Opticaleye

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1403681752' post='2485142'] Yes, I recall people queuing up to tell Alex Claber that he shouldn't charge such high prices unless he could also match the high-quality design and high-quality construction exhibited by other high-end manufacturers. Like Markbass. He must be wetting himself laughing just now. [/quote] The CMD121P only has the strap style handle because of the integral amp head. As far as I can see all other Markbass cabs and combos have recessed handles*. I would say this makes the case for recessed handles more compelling myself. Just noticed I have a Minimark.. doh...

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1400180400' post='2451604'] Prices have definitely taken a drop, and considering that they test in Indonesia, then retest in Italy before distributing its probably still a fair price. [/quote] I recently bought a (Indonesian) NY121 to go with my Italian Traveler 121 and to my ears and eyes the quality is the same as I have been used to. In the past I have owned 2x Traveler 102's a Std 102HF and still have (for now at least) 2x Club121's. I've loved them all and see no likelihood that my opinion will change on the evidence of the NY121.

Here's my L1000 with added pickguard. I've added some fake screws since the photo was taken (and the correct knobs). [url="http://s139.photobucket.com/user/optical_I/media/wunkay4.jpg.html"][/url] I had it made to my template at Sims custom shop.

The TTE has a fairly tight bottom end (which I quite like with my cabs) especially with the passive bass control below about 2 o'clock. I've used a Zoom B3 before to open it up a little more (very successfully) but it will depend on your cabs and bass too. All my cabs are Markbass and sound great with the TTE but I've tried it with an Ampeg 410HLF and it sounded fantastic too. A lot of people complain about the Streamliner being too flabby on the bottom end but I suppose it's personal taste and your cabs, style etc. I'm still loving mine.

Ah... It would appear from that that my new TRV121H speaker isn't B&C then and they moved away from B&C a number of years ago. I have no issues with the sound of my TRV121H (i really like it). My Club 121 cabs are probably not B&C either. It's just the weight issue that needs clarifying then on the website.

I only noticed this yesterday and I certainly have concerns. I recently added a TRV121H to my list of Markbass gear (I've checked and it's Italian) and was considering adding an NY121 for flexibility and EUB work but would they be the same drivers? Would the NY still be 29lbs? There was a thread addressing this issue on Facebook which I can no longer find and it appears that this information regarding changes in manufacture has had to be dragged out of Markbass rather than them appearing open about the issue. I think I'll stand by from the sidelines and maybe keep an eye out for a used NY121 in the meantime.

I much prefer the TTE. Loads of character. The LMtube I tried sounded pretty much the same as my LM11.

I sold a set of Wizard Precision pickups to Sid and he is a pleasure to do business with. I probably bored him to tears with my gear experiences and he didn't complain once! Top bloke.

I had a DHA VT1 EQ into my LM2 and was reasonably happy until GAS set in and I bought a TTE500. In my opinion the TTE is a much better option if you want a real tube tone and feel. You may get a superficial type of old school character from a valve (or valve emulating ) pedal but the TTE is a whole new thing entirely. For different purposes I do like the Zoom B3 though.

Two traveler 102P's together work really well together IME. I used mine with an LM2 for a long while. A really tight punchy sound. I kind of regret selling mine but I found a combination that worked for me eventually. I prefer Markbass cabs to Bergs and Aguilar cabs etc. (that I've tried). A lot of it is down to finding the right combination of bass,head and cabs though I've had bad experiences before with mixing speaker sizes.

[quote name='PauBass' timestamp='1368033370' post='2072342'] I have one, I didn't pay anywhere near that price, and I think it's a super bit of kit! I have a Zoom B3, as it's been mentioned, and it's in no way comparable with all the tracking issues it suffers from. The Akai tracks really, really well, and I play tuned down to C# [/quote] I find the B3 tracks as well if not better than my old Deep Impact on the Synth and Octavers/ Pitch shift modules. However that wasn't the case when I first tried the factory presets. Since then I wiped all of the default patches and volume matched every patch to bypass before rebuilding from scratch. Tracking now excellent. Before the wipe I was having to boost/compress the volume prior to the synths/octavers which helped. I never found the Deep Impact to track that well on most patches. I found the Octave good for tracking but I felt it was a little too good and didn't sit too well with the original signal live. I do find the sheer number of effects on the B3 to be incredibly versatile and there's quite a few original sounds to be created by mixing and matching. The Q-Tron clone, for instance, sounds better to my ears than my real Q-Tron.

I had an SB1 and while it was ok the 300% profit I made was good business (although it would appear I could have waited and made 700% !). Anyway the Zoom B3 is just as capable of those synth tones IMO- with a little experimentation.

IME the trick to getting the filters and octavers to track better is to boost the input to them. So Boost/fuzz>Octave>Filter works. Also if you use the ZNR before the filter/octave you can avoid glitches and retriggering with a bit of experimentation. This does leave you with one less effect space however. You could always get 2 B3's though!

