dr Szelma

He didn't - he's using both. He's not carrying his gear with him when touring, it is provided for him wherever he is gigging, and in fact - it has no relevance for his sound going through PA - "ebs era" and "swr era" (when official endorsement) - he still sounded like Marcus Miller, cabs and amps are not changing the way he sounds (edit: response to Roland Rock's question)

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1379512633' post='2213538'] To the best of my knowledge , Marcus' bass originally had a Stars Guitars ( they were one of the first replacement guitar parts companies that started up in the 1970's and were based in San Francisco ) preamp , and that was soon replaced with a very early version of the Bartolini TCT circuit . When the Fender Custom Shop built Marcus a replica replacement of his main bass recently , they had to scour the World to find the exact same vintage of Bartolini preamp from the early 1980's . ( Not that having a slightly different preamp would make much difference , in all probability) . Marcus also has a Badass bridge on his bass. My advice on your own bass and quest for the Marcus tone would be to get a decent preamp - Sadowsky or a J-Retro would be my personal choices- , a Badass bridge ( I definitely do think they make a positive difference) , and maybe even change the pickups to some Fender Custom Shop Vintage 60's or Di Marzio Super Jazz ,[i] [u]if[/u] [/i], that is, you find the stock pickups in the Fender a bit weak after the other changes . My experience is that a lot of very old Jazz Bass pickups tend to degrade and start to sound thin and microphonic over time . That is the time for a replacement or rewind . An ash body and maple board play a big part in the bright tone Marcus is famous for , mostly because of the huge amount of thick laquer Fender were using on their basses at that time . In effect , it is like playing a bass encased in plastic . In practise , a heavy alder body will sound very similar to a heavy ash body ( and chances are your 77 Jazz is not a lightweight ), so I wouldn't get too hung up on the kind of body wood your bass has in comparison to Marcus' bass . A big +1 on the DR Fatbeams , too . They are fabulous-sounding strings and will be a great match for any Jazz Bass. [/quote] agreed, apart from : 1) pickups, ultra jazz are not kosher single coil and Marcus has alnico V magnet in his pickups. 2) +1 for heavy ash (12 lbs, at least 5.5kg), heavy alder will not sound exactly the same. If I can add one thing - his string action is not the lowest in the world Badass will make huge difference, that's the reason he has it in his bass. Another one thing what is worthy doing : take the pickguard off or install neck pickup cover. Stainless steel strings are MUST when it comes to naling his tone as well. Take the bass to experienced luthier, who will level the neck pocket in the body, you can ask him to change the angle of the neck as well. Don't take off the varnish from that part of the neck what sits in the body and throw away that micro-tilt, don't even think about using it. Your bass has the potential to sound right from what I can gather. BTW - forgot to mention good compressor like dbx160x, or (in ideal world) distressor, don't bother using stomp boxes as they'll take you further away from his nice, organic tone.