Bass rigs-the bigger the better in my experience.

[martin8708]

I've been through this topic a few times now , and note the definite division of Pro-fridge users and those who condemn them as an extinct dinosaur . As they have been around for 40 years , and are still being made by Orange , Mesa , Ashdown ,not to mention Ampeg , surely there must be an inherent correctness about the design , just like a Stratocaster or VW Beatle or Landrover .
I have been looking at the Classic Fridge cab with interest , does the sealed cabinet design have a distinctive sound of its own , or can the sound be replicated by a smaller modern cab . There is definitely the psychological boost of having that big ole speaker behind you ,and even playing them at lower volumes must give a full sounding bass ???

[discreet]

[quote name='martin8708' timestamp='1338896079' post='1680665']
...does the sealed cabinet design have a distinctive sound of its own, or can the sound be replicated by a smaller modern cab? There is definitely the psychological boost of having that big ole speaker behind you...
[/quote]

Agree about the psychological thing for sure. As for replicating the sound with a smaller cab, and given my experience with the Super Twelve, I'd say this would certainly give an 8X10 a good run for its money:

[url="http://barefacedbass.com/product-range/super-fifteen.htm"]http://barefacedbass.com/product-range/super-fifteen.htm[/url]

[JTUK]

[quote name='born to be loud' timestamp='1337808427' post='1665924']
I have never yet heard a mixed cab markbass rig that didn't sound utter shyte in the audience.
[/quote]

Whilst I wouldn't put it like that...for once I agree ..broadly. or to clarify...forget the single speaker type solutions in combos.
I was having this conversation with a bass player mate and he went for the Epi's over the Markbass cabs to go with his Markbass amp..that says it all..
And that Epi's are pillowy..and known for it..!!!

I might change my opinion if confronted by the multiple 10 stacks Markbass do.

[chris_b]

[quote name='martin8708' timestamp='1338896079' post='1680665']
....does the sealed cabinet design have a distinctive sound of its own....
[/quote]

You know people have lost the point of what were doing when they start favouring "correctness" over what sounds good.

Infinite baffle cabs do sound different to ported cabs, so yes they do have a distinctive sound. The last time I used an Ampeg 810 was a low volume in a rehearsal room and, "correct" or not, it sounded bloody great.

[JTUK]

The last time I used a fridge... it was getting there, but I think the cab had seen better days in its life as a rental rig.

If I turned up and it was the provided rig.. I'd be pleased... not least because I could enjoy it without have to handle it...plus the onstage monitoring would also be very decent so I could
ask for anything I wanted soundwise for the stage mix.

None is going to put a fridge on stage in a pro enviroment that can blast the FOH....so if you have one on stage, you can enjoy it to the full

[thodrik]

If I had my way I would have a couple of 8x10s or 4x15s for every gig. Reality, practicality, finance and common sense suggests that I do not 'need' such things. I always preferred having a couple of cabs, a 2x10s or 1x15, bought way before I knew the dangers of mixing speaker sizes. Anyhow, they were easier to carry than an 8x10.

I have always loved the experience of playing through an Ampeg 8x10, except when it has been paired with the SVT 450, which is a bit of a 'meh' head to me.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='martin8708' timestamp='1338896079' post='1680665']
I've been through this topic a few times now , and note the definite division of Pro-fridge users and those who condemn them as an extinct dinosaur ...
[/quote]
You're missing out those of us who are neither pro- nor anti- but vehemently deny that you really [i]must have[/i] an Ampeg (or whatever) and an 8x10 to sound any good. It was 'the bigger the better and it must be so and the rest of you are all wrong and jelaous and only have small penises unlike us with 8x10 penises' that was being denied.

There's a place for a big rig but it's not at every gig. If I turned up at almost any of my gigs with an 8x10 I 'd be laughed at, and rightly so. I'd also sound sh*te.

[bigbottomend]

I love it when the fridge comes with me to a gig, regarless of venue size, it just sounds so right. If you know how to set up your gear right you would never sound bad. I have been playing through a markbass F1 and 2x10" tho at jam gigs and it sounds horrible, flat and lifeless, nothing touches a real 70's SVT and 8x10".

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='bigbottomend' timestamp='1338904864' post='1680843']
... I have been playing through a markbass F1 and 2x10" tho at jam gigs and it sounds horrible, flat and lifeless ...
[/quote]

[quote name='bigbottomend' timestamp='1338904864' post='1680843']
... If you know how to set up your gear right you would never sound bad ...
[/quote]

... and there you have it.

[bigbottomend]

Setting your gear up.. i'm talking about speaker placement, eq, volume etc. My comment about the markbass was about it's lack of tonal competence and my dislike of it in the first place. Two different things.

[xgsjx]

[quote name='bigbottomend' timestamp='1338904864' post='1680843']
I love it when the fridge comes with me to a gig, regarless of venue size, it just sounds so right. If you know how to set up your gear right you would never sound bad. I have been playing through a markbass F1 and 2x10" tho at jam gigs and it sounds horrible, flat and lifeless, nothing touches a real 70's SVT and 8x10".
[/quote]

That statement only tells us that you don't know how to use an EQ.

