Sensing a theme in the classifieds at the moment...

[jazzmanb]

On 01/05/2019 at 12:58, Al Krow said:

+1^^ Exactly.

Anyone fancy counting up the number of Fender basses currently in the FS? Then add the ones on Gumtree, eBay and being sold used by stores for good measure! 😎 

Zillions of fenders out there ,plus people have more than one bass and will change quite often .More so than amps perhaps ?

[Al Krow]

Nah - we BC'ers are well and truly a bunch of gear snobs (me included).

Went into PMT Cambridge and was informed they don't stock Markbass because it's considered 'high end' and too expensive for most 'average Jo' bass players.

Plenty of pro bass players use or have used Markbass amps and cabs and they sound just great, live. In fact a darned sight better than many of us (me included) with our 'superior' gear.

My current rig is defo a step-up from the excellent Markbass combo I had and it bloody well should be: it costs twice as much in the case of one rig and three times in the case of the other rig. Yes they are both wonderful rigs.

But would I be happy to play through a Markbass combo (again) with a half decent bass? Absolutely. Believe me, it would beat the pants off some of the crap amps and cabs I've experienced in rehearsal studios over the years.

Rant over!

Edited May 2, 2019 by Al Krow

[stewblack]

2 hours ago, jazzmanb said:

Main problem for me is  I hate the look .Just looks tacky and cheap (in my opinon of course )

Just goes to show. It was the classy look that attracted me in the first place! 

I have a MB amp needs a repair but I would only get it fixed to sell it. Given that it may sit in the for sale section for days on end and I'd have to invest to get it repaired it doesn't seem worth it. 

[TheGreek]

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Come on, let's have a roll call of ALL the D class heads that didn't make the Greek 'cut'? (Will the last Trace Elliot head left standing please switch off the venue lights! 😂)

Did I correctly read you as saying recently on another thread that NO ONE cares about bass tone? In which none of it matters...

Not sure if your post is meant as a snide remark...that's how it reads...

You're right though...there have been very few class D which IMO come up to the standard of a classic Trace Elliot. Included in that list that DON'T come up to scratch is the TE Elf. You'll see that there is a steady wave of people returning to Class A amps because they too are finding that many Class D amps don't live up to expectations. I've had loads and I'm prepared to share my views in the hope others can learn from my mistakes.

Those class D units which I consider do merit mention include the Glockenklang Soul and Rock, the EBS range, and considering how inexpensive they are, Ashdown....and don't forget the great service that Ashdown provide....

I make no secret of advocating for Trace Elliot, as do many others who are using that brand - despite it falling out of favour with many....not because of the tone but because of the weight!!

I did not say "NO ONE cares about bass tone" - I was referring to the test at the last SE Bash where very few people could distinguish between amps. Check out the thread for more info.

When I'm nolonger allowed to express my opinion on this forum I'll probably leave...till then...

[Soledad]

Call me shallow, but I agree with @jazzmanb - they almost all look tinny and cheap to me. Mind you I have a TC head and that is anodised red as well... bit naff.
I'm sure there is a fashion thing goes on to some degree - or maybe it's like brands go in and out of the charts, so they are hot or not. Same with basses, G&L are just coming off hot, Sire MM was hot(ish) a few months ago, not now.
Partly why I like Trace - undeniably good, and suits my 'never knowingly in fashion' outlook.

[Al Krow]

Dear Mick @TheGreek - for sure it was a little dig. No apologies from me on that.

I don't own TE gear, probably will never, but I don't take the opportunity to slag it off at every opportunity just 'cos I briefly tried it for a short while and it didn't float my boat. There's plenty of gear that I've returned 'cos I couldn't make it work for me, but I don't go slating them off at every opp. You seem to do that quite happily with the DG amp, of which I happen to be a contended owner who's used his at plenty of pub and function gigs. 

You owned that DG Amp for two weeks and couldn't make it work for you and returned it. But you've not listed all the other D class amps that didn't work for you and how long you had them for. And there are loads right? The point is there are a ton of bass players who can and do make D class work for them week in week out. I accept they're not for you and that's cool.

You're of course entitled to express an opinion, everyone is! And I'm totally in favour of folk telling it like it is, warts and all. But we need to be ready for come back from owners of the said equipment when we do. That's entirely reasonable, right?

