LittleMark 58r Fan Noise

[mikegrovesmusic]

Hi, 

 

Does anyone have one of the new Little Mark 58r heads? 
 

I’m enjoying everything about it except the noise of the fan. To me it seems really loud. Does anyone have similar issues? 
 

Cheers, 

Mike 

[ossyrocks]

21 minutes ago, mikegrovesmusic said:

Hi, 

 

Does anyone have one of the new Little Mark 58r heads? 
 

I’m enjoying everything about it except the noise of the fan. To me it seems really loud. Does anyone have similar issues? 
 

Cheers, 

Mike 

I don’t have a new one, but I do have a Little Mark 3. At home, fans seem to be far too loud with almost any amp that has a fan! I even posted here about a “noisy fan” in my Trace Elliot Elf. But at rehearsal, it’s a non issue, I just can’t hear them. So I suppose what I’m saying is, it depends on the setting you’re using it in. Where are you experiencing the issue?

Rob

[mikegrovesmusic]

I’ve gigged it a few times and there’s no issue at all as the volume covers it. 
 

It’s just at home, that’s where I noticed it and where the noise really stands out.
 

I haven’t needed to record with a mic on the cab for ages but I’m thinking if work like that comes up that the volume could cause issues. 

 

The last head I used was a TC BH800 and it’s pretty much silent, so maybe I’m just used to that?  
 

[ossyrocks]

6 minutes ago, mikegrovesmusic said:

I’ve gigged it a few times and there’s no issue at all as the volume covers it. 
 

It’s just at home, that’s where I noticed it and where the noise really stands out.
 

I haven’t needed to record with a mic on the cab for ages but I’m thinking if work like that comes up that the volume could cause issues. 

 

The last head I used was a TC BH800 and it’s pretty much silent, so maybe I’m just used to that?  
 

Without being in the room with it, it’s hard to compare with mine, or my Elf. I do know that I found the Elf too noisy to use in the lounge as a practice amp. I suppose if you do need to mic a cab for recording, you could setup the amp itself away from the cab and use a longer speaker lead. That’s easily doable in a studio setting, not so easy to do on a stage.

Perhaps you could also find somewhere that stocks your model, and go and take a listen to compare, maybe even take yours. If it’s much noisier, then you may have a case for a warranty return or repair.

Rob

[mikegrovesmusic]

Just now, ossyrocks said:

Perhaps you could also find somewhere that stocks your model, and go and take a listen to compare, maybe even take yours. If it’s much noisier, then you may have a case for a warranty return or repair.

Rob

Good shout!

I’ll hunt down somewhere that has it in their show room and have a listen. 

[ossyrocks]

I am curious about the new Little Marks myself. I really like my LM3 and I’ve been wondering how they compare, and whether or not they’ve taken everything I like about them and sprinkled a little more magic on top. Have use got any experience of the older models? 

[mikegrovesmusic]

17 minutes ago, ossyrocks said:

I am curious about the new Little Marks myself. I really like my LM3 and I’ve been wondering how they compare, and whether or not they’ve taken everything I like about them and sprinkled a little more magic on top. Have use got any experience of the older models? 

This is the first time I’ve used a head, I’ve had some cabs for a few years. But I’ve always like the sound of them and at the price I thought it was a good enough reason to go for one. 
 

I really like everything about it (apart from the fan noise) there’s definitely some features like the ‘old school’ knob that I’ll probably never use. 
 

But the inputs on the front is handy and it’s sounds great just plugging in a bass and barley touching the EQ

[BassmanPaul]

On 30/04/2023 at 04:50, mikegrovesmusic said:

I’ve gigged it a few times and there’s no issue at all as the volume covers it. 
 

It’s just at home, that’s where I noticed it and where the noise really stands out.
 

May I humbly suggest that you practice with something else at home?

 

[mikegrovesmusic]

23 hours ago, BassmanPaul said:

May I humbly suggest that you practice with something else at home?

 

 

I don’t really use it for practice at home, I just wanted to know if the amount of noise was normal or if I had a faulty unit. 
 

 

[chinny0803]

Hi, I have an 58R as part of the 210 combo. The fan is quite loud. I'd imagine it would be quite straight forward to replace it for a better fan designed for a tower pc.

 

Mike

[BassmanPaul]

Not all fans are created equal. If you want to replace the fan first check the specs of the installed unit.

 

[Pbassman]

Just bought the Little Mark MB58R head and hooked it up to the MB58R Energy 102. Great sound but the fan is noisy though playing hides it, even at home practice level, and I imagine in full rehearsal or gig mode you won't notice it at all. I need get my Roland D-Bass 210 combo out again to compare. Uncertain whether to send it back.

 

[fretmeister]

Mark Bass really need to spec quieter fans.

 

It's not like it would actually add more than a few quid to the specs. Even going full beans and spec'ing Noctua fans would only add about £10.

 

I really hate it when they cheap out on components like that.

[msb]

I had a little GK MB200 head. I didn’t realize the fan had become gunked up and stopped working. The power module and a couple of other things became overheated , and fried. It was an expensive repair.

 

Now I find it quite reassuring when I hear a fan kick in.

[BassmanPaul]

For myself, I really don't get the fuss over fan noise. Sure I can hear it but after  short while I don't even notice it anymore. Fans have a purpose and that is to keep the electronics cool. Without fan cooling the heatsinks would have to be far, far larger adding to the size and weight of the product.

[Pbassman]

Just purchased the MB58R Mini CMD121 Pure Combo (lovely clean tone) but again the fan is noisy. Not used it yet in rehearsal to check whether it affects playing but rather suspect it is like the Little Mark amp I have (see post above) and is fine when gigging. Just noisy in comparison to others. At least it is working.

On another bass site I saw that someone recommended the Noctua NF-A6x25 FLX fan (about £15 from Amazon) as a replacement but cannot verify that it is a direct replacement.

 

I really love the Mark Bass kit, especially these extremely light versions (I'm getting on a bit now). They provide a good clear, punchy tone as you would expect from MB. Bandmates love the tone too, and there is plenty of headroom. Would like to use the 102 cab paired with the combo someday.

[msb]

It’s funny , one day a fan can just drive me nuts , another time don’t even notice it.

At gig volume it’s never an issue. Ambient room noise is much louder than the fan is.

[Hellzero]

I also own a 58R head and the fan can be noisy indeed.

 

If it becomes too annoying I'll put a Noctua fan in it as they are very very quiet : I've done this a lot of times on different amps and also measured the noise difference which is quite frightening seeing how many dB's less these Noctua fans really are.

 

@Pbassman,  you can use the "special" cable for the most silent solution (looks like a resistor in series in fact), even if it will turn slowly.

 

And it wasn't recommended on another bass site... :

 

 

[Hellzero]

And here is even a video: