Greg Edwards69

Do you have or have access to an hpf? I use a markbass 121H traveller (the old design) and have found using an hpf to be a revelation. I too find that the cab can sound a little dark sometimes and can get quit boomy in certain environments which is near impossible to dial out on the amp head alone. FWIW I used to use a LMII head and couldn’t get on with the eq centres, so switched to a Carvin BX700 which has a ton of eq options, but sadly not an hpf. However, I could cut 50hz and boost 80hz which improved things somewhat which I could never do with the LMIIs limited eq section. But some rooms still proved to be an issue. I recently started using a helix - the global eq with hpf was one of the main draws for me. I’m using a GK amp sim straight into the fx return of the amp head, with a little low cut with the hpf. Wow, what a difference. Tight, fat bottom end without the flab and mud.

Yes, I've head that too. Trouble is I've heard some people say the Headrush is a simply a rebadged Alto without the mic pres, and other people say otherwise, that it has actually been retuned with DSP and internal baffling for guitar and bass. I'm not entirely sure who to believe. However, this made for interesting viewing. They seem to prove they are different and the Headrush is louder, warmer and 'thicker' all settings being equal.

Does anyone have any experience with the Headrush FRFR 112? Recently fallen down the Helix rabbit hole and looking to replace a Marbass traveller 121H (1x12) and Carvin BX700 head - all running at 300w. Ideally, I'd love to be able to walk into a gig, bass on back, helix on one hand and powered speaker in the other. Both guitarists in my band also use a Helix with a Yammy DXR10 and we don't play that loud - just as loud as an unmiked sensible drummer. At the moment, we rely on stage amps to fill the room and occasionally we'll mic the bass drum but that's it, however, we are looking at running into the PA (2x DXR12, no subs - like I say, we don't play crazy loud). Even with my meagre rig, I've been asked to turn down (my Yamaha Attitude really does kick serious donkey without much help!). Also looking at the QSC K12.2 which seems popular amongst the bass fraternity. Just wondering if it's over two times as good as the price suggests. Has anyone done a direct comparison? FWIW, last couple of time playing I ran the Helix's hpf up to 50hz without issue and could possibly have gone a couple of hz higher, so I'm almost confident one of these will have enough low end for my uses but would like some reassurance. Band is a covers band that plays a mix of rock and pop at pubs and weddings.

That's certainly interesting. I have an old style MB Traveller 121H cab and thinking about replacing it with a couple of BF one10 cabs, thinking that I can get away with a single one10 for rehearsal and small gigs and use two for louder gigs. Can I ask why you've moved from BF to MB?

How about the rolls mini crossover? The inimitable Billy Sheehan uses one to remove the low end in one of his signal paths. It's not a pedal, so would be an always on unit.

I wonder if this could be made into an iOS or android app that would interface directly to an zoom unit? I'm not fussed about extra hardware based control - but the touchscreen interface looks awesome!

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1438100072' post='2831649'] More than likely. You see a good few pros using Boss pedals on their live pedalboards, if they`re good enough for them, gotta be good enough for us. [/quote] I would reckon one of the main reason touring musicians use Boss is due to their ruggedness. They aren't the greatest sounding effects in the world and vastly cheaper than many boutique effects that the same guys have access too. But when touring, with stuff being carted around in planes, trains and automobiles, and then blasted out at insane volumes, I think that they are prepared to let sound quality dip in favour of having gear that will perform correctly night after night without fail. The boutique stuff is left at home or in the studio!

This stuff is supposed to be pretty good to: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pedal-Board-Tape-Self-Adhesive-Professional/dp/B002SFULCW

For Sheehan esque tapping, aim for a 'flat' eq, (or a modest bump in the mids around 1k), some aggressive compression and a little overdrive to add grit and let harmonics leap out - a tube screamer type drive is adequate for this. Remember, Billy has a fairly complex signal path - two channels, one clean and deep providing low end, and one heavily squashed, overdriven and mid-rangey. You may find trying to dial in a tone that emulates his mid-range tapping sound won't sit in the mix when playing finger style.

How dynamic is your playing? Do you dig in all the time? Is the sansamp on all the time with a fair bit of grit? It maybe you don't need a compressor if you hit hard, and if you hit the sansamp hard, this gives it's own gentle 'tube like' compression.

A simple graphic eq pedal should do the job if it's only for a couple of passages (stick it after your compressor). You can pick up boss derived copies quite cheaply, or for something more compact, there's the Mooer Graphic B. Not only can you use them to boost overall volume, but you can tailor the shape of the boost to cut through more - perhaps just boosting a little 800hz - 1khz would do the trick?

I use a a boss ls2 for this purpose. Y cables, and stereo to mono adaptors are not advisable - often, one signal will completely over power the other. Use an active mixer, such as the ls2 and you will have absolutely no problems. For something smaller, Dave Hall makes a micro blender pedal that can be used as a 2 channel mixer http://www.davehallamps.co.uk/page13.html

Could be handy for honing in on troublesome room nodes - I considered this myself when I realised how inflexible my LMII's eq section is for this purpose. However, I realised a parametric would be better suited to this and ended up getting a Carvin BX700 head. 4 band semi parametric combined with 10 band graphic. I use one section for general tone shaping and the other for adjusting for room anomalies. Sounds great everytime now, and consistent! In answer to the OP's question though. As other have stated, rack eq units are usually made to run at line level, so would be better suited going in the fx loop (assuming it's a line level loop). Putting it in front of the amp would also change how the preamp reacts. If it's tube amp being pushed hard, boosting low or highs would make the amp sound markedly different. Putting the eq in the loop would allow you to retain a consistent tone and just sculpt it for each room.

Yes, with a mono cable in the fx loop it behaves as return only, so can be used as a secondary input. But as stated above, you'll have little control over the mix. FWIW, I leave the EBS pedal on all the time with an ABY pedal in the dirty loop. This way I can take advantage of the built in compression and anything in the clean loop, then kick the drive side in when needed with the ABY pedal.

What amp/cab are you using? My Mooer fog can sound a little brittle in the vey top end. Turning down the tweeter pad softens it up a treat without affecting how the treble cuts through.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1401281835' post='2461980'] A parametric works very well, you set it for a narrow notch and simply sweep the frequency until the boom-boom goes bye-bye. It's the best tool for the job, but seldom seen on bass heads, as most bass players tend to be intimidated by such high tech tools. Parametrics are ubiquitous on good PA consoles. [/quote] That's where the zoom ms-60b is worth it's weight in gold. I use the two band parametric almost every gig to dial out room resonances.

Perhaps it is because the newer heads are more transparent. Or it could be over time with more experience, your ears are more discerning.

I second the use of a limiter. It could be set so that it doesn't affect regular playing, but anything over a certain volume will be clamped right down. A thumpinator or other high pass filter (HPF Deck) could work as long as the loud attack part of the note is in the sub bass region. If you have a smartphone, try using an RTA anyalyser app to see which frequencies are offending the most.

I was just about to ask the same thing. I have a thread elsewhere describing my interest in one of these heads to replace my LMII and to use with my 8ohm 1x12. The control section looks about perfect for my needs (a bit of an eq freak!) but I'm very interested to hear how the preamp tube section sounds, particularly to get that 'just on the edge of drive' pushed tube amp tone.

Thanks for the input everyone. The RH450 seems to divide opinion whenever it's brought up - it's a bit 'marmite' you might say. On paper it looks great, but if it doesn't have the oomph I'm after, runs out of head room and has too much high and low end roll off, then it's crossed off the list. A preamp pedal is an intriguing thought, particularly the VT Bass, Tone Hammer or one of Dave Halls offerings. I don't really want to use more pedals either on my board or on top of the amp, but as mentioned, it is a cheaper alternative. Still, that still doesn't give me the backup amp head I want. It's always in the back of my mind that my LMII head packed up before and might again. When I finally get off my backside and learn to drive, then another cab will be on the shopping list. For most of my gigs (pub rock covers and functions) the Markbass 1x12 is quite ample, but there are the odd handful times that I'd like a little more... something. I'm quite liking the looks of the Eden EX112. Compact, light and quite inexpensive (about half what I paid for my markbass 1x12). They would probably work quite nicely with my existing cab - or I would sell my cab and get two of the Edens. I'd love a barefaced super compact or two, but honestly can't justify the outlay for one. The Genz, GK, new Fender Rumble, and Ashdown Rootmaster compact heads are all lovely looking amps, but I don't think any of them quite has the feature set I'm looking for. So far, it looks like the Carvin is top of the table, but I think I might wait and see what the Peavey is like when it comes out. If rumours are true, it could be priced very competitively - I just hope it sounds as good as the spec sheet looks. PS perversely, I have been eyeing up the now discontinued LMK head. I know it goes against everything I have said I'm after - the eq section in particular. But as I use a 2 channel setup from my Attitude bass, through separate signal paths on my pedal board, it could work quite well. The MB eq voicing work quite well for the low end of my setup from the woofer pickup - a little VPF and that's about it. The other channel for the top end needs different voicing however, but perhaps something like the VT bass in conjunction with this could be the answer to my prayers. If i'm mixing and eqing both signals on the amp instead, it would certainly open up space on my board for a preamp pedal. Does anyone know of any other 2 channel amp heads, or 2 channel preamps for that matter - with discrete inputs and combined outputs? I've seen the Tecamp, but that is a lot of beer tokens and girlfriend demerits.

The only thing I would suggest is running the preamp gain as high as possible without over-driving to get the signal to noise ratio and better dynamics.

