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MARK BASS


Nate
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[quote name='Aussiephoenix' post='8173' date='May 28 2007, 05:06 PM']+1

I've currently got a Markbass Little Mark F-Series L.E. Paired up with an ebs 4x10.

Sweetest setup I've ever had.

At this moment in time, there's no other amp Giving me GAS. The MB Provides and Delivers.[/quote]

Dangerously entertaining!! The soundguy D.I'd after the head and I nearly took some walls down!!
Thats me looking furtive behind the rig by the way.

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I use a LMKII and my evaluation of it is this.

For gigging, it is absolutley superb. 500w at 4 ohms is perfect for gigging, because I can run a small 2x10 cab and with it being very small and lightweight, it is very portable. Tone wise, it sounded crap with my old Status 5 string, but with a Stingray it is much nicer. It's maybe a lil bland in tone for my liking and you can't get any real growl out of it. It is a very clean sounding amp. Fairly diverse in terms of tones with the VLE and V-whatever-it-is knob, but most of the tones that come out of it don't agree with my ears, so while it may be diverse in terms of the different sounds it kicks out, I think some of them are a bit crappy.

If I was recording, I think I would use something else as it is a little bit lacking in character.

I would rate it a 7/10 given the reasonable pricing.

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Yeah they ARE getting 'fad-ish' BUT IMHO it's because they're a DAMN good product at a good price- & of course- the size/weight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tried one out a cuppla yrs ago & wasn't impressed BUT when i tried the LMII I was blown away immediately. Power to weight ratio is OUTTA this world. & has a WIDE range of tones available.....sure it aint gonna sound like a '60's B15(what does-apart from a '60's B15) ;-) but U can coax a vintage tone, punchy rock, modern slap-virtually ANY tone U like. Remember- I'm a ALL valve amp guy myself- had 'em all my life-since I started gigging in 1976-at 13 yrs old!- til a cuppla yrs ago I though I'd try some of the "new" gear. Tried AMpeg, MarkBass, Hartke, GK,Fender, Ashdown........ Outta which I liked the Ampeg SVT3PRO the best- MarkBass the least(this was the light YELLOW one). I bought the 3PRO & was fine til' I realized I needed 2 get back to ALL TUBE-not just a tube preamp!!!!!!!!
To cut a long story... I swapped the 3 PRO for My Fender 300PRO- EXCELLENT!
Now... I still had my old '70's Eminar(Aus made) valve amp & used this for my jazz band with my Elec. uprite bass. Then after seeing ALL the hype re the LMII on Talkbass I thought I'd give one a try(size/weight etc) I was BLOWN away with it straight away!!! TOTAL opposite of what I thought of the older one(bright yellow) I tried earlier. This one had variable tones, lotsa versatility-the older one I tried seemed(2 me) 2 be limited in tones & NOT very versatile( & I took this[& all amps I tried, mentioned above] amp home to try) it seemed to not change much from the one tone it COULD do- & I didn't like that tone!!!!!!
The LMII seems to be almost TOTALLY opposite of this-very versatile. And powerful- I'd be totally happy 2 use this instead of either of my all valve amps at a gig-knowing i could get a great sound, have plenny of power, & be sounding good out front(with PA support-if any)

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But I'd still reccomend U get a all tube amp ;-) either a V4BH or if U NEED CRUSHING volume - an SVT-CL/VR/II/IIPRO-NOT SVT350H/450H/1000H which are all S.State!!!!! OR a Fender/SUNN 300PRO. Orange AD200, MArshall VBA400!!!!!! CANNOT BEAT the sound of ALL tube-power amp tubes give the amp a sound U feel more than S.State amps do IMHO

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[quote name='Jimbo' post='9404' date='May 30 2007, 07:16 PM']I've now got the Markbass LMK that was Warwickhunt's and I'm very impressed. My main amp for years was a SWR Bass 350, which is very transparent in comparison. I'll back up the other comments made so far - with everything set flat, the Markbass has a more 'flavoured' or 'coloured' sound than anything else I have tried. IMHO it is very musical and nothing you can't tweak if you don't like it - I have yet to try it in a band setting so will be interested to see how much tweaking is required when the time comes. Bear in mind I'm using a Schroeder cab - which further complicates things as it is biased in it's own way.

The most amazing thing is the size and weight (tiny) vs. volume and tone (huge)...

Edited to add - great playing by the way![/quote]

Jimbo

I use my SA450 with a 1210 cab and at first i didn't like it too much. It was ok and did the job but i felt the mids were over powering. Thats the reason i got the SA450 over the LMII so i could tame them. As it happens i rarely touch the mids now, the two filters do all i need.
We played a rock set recently at a wedding and the bass sounded very good. My drummer said it sounded more like my GK 1001RBII than my GK 1001RBII.
Generally though i find it just does the job. Its loud to the point that i can drown the band out if needed (i dont) and out front the lows seem to bloom a bit and the mids die off and it sounds smoother than it does close up. I dont go for a specific sound as much as just something that fits the song. With the 1210 i cant seem to get that many different tones no matter what head i use but what it does, it does well IMHO

Im probably going to get a LMII this week and keep the SA450 for use with my UL212 (once its fixed). After over a year i feel the mid controls aren't needed on the SA450 as much as i thought they would be. I have a gig tomorrow night that ill use my SA450 in LMII mode to see how i get on.

