LennyP

On 11/09/2023 at 02:56, Downunderwonder said:

Must be something they are putting in the water that makes young folk unable to lift 14kg of amp these days.

Exactly. A bit controversial these days but not everything needs to be 1kg. 

Those AH200 Series 6 are great heads. 

I have the 350. Heavy but powerful. 

Another favourite is actually the MKV AH250 you mentioned above. Really strong mids. Always found the Series 6 to be a cleaner sound than the MKV. Both great though. Happy hunting. 

Interested in this also. I had a CMD121H combo 2008 for years and it was perfectly reliable. Used it mostly at 8 ohms without the extension speaker. However, sold it due to a quiet gigging period. I then bought an LMII and a 4 ohm NY122 last year and the head keeps cutting out. Tried all types of settings. My Markbass F1 doesn't cut out with the same 4 ohm cab. Love the sound of the NY122 but what to pair it with other than the F1? I would ideally buy a new Markbass head, but a bit hesitant to do so at the moment

For now I'm using an Ashdown Mag 400 but really want a lightweight head. 

I had this exact setup. I used only the combo for 99% of gigs as it is so capable as a standalone.  Both together can cover any gig. Great buy for anyone. I regret selling that combo last year. Based in Ireland unfortunately or I would take this in a heartbeat. 

This was always my favourite Trace head. MkV 250w. Tone heaven. Pity I'm in Ireland. 

2 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

The LMII is also class AB, not class D 

I knew that and was careful not to call it Class D. My comparison is Lightweight (SMPS) v Old School transformer heavy. I use the Markbass F1 head also which I believe is Class D? I could be wrong. I had used many older heavy transformer heads over the years but the sheer power of the Fender is incredible. 

To begin, I will say that I've been gigging with Markbass for a good few years now and have been very happy with both the LMII in combo and head format. 

Recently though, I picked up a Fender Pro 800 as an addition. This thing is insane! The volume and thump is way more than I ever remember with my heavy old iron amps! At 61 years old now, lightweight is the order of the day  but that Fender will definitely make it to the odd gig! 

Couldn't resist opening it up. It weighs a metric tonne. 😁

28 minutes ago, Deedee said:

Thanks

In the past I've used my TE heads with several BF 12" cabs (which are neo) and although very powerful and clear, it's never quite been the sound that I have in my head. This time around I've gone for the Four10 cab (the BF 10's are ceramic). The 10's are more coloured than the 12's so should give me the sound I'm after.

It certainly sounds great at low levels with both this head and my others, but it'll be a while before I get the chance to try it out at a gig and properly break these speakers in.

Interesting. There seems to be some similarities in our experience. That will be a class rig live, I would say. Good luck with it! Beautiful setup!

That's a beauty. Major nostalgia in excellent condition. They are great amps. I have the AH350 MK6 version with the standard vinyl covered case. Case weights almost as much as the head itself!

For me, The MKV would be the icing on the cake definitely. It has a lovely tone to it.

How does it sound with the Barefaced cab?

I always found that the neo speakers didn't suit the Trace too well - Genz Benz Neox, Genz, NX2, Gallien MB212, Markbass Traveller variants etc, but the head sounded ace through the Fender Rumble twin 1x12 cabs, and Genz Focus 15, which were ceramic. Seems like the characteristics were so developed on the neos that the Trace wasn't at it's best.   Just my experience.

Having said that, the all of the neo speakers were great with my Markbass F1. 

Great find!

18 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

Unless you look at my Mk V head for sale on here!

😄. Good one! Great condition. Very clean faceplate with all knobs present. 

The cost is a bit prohibitive to bring it from the UK to Ireland unfortunately. I have the MK4 version which was taken from a 410 combo like yours. Reminds me that I need to get a sleeve for it!

Ideally, the AH250 is the one for me. Plenty of poke. 

52 minutes ago, ahpook said:

Right then, back up and running....and a saga. Oh how we love a saga !

As promised @LennyP there's a pic of the busted pot. Or at least the biggest bits

Also the head with the fascia off. I like the bent bits of silver metal to keep the light from the lamps in the right places to illuminate the labels and logo from behind.

So then...why the saga ? And why did he have the main board out if he was just changing a pot ?

Well, after putting the new pot in, strange things started (and didn't start) happening. The 3-LED level indicator didn't work and the EQ was in a mess - constant cracking in the background when it was engaged and moving the sliders did a) nothing b) made the sound get distorted and disappear or c) acted as strange volume controls. Harrrumph #1

Next step - I pulled the EQ/Level indicator board and gave all the sliders a thorough clean. They were filthy. Two rounds of switch cleaner and isopropyl alcohol were needed to get them ship-shape. Checked the board and reflowed some of the less savoury connections. Back together....still the same problem. Harrumph #2.

