gazhowe

Check out the MarkBass MoMark amps with 500w power frame. There's lots of options to build your own amp spec.

[quote name='51m0n' post='769934' date='Mar 9 2010, 11:50 PM']+1 for a trip to bassdirect, Marks a gent, he will however let you fall in love with hidously expensive gear by letting you play it for as long as it takes, offering very occasional pearls of wisdom - clever git! You have been warned....[/quote] I can vouch for that......

I tried various options however I went for the 500w MoMark for the following reasons; 1. I liked the sound I was getting just using the VPF and VLE controls on the amp with the EQ on my bass set flat so I went for a simpler setup (solid state input module with mute button, blank EQ module and output module with only volume, VPF and VLE controls). 2. It has a mute button (unlike the LMIII) which allows me to silently tune up using my rack tuner without needing to have the tuner in the signal chain between bass and amp. 3. Future proofing - I can change a module or the power section rather than the whole amp if I fancy a change at some point or it develops a fault. It was a little more expensive than the LMIII but, for the above reasons, the MoMark made sense to me. I haven't switched any modules yet and it's unlikely that I will so, for an amateur player like me, it could be considered a bit gimmicky. More importantly though, I love the sound that I'm getting using this amp and the AE410 (bought at the same time) and haven't found any negatives so far.

[quote name='alhbass' post='769481' date='Mar 9 2010, 05:36 PM']....This is really interesting, and exactly the kind of A/B test I'd love to carry out myself, if only there was a store where I could do so within reasonable reach (I'm in York - anyone know of one? Don't think any of the Leeds shops that I'm aware of carry TC gear yet...)...[/quote] Can I suggest you pay a visit with your own bass to Bass Direct in Warwick as they stock both the RH450 and numerous Mark Bass amps? I recently spent an afternoon there trying out my Status through various Mark Bass amps (using the MoMark testing tower) and different Bergantino cabs, then tried the RH450 with TC 2x10 & 2x12 cabs before A/B'ing the LMIII and RH450 through the same Berg cabs. Before arriving I desperately wanted to like the sound of the RH450 because of all of the great features it has built in but this was far outweighed by my personal preference for the sound of the Mark Bass, even though it doesn't have the 'bells and whistles' of the RH450. The varied, but equally valid, opinions expressed in this thread only serve to highlight that if you are thinking about spending £500+ on an amp then it's worth the effort to travel to somewhere that allows you to do a true comparison and then let your ears decide.

+1 to the above. I've been using my Great Gramma for 3 months now and it's great to be able to get a consistent sound from venue to venue with no hassle whatsoever.

[quote name='farmer61' post='763109' date='Mar 3 2010, 04:38 PM']I have a whole raft of Trace gear that I think is superb apart from the weight of the stuff. I am seriously considering looking at the lighter weight Mark Bass gear. I currently gig an AH500 into a 4 x 10 for smaller gigs and 4 x 10 with a 1 x 15 for larger gigs. In terms of Mark Bass what would the equivalent gear in their range be and are there any thoughts on price comparison and tone. I would need to sell to buy or exchange upwards. Thx[/quote] I've recently gone from a similar rig to yours (Trace Elliott AH400SMX with Mesa Boogie 2x10 & 1x15 cabs) to a Mark Bass and Bergantino setup (see my signature). I bought the 500w MoMark chassis and this has got plenty of headroom to spare, even on larger gigs without needing to go through the PA. To be honest I haven't missed any of the bells and whistles that the AH400SMX had because the MoMark does what I want it to do very well - provide a good (IMV) uncoloured tone that I like that's easy to change on the fly if needed. The fact that the amp is light in weight is a bonus as it wasn't my main consideration for changing.

Haven't done it much but it's worked out okay - Mesa Boogie 1x15 cab (owned for 15 years), SWR amp (owned for 3 years til it blew up) and Musicman Stingray (already had one so knew what I was getting). I only buy blind on smaller purchases now.

if you bought the bass new I suggest you contact the manufacturer direct as it should be covered under warranty, and even if it isn't they may be willing to help. I had a similar problem with my Spector Euro 4 that was due to incorrect wiring during assembly. Spector got in touch with the retailer who arranged for it to be repaired free of charge.

Owned one for a year then moved it on to help pay for something else. These are well made, look great and great value for money but unfortunately mine just wasn't getting used enough.

I take it that there aren't any rehearsal rooms nearby that supply backline (for a small charge)? If not, I would save the expense of buying another amp and keep on taking the TE plus the one cab, however I suppose it also depends on how often you rehearse?

Great stuff. Fantastic to get that recorded and such good quality too.

I bought a Geddy Lee sig Jazz approx 18 months ago. I've sold it since but the same shop was selling them for £100 more last week. Possibly the current value of Sterling pushing up the cost of imported instruments?

