Marshall Amplification

[Guest MoJo]

Whereas Marshall is regarded by many of our "25 and a bit" scale friends to be the dogs danglies when it comes to amplification, it's name is seldom heard in the halls of Bassdom. There are some users out there, Mr. Steve Harris springs instantly to mind but is that purely for the Heavy Metal Wall Of Death look? Marshall undeniably produce some of the best guitar amps in the world and some of their bass amps and cabs seem to be the business. How come few people use them? Are there any members on this forum that run a Marshall rig?

Mark

[rodl2005]

I don't run a MArshall rig But was VERY close to it- the VBA400 all valve monster. I only got the Fender 300PRO as it went 8/4/2ohms -Marshall VBA400 4/2 ohm But it's meant to be A GREAT AMP!!! I've heard a couple B4-sounded GREAT! Lovely overdrive!!! TB'er "I got a MOHAWK" has one I think???

[lukeward2004]

I have to say, ive never liked Marshall bass amps - Ive tried a few in the past and they have always seemed to lack definition, hardly any Midrange and sounded very honky through my cab.

Ive not tried some of the newer stuff, but the older ones I have tried have left me cold in the past. Im open minded though so ill happily try some newer ones if the chance comes up!

[Oxblood]

[quote name='lukeward2004' post='5006' date='May 23 2007, 11:24 AM']I have to say, ive never liked Marshall bass amps - Ive tried a few in the past and they have always seemed to lack definition, hardly any Midrange and sounded very honky through my cab.

Ive not tried some of the newer stuff, but the older ones I have tried have left me cold in the past. Im open minded though so ill happily try some newer ones if the chance comes up![/quote]
I think a lot of it stems from the fact that Marshall have never properly addressed themselves to our end of the market. They just don't seem to take it seriously, compared with all the effort they put into their core guitar market. Not enough thought, not enough R+D effort, not enough interest in what bass players want. It's a real shame.

[mr pablo]

I used to have an old solid state marshall from the 80's i think it was a 3530 300w monster and i used it with one of the new vbc 4x12 cabs and i got a great sound from it (6 band eq + presence helped) loads of big bottom end and clarity with my old jazz bass but not so much with my old epi tbird. I only sold it due to my old band splitting up and the fact it weighed a ton, absolutely no complaints on the tone front or reliability either.

Edited May 23, 2007 by mr pablo

[rodl2005]

[quote name='lukeward2004' post='5006' date='May 23 2007, 09:24 AM']I have to say, ive never liked Marshall bass amps - Ive tried a few in the past and they have always seemed to lack definition, hardly any Midrange and sounded very honky through my cab.

Ive not tried some of the newer stuff, but the older ones I have tried have left me cold in the past. Im open minded though so ill happily try some newer ones if the chance comes up![/quote]


IMHO - U should TRY the ALL VALVE VBA400 it's a beast od an amp- & whever I've heard 'em-once live & a few times on dvd's -they always sounded GREAT!

[nash]

[quote name='Oxblood' post='5066' date='May 23 2007, 11:43 AM']I think a lot of it stems from the fact that Marshall have never properly addressed themselves to our end of the market. They just don't seem to take it seriously, compared with all the effort they put into their core guitar market. Not enough thought, not enough R+D effort, not enough interest in what bass players want. It's a real shame.[/quote]

i strongly agree here. i think if they sorted it out they could be a leading allvalve bass amp maker in the UK.

scrap the VBA400 it looks too much like a guitar head and make something beasty looking 300 watts 2 channels one for OD with seperate EQs and make a rack version aswell. there's not enough rackable all valve heads out there imo.

oh yeah, i have the VBC 8x10 i think the build quality is average but it sounds mint. better than any ampeg i've gone through. i did mod it however because the back panel was moving when i played at volume so i reinforced it and its sweet. i do need new wheels however.

Edited May 24, 2007 by nash

[Pbassred]

I used to run a 100W Lead and Bass amp in the early 80s through a 4X12 cab with mcKenzies. A bit plain but ok.

