Little Mark alternatives?

[Jakester]

I currently play through a Mark Bass combo - the CMD121P, albeit the head has been replaced by a LM3. For louder gigs I have the NY121 cab.

 

The reason for replacement was that the combo head kept flaking out on me - intermittently cutting out, suddenly jumping in volume etc etc. Despite an expensive trip to Real, the issues weren't solved, so rather than chuck more money at it, I bought a 2nd hand LM3 and stuck that in. However, I am still worried that that might suddenly go too. 

 

I've taken to carrying around a back up head with me which, whilst good practice overall, is a pain for rehearsals. The backup isn't really a suitable long-term replacement - it's a GR Mini, which struggles with louder stuff.

 

Basically I'm constantly worrying about the MB head, and I'm about ready to stop using MB stuff altogether due to the lack of repairability. 

 

So, I'm looking for recommendations for replacements.

 

I like a clean, modern tone - I do occasionally add dirt, but that comes from pedals, so I don't need it in an amp. I like the small MB form factor. There's a few EBS bargains on the forum ATM but they're all full-width rack mount heads. 

 

A friend has an Ashdown RM500 combo. It's larger than the CMD, but I have no complaints about the cabs, just the head, so I could use the combo headless as a cab. My concern about Ashdown is whenever I've used them in the past, they seem to have a 'baked in' vintage tone - albeit with the RM specifically I've only briefly played through my friend's with his settings. Can the RM do a clean, modern tone?

 

I've had a GK MB500 in the past, which was more than loud enough, but a bit too aggro. 

 

The Aguilar heads look good - the AG500 would have been perfect, but they don't do it any more. The TH500 would do a job, but again I don't need the drive. 

 

Any others? How do Eich heads fare? I liked GB heads when they were around, but I'd have thought repairability would be an issue now the company's gone. Genzler seem good, but quite ££. 

 

I like the GR Mini when I use it, but the more powerful GR heads seem to have unnecessarily complicated features (such as the light show stuff or biamps) which makes me worry about longevity. 

 

Any others I should be looking at?

 

 

[LennyP]

Interested in this also. I had a CMD121H combo 2008 for years and it was perfectly reliable. Used it mostly at 8 ohms without the extension speaker. However, sold it due to a quiet gigging period. I then bought an LMII and a 4 ohm NY122 last year and the head keeps cutting out. Tried all types of settings. My Markbass F1 doesn't cut out with the same 4 ohm cab. Love the sound of the NY122 but what to pair it with other than the F1? I would ideally buy a new Markbass head, but a bit hesitant to do so at the moment

For now I'm using an Ashdown Mag 400 but really want a lightweight head. 

 

[ikay]

In this post from 21 April the OP (not me) says that he will shortly be selling an AG500 if that's of any interest.

 

[spyder]

There are lots of MB heads for sale in the for sale section. Mine has always been very reliable and sounds great with many different cabs. 

Edited May 5, 2023 by spyder

[Jakester]

19 minutes ago, spyder said:

There are lots of MB heads for sale in the for sale section. Mine has always been very reliable and sounds great with many different cabs. 

 

Looking for alternatives to Mark Bass, not different models.

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by Jakester

[Steve A]

1 hour ago, ikay said:

In this post from 21 April the OP (not me) says that he will shortly be selling an AG500 if that's of any interest.

 

Thanks for mentioning it. I do have an AG500 I’ll be selling soon @Jakester

 

I’m just having it serviced for sale. It’s in a 2U Aguilar rack bag but also will come with a brand new, never used Aguilar branded padded bag which makes the amp even more portable. 
 

Message me if interested.

 

Cheers!

 

Steve
 

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by Steve A

[fretmeister]

There was a similar thread recently that might help.

 

 

 

[BassAdder60]

Aguilar AG700 might be worth considering? 
 

Or Ashdown RM500 / RM800 are nice 

[Jakester]

33 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

There was a similar thread recently that might help.

 

 

 

Thanks - it was your comment on that thread that made me query whether the RM could do modern/clean. 

[Jakester]

18 minutes ago, BassAdder60 said:

Aguilar AG700 might be worth considering? 
 

Or Ashdown RM500 / RM800 are nice 

Yep, looked in the direction of the AG700 but might be a bit more power than needed. 
 

As per my query in the OP, can the Ashdowns do clean/modern, or do they have the vintage tone baked in?

[fretmeister]

Depends how you define clean / modern I suppose.

