First Markbass experience

[urb]

I had a similar experience on a gig a while back where the venue had a Jeff Berlin combo and initially I was stoked that it wasn't some burnt out Peavey or Trace Elliot that had seen better days (saying that I've used both Peavey and Trace amps as backline and they've both been fine!) - but I really struggled to get any kind of tone that worked. When I turned up the sound was very muddy and instead of pushing out a punchy tone, the overall boom just increased... not what you want on a gig! It was frustrating that a supposedly good amp was such a let down but then I did another gig at a different venue with another MB combo, a 2x10 I think, and got a very clear, punchy tone immediately. I think there are many factors at play with this kind of gear - rooms, basses, stages, combinations of speakers and amp heads, and or combos - so it can be very hit and miss.

FWIW I'm still very happy with my Genz Benz Shuttle 9 - it positively blooms when you crank it up but sounds just great at low volumes too.

[kerley]

Even my limited experience with small practice amps is enough to convince me that the room makes a massive difference.

Tried out a few amps in a shop and the Marshall MB15 sounded so much more powerful than the competition. Got it home in the bedroom (reasonable place for a practice amp) and it sounded sh*t. Just boom and mud (had to put bass on 0 and mid all the way up and still muddy and boomy)
Thought it must just be my bass.

Now the warmer weather is here I moved the amp out to my large and emptyish garage and it sounds great. Same amp, same bass but completely different room.

However, the Ashdown Tourbus sounded small and weedy in the shop yet sounds okay in the bedroom.

[BottomE]

[quote name='WalMan' post='1197098' date='Apr 12 2011, 05:54 PM']Set my MB combo flat with a smidge of VLE & VLF and love it, so I can only agree it was probably the room[/quote]
+1 exactly that. Best godamn amp i have ever had. And my back loves it.

[JellyKnees]

I use a little mark 250 through a barefaced big one and boomy and undefined it is most definitely not, so it sounds very much like the room to me.

My only minor criticism of the little mark is that its a bit TOO clean, especially with my custom KGB with it's bartollini single coil pickups - I'm now using a tech21 vt pedal to add a touch of drive and harmonic 'sparkle', which makes it really sing. I leave the amp flat to start with and then make minor adjustments to the eq to compensate for whatever room I'm in, and I can pretty much always get a good clear sound out of it.

[bassicinstinct]

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='1197078' date='Apr 12 2011, 05:36 PM']Had a (second) meet up with a potential band at Quad Studios in Leicester last night, and in the rehearsal room there was this MarkBass rig. Checking pictures on the net I think the amp must have been the SD800 (not the MoMark SD800) with a 4x10 and a 1x15 cab.

First thought was "Wow, I've heard a lot about these - possibly the best rig I've ever played through" but when I plugged in I just could not get a sound I liked out of it whatever I tried (Starting with everything on the bass and amp flat - except the VLE/VLP which I had fully anticlockwise).

The sound just seemed undefined with a very boomy bass. I unplugged the 1x15, which helped a bit, but even so, as soon as I turned the bass up (on the amp or at the guitar) it just sounded boomy and muddy.

Now it may have been the room I was in (pretty well a cube), but you'd like to think that a rehearsal room at a studio would have good acoustics, and there were a lot of drapes and carpets around.

Came away dissapointed by it and very happy to get back to my modestly priced Marshall gear.

Is there a trick to getting the best out the MarkBass kit, or is this just what they sound like?[/quote]

I've used Quad dozens of times but, whatever room and whatever house rig I ended up with, including the MarkBass stuff, I could never seem to get anything other than a [b]horrible[/b] boomy bass sound.

Eventually gave up and took my own rig and problem solved.

To be fair, I suspect it is/was a combination of the room (my recollection is that all the rooms there, while well draped with carpeting, have very high ceilings?), using a strange rig "on the fly"and, on top of all that, the pressure that, being in a rehearsal space, you are "on the clock" and all time spent pratting about with the bass rig is time which then can't be spent more productively, from a band perspective.

I've always come away from there with a splitting headache feeling, as you said, disappointed with the whole experience.

