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NRD TKS 1126 and Markbass TTE801


Opticaleye
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Apologies in advance for the quality of the photos.

Having received the cab on Tuesday I was able to try these out at a jam night on Tuesday and at a rehearsal with my band on Wednesday.

On Tuesday I took my Sandberg Umbo with Status flatwounds and had the pleasure of hearing other bassists use the rig as well as playing myself. The sound had real authority throughout the room but didn't jab you in the ear. As I was going for a vintage sound with this bass I was pleased with the woodiness and character I was hearing and had many admiring comments from other bassists and even guitarists! There was plenty of headroom and the balance of tone throughout the frequencies was perfect, with the bass sitting perfectly in the mix.

Having owned a TTE500 for a while I upgraded to the 801 to allow for more watts at 8 ohms as the cab appreciates any extra power you can give it. The TTE801 seems very similar tonally but maybe has more bottom end to go with the extra power. The gain knob also seems to work in a different way to the 500 in that it matters more where it is set. Below halfway and the sound lacks punch unlike the TTE500 but once I'd figured this out it wasn't an issue. I preferred a setting with the gain on 1-2 o'clock getting some nice valve harmonics but still fairly clean.

At rehearsal the next night I took my other Umbo wearing LaBella quarter rounds and tested the volume capabilities in the rehearsal room before the rest of the band arrived. This cab can get freakishly loud without any sign of farting out. I chickened out with the volume way before the cab seemed likely to! I will still probably order another matching cab though while Tommy still has some of the front ported design left. I will probably order a tweeterless cab to go with this although the tweeter in this one is sweet sounding and natural.

The cab doesn't have the low mid bump that my Markbass cabs may have had but this was easily added in the eq where necessary (certainly not needed with the flatwound strings). I was also pleased that the cab seems to take on the characteristics of the bass used (I tried some different basses at home) and seemed to enhance the vintage tonal qualities of the amp despite being quite fuller in range than a lot of cabs.

Overall extremely happy :)


[url="http://s139.photobucket.com/user/optical_I/media/64627fbd-8f64-4cb7-a766-a2b9edd62545.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s139.photobucket.com/user/optical_I/media/IMG_20160127_190928-2.jpg.html"][/url]

Edited by Opticaleye
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I'm not surprised really... I think the cabs I've tried show TKS know what balance they are trying to achieve
and you can hear your bass..

I've been working on my basses to get the sound I'm after and I haven't touched the amp.. and I'm getting there.

Edited by JTUK
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The 1126s are great cabs. I am letting my two go on Sunday (long irrelevant story), and yesterday I was comparing them to a bunch of other speakers, with various amps and three different players... and a little bit of me was crying ;)
They really sound good. And look good too!

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[quote name='molan' timestamp='1453987893' post='2964975']
I really like the 1126 cabs - unfortunately they don't fit in the boot of my car :(
[/quote]

Funny that. A big reason I got my pair of 1126 was that they fitted perfectly in the boot of my small car (A3 Sportback), as you may remember ;)

I found something yesterday... I have a couple of BF cabs that almost but not quite fitted in my boot. I always carried one in the boot and another on my backseat. They looked like they *almost* could fit but it was impossible to get both there.
Last night I was transporting 3 sets of speakers with my seats down, and after unloading at the end of the night I decided to leave the two BF in the car overnight. What I found was that with both cabs in place in the boot, I could pull the backseat up just fine... and voila! They do fit after all! It's just that there's no extra clearance to get them in or out without loosening the backseat backrest first.
I'm not saying that it will solve your problem, of course... but if you think they are almost there but not quite, perhaps it'll help... and then you can let your lust for the 1126 go wild? ;)

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[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1453993002' post='2965103']
Funny that. A big reason I got my pair of 1126 was that they fitted perfectly in the boot of my small car (A3 Sportback), as you may remember ;)

I found something yesterday... I have a couple of BF cabs that almost but not quite fitted in my boot. I always carried one in the boot and another on my backseat. They looked like they *almost* could fit but it was impossible to get both there.
Last night I was transporting 3 sets of speakers with my seats down, and after unloading at the end of the night I decided to leave the two BF in the car overnight. What I found was that with both cabs in place in the boot, I could pull the backseat up just fine... and voila! They do fit after all! It's just that there's no extra clearance to get them in or out without loosening the backseat backrest first.
I'm not saying that it will solve your problem, of course... but if you think they are almost there but not quite, perhaps it'll help... and then you can let your lust for the 1126 go wild? ;)
[/quote]

Unfortunately my car is a 'coupe' so I can't convert completely. The rear seats do fold but I I'd have to load through the car so it would be a bit of a pain.

There is enough space in terms of volume but it's the load angle getting the 1126 over the lip of the boot that causes the problem. The ones that amazed me were the Aggie Sl112's - I can fit two of those in the same space!

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In my main band my drummer gives me a lift in his A4 estate most gigs so hence the one cab solution unless I drive or he gets a bigger car! Two cabs will fit ok in my boot but I don't foresee using both too often.

I'm depping for a female fronted function band over the next few weeks so I'll see how the cab likes proper roundwounds and effects.

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[quote name='molan' timestamp='1453993948' post='2965122']
Unfortunately my car is a 'coupe' so I can't convert completely. The rear seats do fold but I I'd have to load through the car so it would be a bit of a pain.

There is enough space in terms of volume but it's the load angle getting the 1126 over the lip of the boot that causes the problem. The ones that amazed me were the Aggie Sl112's - I can fit two of those in the same space!
[/quote]

Ah, it looks like you're safe for now... until it's time to get a new car ;)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Okay....so after a few gigs I can report back that this combination works really well. My bandmates tell me that they can hear me really well and no one frequency jumping out or missing.

It did take me a gig or two to learn how best to cut the bass frequencies to allow all the strings to be heard as the cab is very full range. The bottom end is quite addictive though the way it reacts with the bass drum :) .
Using my Fishman Platinum EQ pedal (depth control) to roll off the bottom end has worked incredibly well and I also have the modelled version of this on my Zoom MS60B and B3 pedals should I need them.

So in short, I've been able to achieve my aim of vintage, tubey but detailed tone with a controllable bottom end that works equally well with flats or rounds.

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  • 3 weeks later...

[url="http://s139.photobucket.com/user/optical_I/media/cabs2.jpg.html"][/url]

1st gig last night with 2 cabs. I can't imagine ever [b][i]needing[/i][/b] the second cab but it sounded perfect. With the Sandberg Umbo strung with GHS Bass Boomers I could go from "P with flats" to slappy jazz with no bass changes!

I used my Fishman depth control to roll off the bottom end again but the bass control on the TTE does the job nearly as well.

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  • 2 weeks later...

[quote name='Byo' timestamp='1458746324' post='3010468']
Loving the amp, loving the cabs and loving the UMBO(s)!

Always wanted to try the Umbo due to the control layout as the people who own one talk wonders about them.
[/quote]

The Umbo certainly solves the dilemma of "Precision or Jazz?" :)

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