 

The RM won't do a proper Marcus Miller sound as well as a Mark Bass, but it will still do clean and clear. Can even turn off the EQ completely if you like.

 

Have you got a clip of a tone you like? Then sometime over the weekend I'll see how close I can get for a bit of fun.

[Dan Dare]

5 hours ago, Jakester said:

Yep, looked in the direction of the AG700 but might be a bit more power than needed. 
 

As per my query in the OP, can the Ashdowns do clean/modern, or do they have the vintage tone baked in?

 

You don't have to crank an AG700. Mine sounds nice at low volume and it is useful, if you want a clean tone, to have the headroom. They're quite pricey. The Ashdown Retroglide, despite what the name might suggest, is versatile, with extensive eq and does modern/clean, vintage, etc. Not available new, but you can pick them up used in good shape for sensible money.

[lowregisterhead]

You might want to give the EBS Reidmar 502 a look - I use one with 2 x EBS 210s, it has power to spare, great clarity and really flexible EQ, and weighs only 3.3kg. It runs down to a 2 ohm load as well, and Andertons do them for just under £450.

 

https://www.andertons.co.uk/ebs/ebs-reidmar-502-bass-amp-head

 

[chris_b]

6 hours ago, Jakester said:

Yep, looked in the direction of the AG700 but might be a bit more power than needed.

 

IMO power isn't an issue unless the amp doesn't have enough. Having more than you need is the goal because, if you like a clean sound, you need more power than you're going to use in order to get the best tone. 

 

The AG700 still sounds special in my front room when practising at talking volume.

 

The most I've run the Master is at 1 o'clock for loud bands and it's usually at about 10 o'clock for regular bands. The reason I use my AG700 is for the tone.

[skidder652003]

not to derail the thread but do you use a preamp pedal with xlr Di out so you have a back up to the PA if your main amp fails?

At least that way you wouldn't have to be so worried if your markbass fails at a gig or rehearsal?

Iu se a Laney Digbeth with my markbass combo.

[Jakester]

18 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Depends how you define clean / modern I suppose.

 

The RM won't do a proper Marcus Miller sound as well as a Mark Bass, but it will still do clean and clear. Can even turn off the EQ completely if you like.

 

Have you got a clip of a tone you like? Then sometime over the weekend I'll see how close I can get for a bit of fun.

 

Thanks - I tend to look for the cleanest sound because I can dirty it up or go 'more vintage' with EQ or a mute. I guess the sort of thing I like is the modern, mids-heavy Tom Kennedy type of thing: 

 

 

I should say I'm in no way comparing myself to him, nor do I play his style - just like the sound, that's all!

[Jakester]

13 hours ago, lowregisterhead said:

You might want to give the EBS Reidmar 502 a look - I use one with 2 x EBS 210s, it has power to spare, great clarity and really flexible EQ, and weighs only 3.3kg. It runs down to a 2 ohm load as well, and Andertons do them for just under £450.

 

https://www.andertons.co.uk/ebs/ebs-reidmar-502-bass-amp-head

 

 

Thanks, did check it out, but I tend to mostly just use one 8ohm cab (i.e. the combo) and I think the 502 only puts out its max power at 2ohms, so it's only 250w at 4ohms and I presume even less at 8ohms. Good price though! 

 

6 hours ago, skidder652003 said:

not to derail the thread but do you use a preamp pedal with xlr Di out so you have a back up to the PA if your main amp fails?

At least that way you wouldn't have to be so worried if your markbass fails at a gig or rehearsal?

Iu se a Laney Digbeth with my markbass combo.

 

I do, but it's away being repaired ATM. Most of my gigs are in a orchestra so I'm doubling electric and DB and almost always with no PA support. I mean, we usually have a PA but there's almost always no foldback and nothing but keys and vocals go through it. 

[fretmeister]

22 hours ago, Jakester said:

 

Thanks - I tend to look for the cleanest sound because I can dirty it up or go 'more vintage' with EQ or a mute. I guess the sort of thing I like is the modern, mids-heavy Tom Kennedy type of thing: 

 

 

I should say I'm in no way comparing myself to him, nor do I play his style - just like the sound, that's all!

I’ve had a bit of a play and I reckon it can get really close to that. I used a jazz on the bridge pickup. Amp Input-gain somewhere in the middle.  I bumped the 240hz control a bit to give it a bit more thickness.

 

Sounded nice to me!