Kingy back on the Jaydees?

[Lord Percy]

Hi all,

 

I was lucky enough to be centre stage front row for Level 42 at Sheffield City Hall last night after keeping hold of the tickets for 2 years. In fact, my seat was bang in front of Mark so I had no problem checking his gear out (not that gear madam!) and was surprised to see him running his old Jaydees through a Mark Bass rig, not a Status or TC in sight all evening.

 

This may seem irrelevant but it surprised me - anyone know why? 

[KingPrawn]

I saw them in Bexhill on sea and thought the very same. It was great to see them on stage. I thought maybe to emulate the original sound?

[Hellzero]

Did he shrink as he looks smaller ?

[Lord Percy]

38 minutes ago, KingPrawn said:

I saw them in Bexhill on sea and thought the very same. It was great to see them on stage. I thought maybe to emulate the original sound?

 

[Lord Percy]

Just now, Lord Percy said:

 

Yes, I thought the same but just didn't seem right not seeing him with a Status at some point!

[yorks5stringer]

http://www.markbass.it/news-detail/level-42-upcoming-tour/

[Sparky Mark]

I saw him in Cambridge and was really pleased he was playing his original Series 1 Jaydee. It sounded perfect; just as it did back in the 80's. I'm not a fan of the more hifi Status sounds for Level 42.

[Hellzero]

As it's the first single delayed 40th anniversary tour, it's quite logical Mark King is using his Jaydee basses as he is free to use whatever bass he wants.

 

That's certainly the best gift he can make to his fans.

 

The amp endorsement is another thing as it's MarkBass so he MUST be using them, but now I guess everybody seeing him live is amazed by the sound of the Jaydees through his new set up if you're close and facing it.

 

I never liked his awful Trace Elliot sound.

Edited November 3, 2021 by Hellzero
Live not lived...

[lowdown]

15 hours ago, Lord Percy said:

Hi all,

 

I was lucky enough to be centre stage front row for Level 42 at Sheffield City Hall last night after keeping hold of the tickets for 2 years. In fact, my seat was bang in front of Mark so I had no problem checking his gear out (not that gear madam!) and was surprised to see him running his old Jaydees through a Mark Bass rig, not a Status or TC in sight all evening.

 

This may seem irrelevant but it surprised me - anyone know why? 

 

 

Seeing as you had a front row seat, right in front of him... I'm surprised you didn't ask him during the intro to 'The Chinese Way' when there is no Bass going on...

[Barking Spiders]

14 hours ago, Hellzero said:

Did he shrink as he looks smaller ?

I think it's just because his head has expanded which gives you the impression of shrinkage. He could be the subject matter of said song by The Fall

[Sparky Mark]

3 hours ago, Hellzero said:

As it's the first single delayed 40th anniversary tour, it's quite logical Mark King is using his Jaydee basses as he is free to use whatever bass he wants.

 

That's certainly the best gift he can make to his fans.

 

The amp endorsement is another thing as it's MarkBass so he MUST be using them, but now I guess everybody seeing him lived is amazed by the sound of the Jaydees through his new set up if you're close and facing it.

 

I never liked his awful Trace Elliot sound.

I was at the front pretty much in line with Mark's two STD104HR cabs and whilst the bass was clear the vox and guitar were too quiet. Using IEM is great for the band but as we were between the PA at the front the mix wasn't as good as it could've been. Mark even said that his IEM meant he couldn't hear the audience.

Edited November 3, 2021 by Sparky Mark

[Merton]

Mark changed to Markbass about 2 years ago, after a gig in Quebec where his TC head failed (not for the first time by all accounts) and he got whizzed off. He literally emailed Markbass as he flew back to the UK and they had the endorsement sorted within weeks.

I know this coz the drummist in my band is the L42 drum tech 🤓

[SimonEdward]

19 hours ago, Lord Percy said:

Hi all,

 

I was lucky enough to be centre stage front row for Level 42 at Sheffield City Hall last night after keeping hold of the tickets for 2 years. In fact, my seat was bang in front of Mark so I had no problem checking his gear out (not that gear madam!) and was surprised to see him running his old Jaydees through a Mark Bass rig, not a Status or TC in sight all evening.

 

This may seem irrelevant but it surprised me - anyone know why? 

 

.. my first "Level" gig was @ Hammersmith Odeon in 1990, and up until this latest tour, I had never heard nor see him play Jaydee Basses at any of the numerous gigs I've seen over the last 30 or so years'. In that sense.. about bl**dy time!! Obviously, I'm happy.. they're great Basses.. and they're sounding really quite good through the Mark Bass gear too.

 

I wonder if there will be either a CD or DVD ? 🤔  #level42

[ambient]

I’ve always preferred the sound of his JDs to the Status basses.

 

I’ve never liked the sound of TE gear, I do like the MB sound though. 