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I bought Warwickhunts sa450 i use it with a swr 2x10 and i love it. havnt gigged it yet but sounds great it

mellows my Alembic
brings out the true nature of my fretless rick turner
and difines my schecter with emgs
makes my effects more alive

put simply it makes everything sound better to me

andrew

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[quote name='metaltime' post='10697' date='Jun 1 2007, 06:31 PM']I am sure any Mark bass head will be great

best of luck

p.s. i vote go stupid and get the SD800 you no you want it[/quote]

I do want it and im willing to get in to debt over it but i have read posts where its not clear how well it works at a gig.
A couple of people have said it lacks throw at a gig even though it sounds fine on its own.
im waiting for Ken Jung's views over on TB to see what he thinks. Its a lovely amp on its own but its at a gig that it needs to count and £950 is a big mistake if its wrong. plus i have never needed that amount of power and never will but its the amount of headroom and speed that's attracting me.
Im sure a LMII will do.

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Well i just got a LMII. couldn't justify the SD800 (nor could i afford it this week) but needed to get something for this weekends gig.
so the GK is up for sale now.
Im hoping it will sound good with my 1210 on Sat. With this band i dont need a lot of power and ive still got more than i have ever needed. just hope i dont miss the extra mid control of the SA450.
Although i tended to run the EQ more or less flat i do use a bit of low mid boost sometimes around 100hz, wont be able to do that now but i guess i can swap it with the SA450 if i need to.

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I find that mine is just great. I used to have a P501 - the new version is the TA501 I think with the tube compressor - and that had the same EQ as the SA450. I ahve to saty I have not missed it at all sine using the LMII. The simplicity is just great. I would like a mute switch, but hey ho.

I will be amazed if you dont find it to be all you need - at the end of the day, there wil be small compromises in all gear, but fir portability and power this is fine for me, and I uaually just use a sinlge 8ohm cab in a loud ish band with 2 keys players etc, and it is never left wanting. ANd the MB bag only has holes on the bottom, so if it is on your back the rain wont get in!

Cheers

Enjoy!

Chris

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Chris
I was going to get the smaller MB bag untill i found out the price. I have a nice padded laptop bag i can use or a few rucksacks not being used.
Funny enough i have only just recently found a really nice tone on the Sa450 by backing the high mids off. I wont be able to do that with the LMII but like you say, there is always compromises.
I really only went for the LMII as it's cheaper than another SA450. Size and weight isnt really a factor for me.
The only thing i hate about having a LMII is the balanced input wil never, ever be used and i see it as a waste but thats just me.

Im playing a few Haven holiday camps next month and i need quite a powerful rig as we might not have full PA support. You usually mic up if you need to and then run your desk in to the house system but last time we played one we only put the vocals through it. That gig i had my GK and UL115. This time ill have the SA450 and my 4ohms UL212 so im sure what i lack in amp power ill make up for in cab loudness.
Its these gigs that have made me upgrade this rig but i have no regrets (other than the UL212 not working properly at the moment)

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bit of a thread derail - which Havens are you doing - I did most of them last year so there is a possible heads up about some of the rooms, assuming you have not been there in the past yourself - pm me if you like.

We would always assume that there was no PA support provided by the venue, and take our own. Quite often the ents folk would have either broken the house system, or have no idea how to use it for a band. So we would either use our own totally, or sometimes back this up by taking stereo outs into their system as reinforcement. A pain really , as tjhey are all a lonh way, and the money is pretty average, and that is being kind...

Fantasy Island (Igoldmells) and Selsey are 2 notable exceptions where they do a full mix for you through their own system, but these are not Haven

Later

Chris

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cuppla points- IIRC the LMII has bass, low mid, hi mid, treb. EQ controlsthen the 2 filters.
FWIW-I USUALLY leave the EQ flat, have the 1st(left)filter-VLE- on 1/4 or a bit either side of that & the (right)VPF filter on 1/3- 2/3 THO I have tried it on a cuppla gigs - with NOT using the filters at all & using the EQ-IIRC I used bass-1 oclock, low mid-12oclock, hi mid-1.30, treb-12oclock.
I-also- use an old LAPTOP bag-its padded, has a zipper pocket-fits 2 gtr leads,spkr & power leads, & a pocket inside-xlr lead. I DO use the XLR input on the front- I play in a jazz style band & have my P/J elec.bass plugged into jack input & my elec. uprite plugged into the XLR= VERY handy for me!!!!!!
Also IMHO I like the LMII better than ALL the other MB gear I tried & I DID try the SA450 & one I can't remember the model-Silver front, "tube inside" written on front panel & I think it had a Semi parametric EQ.......Nah-cant remember the model No. But I find the LMII to be a bit "livelier" & more adjustable & therefore =versatile!
JUST IMHO-of course

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Homer
Yes i remember that, i almost got one for my Sa450 but looking at that i know i wouldn't get much gear in it.
I have a radio system as well.
So far i can get it all in either a small rucksack or a laptop bag and its easier to put on my shoulder.

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Yep a laptop bag is the go IMHO. Fits snug & has room for leads!!!!!!
I didn't mean it had MORE EQ options than the SA450.... I thought it was same- My mistake- I get muddled up & hadn't even seen a SA450 for a while-lead a pretty 'sheltered life down here!!!!!;-) Didn't realize the SA450 had semi-para.mids!!!! tch tch-sorry!

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[quote name='rodl2005' post='12339' date='Jun 5 2007, 10:01 AM']Yep a laptop bag is the go IMHO. Fits snug & has room for leads!!!!!!
I didn't mean it had MORE EQ options than the SA450.... I thought it was same- My mistake- I get muddled up & hadn't even seen a SA450 for a while-lead a pretty 'sheltered life down here!!!!!;-) Didn't realize the SA450 had semi-para.mids!!!! tch tch-sorry![/quote]

No problem
yeah, the SA450 was the one i went for last year. Thought it would help tame my 1210 cab.
As it is i find i dont need the extra Mid control much with any cab. I just use the filters more like most people.

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