After some pondering of the circuit diagram and removing the feeds to and from the EQ board I realise that it's most likely the problem is on the main PCB, not the front slider/level indicator board. Time to get some proper disassembly done (Pic 3). It's built like a tank, so this was quite good fun.

Soldering iron on, pot of tea made and some Suzanne Vega to listen to and I started on the clean-up and partial reflow. Did all the pots and switches as well as a couple of strange-looking solder joints in the EQ circuit. Everything else looked very solid so rather than make problems I stopped there and reassambled.

And it works ! Whoo-yay !

Sounds spiffing too, still has the background noise on standby, but it's not too bad and I may still give it another service at a later date, but for now Matthew, I'm off to be Tony Levin for a bit

That pot was definitely busted! I've seen them with a lot of dry solder joints in the past. Great sounding amps though. Always found them very reliable when treated well. The EQ balance control is superb in these when switching between genres of music.

Well wear with the amp.  Still love a good old MKV though - That's my favourite Trace tone. Very hard to find a good one these days though. 

38 minutes ago, ahpook said:

Not this one I fear - it's in about 5 pieces !

Ah ok. Definitely dead so!

Those SMX heads are great. Thick and punchy. I still have a great love for Trace. Have a few heads here. This is the main one. Have it since 1993 more or less (sold it for a short while and bought it back). Still a great thump, despite weighing a ton.

Sometimes you can repair those pots?  I took them apart on my MkV and it worked a treat. 

On 07/06/2019 at 20:25, Woody1957 said:

Looking through this fabulously resurrected thread, it's amazed me how many people made their own cabs and how many people bought and played through an 18" speaker. As I said in an earlier thread, I made my own cab and covered it in black vinyl when I was just 16 mainly out of necessity because I couldn't afford a factory made one. I loaded it with an 18" Goodmans after reading in the brochure that it was perfect for Organ and fairground applications. Just hilarious when I look back though

Same here. 18" Goodmans 100w driver into a homemade 'sealed' cab. I had no knowledge of sealed/ported at that point. It was just a box. Head was a Marshall Super Lead like so many above. 70's P Bass. Actually it was quite a good sound in general, but the room acoustics could wreak havoc every so often.  Graduated to a HH VS Bassamp into a 15" PA cab.  and then on to Peavey MKIII into a Megabox with a 15 & 2x8. Under-powered at the time, I thought. 

59 minutes ago, bazzbass said:

no 10", 16 lbs, I literally can carry it with my weak pinky

 

and yeah, cab in one hand gig bag with amp in the other, bus it in to the city or easily in and out of cabs.

Great rig! What type of music do you play? Are you through a FOH system? Passive or active bass? Interested to know how full it can get. Cheers, 

Just bought Karl's '87 Jazz Special.

Great guy to deal with! We didn't meet, as I live in Ireland, but he was very accommodating in all arrangements, from packing the bass to managing the collection. Absolutely hassle free. Bass was exactly as described and it was extremely well packaged, which was always my main concern when buying from the UK..  We had a lot of messages back and forth and Karl was always very prompt with replies. Top man! Would thoroughly recommend him.   

Love the bass, Karl. Wish you all the best. Thanks,! 

Still have this guy. Bought in 1993 when it was a year old. Incredible volume and punch. Also have an early Mk4 150w

Must say though that my favourite model was the MKV tonewise. Beautiful. A bit more middy but really cuts through. 

14 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

MEC & EMG pups are 'very' similar, there shouldn't be an issue pairing either sets with a fully working MEC pre.  

However, if refitting the EMGs solves the issue I'd also be checking the MEC pups aren't at fault (cover all possible outcomes).    

 

Very true. Will check all those. Thanks for the input!

Thanks all for the responses. Really good stuff to consider.

23 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

All great pointers above but before you launch into a new pre... if you have the block MEC with the trim pot (ringed in blue), have you tried turning that down?  

The one I have has no trim pot. Just the white epoxy. Otherwise looks identical. Wondering now if the pre is either gone faulty or if it is not a match to the later MECs.  My first step will be to put back in the EMGs to test it.

2 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

The glockenklang two band was the most unsuitable one I tried. Wouldn’t hesitate using it in a fender style bass but the eq points were far too low and high on a streamer to be that usable IME. YMMV

This is what I had read elsewhere too.