Just my two pence worth.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='thumbo' post='1197124' date='Apr 12 2011, 06:19 PM']do you know if they were rear ported cabs? was the rig set up in the corner and how far from the wall was it?[/quote]
I'll wager it wasn't front ported - that's where the magic is with these cabs.

Question for the OP, were the drivers the familiar bumble bee colour scheme or black ones?

[dbass]

I used to run an LMK through a 1 x 15 and 2 x 10 and at low to medium volumes I found it to be quite pleasing but my main gripe (and reason I moved) was at higher volumes it just lost all tonality and did sound messy. Maybe that was due to lots of factors but I've played a massive range of venues from open air festivals to rock city to small pubs so I don't think it's just an "oddity"

As a lot have said, the cabs aren't the best but I used them for so long for portability and I didn't know better.

Much happier with my Genz and EBS stuff now though. Sounds brilliant at low level and even better when you crank it up!

I'd say it's the cabs more so than the heads!

[JTUK]

My personal feeling is the sound on Markbass combos...doesn't travel that well.
I've used the 112 combo and the 210 and on both the sound on stage was decent...as that is mostly what you EQ for...but out front, it wallowed.

This happens with more set-ups than Markbass though, IMO. Might be the lightweight/compact thing plus NEO's...but my feeling is that there is something missing.
Pet theory atm....

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='bassicinstinct' post='1198141' date='Apr 13 2011, 01:25 PM'](my recollection is that all the rooms there, while well draped with carpeting, have very high ceilings?)[/quote]

Yes, very high ceilings, room would be somewhere around 10 x 7 metres, and the ceiling about 5metres.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1198175' date='Apr 13 2011, 01:57 PM']Question for the OP, were the drivers the familiar bumble bee colour scheme or black ones?[/quote]

Bumble Bee.

Again, thanks for your thoughts.

[BIG.J]

Thought i would never find a better sound than my SWR Rig! However, A strainge looking combination of the MarkBass Little Mark II (250w) Head combined with my SWR 6x10 4ohm cab is just outstanding.

Head - All EQ Flat (12 o Clock), Vintage Control - OFF, High Freq set between 12 & 3 O Clock...

Used both Passive Jazz, Precision's along with my Active musician and all i need to touch is the setting for the input gain.

Mix & Match... Looks very odd but hey! Lovely Sound.

All the best

Justin.

Edited April 13, 2011 by BIG.J

[pietruszka]

Interesting read on peoples opinions on MB gear.

Im going to go against the current here, I don't like the heads but love the cabs!
I'v never managed to get a nice sound out of the heads, nothing warm enough that makes me grin! They sound too thin for me. But the cabs, I love, fantastic sound with my AG 500 SC plugged in. I'v never found any MB product to be boomy or undefined, I'm quite surprised to read that. Every gig I'v played, I'v been approached and been told it sounds great, tremendous lows with excellent growl and definition.

Then again, I don't like Aguilar cabs for the same reason, they seem to be too thin sounding with me playing it, even with my 500 SC plugged in.

It results in me telling bass players who want a new rig when they ask me; 'Listen to your ears'.


Dan

[Rumble]

I used to own one of the earlier rear ported MB 4x10's and I found it so flabby and muffled that when I changed it for an Agi GS112 why drummer regained his ability to smile. Awful cab; can't pass any comment on the newer ones though.

I'm also a LMII user now and I've probably had this head as long as I've ever had any - 'nuf said!

[blamelouis]

[quote name='WalMan' post='1197098' date='Apr 12 2011, 04:54 PM']Set my MB combo flat with a smidge of VLE & VLF and love it, so I can only agree it was probably the room[/quote]
Flat is the way to go .
I do the same with my CMD 12" combo .

[51m0n]

All about the heads, don't desperately hate the cabs either, but I don't think the tone is worth the price.

Conversely Bergantino cabs are worth every over-inflated penny (rather annoyingly).

[Lozz196]

I`ve never used anything by Markbass, but whenever I`ve been to see a band play, and thought the bassist had a great sound, invariably it`s a tiny little Markbass combo/rig.