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1366367117' post='2051472'] Well the TTE certainly seems to be the closest thing I've [i]heard[/i], but for me, whilst it had the sound. It didn't have the feel. Now it could be that because I was in a music shop, and didn't have it cranked, but the 'bounce' I was talking about just didn't seem to be there... it wasn't alive! [/quote] It was when you mentioned that it doesn't have the "weight" (I assume behind each note).To me the "aliveness" and weight are two of the TTE's greatest qualities and is something other bass players have remarked to me that it has in abundance, which is why I mentioned the input pad switch. If ever I am getting an "average" sound from my amp it is always because this switch is pushed in. It's very easy to catch when you plug in the jack lead.

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1366205638' post='2049576'] OK I tried a TTE500 today, and whilst I can see what people mean about it being a convincing valve emulator, it does not have the bounce. And, actually i didn't like it that much either. The compressor was good, but overall it just didn't have the weight. Which is a shame really because I was hopeful about that one. The music store chappy did tell me about a new MESA amp that was coming out with a valve power stage but in a smaller light(ish) box, but he had no more info on it and said its not been released yet. Edit: Just found them online, It's a [url="http://www.gearhounds.com/mesa-boogie-prodigy-bass-head.aspx"]Mesa Bass Prodigy[/url] and looks pretty good [/quote] I find the TTE 500 compares very well to a SVT Classic for valve "feel" (I much prefer the tone as well). I've heard mine with someone else playing through it and it carries that feel to the back of the room. Are you sure that the input pad wasn't pressed in (it's very easy to do). The colour control can make a big difference in a live situation. That and the valve compressor really thickens the tone up. I have a Compressore and a DHA VT1 EQ and although the tone is good I agree that it doesn't get the feel.

With the TTE colour control at a low setting you still get excellent tube character to the tone but with solid -state like definition and attack. Rolling the colour up thickens the tone out more (great for blues and rock gigs) at the expense of some detail . With my Markbass cabs I don't think that I could achieve a harsh tone. I've tried or own all of the Markbass heads mentioned and find the TTE to be a massive upgrade.

If the TTE sounded muddy, maybe the colour control was up. You need it turned down if you like a defined tone. Also it's very easy to press in the input pad which will give you a more lacklustre tone on most basses. I find my TTE (with the colour control set low) to be slightly more defined than my LM11. It certainly cuts through in a live situation (in a very tubey sort of way)

I have used one of my Club121's with my Minimark. It sounded great as did the Traveler 102P I had previously. The Club121 has now been discontinued but I'm sure that the NY121 or Traveller121H would sound great also.

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1355085850' post='1893913'] I think any comparison between TF & MB over on TB will have between between a very small select group of bassists I'm not sure that the general populace of bassists would even have heard a TF in the flesh never mind having played one to make a comparison, so the stealing of thunder (sic) was probably just on that thread. However, being a TF owner and having also owned a couple of MB amps (inc' an LM) I'd not have said the tone was comparable... certainly not in a band/gig situation. You've hit the nail on the head with regards to the various 'other' tone controls on Dave Funk's amps, they probably do as much as any full range of tone controls on other amps. [/quote] I've never tried a Thunderfunk, my comments were about the TTE. I've just looked over on TB back to 2008 and the consensus on a number of threads was they are more similar than different. If that's not true fair enough but I'd think that they have a wider experience of the TF (It was their flavour of the month before the LM11). We're all a select bunch of bassists if we can be be bothered to offer our opinions on a forum .

I was of the understanding that Markbass stole the thunder of Thunderfunk ( )with the LM11 by having a similar tone but lighter and cheaper. This, as I recall, was the feeling of those on TB at the time of the LM11's release. Personally. I feel I can get all the tones I need from my TTE 500. I've discovered that the colour knob is subtle when playing alone but "thickens" the tone drastically when in a band mix. At it's lowest setting you get quick SS type attack (but not sterile character).By turning this knob you can get just the right sound for the type of music you're playing.

[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1354115345' post='1882243'] Yes, but they won't sound like a P bass: 1) the ash is the wrong kind of ash and won't have the "pop" or "scooped" tone that USA "swamp" ash has, nor the evenness of alder, the primary P-bass wood from 1957, the introduction of the classic split pickup; 2) the pickups have one pole piece per string, which will lend to too much transient articulation attack, instead of the round P-bass tone that Leo changed from one polepiece per string to two with the original split-P pickup (albeit to save the transients from causing speaker damage, but I digress...); 3) P basses are passive, not active, which also lends to a rounder sound from the electronic loading of the hi-Z pickup and circuit. Yes, even Fender now makes active P-basses, but they are usually models with an added J-pickup and geared towards the "contemporary" player. [/quote] 1) Sandberg VS's come in Northern Ash, Swamp Ash and Alder 2 &3) They can also come with vintage style Alnico dual pole per string pickups and passive. You can also specify the bent tin bridge. I have an active VM with Alnico pickups with Sandberg's high mass bridge and it sounds just like a P if I want it to.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1351275098' post='1849660'] You don't get a tone out of these big valve amps so much as you get a 'presence'.. [/quote] The TTE 500 has this presence. Honestly. I know it seems unlikely but try one.

Rich, clean and all-valvey in a lightweight package ? Markbass TTE 500. Using the colour knob, you can make it as detailed or thick as you wish (although it sounds subtle out of the mix). Try one. I didn't think a hybrid could get "there" but it does.