Markbass amp settings.

[Mr.T]

Hi,

I did un unexpected gig at the weekend with my SA450, which I hadn't had a chance to set up properly other than using it at home.
It was a suprise birthday party for me, got to my local village hall and there was all my gear on stage.....

Anyway, to the point of my post.
As expected, my 'frontroom' sound got a bit lost in the mix.
As there wasn't any time to do much tweaking, I ran the amp flat other than the VPF filter at 10 o'clock.

So I am wondering what settings all you LM2/SA450 owners are running, and what sound you are achieving?

I know this is fairly academic due to different cabs and basses.... I am just curious, as the two filters seem very powerful.

[RayFW]

[quote name='Mr.T' post='371677' date='Jan 6 2009, 10:02 AM']Hi,

I did un unexpected gig at the weekend with my SA450, which I hadn't had a chance to set up properly other than using it at home.
It was a suprise birthday party for me, got to my local village hall and there was all my gear on stage.....

Anyway, to the point of my post.
As expected, my 'frontroom' sound got a bit lost in the mix.
As there wasn't any time to do much tweaking, I ran the amp flat other than the VPF filter at 10 o'clock.

So I am wondering what settings all you LM2/SA450 owners are running, and what sound you are achieving?

I know this is fairly academic due to different cabs and basses.... I am just curious, as the two filters seem very powerful.[/quote]

With a Jazz bass or Stingray, I run my CMD 121H combo (with MB 12" extension cab) flat or with a touch of high mid 80% of the time. The other 20% I run it with the VLE at 10/11 o'clock for a more oldschool sound (e.g Motown numbers). With a P (with flatwounds) I often need to boost the high mids to 2 o'clock. I find that VPF around 9/10 o'clock sounds great solo but as it is cutting mids it works against you in a band setting.
It also sounds great with my Stagg EDB if I run it flat with VLE at around 12 o'clock.

[MythSte]

With my Bacchus Jazz bass and Schroeder Rig I used to cut the Bass back to about 10 o'clock, Boost the high mid a touch and run the VPF at about 10 o'clock.

Theoretically i think that should be the equivilent of just a boost of treble, but it doesnt sound the same!

[Mr Fudge]

I have the SA450. I generally run everythig flat. My Jazz basses usually supply thehigher end. I sometimes give the VLE a twist to about 9'oclock. This gets a bit too nonedescript (for my ears) if I go too far. I may give the VPF a bit as well but agree that you loose out in a band setting with this one. In a little pub/ setting I sometimes turn both filters off. I love the depth and power of my SA450 but in certain situations feel it is too clean. I have added a DHA valve drive to my board that works well with passive bass, but can be a bit hot when using my active marcus sig.

nice thread for me, cheers.

Edited January 6, 2009 by Mr Fudge

[thedontcarebear]

Although I have an F1 and not the heads you mention, I run everything in the middle, apart from the VLE which is all the way down.

[doctor_of_the_bass]

Allo!

Everything flat EQ-wise; VLE `off', VPF at 1:00 o'clock! Obviously, the EQ is tweaked depending on room/venue but 95% of the time its run flat.

[chris_b]

I only use my LM2 in the duo, with the AE112 and Lakland.
I have the Gain on 9, all the tone knobs on 12, the VLE on 10, the VPF on 0 and the Master on 12. On the bass the volume is on about 2 and I can add a little bass if I need it. It seems that if you have good equipment you can run everything pretty much flat and only need minor tone tweaking.
I aim to get a fat bassy tone but with clarity and definition at quite low volume.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='Mr Fudge' post='371774' date='Jan 6 2009, 11:31 AM']I have the SA450. I generally run everythig flat. My Jazz basses usually supply thehigher end. I sometimes give the VLE a twist to about 9'oclock. This gets a bit too nonedescript (for my ears) if I go too far. I may give the VPF a bit as well but agree that you loose out in a band setting with this one. In a little pub/ setting I sometimes turn both filters off. I love the depth and power of my SA450 but in certain situations feel it is too clean. I have added a DHA valve drive to my board that works well with passive bass, but can be a bit hot when using my active marcus sig.

nice thread for me, cheers.[/quote]

Pretty much the same here with my SA450.
I do boost the low mids at 100hz sometimes to help get my sound out in the room but other than that the rest of the EQ is left flat.
On my LMII all the EQ is flat and i just use the two filters.

[lemmywinks]

LMII - Everything pretty much flat, depending on the room/where the cab is etc. Sometimes a little high-mid boost . Have the VLE off and the VPF no further than 11 o'clock. If i need any boost i usually just use the 3 band eq on my bass

[simon1964]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='371921' date='Jan 6 2009, 12:51 PM']LMII - Everything pretty much flat, depending on the room/where the cab is etc. Sometimes a little high-mid boost . Have the VLE off and the VPF no further than 11 o'clock. If i need any boost i usually just use the 3 band eq on my bass[/quote]

Pretty much the same here with my Jeff Berlin combo. I hardly ever touch the EQ, but use the two filters depending on whether I want a ''modern'' or ''vintage'' tone.