[bubinga5]

IMHO, there are too many variables to ascertain wether it was the MB gear..could have been the bass, the room, the EQ.. i played through a trace elliot in a fairly big pub space once and it seriously sounded good..played a Peavy 115 in the same space and it sounded great also..i was playing a Sei..

played my Aguilar 212 with the AG 500 in a smaller space and it sounded awful... until i took away the bass eq and cleaned it up to suit the room.. i really think the shape, absortion of sound from the material, and size of a room can destroy a good amps natural tone.. the walls are too close and suffocate the cab in a small room until eq'd accordingly..... you gotta either let a cab breath of adjust its breathing..

in my humble limited opinion..

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='urb' post='1197788' date='Apr 13 2011, 08:48 AM']When I turned up the sound was very muddy and instead of pushing out a punchy tone, the overall boom just increased... not what you want on a gig![/quote]

Ive only had one MB cab but i hated it. it was one of the older 1x15 traveller cabs and no matter what i did i couldn't be much tone out of it.
I had been using my MB heads with other cabs up to that point so i was well aware of what the head could put out. Maybe it was just the size of the cab.
I ended up getting a Epifani UL115 and what a difference. Night and day.


I tend to use my SA450 more or less flat, with a bit of VLE and VPF to suit but im beginning to think that maybe the MB tone is a bit boring and flat for me now.

[urb]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1199294' date='Apr 14 2011, 12:36 PM']Ive only had one MB cab but i hated it. it was one of the older 1x15 traveller cabs and no matter what i did i couldn't be much tone out of it.
I had been using my MB heads with other cabs up to that point so i was well aware of what the head could put out. Maybe it was just the size of the cab.
I ended up getting a Epifani UL115 and what a difference. Night and day.


I tend to use my SA450 more or less flat, with a bit of VLE and VPF to suit but im beginning to think that maybe the MB tone is a bit boring and flat for me now.[/quote]

Mmm, I have an Epi 210 and it's a killer cab - though if I had my way I'd trade it for 2 Genz 12s - but it's a monster 500 cab as it stands and it's more than enough for my needs right now.

M

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='urb' post='1199486' date='Apr 14 2011, 02:57 PM']Mmm, I have an Epi 210 and it's a killer cab - though if I had my way I'd trade it for 2 Genz 12s - but it's a monster 500 cab as it stands and it's more than enough for my needs right now.

M[/quote]

I had a UL212 and didnt really like it. It sounded nice enough but just didn't throw the sound out far enough. I sold that and got a 1212L and its a lot louder.
The only 10" ive ever used is the one in my 1210R cab (which i dont use any more) but one day i would like to try a 210.

Edited April 14, 2011 by dave_bass5

[TomKent]

I've never been a fan of MarkBass, out of any of the major brands Eden/EBS (and the one in my sig ) are the best, but when everything is left flat and it showcases the bass.

Edited April 14, 2011 by TomKent

[steantval]

I use my set up in two bands using a Musicman in one band and an EB3 in the Free tribute band.

It's versatile enough to give me a nice clear clarity with the Musicman and a real authentic "muddy" Andy Fraser sound for the Free stuff.

[attachment=77534:P3210006.JPG]

[Soliloquy]

I just re-read the thread, I've played at Quad a few times, a couple of years ago now. I was using an Epifani UL902 and a couple of Epi 4x10's. I found the same thing as other here, a very muddy and undefined sound.

[Ou7shined]

Haha this is getting funny now.

At a certain regular bass gathering I attend where all manner of top end gear makes an appearance, time and again a certain MB rig is used as a reference model against all newcomers. I'm proud to say too that at the last gathering the guest speaker, a Mr. Stevie Williams, selected it to use for his bass clinic.

[Musicman20]

There does tend to be a lot of pros using the combos.

[TomKent]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1200133' date='Apr 14 2011, 11:52 PM']There does tend to be a lot of pros using the combos.[/quote]

They get given them probably.

The electrics are good in them, the sound just sounds really tainted.