[Sparky Mark]

52 minutes ago, ambient said:

I’ve always preferred the sound of his JDs to the Status basses.

 

I’ve never liked the sound of TE gear, I do like the MB sound though. 

Liking both Markbass and Trace Elliot amps is not mutually exclusive. I have gigged for 13 years using Markbass amps and cabs and have recently used my Trace Elliot Series 6 AH200 which sounds fantastic through my Bergantino cabs. I had a disappointing experience with the SMX Series back in the 90s but the Series 6 is way better for me. Of course, I know a lot more now about EQ and hopefully my playing technique has improved. In my opinion only, Mark King sounded better at the Brixton Ace in 1983 with his JD and TE rig than he did at Cambridge through the Markbass. 

[BigRedX]

Does Mark King's choice of amps matter?

 

Unless he's playing small <200 capacity venues, 99% of what the audience hears of the bass guitar will come from the PA and he's wearing IEMs.

[Doddy]

18 hours ago, Merton said:

Mark changed to Markbass about 2 years ago, after a gig in Quebec where his TC head failed (not for the first time by all accounts) and he got whizzed off. He literally emailed Markbass as he flew back to the UK and they had the endorsement sorted within weeks.

I know this coz the drummist in my band is the L42 drum tech 🤓

I heard that even when he was with TC, he was actually plugged in to a Markbass LM2 off stage.

[Sparky Mark]

22 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Does Mark King's choice of amps matter?

 

Unless he's playing small <200 capacity venues, 99% of what the audience hears of the bass guitar will come from the PA and he's wearing IEMs.

Agreed, but we were standing right at the front of stage and not hearing the PA columns located at far left and right. I'm sure the band had an excellent mix in their IEMs so for them amps are almost irrelevant. Before IEMs became commonplace musicians used their backline for  their stage sound much more and the audience at the front heard more of that. With everything DI into the PA and IEM the majority of the audience wouldn't care if the on stage amps were totally silent.

Edited November 4, 2021 by Sparky Mark

[Rich]

On 02/11/2021 at 22:04, Hellzero said:

Did he shrink as he looks smaller ?

Yes he does  it probably doesn't help that the bodies of the old series 1 Jaydees are huuuuge they always did look massive on him, even back in the early 80s when he was full of muscles.

 

12 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

I had a disappointing experience with the SMX Series back in the 90s but the Series 6 is way better for me. 

I had exactly the opposite experience... the SMX is still my favourite pre-amp ever by an absolute mile, but I wouldn't take an S6 head if it was free.

[4000]

On 02/11/2021 at 21:15, Lord Percy said:

Hi all,

 

I was lucky enough to be centre stage front row for Level 42 at Sheffield City Hall last night after keeping hold of the tickets for 2 years. In fact, my seat was bang in front of Mark so I had no problem checking his gear out (not that gear madam!) and was surprised to see him running his old Jaydees through a Mark Bass rig, not a Status or TC in sight all evening.

 

This may seem irrelevant but it surprised me - anyone know why? 

My understanding was he sold the Starchild ages ago. What’s going on there?

[4000]

On 03/11/2021 at 10:00, Hellzero said:

As it's the first single delayed 40th anniversary tour, it's quite logical Mark King is using his Jaydee basses as he is free to use whatever bass he wants.

 

That's certainly the best gift he can make to his fans.

 

The amp endorsement is another thing as it's MarkBass so he MUST be using them, but now I guess everybody seeing him live is amazed by the sound of the Jaydees through his new set up if you're close and facing it.

 

I never liked his awful Trace Elliot sound.

I thought his Trace sound was probably his best. 

[Sparky Mark]

4 hours ago, Rich said:

I had exactly the opposite experience... the SMX is still my favourite pre-amp ever by an absolute mile, but I wouldn't take an S6 head if it was free.

I'm happy to accept that I probably had no idea how best to use my TE SMX rig (AH350SMX, 410 and 115 cabs). I saw a band in a pub in the 90s where the bassist was using a Warwick NT Thumb through a Hartke AH3500, 410, 115 rig and the punch, lows and clarity amazed me. Within a month the TE was gone and I had (still have) a Thumb and the same Hartke rig that I loved using for next 15 years.

If you come across any free of charge Series 6 AH200 heads please let me know, I love 'em. 

[Sparky Mark]

This was the first Level 42 gig that I saw, 23rd October 2021 was the second. Sound quality isn't perfect but the heft and clarity of the JD and TE are there.

[Sparky Mark]

[Cliff Edge]

On 03/11/2021 at 13:26, Sparky Mark said:

I was at the front pretty much in line with Mark's two STD104HR cabs and whilst the bass was clear the vox and guitar were too quiet. Using IEM is great for the band but as we were between the PA at the front the mix wasn't as good as it could've been. Mark even said that his IEM meant he couldn't hear the audience.