Twincam Posted May 30, 2017 Share Posted May 30, 2017 Anyone have one? I'm considering buying one for my birthday as I want a good quality little practice amp. I am slightly concerned about the lack of a gain knob and its fan. What's the amp like with high output basses or when you boost an active eq? Is the fan loud? as I would like to mic it up maybe. Anything else someone buying one should know about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El_JimBob Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 I've had one for over a year now and very happy with it... My G&L basses are all quite high output (especially the low end) and I've had no trouble running them into the Micromark at full whack (active preamps on and tone controls wide open) - even with the volume between 2 and 3 o'clock for some live shows. The manual shows a limiter just before the output, and I suspect this helps keep things under control - don't let that worry you though, the little thing can go real deep, and I've never had any breakup or distortion. The fan is really tiny, but not whiny - more a 'whoosh' sound - audible when you're playing very quietly. It's fairly directional, so if the amp is angled upwards so the speaker is pointing at your ears, you don't really hear it. Can't comment about mic-ing it up, but I suspect if your mic was fairly directional, you'd have no issues. There is a DI onboard, which works really well... My only bugbear is the aux input comes before the tone control, but it's not a dealbreaker... I think you'll be very happy with one. Certainly nothing else like it on the market that I'm aware of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus Lukin Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 (edited) - Edited February 24, 2022 by Jus Lukin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twincam Posted May 31, 2017 Author Share Posted May 31, 2017 [quote name='El_JimBob' timestamp='1496221730' post='3309595'] I've had one for over a year now and very happy with it... My G&L basses are all quite high output (especially the low end) and I've had no trouble running them into the Micromark at full whack (active preamps on and tone controls wide open) - even with the volume between 2 and 3 o'clock for some live shows. The manual shows a limiter just before the output, and I suspect this helps keep things under control - don't let that worry you though, the little thing can go real deep, and I've never had any breakup or distortion. The fan is really tiny, but not whiny - more a 'whoosh' sound - audible when you're playing very quietly. It's fairly directional, so if the amp is angled upwards so the speaker is pointing at your ears, you don't really hear it. Can't comment about mic-ing it up, but I suspect if your mic was fairly directional, you'd have no issues. There is a DI onboard, which works really well... My only bugbear is the aux input comes before the tone control, but it's not a dealbreaker... I think you'll be very happy with one. Certainly nothing else like it on the market that I'm aware of. [/quote] [quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1496226922' post='3309654'] It's a great little box for home use, I've even done some small, drummerless gigs with it. I found the limit with a blues three piece in terms of volume and low end, but it's fine for your average jazz setup. The bottom begins to roll off pretty rapidly around 70hz, and I have been able to induce a bit of 'port chuff' when pushing it. However within reasonable expectations it's great. Only drawback for me seems to be the input impedance- passive basses are very quiet and quite dull, requiring a buffer to get the expected sound. Actives don't have this issue, and something as simple as a Boss pedal in line fixes it for a passive. [/quote] Thanks for the info. I'm wondering if I would prefer the mb 801 or the little phil Jones bg75. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 [quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1496232960' post='3309738'] Thanks for the info. I'm wondering if I would prefer the mb 801 or the little phil Jones bg75. [/quote] I have tried both side by side, and the Markbass is much louder and beefier, even though it is only rated at 45W as against the BG's 70W. I came home with the Markbass. It is perfect for small acoustic gigs, and loud enough for big band rehearsals, as long as the drummer doesn't go mad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twincam Posted May 31, 2017 Author Share Posted May 31, 2017 [quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1496253096' post='3309991'] I have tried both side by side, and the Markbass is much louder and beefier, even though it is only rated at 45W as against the BG's 70W. I came home with the Markbass. It is perfect for small acoustic gigs, and loud enough for big band rehearsals, as long as the drummer doesn't go mad! [/quote] Ah good info thanks. The markbass it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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