donslow Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Hey all, I'll try and keep this short as possible, A few weeks ago I acquired a used markbass little mark II head, only tonight did I get a chance to REALLY try it out I've read a tonne of info about these heads in regards to being loud amps as well as some people saying theirs never goes past 10 o'clock on the volume dial as there's no real need to die to sheer amounts of volume My query is this, tonight I tried my amp using a cabinet hired from the studio, it was a 4ohm 250w (I think) ashdown 4x10 cabinet, great I thought, plenty loud enough, I'm not sure whether it's just human error or not but I struggled to be able to be heard over a near dimed 22w fender deluxe reverb and a drummer who wouldn't win any awards for being hugely loud I connected the amp to the speaker cabinet via a single speaker cable from the jack socket to a jack socket on the cab I'm wondering if it's human error or something else that is amiss Quite vague I know but I'm left puzzled as to why people say it's a loud amp and I struggled with the volume at 2 or 3 o'clock on the dial Any help or advice is greatly appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 ashdown cabs..... seriously... were you loud elsewhere in the room? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donslow Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1415827428' post='2604313'] ashdown cabs..... seriously... were you loud elsewhere in the room? [/quote] Sorry dude, not sure I get what you mean..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badderer Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) i think he's asking if you were stood in the best place to hear the cab, sometimes you're running with plenty of volume but can't hear yourself if you're stood with the guitar amp pointed right at your face and your cab is facing away from you. remember if it's a 250W cab you're only using 250 W even though the LM2 produces 500W at 4ohm. that's why he's saying you need to check it with a different cab as the ashdown cab might have not been the loudest. Edited November 12, 2014 by The Badderer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 was the cab pointing at the audience deafening them while you were stood higher than it and off axis and couldn't hear it at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 [quote name='The Badderer' timestamp='1415829434' post='2604339'] i think he's asking if you were stood in the best place to hear the cab, sometimes you're running with plenty of volume but can't hear yourself if your stood with the guitar amp pointed right at your face and your cab is facing away from you. remember if it's a 250W cab you're only using 250 W even though the LM2 produces 500W at 4ohm. [/quote] yes to the first bit, not strictly true to the second bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badderer Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 i always get confused with amps and watts and ohms and bleugh...... please do explain why not strictly true as i like to learn (without meaning to hijack the thread) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badderer Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 i mean i understand that if you can put more than the 250W it will drive the cab harder than the 250W that the cab's rated to (which isn't good for the cab) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Don't forget that guitar watts come out louder than bass watts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 yes but the 250 rating is likely to be a thermal rating for the drivers.... you are able to plug the LM11 into it and turn up and have the potential to unleash a full 500w into it and probably damage the drivers. Turn down and you'll probably be fine. That might have been what you meant but it was a bit unclear and wouldn't want someone thinking that because the cab was limited to XXXw then the amp wouldn't possibly stick more than that into it. I would say one thing.... 250w sounds like a crazy low capacity for a 4x10 - the current ABM is rated at 600w - my guess is it may have been one of their cheaper cabs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Badderer Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 ok cool. thanks for clarifying. i can see this importance of that before someone thought they could crank a 500W amp into a 250W and think that nothing bad would happen to the cab. my wording may well have given that impression with no warning about damaging the cab. cheers luke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6v6 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 It must be the cab, I use a LM3 (which AFAIK has the same power rating) into a single 1x12 and it can compete with a moderately loud drummer and two guitar amps on small stages just fine, so a 4x10 should be plenty. Were all of the drivers in the cab actually working? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noisyjon Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) [quote name='6v6' timestamp='1415830764' post='2604370'] ...Were all of the drivers in the cab actually working? [/quote] I was thinking this too. That and the placement of it and you. Edited November 12, 2014 by Noisyjon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@23 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Did you have the input gain set correctly? I.e, a notch below where the blue clip light flashes when you play hard, and how was it EQ'd and where were the filters set? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donslow Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 I'll be honest I didn't check, time was at a premium tonight so I just plugged in and played The cab certainly didn't look like an abm or even a mag cab to my untrained eyes, for all I know it was a guitar cab, I asked for a bass cabinet and this thing was what was in the room I understand that trying with different cabinets (even my own) is worth a shot but I was also wondering really if this was a common problem or just something I was doing wrong My amp pushes out 600w at 4ohms and 300w at 8ohms but I'm wondering how the amp knows how much to push out of it's only connected to one cab?! For example, I connected to a single 4ohm cabinet but how does the amp know it's a 4ohm cabinet, my point being is, is it possible my amp was only giving 300w?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donslow Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 I set the gain (as far as I'm aware properly) to just under the clip, eq was mostly at 12 o'clock the filters were at about 2oclock and 7oclock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@23 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 [quote name='donslow' timestamp='1415831743' post='2604385'] I set the gain (as far as I'm aware properly) to just under the clip, eq was mostly at 12 o'clock the filters were at about 2oclock and 7oclock [/quote] Yeah, that's correct. For my light touch with low output pickups I set it between 12 and 1 o'clock. 2 o'clock is quite heavy on the filters. Perhaps it is a case of needing to tone that down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest monsterthompson Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 1 - I have none of these products. 2 - The rating of the cab is the "safe" limit of what should be run, but you certainly push more into and get more out, but you greatly increase your failure chances. 3 - Volume knobs don't control watts, You can push full wattage with the knobs at noon. 4 - Where you stand in the room will change what you hear. 410 cabs, particularly budget ones, are prone to dispersion issues due to the speaker alignment. 5 - Check your EQ. Bass heavy settings require more wattage to produce "loud" sound. As frequencies go up, the easier it is to get the cab to be loud, though you may not like the tone. Cutting the very low lows (50hz and below) can open up the volume potential of a rig. Low mids (250hz) will feel like "bass." Mids and upper mids will help you cut in the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 The cab was the limiting factor. It can only produce as many decibels as the drivers will allow. It doesn't matter how many watts are thrown at a cab, watts don't make decibels. There's many factors to take into account. Like other posts, it may be where you was standing in relation to the cab. Too close or off axis & it can have quite an impact on how you hear yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebenezer Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 I use a littlemark 2 and find it quite loud !...just as loud as the genzbenz streamliner 900 I used to own....have to say..never been a fan of ashdown cabs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBunny Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Could I state the obvious. It's a pre-owned amp and the first time you try it is with a cab from a studio/rehearsal room, so how do you know if the issue is with the amp, cab or lead. Have you not tried it with a cab you KNOW is OK? As a long time MarkBass user my opinion is they are Loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donslow Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 The more I read your helpful comments the more I'm inclined to think it was a dud cab of sorts As I say it was the first time I had tried it out with unknown cabinet, I will get around soon to try it out with my own and see if it's any different, I'm also wondering if my pickup height on my bass needs looking at also, seems a trivial thing to say but I have just recently changed the pickups and before the change, my thumb on my picking hand had a lot more pickup to sit on, whereas now, not so much, would that make a huge difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 changing your pickups can make a huge difference, as can the height of them. Changing the height alters the tone too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donslow Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 Will have to get a proper guitar tech look at it I reckon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Or you could use YouTube & Google & do it yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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