Story;
I went there for a Job as Production Engineer but the agency insisted that I go to their office first. So I had to drive in from a different diection. They gave me the standard Marshall map and I got lost. I was 5 mins late and they turned me away. On the way home I bought a map of Milton Keynes. There's was wrong. Roads missing, wrong shape. There was no way that I could relate theirs to reality - ... and [i]they[/i] punished [i]me[/i]! So I figured:- If they couldn't sketch a map, how could they sort a circuit diagram? Ironicly, its this kind of cock-up that I've spent a career fixing. They really needed me!

I haven't plugged into one since.

[Russ]

Marshall's bass highpoint had to be the Dynamic Bass System range - they were awesome and HUGELY loud. I played through one not so long ago and they still sound good. I believe Chris from Muse still uses them... they should bring those back, I'd buy one....

[Veils]

The VBA400 is stunning. Probably the best amp I have ever played through in a live gig situation. The 8x10 cab is also brilliant.

And in all honesty - as far as guitars go - sod Marshall. It's all about Framus.

[nash]

[quote name='presoulnation' post='5914' date='May 24 2007, 05:29 PM']And in all honesty - as far as guitars go - sod Marshall. It's all about Framus.[/quote]

i'd go for VHT but the framus stuff is sweet.

[3V17C]

i've got a whole marshall bass rig - 400w integrated bass head + matching 4x10 and 1x15 but have to confess that i've never used the head!! it comes out with me now and again as a spare but aside from that it resides in the garage most of its life!

i bought the whole rig purely because i wanted the cabs!! from the manual it looks like it could be quite a good amp mind you...bi-ampable etc and the speakers are pretty good, though perhaps not as defined as some would like (good for rock though!)

theres a strong possibility that either just the head or maybe the whole rig will be up for sale soon too!


peace

c

[Dood]

[quote name='Russ' post='5903' date='May 24 2007, 05:19 PM']Marshall's bass highpoint had to be the Dynamic Bass System range - they were awesome and HUGELY loud. I played through one not so long ago and they still sound good. I believe Chris from Muse still uses them... they should bring those back, I'd buy one....[/quote]

yes! awesome awesome awesome!!

[Dood]

[quote name='MoJo' post='4792' date='May 22 2007, 11:16 PM'], Mr. Steve Harris springs instantly to mind but is that purely for the Heavy Metal Wall Of Death look?
Mark[/quote]

I seem to remember that Steve's tour rig isnt a great deal of Marshall. I'd have to google to confirm.. I remember reading an article, many years ago, mind, where Steve said his 4x12 cabs have front loaded EV cones (a non standard inclusion). He used C-Audio poweramps and a Trace Elliot preamp for EQ and compression.

[Oxblood]

Look what just popped up on eBay:
[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Marshall-JMP-Super-Bass-MkII-valve-head_W0QQitemZ110130451295QQihZ001QQcategoryZ58719QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Marshall-JMP...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]

[Guest MoJo]

[quote]I seem to remember that Steve's tour rig isnt a great deal of Marshall. I'd have to google to confirm.. I remember reading an article, many years ago, mind, where Steve said his 4x12 cabs have front loaded EV cones (a non standard inclusion). He used C-Audio poweramps and a Trace Elliot preamp for EQ and compression.[/quote]

Taken from Bass Player.com "Rig
dbx 164 compressor, two Hiwatt 109 preamps, two Alectron preamps, six RSD power amps, eight Marshall 4x12 cabinets with Electro-Voice speakers"

This was in the early 'Wrathchild' years, may have changed later

[bass_ferret]

[quote name='Oxblood' post='7056' date='May 26 2007, 11:28 AM']Look what just popped up on eBay:
[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Marshall-JMP-Super-Bass-MkII-valve-head_W0QQitemZ110130451295QQihZ001QQcategoryZ58719QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Marshall-JMP...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/quote]

How cheap?