I'm more than happy to get Cuzzie's (regular as clockwork) ripostes when I lay into Sandberg Delanos (even though he doesn't have them on any of his Bergs). I lived with my Berg as my goto bass for FOUR YEARS and have gigged it plenty. So I kinda feel I've got some experience to put behind my comments on its pups. If you had anything close to the same (even 6 months and some decent live use) on the DG M900 your negative comments would carry a lot more weight, certainly with me.

But most importantly, when we hopefully get to meet on a future SE bash and no one can hear any difference between any of our gear, I'll more than gladly buy you a (or several!) beers, if you'll allow me  

Yours, 

Al, a very contented DG M900 owner.

Edited May 2, 2019 by Al Krow

[TheGreek]

Apologies if I overreacted...

[stewblack]

43 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Apologies if I overreacted...

You were unbelievably restrained. I commend you for remaining so polite. That you now apologise as well without any need to speaks volumes for your character. 

It is you and people like you make this place worthwhile. 

[Cuzzie]

 

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Dear Mick @TheGreek - for sure it was a little dig. No apologies from me on that.

I don't own TE gear, probably will never, but I don't take the opportunity to slag it off at every opportunity just 'cos I briefly tried it for a short while and it didn't float my boat. There's plenty of gear that I've returned 'cos I couldn't make it work for me, but I don't go slating them off at every opp. You seem to do that quite happily with the DG amp, of which I happen to be a contended owner who's used his at plenty of pub and function gigs. 

You owned that DG Amp for two weeks and couldn't make it work for you and returned it. But you've not listed all the other D class amps that didn't work for you and how long you had them for. And there are loads right? The point is there are a ton of bass players who can and do make D class work for them week in week out. I accept they're not for you and that's cool.

You're of course entitled to express an opinion, everyone is! And I'm totally in favour of folk telling it like it is, warts and all. But we need to be ready for come back from owners of the said equipment when we do. That's entirely reasonable, right?

I'm more than happy to get Cuzzie's (regular as clockwork) ripostes when I lay into Sandberg Delanos (even though he doesn't have them on any of his Bergs). I lived with my Berg as my goto bass for FOUR YEARS and have gigged it plenty. So I kinda feel I've got some experience to put behind my comments on its pups. If you had anything close to the same (even 6 months and some decent live use) on the DG M900 your negative comments would carry a lot more weight, certainly with me.

But most importantly, when we hopefully get to meet on a future SE bash and no one can hear any difference between any of our gear, I'll more than gladly buy you a (or several!) beers, if you'll allow me  

Yours, 

Al, a very contented DG M900 owner.

@Al Krow bass you had for 4 years and had no idea it had an active passive pull push knob till I told you about it. (And they are Delano’s, not Sandberg’s Delano’s, just one of Delano’s pick ups and it’s a balanced view on its capabilities I give, not blind binary thinking - it’s more for general benefit lest they be fooled by your otiose remarks )

DG amp you got and then moaned at me for not telling you the tone knob had a variable low pass filter function despite it being clearly written in the manual, and then refused to take out the house until you bought a nice satchel for it.

Yep you know your kit inside and out and how to use it..........

Just because you are doing something a lot has no bearing on whether you are doing it right or even well.

Classic case of all the gear and no idea or stash but gash.

 

Yours,

A happy gear nerd and tootler.

 

[Al Krow]

Mr happy gear nerd, you do make me smile with some of your comments.

@stewblack, on the other hand, quite rightly recognised a very gracious response (from Mick) when he saw it. 

 

[Ricky 4000]

13 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Mr happy gear nerd, you do make me smile with some of your comments.

@stewblack, on the other hand, quite rightly recognised a very gracious response (from Mick) when he saw it. 

 

I think y'all cool...  😎

[itsmedunc]

Ironically, I only ever thought Markbass were ok but recently I got a Mark Mini 12  combo in a trade. It sounds great, so much so that I'm on the verge of going back from FRFR to using the combo with an extension. £1450 against something that stands me at £225, it's a no brainier I suppose.

[Al Krow]

6 minutes ago, itsmedunc said:

Ironically, I only ever thought Markbass were ok but recently I got a Mark Mini 12  combo in a trade. It sounds great, so much so that I'm on the verge of going back from FRFR to using the combo with an extension. £1450 against something that stands me at £225, it's a no brainier I suppose.

Out of interest how did you get to £1,450 on the FRFR? (I thought a key selling point of FRFR was that it was quite price competitive). 

[Newfoundfreedom]

Oh dear. A few people seem to have lost their sense of humour in this thread. If my initial comment about Markbass ruffled any feathers, please realise, that as with most of my posts on here, it was meant in good humour and tongue firmly in cheek. People have different views, life's too short to argue about it. I thought bass players were supposed to be the laid back ones. Now kiss and make up before I have to call teacher. 