[51m0n]

sa450 here, into an ae410 (tweeter set at about 25% to 30%), everything pretty much flat, except if I'm going for all kinds of bridge pup burp, in which case I generally add either some lo-mid at around 100Hz or some lo (centered at 40Hz).

I've played with the filters verses the eq and at the end of the day with my rig it does all sound good (guess thats why I'm broke ), just as people have said using VPF tends to bury you in the mix a bit more, and VLE above 9 O'clock is too far from what I want to hear.

Big caveat is obviously that if the room sounds poo then you could be twiddling them knobs till dawn and you wont fix it with any of the eq available on those amps. My BP-8 has a programmeable sweepable notch filter you set up once, just put it in that mode and sweep the expression pedal till the boom drops out of the room), its can really help with a room that has dreadful acoustic boom. Best thing about it, wish someone would make a floorstanding unit to do just that though!

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='51m0n' post='371968' date='Jan 6 2009, 01:31 PM']I've played with the filters verses the eq and at the end of the day with my rig it does all sound good (guess thats why I'm broke ), just as people have said using VPF tends to bury you in the mix a bit more, and VLE above 9 O'clock is too far from what I want to hear.[/quote]

Yeah, as the VPF cuts the mids i tend to use the low mid control to boost around 100hz. This seems to put some of the kick back in the tone.

[xgsjx]

I set everything flat & back the MidBass to @ 10-11 o'clock & have come to like setting my bass a bit brighter & putting the VLE at 10 o'clock & the VPF at 2 o'clock.
However, since getting the moogers the filter settings might be getting messed with as I put em both off at band practice last night to get the tops from the MuRF clear.

g

[Fraktal]

My rig is a Markbass CMD102P combo + 151HF cabinet. The combo head is identical to the LM2, save the paintjob. I use these 2 sounds 95% of the time:

1: This is a good sound for playing fingerstyle. I reduce a little bit the volume of the neck pickup, or in case of a single balance pot I lean it a bit towards the bridge pickup, wich is basically the same. Now into the amp: bass at 2 o'clock, lowmid at 12, highmid around 9-10, high at 12, VLE between 10-12 o'clock and VPF off.

2: I use this setting mainly for slap and multitapping: Same as before, the difference being both bass pickups at full volume and VLE off.

Both settings work wonders with my Ibanez SR505, I dont use the bass EQ at all.

Edited January 6, 2009 by Fraktal

[Mr.T]

Thanks for all the replies.

It seems like I'll be gigging with my new rig this Friday... still with no rehearsal.
I think that I will start with the EQ flat and the filters both off, and take it from there!
The Markbass seems to be very easy to over EQ (If that makes sense?).

[Fraktal]

[quote name='Mr.T' post='372618' date='Jan 7 2009, 12:43 AM']The Markbass seems to be very easy to over EQ (If that makes sense?).[/quote]

Yup. 4 EQ bands + 2 very powerful filters can give you a few headaches if you abuse them.

Maybe I can help a bit? This might sound weird, but a bass sound that sits well in a band mix is not necessarily a bass sound that you hear alone and think "whoa, that bass sounds great". Generally, to cut through a band mix, you need mid frequencies (anything between 250-700Hz, up to personal taste), while those mid frequencies are usually the first ones you cut when listening to your bass alone, probably thats why you were using the VPF filter, thats what it does, kill the mid frequencies. You could try to EQ your bass in the middle of a song, when everybody is playing, and adjust it so it has not only a pretty sound, but also character and definition and everybody can clearly hear the bass lines without effort.

Did I make any sense at all?

[Mr.T]

Yep, that makes sense.

On my old Trace I dropped out about 2 notches of mids (about 6db?)... any more and it would sound great solo but get 'lost' with the band.
I am not sure how much gets cut on the SA450 at 10 o'clock on the VPF filter, but I have a feeling it was more.

My bass has a pretty powerful EQ, so I am not overly worried about gigging with my new rig... although a run through at rehearsal would have been nice as I like to concentrate on my playing at gigs, not my sound.
I used Trace for about 20 years, so was always dialed in by the end of the first tune.

[51m0n]

[quote name='Mr.T' post='372653' date='Jan 7 2009, 12:24 AM']Yep, that makes sense.

On my old Trace I dropped out about 2 notches of mids (about 6db?)... any more and it would sound great solo but get 'lost' with the band.
I am not sure how much gets cut on the SA450 at 10 o'clock on the VPF filter, but I have a feeling it was more.