[bigbottomend]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1338906040' post='1680858']
That statement only tells us that you don't know how to use an EQ.
[/quote]

Well take it that i do know how to use EQ because that's how it was ment to portray. I must need English lessons.

[chrismuzz]

Dude just whack the VLE and VPF up, instant Ampeg sound

[xgsjx]

[quote name='bigbottomend' timestamp='1338906261' post='1680862']
Well take it that i do know how to use EQ because that's how it was ment to portray. I must need English lessons.
[/quote]

You might know how to EQ your Ampeg, but it doesn't sound like you know how to set up the F1.
Having heard an F1 through a Markbass 2x10 I can confirm it didn't sound "horrible, flat and lifeless". Although you didn't say what kind of 2x10 it was, so I could be wrong there.
I also know some basses do sound crap through Markbass gear, but will sound good through things like Ampegs (& vice versa of course).

[bigbottomend]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1338906921' post='1680868']
You might know how to EQ your Ampeg, but it doesn't sound like you know how to set up the F1.
Having heard an F1 through a Markbass 2x10 I can confirm it didn't sound "horrible, flat and lifeless". Although you didn't say what kind of 2x10 it was, so I could be wrong there.
I also know some basses do sound crap through Markbass gear, but will sound good through things like Ampegs (& vice versa of course).
[/quote]

Yeah i totally agree with you. My P has low output vintage style pickups. I only give it a quick tweak when i get up to play and it's usually to increase the gain and add a bit of top end, It's one of those F1 2x10 combos.

Incidently most other muso's there at the gig commented that my bass does sound really good through it. Sound / tone is subjective and a personal preference.

[xgsjx]

[quote name='bigbottomend' timestamp='1338907869' post='1680883']
Incidently most other muso's there at the gig commented that my bass does sound really good through it. [b]Sound / tone is subjective and a personal preference[/b].
[/quote]

That's a very true point.

[LawrenceH]

The Markbass F1 is a flat amp in the [i]good[/i] sense of the term, ie a very even freq response across the spectrum. The danger with the markbass stuff is IMO misunderstanding the VLE/VLF controls - so often I see both set to 12 o'clock as though that means they're off/neutral like the EQ controls, but it doesn't at all.

EQ an ampeg 'flat' and it won't sound flat at all, especially not through ampeg cabs. If you like that sound then great, but I find it easier to start with a 'flat' amp and EQ to taste rather than start with one inherent EQ colouration and try and alter it to another. Ampeg cab sound is all about the midbass hump.

[bigbottomend]

Here this might help [url="http://www.branchsmith.com/eBook/BASG/23185_BASG/23185_BASG_ebook/flash.html#/58/"]http://www.branchsmi...flash.html#/58/[/url]

or the second half of this vid [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPWikFPwYFc[/media]

Edited June 5, 2012 by bigbottomend

[discreet]

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1338906790' post='1680866']
Dude just whack the VLE and VPF up, instant Ampeg sound
[/quote]

Yes! I love those filters. And you don't need to own a Markbass amp to enjoy them...

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1338913256' post='1680987']
Yes! I love those filters. And you don't need to own a Markbass amp to enjoy them...
[/quote]
When I had an LMII I always liked those filters but I didn't know you could get them in a pedal. I might have to give it a try.

[discreet]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1338913522' post='1680989']
When I had an LMII I always liked those filters but I didn't know you could get them in a pedal. I might have to give it a try.
[/quote]

I think they go for around £100-£110. It's also an active DI Box with true bypass and ground lift. The Level Boost gives you a clean volume increase with no overdrive or distortion. I'd get one like a shot - if I didn't already have a MB LM250...

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1338913938' post='1680995']
I think they go for around £100-£110. It's also an active DI Box with true bypass and ground lift. The Level Boost gives you a clean volume increase with no overdrive or distortion. I'd get one like a shot - if I didn't already have a MB LM250...
[/quote]
However, it is slightly yellow and might need a respray.

[Lozz196]

[quote name='bigbottomend' timestamp='1338909278' post='1680905']
Here this might help [url="http://www.branchsmith.com/eBook/BASG/23185_BASG/23185_BASG_ebook/flash.html#/58/"]http://www.branchsmi...flash.html#/58/[/url]

or the second half of this vid [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPWikFPwYFc[/media]
[/quote]

Interesting, funny, and strangely enough, I prefer the tone of the min-rig. Though am sure at full pelt, the mega-rig would sound awesome.

[discreet]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1338914101' post='1681002']
However, it is slightly yellow and might need a respray.
[/quote]

It is indeed slightly yellow! I like it myself, but... YMMV, GLWTS, NASA, TUC, EIEIO, etc.

[heminder]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1338914101' post='1681002']
However, it is slightly yellow and might need a respray.
[/quote]

i personally quite like the yellow/black scheme Markbass have going on. i'm not one who usually falls for aesthetics when buying bass gear but the black/yellow was what made me take notice the Markbass stuff. like a bold Lamborghini if you will.