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Mark King to Markbass


franzbassist

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I’d imagine MK is pretty savvy about his gear. Let’s face it he’s likely as big a gear nerd as the rest of us. Just because he had the advantage of people seeking his name on their gear doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing 

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19 minutes ago, Ashdown Engineering said:

It did for awhile... In all fairness we still do get people asking for the MK-500 and its been about a decade since we made them.

I suppose it could be those who are chasing the tone of a particular era? Like those that chase the same with basses that Mark used from Jaydee, Alembic, GB, Status, Pangborn etc...  (whatever your preference)

The thing is, you know as well as I do, the only person who hears the sound of the amp/cab combination are those on stage... once it's left the DI, it's all in the hands of FoH.

Edited by EBS_freak
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Just now, Al Krow said:

Oh I've been a lost cause for a lot more reasons than just this. Mrs Krow will happily vouch for that with or without a sponsorship deal.

Knowing first hand how much low end that a BBNE2 can put out... and the fact that you are diming the low end on your bass... I'm amazed your speakers haven't given out yet. Or your ear drums. Or both.

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23 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Knowing first hand how much low end that a BBNE2 can put out... and the fact that you are diming the low end on your bass... I'm amazed your speakers haven't given out yet. Or your ear drums. Or both.

You're quite right! Plenty of low end, for me =

a) BB NE2 by itself with the very slightest of boost to the bass EQ (what the heck has the NE2 got under its bonnet?)

b) Any other bass with the Mesa M6 'pull' (boosted) bass OR "Sub 3" Zvex Mastotron switch engaged.

All of the above with a Thumpinator at the start of the chain.

If I want to get into something like DOD Meatbox territory then doubling up on two of the above.

Agree that you need a cab that can drink up low end - the Berg CN 212 and, even more, the Fearless F112 both can.

@uk_lefty spoke about using this sort of sound sparingly. Absolutely. It's defo not my regular sound which, you'll be pleased to hear, typically involves a touch of bass cut and mid boost. If it was my stock sound I suspect my home would lack windows and my ears, drums.

Edited by Al Krow
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1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

uk_lefty spoke about using this sort of sound sparingly. Absolutely

Absolutely for me. I don't have a complex signal chain for it though, sounds best with a clean sound and a bit of a tickle on the dusty end with the sub dial down low.... And mark bass will now rethink endorsements because we have discussed one feature of Ashdon amps more than their coup of recruiting Mark King :D smash capitalism!!! 

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19 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

Absolutely for me. I don't have a complex signal chain for it though, sounds best with a clean sound and a bit of a tickle on the dusty end with the sub dial down low.... And mark bass will now rethink endorsements because we have discussed one feature of Ashdon amps more than their coup of recruiting Mark King :D smash capitalism!!! 

I can't believe that anybody has commented on MARK King having MARK Bass amps. It's all a bit cheesy isn't it?

Where's the STEVE Bass?

Of course, the biggest trick that MB have missed is having a set of MARK King cabs. Just replace the tweeter, job done. Want Mark's sound? Then you'll need to buy the cabs, naturally.

 

I've got this marketing malarkey down, I swear.

 

Edited by EBS_freak
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16 hours ago, uk_lefty said:

Absolutely for me. I don't have a complex signal chain for it though, sounds best with a clean sound and a bit of a tickle on the dusty end with the sub dial down low.... And mark bass will now rethink endorsements because we have discussed one feature of Ashdon amps more than their coup of recruiting Mark King :D smash capitalism!!! 

We even got talk of Nathan East’s signature bass in here too.

Poor Markbass. They are well down the pecking order in this thread!

Edited by EBS_freak
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16 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

I can't believe that anybody has commented on MARK King having MARK Bass amps. It's all a bit cheesy isn't it?

Where's the STEVE Bass?

Of course, the biggest trick that MB have missed is having a set of MARK King cabs. Just replace the tweeter, job done. Want Mark's sound? Then you'll need to buy the cabs, naturally.

I've got this marketing malarkey down, I swear.

Oh we did!

On 18/07/2019 at 20:08, Al Krow said:

The guy has clearly slapped his mark all over this bass-Kingdom and got a lot of Status.

On 18/07/2019 at 20:04, itu said:

So his equipment is MarkBass and KingBass. Quite a set.

... the light hearted banter sadly got lost in a bunch of folk seeing red (and gold) and discussions about the unimportance of low end crud.

W@eude you have believed it?

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7 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Oh we did!

... the light hearted banter sadly got lost in a bunch of folk seeing red (and gold) and discussions about the unimportance of low end crud.

W@eude you have believed it?

I did read that - but it didn't even register. Mind you, I hadn't slept yesterday... so it's amazing that I could even read anything.

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On 18/07/2019 at 11:53, Jakester said:

 

I got a very interesting (and polite!) email direct from the guy, who explained that once you reach that rarified level, its as much about the artist support than the actual gear per se, so company X may be able to offer greater logistical support than company Y, even though to the outsider their products don’t seem ‘as good’. 

That's exactly the reason why Victor Wooten moved from Ampeg to Hartke......

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Sometimes people just fancy a change. I don't think there's any slur on Ashdown's support why people move on. (Not that he moved from Ashdown to Markbass... he was currently on TC)

Artist's can be somewhat prickly people to deal with. I know somebody who moved on because they didn't think that the manufacturer was putting their image in enough magazine adverts...

Edited by EBS_freak
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14 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Having been to Ashdown and spoken with them about all kinds of aspects of gear etc I’d be surprised if anyone is able to offer greater support so if MarkBass have then we’ll done to them.

I'm pretty sure Markbass have offered the only support that would matter to Mark King. Support to his bank account.

From the stories I've heard Ashdown are great for tour support.

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Do endoresements really work like that? This isn't even a King signature... so unlikely that he's getting a kickback from them. Very few artists get stuff for "free". They normally have the opportunity to buy gear at an "artist rate". It's only the real top dogs that command stuff for free... Or conversely, the small companies that are eager to have some sort of name playing their products, they'll give it away free in the hope that it generates some sort of interest. (Yes, there are artists out there who abuse the small manufacturers - those players are the REAL enwhorsers... especially when they flip the goods on for a profit).

I suspect that as long as Kingy gets his face in a few mags when there's tours going on... and he can just turn up to a gig and there be his preferred backline there, I'm guessing he'll be happy.

Edited by EBS_freak
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7 minutes ago, Wolverinebass said:

Plus a truckload of cash from Hartke I believe. I guess the fact that Ampegs were somewhat unreliable at the time didn't help.

Did people ever buy Hartke because Victor was using them?

I'm happy to have discussions on this... but I reckon the only two bass players that can really shift amp gear in any numbers because they play it... are Mark King and Marcus. I can't think of any other players that would be able to shift amps in any significant number because they use it. Having said that, I'm not sure the Marcus signature amp is doing the same for Markbass as it did for SWR and EBS.

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16 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Did people ever buy Hartke because Victor was using them?

I'm happy to have discussions on this... but I reckon the only two bass players that can really shift amp gear in any numbers because they play it... are Mark King and Marcus. I can't think of any other players that would be able to shift amps in any significant number because they use it. Having said that, I'm not sure the Marcus signature amp is doing the same for Markbass as it did for SWR and EBS.

I have no idea. Do people buy Hartke because Billy Sheehan uses them? I wouldn't know either.

Yeah Mark King can get loads of fanboys to buy stuff and Marcus as well. The main other I can think of is Nolly Getgood. How many 5 string Dingwalls and Darkglass pedals have been sold because of him? The guy practically defines a whole genre's bass sound.

Edited by Wolverinebass
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