My bass has a pretty powerful EQ, so I am not overly worried about gigging with my new rig... although a run through at rehearsal would have been nice as I like to concentrate on my playing at gigs, not my sound.
I used Trace for about 20 years, so was always dialed in by the end of the first tune.[/quote]


Generally speaking setting the filters over 9 O clock is getting into overkill territory (yup I mean 9 O clock, dey is powerful juju!).

Thats both IMO & IME and also judging by the vast majority of posts on TB (esp by KJung who knows his stuff).

Might sound OK on its own but as soon as you go into a band setting you'll struggle.

The only exception to this IME is if you are going for a really old skewl tone and want to knock off more top (more VLE), but then you are going to be even more reliant on the mids to get heard.

Just a guide....

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='51m0n' post='374171' date='Jan 8 2009, 04:12 PM']Generally speaking setting the filters over 9 O clock is getting into overkill territory (yup I mean 9 O clock, dey is powerful juju!).

Thats both IMO & IME and also judging by the vast majority of posts on TB (esp by KJung who knows his stuff).

Might sound OK on its own but as soon as you go into a band setting you'll struggle.

The only exception to this IME is if you are going for a really old skewl tone and want to knock off more top (more VLE), but then you are going to be even more reliant on the mids to get heard.

Just a guide....[/quote]

I think Ken likes a middy sound and so i can understand him not having the VPF up too much but ive used it at 12 o'clock on a few songs and it works very well.

I agree though, its best used in moderation unless you are after a specific sound.

[51m0n]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='374181' date='Jan 8 2009, 04:21 PM']I think Ken likes a middy sound and so i can understand him not having the VPF up too much but ive used it at 12 o'clock on a few songs and it works very well.

I agree though, its best used in moderation unless you are after a specific sound.[/quote]

Well that fits my point, live if you want to cut through you need mids. Sure you can eq anyway you like, I dont care mate , but if you suck all the mids out you'll move furniture but no one will hear a note you play.

KJung has always said he likes a hi-fi(ish) sound, very balanced, with plenty of extension (as long as its in 'useable' realms).

I dont like overcooking the bottom end cos you need megawattage to do it and then, as I said, no one can hear a note.

Also I dont like a really clacky scratchy top and thats the other thing thats left.

So you'd probably think I had a very middly sound (esp since I use an ae410), I think I have 'enough' bottom and not too much zing, with loads of definition and punch.

Horses for courses.

It would be interesting to see if we've got the measure of each other though eh

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='51m0n' post='375372' date='Jan 9 2009, 04:41 PM']It would be interesting to see if we've got the measure of each other though eh [/quote]

I agree with you and it sounds like we both are going for almost same tone. I hate that scratchy top end clank as well. I tend to run the tweeter in my 1212L off. I dont like 10" speakers much so maybe you like a bit more mid than me although my Schroeders are quite middy.

But, i know certain types of music do call for a smiley face EQ and the VPF seems to give you that under the one knob. Good for some things but not for every one.
I do use it more to give me a slight boots in the very low freq's and use the low mid to put back whatever seems to be missing. But like i say, with my cabs there is a slight mid boost already so it all works out quite well.

[Alun]

I have an LMII and a 102P cab and it's generally all flat with the VLE at about 8-9 o clock to tame the mids a little on my 6 string, and about 12 o clock to tame the piezos on my Wav EUB.

With my Jazz, it's everything flat except the VPF which will be between 10 and 12 o clock depending on the room.

I wouldn't know if the EQ section even worked

Cheers
Alun

[WalMan]

Funny how pretty much everyone runs the EQ flat, as do I on my CMD121H generally only rolling the EQ off when everyone's complaining I'm too loud and there's nowhere to go on the vols.

MB seem to have got something right ion that basis

[lee4]

Flat,VLE at 8 o'clock.Just boost the (100 hz) bass on my Status some times.

[Mr.T]

Gigged with my new gear last night and it's looking good, so far.

First off... What an absolute joy to carry my new cabs (Ashdown 2 x 10 with neo's sitting on top of an Aggie GS112), so light... I was set-up before our drummer even got her kit on stage!

Anyway, the sound...
I started with Gain @ 12, Master @ 9, VPF @ 8 and everything else flat.
Two words come to mind 'Punchy' and 'Loud'.
I aimed to get the same sound as I did from my Trace gear and after our first number (an instrumental we use like a sound check, with our singer wandering around the pub) the singer told me I sounded as I usually do, but was LOUDER... I think he meant 'clearer' because I have never heard myself with such ease.

Towards the end of the first set, I play the intro's to a couple of numbers and thought my bass sounded a little clanky (high mids somewhere?) which is odd because the only other downside to my sound was that 'pull-offs' on the G string were not all that clear and crisp and lacked that 'funk'... (high mids somewhere else?).

Any suggestions as to what frequency I should be looking at?
(If we rehearsed I am sure I could find it, but hey...)