Just for the record, as I had a bit of fun at the expense of Markbass, I use probably the cheapest class D on the market, it's an absolute powerhouse, weighs nothing, looks and sounds absolutely superb, can be bought for pocket money, and I'm absolutely sure there will be other people that hate it. 

 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Newfoundfreedom

[2elliot]

1 hour ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Oh dear. A few people seem to have lost their sense of humour in this thread. If my initial comment about Markbass ruffled any feathers, please realise, that as with most of my posts on here, it was meant in good humour and tongue firmly in cheek. People have different views, life's too short to argue about it. I thought bass players were supposed to be the laid back ones. Now kiss and make up before I have to call teacher. 

Just for the record, as I had a bit of fun at the expense of Markbass, I use probably the cheapest class D on the market, it's an absolute powerhouse, weighs nothing, looks and sounds absolutely superb, can be bought for pocket money, and I'm absolutely sure there will be other people that hate it. 

 

Wow, can you still buy 8 track tapes? 

Chuckles then runs for cover... lol. 

 

 

[Muzz]

I'm sure if Genz Benz were still in business, the bloke who designed the Streamliner probably would... 🙂

I used MB amps and cabs for a while (LMIII, LMT, F1, the NY15s and a 410) and while they ultimately weren't the sound I was looking for, I couldn't fault them for what they do. I have a friend in the music retail business, and he put his finger on it when he said 'They make everything sound better'. Admittedly he wasn't in the rarefied upper reaches of boutique stuff, which is where a lot of BassChat lives, but in the middle ground, it's true. I still have a vague hankering for a TTE... 🙂

Edited May 3, 2019 by Muzz

[Greg Edwards69]

 

 

 

18 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Went into PMT Cambridge and was informed they don't stock Markbass because it's considered 'high end' and too expensive for most 'average Jo' bass players.

Pah, so much for "Professional Music Technology".  They really ought to change their name.  I used to like them when they were a small company, but they got too big and greedy.

[la bam]

I'd happily own and gig any markbass rig. It's great stuff.

The marketplace here is crazy. If I had any money I'd be buying pretty much everything in there! So many bargains!

[franzbassist]

14 hours ago, itsmedunc said:

Ironically, I only ever thought Markbass were ok but recently I got a Mark Mini 12  combo in a trade. It sounds great, so much so that I'm on the verge of going back from FRFR to using the combo with an extension. £1450 against something that stands me at £225, it's a no brainier I suppose.

Me too.  I'm a relatively recent convert to Markbass as well.  Sounds great, big range, decent second hand prices mean it's easy to try different stuff.  All good.

I take the big badges off the cabs

[Jack]

On 01/05/2019 at 10:40, therealting said:

😂

In Markbass' defence, 3 of those are 1 person who's moving on a whole rig in 3 different threads.

[TheGreek]

@DarylClayton starting a trend all on his own??? 😉😉

[jazzmanb]

I like the "where is it" aspect of my Bassblock .Especially when it disappears into my leads bag 

[Chienmortbb]

On 02/05/2019 at 06:52, scalpy said:

I have the lmt500 and am really surprised that one hasn’t sold at £300. Absolute bargain and not too fugly either.

Against a new Bugera Veyron? Nah. 

[uk_lefty]

22 hours ago, TheGreek said:

I make no secret of advocating for Trace Elliot, as do many others who are using that brand - despite it falling out of favour with many....not because of the tone but because of the weight!!

If I wasn't living in a second floor flat at the time I'd never have sold my Trace rig to you, but I'm glad it went to someone who appreciates it as much as I did and probably a bit more!

On topic: I like Markbass but have never owned one. 

I read an interview with Tom Morello that really stuck with me. He had crappy gear while at college so just got the most out of it to make his sound. He did ok. That's tenuously relevant to this thread I think... Or not. I don't know I'm tired.

[Lozz196]

I used Markbass gear for a good few years. For a while it seemed that every time I saw a covers band and like the bass sound it was a Markbass rig. I only changed due to my current bands needs requiring a sound that Markbass wasn’t able to - at the time with the range available - produce.

I’m pretty much in agreement with Mick @The Greek that I, like some others, have gone back to heavier amps as they just have more of the sound I’m looking for. The nearest I’ve come to the depth and weight of sound I want in a smaller class D amp is the Ashdown RM500.