywho, enjoy your amp dude!

Congrats man When you say the tube sounded less sterile, did it make the sound warmer?

GIve into the GAS - join the dark side and buy a stingray! (I also have Fender GAS, Spector GAS, G&L GAS & Warwick GAS).

I'm struggling to agree with that, partly because TC are so misleading. The RH750 is NOT 750 watts. They straight up lied about their specs and only released this info after much pressure from customers. The marketing still says its 750 watts, but its not really - [url="http://www.talkbass.com/threads/tc-electronics-rh750-vs-carvin-bx500.858647/"]http://www.talkbass.com/threads/tc-electronics-rh750-vs-carvin-bx500.858647/[/url]

[quote name='bagsieblue' timestamp='1411654703' post='2561605'] Have you tried Manchester Bass Lounge Karl? From the website at least , there seems to be decent range of MB goodies in there. And other goodies as well for that matter. [/quote] I'd be interested in the answer too. They stock mark bass and gk stuff, and I'm looking at the little mark tube and the gk fusion 500.

Thanks Badderer, you've really helped clarify my thoughts. Initially, I just saw that video and thought "that guy's playing a bass like mine and it sounds good with that pedal". But now I think I have a better sense of what it would be like to live with any variation of the vt, but also I think I have a clearer idea of the sound I'm chasing. Whether it's subtle and warm, or full-blown od I think the b7k would suit me better

That's food for thought, thanks for the post. I'm not mad on the drive sound of the vt di, and if you can't crank the character then maybe I need to think again. From a couple of videos I've seen I get the impression that I like both the subtle and all-blazing tones of the b7k, and I don't know whether I can say that about the vt di

Well when I say the drive would be pointless, that's probably a bi of an exaggeration. The way I intend to use it would be to have the character right up, with next to no drive. Just t achieve that warmer sound. Well I'd like to be able to turn the bite off, so that's ruled the standard vt out. Not heard anything like that before dannybuoy, what about the latter two sounded different/not as good?

Hahaha fair point dannybuoy! You know how the di version of the vt has the bite button? Is that sound baked into the standard vt? Because I'd never want that presence boost. If I bought the vt bass di the drive knob would also be kind of pointless.

Well, I think the best plan of action may well be an svt-type sound out of the vt bass di, and then when i have the money get a b7k for those more overdriven sounds.

Thanks guys for the response. Tbh I think the deluxe is overkill, and it's way too big for me. Those videos are great Badderer, how do you find yourself using it most? [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03PAhzVp6Ic"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03PAhzVp6Ic[/url] This is the only good video for the vmt deluxe that I can find. While I love the full blown sound at 1:33 in the video, realistically I'd more likely be using the sound from 1:57 onwards. What do you think, comparing that sound to the tech 21 vt mild warm setting? [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emFyuS73jEI"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emFyuS73jE[/url]I Just found this video, surprised me actually. The vintage warm and tube grit settings seem to be more subtle than the vmt deluxe equivalent. He's using an american deluxe jazz bass, so it's active, but a stingray is a lot brighter. Maybe the b7k would be a better bet?