Cheap amp good sound vs good amp bad sound...Laney/Peavey vs Mark Bass

[urb]

Mmmm, I had an 'interesting' experience last weekend when by virtue of using three amps provided at two rehearsals and a gig was surprised that the two 'crappy' ones IMO beat the boutique 'quality' amp.

It was a classic case of using a small Peavy 1x10 practice amp at rehearsal and getting a lovely warm, even tone and plenty of room to get a variety of sounds from my Sei bass, all a nice surprise considering it was a beaten up old amp used by the drummer to play his metronome click through...!

I get to the gig and see there's a nearly new looking 'Jeff Berlin' sig 1x15 combo, yay! I thought a decent amp not some old beer soaked old beast, a shiny new amp! But I struggled to get a nice warm sound that was balanced, somewhere between mid and bass, with a smidge of top end. Instead the bass frequencies kept booming, the amp completely dictating what my bass sounded like, rarther than being able to dip into various tones from my bass with the amp there to compliment my tone, whether it was punchy finger style or a fatter bass heavy dub tone... the clarity of notes down the low end was muddy and undefined and when I took a solo the highs were paper thin... not good at all. I left most of the controls flat by the way.

Lastly I used one of the newish Richter made Laney 1x15 combos at my regular rehearsal room on Sunday and again I got a really good balanced tone that was perfect for either jacoesque honk or some heavy slap, or bridge pup funk...

Neither the Laney or the Peavy had the power of the MB but the tone was sooo much better, like they were blank canvases to do what I wanted with, rather than a join the dots 'ready made' sound.

I'm a very happy Epifani user, but have tried my bass through a multitude of different amps, and it (generally) sounds great, even straight into the PA, so I was just really surprised how bad it sounded through the Mark Bass, I've always had a high opinion of them, this sadly has dented that.

Anyone had a similar experience with other famous brands and preferred something cheap and 'nasty'?

Just curious, and if you are a happy Mark Bass user that's totally cool, you might also hate Epifani...

Cheers

Mike

[nick]

[quote name='urb' post='474619' date='Apr 28 2009, 09:52 PM']Anyone had a similar experience with other famous brands and preferred something cheap and 'nasty'?[/quote]

Had an on-off love & (more) hate relationship with Trace Elliot gear for nearly two decades, though love the V-Type set up I've got now - just a nice sound without much messing with it's (albeit) basic EQ.

An amp I personally rate ,had & very much regret getting rid of is H/H VS Musician 100w head with [i]'valve sound' [/i]. Killer amp (IMHO).
Will undoubtably buy another, when I find one at a sensible price i.e. cheap!

Cheers

Edited April 28, 2009 by nick

[Beedster]

I'm not saying that the Mark Bass is a better amp by any means, but if all three amps were played in different situations and venues it's not really a reliable comparison. I owned a Jeff Berlin combo for a while and was always complimented on how good my Precision sounded through it, furthermore people often remarked on how big the sound was given its deceptively small size. Having said this, it was a different beast at low and high volumes, and it took me a while to realise that tone settings that worked in a small rehearsal room didn't work in a big room or on a stage, perhaps more so than with other amps. Horses for courses really isn't it, perhaps the Sei and the Markbass simply don't compliment each other? Having owned a Peavey amp for a couple of years I have to say that both my ears and my back muscles were glad to see the back of it and both welcomed the Mark Bass

[lemmywinks]

Perhaps more to do with the stage/venue?

I'm looking into getting one of those Auralex Gramma (or whatever the correct spelling is) isolation stands because i want to cut excessive booming on [i]some[/i] stages, nothing to do with the amp (a LMII with a Schroeder) and more to do with the stage floor among other things. I played an old Trace combo in a practice room that sounded decent yet totally floundered on stage.

You can get a very warm tone from a Markbass, i was surprised as i thought something that small had to be hifi and "transistory"!

I've also heard the Markbass combos don't fare as well as the standalone amps, maybe because they're made with too small an enclosure to save weight?

[Musky]

[quote name='nick' post='474640' date='Apr 28 2009, 10:22 PM']Had an on-off love & (more) hate relationship with Trace Elliot gear for nearly two decades, though love the V-Type set up I've got now - just a nice sound without much messing with it's (albeit) basic EQ.

An amp I personally rate ,had & very much regret getting rid of is H/H VS Musician 100w head with [i]'valve sound' [/i]. Killer amp (IMHO).
Will undoubtably buy another, when I find one at a sensible price i.e. cheap!

Cheers[/quote]

I really rate those HH amps as well - fantastic sound. I fact I've had generally good experiences with HH all round. I bought a little Studio 60 combo after using one in a studio, and still have a Bass Machine. Despite not having used it for years I'm never going to get rid of it because it sounds so nice.