[quote name='uzzell' post='705490' date='Jan 8 2010, 02:08 PM']I realise that these threads pop up every so often but I'm just trying to make a decision on what 4x10 to purchase next month. I currently use the Markbass LMII and I absolutely love it for its 'see through' sound nature allowing my Sandberg JJ5 to really show its true sound and I suppose I am after something similar in terms of which 4x10 to hook it up with. I play in a mildly progressive rock band and [u]the sound I am after is that tight, focused and direct sound that really hits you in the chest. [/u]Something that can provide me with sufficent amounts of high end sizzle but without losing the fundemenal thump that the bass is all about. I hope all that make sense. I am currenly looking at the choice or 4x10's offered by Markbass and EBS, maybe neo, maybe not. Is there anything that I should really consider before I bite the bullet and go for it. Price isnt a serious issue but I do have an upper limit so nothing wildly over 1K please. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.[/quote] The Berg AE410 is a great cab and I would highly recommend it however, to be fair, I haven't tried much of the other stuff that's been recommended so can't tell you how it compares. Suggest you try Bass Direct or another good quality retailer where you can A/B test before deciding.

I'm playing through a 500w Markbass MoMark & Berg AE410 with my pub covers band. We also use a 4k pa. Our drummer and guitarist are loud onstage and, at their request, I recently switched from low backline and through the pa to 'backline only'. It's not how I would normally go but it's worked well so far for us and there is always the option to change if needed. The pa is being worked less hard and the 4k provides headroom should it be needed. You wouldn't play your car stereo on maximum volume just because it's available.

[quote name='mrcrow' post='692439' date='Dec 23 2009, 04:51 PM']i used to fancy one...for size mainly...d i dont know how the idea came about but its still a nut to bridge tensioned piece of bass string with pups to catch the signal i think they look a bit strange and dont have any protection for bashing the 'headstock' against peoples heads... ^_^[/quote] But when you do ´accidentally´ bash them against someone´s head (usually the singer) they [u]always[/u] stay in tune.

I´d agree with all of the above comments on balance, playability and the stable tuning on Status headless basses. I´ve played headed basses for years and had no problems (other than my duff playing ) in switching to a Status headless.

[quote name='Conan' post='688492' date='Dec 18 2009, 04:07 PM']I'm confused too! So what does it all mean? How can I judge which amps and cabs will suit me? Do I simply pay as much as I can afford? Or do I spend the rest of my allotted three score years and ten trying out amp/cab combinations to the point of madness? A labour of love maybe, but I generally don't like music shops! Dammit - I'm not even sure which size of speakers I prefer! 8, 10, 12, 15 or 18 or any feasible combination of them... [/quote] I know what you mean. I´ve recently downsized after years of playing through a rig consisting of a Trace Elliot amp with Mesa Boogie cabs. Although it´s useful to do a bit of research on here, the only way I could be sure of buying new gear that was right for me was to take my main gigging bass to a shop that stocked a good variety of amps and cabs that I was interested in and then doing A/B comparisons and mixing and matching. Unfortunately that meant having to travel a fair distance as my local music shops don´t stock the gear I was interested in. I ended up liking, and bought (from Bass Direct), a different amp and size of speakers to the ones I thought I would so it was definitely worth the journey. Although what I bought wasn´t cheap there were other, more expensive, options available but I bought what sounded best to me when playing with a flat EQ on my bass and the amp and then needed as little EQ adjustment as possible to get the sound I like. There isn´t a ´correct´ way to make your decision but I would recommend trying to find somewhere (shop or Basschat meetings) where you can do a A/B comparison of gear using your own bass and then letting your ears decide. Good luck Gaz

+1 for Comfort straps and Schallers. Got the Planet Waves strap mentioned earlier for use at home but only use it for short periods otherwise I find it tends to dig into my shoulder.

[quote name='chrisba' post='687531' date='Dec 17 2009, 05:24 PM']I went past a place called Air Guitars in a taxi earlier today. Couldn't tell you where, as I don't know Newcastle well, but I was going from Jury's Inn to the Airport. Didn't stop to have a look though.[/quote] Air Guitars is the former Sound Control, and before that Rock City, shop. There wasn't much decent bass gear in the last time I visited.

Good stuff. Nice vids too!

Barry did a great job fixing my Trace Elliot AH400SMX a while back. Mind, that was before I got a new amp to play the goldfish-ladder through!

Looks, and I'm sure sounds, great. Up until last week I've been using a Boogie 1x15 and 2x10 and have only changed to get something more compact. Never tried the heads though but I know they weigh a tonne.

Great afternoon spent trying out and listening to great gear and some tasty players. Also really nice to meet fellow BC members. The variety of gear on display was fantastic - I was really taken by those Aguilar 1x12's in Chocolate Thunder! A big 'thanks' to WoT for organising a great event. Well done sir! Gaz

Putting 5 new songs in at the same gig is brave stuff. I'm never sure whether I prefer to put new stuff into the first set to get it out of the way while band members are all still fresh or leave it to the second set when maybe any mistakes will be overlooked when the punters have had more to drink. At the end of the day, our new numbers usually go in where they best fit rather than the above consideration however I hope it goes well for you whatever order you tackle them in.

I've just bought a MoMark amp and Bergantino AE410 cab from Bass Direct. I went there on Friday with the intention of comparing the LittleMark LMIII against the TC Electronic Rebelhead 450 but couldn't believe how good the MoMark sounded with a variety of cabs with the EQ on my bass and the amp set flat. I've gone for the 'no EQ' option as the VPF and VLE knobs give me all of the options I need. I must mention the great advice and service I received from Mark at Bass Direct who put up with my duff playing for a couple of hours and made the whole buying experience very enjoyable. I bought none of the gear that I thought I would before I arrived but left feeling 100% convinced that this amp and cab is the perfect combination for me and am really looking forward to it's first gig on Friday. Gaz