In order to diagnose you need to run it at gig volume in a different venue or at rehearsal space, with your cab and another one, and different cables. This will help determine is its power, cables or something in your cab. I had a similar issue with my LMII which unfortunately proved expensive. My head fell out of the car boot during unload. Only a couple of feet in its padded gig bag. I was a little perturbed but all seems ok and damage free so I though no more of it. During gig my nap cut out a couple of times, came back on then went off for good. So had to play rest through the PA. Tried it out at home next day for a few hours and it was fine so I put it down to dodgy power and that the protection circuits kicked in. Next rehearsal after about 20mins it cut out again, came back after leaving off for 5mins then cut out again. So I knew something was seriously wring with the head - then I remembered the drop! Took it in for servicing and had it diagnosed. Due to the nature of the amp with micro, surface mounted components the only course of action was a whole new main board, which wasn't made any more (being a discontinued model) and they had to source a refurb board. Cost me about £200 to get fixed! I hope this isn't your problem, but just heed these words as a warning and be prepared for the worst. PS as an aside - During this time I had to use my backup combo, an ageing, bulky and heavy Warwick CCL250 to get me through a couple of gigs. Good job I kept hold of it. But since this incident it's been in the back of my mind that the markbass could go wrong again, and I need a decent backup, or use a new amp and relegate the MB to backup duty. As useful as the combo was, it takes up too much space in my small flat, so I'm looking at getting another small head and selling the combo.

I've decided after much time that my diminutive Markbass LMII just isn't right for me anymore. I'm using mine with a MB 1x12 traveller. Honestly, up against 2 guitarists using 1x12's and a drummer, it's plenty loud enough, so no worries there (I don't think I've gone past 12 o'clock on the master volume since I bought it about 6 years ago). When I bought it, I was using my warwick thumb BO as my main bass, the amp was a match made in heaven. Since then, my tastes have changed and I'm now using a Yamaha Attitude, both outputs, through a small but relatively complex pedal board, mixed together into the amp. Whilst the power, general tone and VLE/VPF filters are great, for the past year or so I've been really struggling with the eq. The more I tweak my sound through my pedal board to get that elusive 'tone', the more I realise the amp's tone stack isn't quite right. The bass is fixed at 40hz - too low IMO, and the low mid is 360hz, too high IMO. Generally I try to keep the amps eq neutral, and get my basic tone from the pedal board, however, sometimes I want to dial in a little low end punch around 80-120hz, or dial out 200hz and just can't do it. I don't really want to add more eq to my pedal board (I have two eq pedals on there for other tone shaping reasons, and eq in my two zooms for shaping), or any more pedals for that matter. Whilst I like the general tone too, I'm also wanting something a little more gooey and valvey. Just a little hair on the overall tone - not light overdrive, I have that already, but tubey warmth. I also want to buy a new head as my LMII met with slight damage last year and it cost quite a lot to repair as the board isn't made anymore and the repairer had to source a refurbed board. I dread to the think the cost should it go wrong again. So I would retain the LMII as a backup whilst using the new amp full time. Lastly, I don't drive, so needs to be little and light, like the LMII, and I would still use the MB 1x12 cab. So far, I've narrowed it down to two main contenders. Carvin BX500/700 - The tone/eq controls are a knob twiddlers dream and offer a huge bang for buck. I could envision using one eq section for tone shaping and the other for tweaking for the room. However, I'm not sure the tube preamp will give the desired tone, and I understand there's been reliability issues in the bass. Also, it's quite difficult to try Carvin before you buy in the UK. TC Electronics RH450. Yeah, I know about the false wattage, but the question is, is it loud enough? Will it stand up against my LMII in terms of volume and headroom? On the plus side, the eq seems wonderful - 4 bands of parametric, the tube tone sounds great, and built in compression and tuner means I could even do the odd short gig without pedal board, just bass and amp. There is a third contender, but it's not out yet. The forthcoming peavey minimega. This caught my eye recently, small, extremely powerful, parametric mids, compression and Kosmos/psycho-acoustic enhancement - could be handy for my single 1x12 in certain environments. But I'm not sure the 'crunch' will deliver 'that tone' I'm looking for. The other thought was a DHA VT-1 eq preamp. But again, I don't really want to add pedals, and I really want to move the LMII to backup duty for fear of failure. So - thoughts anyone? Sorry for rambling, but just wanted to make everything clear!

I use two, one for each channel from my attitude bass. I had a number of always on pedals that I wanted to reduce, the zooms seemed perfect, and they are. However, I still seem to have a full pedal-board! 😕 One is set with a fat sansamp model, with compression and parametric eq for the low end from the attitude's 'woofer' pickup and is pretty much left alone. The other it set with heavy compression, with another sansamp model, to reduce low end and inject a little grit, into a parametric to boost around 1k for strong mids. I have another couple of patches based on this with a chorus, distortion, phaser etc, and another couple of 'speciality' patches for certain songs. Pretty pleased with my sound now. The two signals gel really well and it just verging on the edge of being dirty whilst still sounding clean. Somewhere between Billy Sheehan and Duff Mckagan. My only gripes are that it's a PITA to switch between patch cycling mode and stomp box mode with out having to bend down and press buttons. Secondly, zoom are reluctant to release any updates to bring the unit into line with the B3 or even in line with the new cheaper (and seemingly superior, albeit plastic) B1on. These too models have effects that the MS-60b could really do with having. I may even flip one of June for the B1on, just for the extra effects, 5 at once and ease of patch changing.