[escholl]

[quote name='Musky' post='474669' date='Apr 28 2009, 11:09 PM']I really rate those HH amps as well - fantastic sound. I fact I've had generally good experiences with HH all round. I bought a little Studio 60 combo after using one in a studio, and still have a Bass Machine. Despite not having used it for years I'm never going to get rid of it because it sounds so nice.[/quote]

another HH lover here...bass machine and 2 15's -- never played an amp i've liked the sound of better!

[rodl2005]

[quote name='escholl' post='475587' date='Apr 29 2009, 10:15 PM']another HH lover here...bass machine and 2 15's -- never played an amp i've liked the sound of better![/quote]


+1 on that being MAINLY a venue/posioning situation. I've had same issues with MY own rig- which I LOVE & 95% of the time get a GREAT sound!!!!! Just SOME rooms enhance certain freqs' & U get a 'BLOOM' of MUD!!!!!! Played a venue a few weeks ago where ANY note from G to B sounded Sh^%!!!!!! in ANY position -any octave. Another venue we play in regularly has SUCH a BASSY sound I have to wind my BASS control almost OFF- compared to other venues where I use it flat or sometimes at 1 o'clock.
I didn't used to like the MB cabs- OR the amps really- but I bit it & bought a LMII & it NEVER ceases to amaze me with it's tone & power & versatility!!!! & the cabs I used to not like much, but after trying one for -more than a half hour- I actually started to get some GREAT sounds outta it. It was a 6x10" - I like MY Bergantino NV610 MUCH better, but IMO the MB 610 was a better cab-build/tone/weight-wait make that lack of WEIGHT- than another 610 that was there- a SVT610HLF- which I like also!!!

[sk8]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='474668' date='Apr 28 2009, 11:09 PM']Perhaps more to do with the stage/venue?

I'm looking into getting one of those Auralex Gramma (or whatever the correct spelling is) isolation stands because i want to cut excessive booming on [i]some[/i] stages, nothing to do with the amp (a LMII with a Schroeder) and more to do with the stage floor among other things. I played an old Trace combo in a practice room that sounded decent yet totally floundered on stage.

You can get a very warm tone from a Markbass, i was surprised as i thought something that small had to be hifi and "transistory"!

I've also heard the Markbass combos don't fare as well as the standalone amps, maybe because they're made with too small an enclosure to save weight?[/quote]I was going to get a GRAMMAR but then i [i]found[/i] some beer crates

[bassbloke]

I've found it doesn't really matter what I use, as long as it has a tweeter so I get a bit of sparkle and isn't such underpowered heap of junk that it farts all the time, I get a useable sound out of anything.

I like my Tech rig because it's loud, light and has a big blue light on the front. What more do you need?

[Jase]

Yes, I've had a similar experience with Ampeg, turned up at a gig and the main band were supplying backline an SVT head (not sure of the model) and an Ampeg 810. I was gagging to have a crack at the Ampeg stack...I did and what a let down, it just didn't happen for me or my bass at all. I couldn't seem to get the mid punch I like using, it all seemed very loose, warm and wooly. I was gutted. I'm sure it was a great rig, it just didn't happen for me at all. It was like the huge build up to a band or a new film and when you watch it you think, "what a load of old sh*te!" I'd prefer to use Peavey or Trace but at the moment I can't stop using my LH-500, all much cheaper.

[Linus27]

I have a similar experience with Ampeg. I did a gig supporting Carrie which was the band the late bass player from EMF was in. He had a big Ampeg rig which I was able to use. I was so excited but it sounded pants with my bass. Really dissapointed.

[escholl]

[quote name='bassbloke' post='477149' date='May 1 2009, 04:37 PM']What more do you need?[/quote]

i have two green LED's that flash back and forth at whatever speed the built-in phaser is set at. WIN.

edit: also, the HH logo lights up bright red. sound doesn't matter, it's all about how bada*s it LOOKS on a dark stage ^_^

Edited May 1, 2009 by escholl

[Jase]

I've also just found out after tonights gig that on Sunday, backline will be provided...it's Ampeg

[Soulfinger]

[quote name='urb' post='474619' date='Apr 28 2009, 10:52 PM']I left most of the controls flat by the way.[/quote]
Just curious: Did you have the filters (VPF and VLE) off? "Flat" with these controls is all the way counterclockwise - both on will wreck your sound.

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='474668' date='Apr 28 2009, 11:09 PM']Perhaps more to do with the stage/venue?[/quote]

Yip... try the Markbass at the rehearsal room and / or the Laney/Peavey at the gig. That'll let you know for sure.

[lemmywinks]

[quote name='Soulfinger' post='477501' date='May 2 2009, 07:33 AM']Just curious: Did you have the filters (VPF and VLE) off? "Flat" with these controls is all the way counterclockwise - both on will wreck your sound.[/quote]


True! I really dislike the VLE and the VPF never gets more than a quarter turn. Sounds nice with them both totally off IMO!