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Markbass Vintage preamp (with valve) at NAMM 2020


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Posted (edited)

Not sure if anyone has posted this up yet but here ya go. The front end of the MB Vintage amp. Not sure the big clunky Gain and Master controls will be to everyone's taste (they replicate those on the head) but seems like a useful feature set. No idea of pricing as yet

 

Edited by Clarky
  • Like 1
Posted

Nice. Currently weighing up the cost of a repair to my MB head as against getting a new cheapo amp to use as a power amp and wondered if there was a MB pre to get the sound. Watching with interest...

Posted (edited)

Decent feature set - like the fact that this provides DI out, MB's classic VPF (mid scoop e.g. for slap) and VLE (treble roll off for vintage Motown) 

Tube and solid state drive with ability to blend sounds good. Also really like the fact it has aux in and headphone out.

Anyone know what tube it's featuring and whether any good? Never really convinced that a tube pre running off a 9V power supply is going to be anything other than a bit of a gimmick.

Only (but major) gripe is that the amp, on which this pedal is based, still features the older less-than-stellar centre frequencies e.g. nothing in the important low mids of 250Hz and the high would be much better at around 5 kHz; which they have sorted on their other new amp head ranges. Centre Frequencies:

  • Low:  68 Hz; 
  • Low Mid: 400 Hz
  • High Mid: 2200 Hz
  • High: 10 Khz

Review would have been improved if she hadn't kept thrusting her Thomann mic in front of the pedal - lol! 

Edited by Al Krow
  • Like 1
Posted

I've been watching lots of MB vintage videos over the last month but i cant get a proper idea about what they do. I'd love to hear anybodies experiences with them, especially with comparisons to the LMIII/LMTube. 

I'm leaning towards helix tbh. I'm all about versatility these days

Posted
1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Anyone know what tube it's featuring and whether any good?

It's a JJ ECC83S (12AX7), which I believe is decent enough modern manufacture.  Could be fun rolling vintage valves in there.

Posted
17 minutes ago, franzbassist said:

It's a JJ ECC83S (12AX7), which I believe is decent enough modern manufacture.  Could be fun rolling vintage valves in there.

Thanks - the 12Ax7 is definitely decent (have one in my Mesa M6 pre).

But is a valve pre actually going to do much at 9V?

Posted
4 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Decent feature set - like the fact that this provides DI out, MB's classic VPF (mid scoop e.g. for slap) and VLE (treble roll off for vintage Motown) 

Tube and solid state drive with ability to blend sounds good. Also really like the fact it has aux in and headphone out.

Anyone know what tube it's featuring and whether any good? Never really convinced that a tube pre running off a 9V power supply is going to be anything other than a bit of a gimmick.

Only (but major) gripe is that the amp, on which this pedal is based, still features the older less-than-stellar centre frequencies e.g. nothing in the important low mids of 250Hz and the high would be much better at around 5 kHz; which they have sorted on their other new amp head ranges. Centre Frequencies:

  • Low:  68 Hz; 
  • Low Mid: 400 Hz
  • High Mid: 2200 Hz
  • High: 10 Khz

Review would have been improved if she hadn't kept thrusting her Thomann mic in front of the pedal - lol! 

Those frequencies any good for slap? 😀

Posted
5 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Decent feature set - like the fact that this provides DI out, MB's classic VPF (mid scoop e.g. for slap) and VLE (treble roll off for vintage Motown) 

Tube and solid state drive with ability to blend sounds good. Also really like the fact it has aux in and headphone out.

Anyone know what tube it's featuring and whether any good? Never really convinced that a tube pre running off a 9V power supply is going to be anything other than a bit of a gimmick.

Only (but major) gripe is that the amp, on which this pedal is based, still features the older less-than-stellar centre frequencies e.g. nothing in the important low mids of 250Hz and the high would be much better at around 5 kHz; which they have sorted on their other new amp head ranges. Centre Frequencies:

  • Low:  68 Hz; 
  • Low Mid: 400 Hz
  • High Mid: 2200 Hz
  • High: 10 Khz

Review would have been improved if she hadn't kept thrusting her Thomann mic in front of the pedal - lol! 

Now I've had my Marcus Limited for about 6 months I agree with you.

The EQ centres on the Marcus versions are much better. The 250hz knob gets a lot of use and is excellent at controlling the low end without going muddy.

  • Like 1
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
5 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

Not sure what the valve is going to bring to the party...?

Looks like you can switch "drive" in and out, and vary both the level and the distortion type.

markbassamps

 

Posted
On ‎20‎/‎01‎/‎2020 at 11:59, Al Krow said:

Thanks - the 12Ax7 is definitely decent (have one in my Mesa M6 pre).

But is a valve pre actually going to do much at 9V?

in a word....no

Posted (edited)

I'm shifting an EBS valve drive and I think it ups the internal voltage with some trickery - it certainly sounds proper valve-like hitting the front end of my solid state amp. It's actually a really good combination!

Edited by krispn
shifting not sh*ting
Posted (edited)
On 20/01/2020 at 11:59, Al Krow said:

But is a valve pre actually going to do much at 9V?

I expect it has internal circuitry to step up the voltage. My Dave Hall VT1-Pro valve pedal is very effective in adding tube warmth and harmonic richness to a solid state amp and that runs on a 12v power supply stepped up to 24v.

Edited by ikay
  • Like 2
Posted

I got to have a play through the prototype at NAMM (along with their like of basses) and It was quite a bit more versatile than a lot of other Preamp pedals I've owned. I had a great time with it. If the price is right itll be a great competitor 

Posted
12 hours ago, CalDeep said:

f the price is right itll be a great competitor

I think that’s the key point - waiting with bated breath to see how much they go for!

Posted (edited)

People keep saying 9v. I believe this new Markbass pedal runs on 12v (unless I’m mistaken?). My Audio Kitchen TST runs on 12v at 1a which is more than enough to get the tube cooking

Edited by willgatesbass

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