2 hours ago, Hellzero said:

Why not putting in what makes the Warwick sound, their MEC preamp ?

This is the one you need : https://shop.warwick.de/en/Parts+for+Instruments/Parts+for+Basses/Electronics/MEC+Active+BEC+2+Electronics+for+active+Pickups+-+_Vol+PP+_+Bal+_+T+_+B_

Otherwise, a Glockenklang 2 bands would be fine, very transparent.

The Mike Pope Flex Core is certainly the best onboard preamp, the most transparent and the most expensive too...

This is a logical step too. It's actually not that expensive at 144 euro and should be a suitable match.  What put me off initially is that I saw a YouTube demo between that and the Aguilar OBP3 on a Streamer Stage 2 and the Aggie was miles better to my ears. 

1 hour ago, LukeFRC said:

1987 I think would be a MEC preamp? (Right @warwickhunt) black little box with white epoxy filling on one side? 

Beyond that the Warwick pres make up a reasonable bit of the Warwick tone, for better or worse- so be careful with what you replace it with, I tried a load of preamps in my 1991 streamer and generally a good preamp designed for a fender bass wouldn’t be so good on the streamer. For example the obp1 that’s been recommended above is a really great preamp - but ime the bass point at 40hz will be too low for the streamer and through a PA just add rumble and it’s the 80-100hz that’s better to boost. 

The good news is that if you are able to grab a quick recording of the bass you can put it through a multiband eq and play around to get a rough idea of what different EQs will sound like. I just used GarageBand! I ended up with an ACG preamp which I a different kettle of fish

Whatever you’re after though, the best solution is probably made by John East... 

Actually, I think you are right, it is an early MEC. Black with white fill. You make a good point though, as I like the tone of the bass at the moment. Quite happy with a 2 band too so I don't  absolutely need to move into mid territory as long as the bass and treble are pitched at the right frequencies.  I'll check out the John East options. Very impressed by those in a jazz.

3 hours ago, ebenezer said:

Are the mec pickups passive?....if so, you could always try an aguilar obp1.....simple boost only bass and treble....the circuit could be used with active pickups but you may need to change the value of the volume pot!

No, MECs are active. I wanted a direct replacement.

Preamp Change:

Looking for some advice on a preamp replacement for a 1987 Streamer - Wenge neck-through, Cherry body wings, one piece bridge.

I bought this many years ago with the original EMG pups and EMG (I think) block type 2 band preamp. A good few years ago I replaced the pups with MECs and preferred the sound. Gigged it like this through a back line but never through FOH. The preamp was always noisy and had a tremendous amount of hiss. Always kept the treble off and the bass at centre indent and vol about half. However, I now want to gig it again and  need to send a full vol signal direct to the desk. Tried it this weekend and the the hiss is unworkable so I'm investigating a preamp change.

What have any of you used in the past? What brand works well with MECs or even the EMGs?  I like a warm sound, hence the MEC change years ago. EMGs were a bit too clinical. Although if there is a particular preamp that sounds good with either,  I'd be interested.

Music styles are rock, country, trad/folk, some funk and disco styles.  

Interested to hear what you think.

Most of my stuff is lightweight now, having had the usual Ampeg 2x210, Aguilar 2x12, Trace 15s etc over the years. I used a Trace 4x10 AH150 combo in the early 90s and refurbished another one 2 years ago - I couldn't lift it! Had to go.

The question that springs to mind is - Why is it so important to have to bring all your gear in one load from the car these days? Is it so important that you don't have to go to the car even once more for a cab or your bass, mic stand, leads etc?  It now seems to be a yardstick by which many measure the 'lightweight' setup.(Very prevalent on another Bass site). I can understand this if you use public transport, but if you drive yourself?

BTW, this is a genuine question - not looking to criticise anyone. In my own case, I carry a Markbass 121H combo, double gig bag, mic stand, leads bag, spare Markbass F1 head in a laptop bag, and a 12 EV active monitor. That's not too bad in my book and suits me and the band setup that I'm in. I'm 57. 

BTW, I'm a big fan of the capability of new neo drivers. It's a revelation in bass capability. 

Bought a Vanderkley cab from Marc and had it shipped to Ireland. Excellent guy to deal with! Item was exactly as described and really well packaged. Top class communication too. 

Extremely accommodating regarding the collection day and time. Very easy deal!

Highly recommended.

Cheers Marc. Love the cab! 

Is this sold?