Collecting my new Markbass cab today,

[tonybassplayer]

After months of deliberation and pro-crastination I made a bit of an impulse purchase yesterday on ebay and purchased a new ( ex demo with some amp feet mark on the top ) Markbass 151 Traveller cab

Having used Behringer cabs for the last 4 years ( that have performed excellently I have to say ) I needed to do something on the weight front and at £425 it looks quite a decent purchase.

Looking to collect later today so getting pretty excited.

Report to follow, how much better than the Behringer will it be ??

[Musicman20]

Jees, that's quite a significant upgrade! Markbass cabs are some of the most expensive out there.

It will handle the frequencies much better, be lighter, and a lot more reliable!

Personally I like the design of their cabinets quite a lot, especially the NY series.

Hope you like it

Edited May 10, 2010 by Musicman20

[51m0n]

Huge.

First off though, start with flat eq, the Markbass cab will sound completely different from the Behringer anyway, using the same eq will therefore not work, and may even give you a detrimental view of your upgrade.

[Conan]

[quote name='51m0n' post='832930' date='May 10 2010, 11:43 AM']First off though, start with flat eq, the Markbass cab will sound completely different from the Behringer anyway, using the same eq will therefore not work, and may even give you a detrimental view of your upgrade.[/quote]

Interesting... are you implying that (at certain EQ settings at least) that the Behringer might actually sound better than The MB?!

[51m0n]

[quote name='Conan' post='832937' date='May 10 2010, 11:47 AM']Interesting... are you implying that (at certain EQ settings at least) that the Behringer might actually sound better than The MB?! [/quote]

Pretty much yes....

What I am implying is that the defficiencies in the Behringer will have been masked (at least to a certain extent) by amp eq settings. If you then apply those eq settings to a cab without the (same) defficincies (Markbass, Ampeg, Bergantino, whatever) it could easily sound like crud.

Example, a friend of mine had a perfectly useable Rode large condensor in his studio.he upgraded to a Neuman U87, buyt the first time he tracked with it on mix down he applied an old eq setting, sounded fugly as!

So if a cab has a dip at 200Hz say, and you boost your eq there to get more lo-mid punch, if you change the cab to one thats flatter at 200Hz, you could end up with a muddy sound. Its not the fault of the second cab though.

One thing I would bet on is that at gigging volumes, eq set flat, the Markbass will sound better than the Behringer, in fact it will probably achieve those volumes with less gain on the amp.

So whenever you change cabs you should IMO ditch your eq settings and start again, using your ears, not what the eq looks to be set like (way easier said than done).

[yorks5stringer]

it will certainly be lighter to carry and don't forget there is a piezo tweeter control as well, might be best to set it flat to start i.e. at 12 o'clock

[Conan]

[quote name='51m0n' post='833015' date='May 10 2010, 01:09 PM']Pretty much yes....

What I am implying is that the defficiencies in the Behringer will have been masked...... So whenever you change cabs you should IMO ditch your eq settings and start again, using your ears, not what the eq looks to be set like (way easier said than done).[/quote]

Ah. I understand now. That all makes perfect sense!

[dave_bass5]

For what its worth my MB 151P cab was the worst cab ive ever owned.
Not wanting to bring a downer on this thread but it lasted all of two gigs (regular ones so i knew how different i sounded) before i took it back to the shop.
The problem was i wanted a one cab rig and while the MB was a nice cab it really needed something to go with it.
It was all low end with no mid punch. Its the only time ive ever had to have the master on my SA450 almost all the way up to get heard, and that was not a good tone.
Even my MAG115 deep outperformed it with the same amp at the same gigs.
And yes, i did everything i could with the EQ. Thats the only reason it lasted two gigs.

Tony, i hope you have better luck than i did.

EDIT: I should add it was the older, square version. It was too small to deliver. Hopefully the newer ones are better.

Edited May 10, 2010 by dave_bass5

[Musicman20]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='833159' date='May 10 2010, 03:53 PM']For what its worth my MB 151P cab was the worst cab ive ever owned.
Not wanting to bring a downer on this thread but it lasted all of two gigs (regular ones so i knew how different i sounded) before i took it back to the shop.
The problem was i wanted a one cab rig and while the MB was a nice cab it really needed something to go with it.
It was all low end with no mid punch. Its the only time ive ever had to have the master on my SA450 almost all the way up to get heard, and that was not a good tone.
Even my MAG115 deep outperformed it with the same amp at the same gigs.
And yes, i did everything i could with the EQ. Thats the only reason it lasted two gigs.

Tony, i hope you have better luck than i did.

EDIT: I should add it was the older, square version. It was too small to deliver. Hopefully the newer ones are better.[/quote]

Oh heck, I hope its alright Tony. Im sure the redesigned version should be.

I want this one:

[url="http://www.bassmerchant.com/item_detail.php?product_id=990&category_id=2"]http://www.bassmerchant.com/item_detail.ph...p;category_id=2[/url]

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='833225' date='May 10 2010, 04:42 PM']Oh heck, I hope its alright Tony. Im sure the redesigned version should be.

I want this one:

[url="http://www.bassmerchant.com/item_detail.php?product_id=990&category_id=2"]http://www.bassmerchant.com/item_detail.ph...p;category_id=2[/url][/quote]

I know some people use the 151P as a one cab rig so im sure Tony will be fine.
I just needed something more full range and louder. I A/B'ed it with a Epifani UL15 in the Gallery when i took it back and it was like a thick fire blanket had been taken off the cab when we plugged in to the UL115.

[tonybassplayer]

[quote name='51m0n' post='832930' date='May 10 2010, 11:43 AM']Huge.

First off though, start with flat eq, the Markbass cab will sound completely different from the Behringer anyway, using the same eq will therefore not work, and may even give you a detrimental view of your upgrade.[/quote]


Strangely enough that is what happened but I think one of my young daughters had also been playing with the eq on my amp

Only had about twenty minutes playing about with it ( her indoors is now home and said she isn't listening to that noise all night, strangely enough my suggestion for her to go back to work then didn't go down too well )

Set the eq all flat and it's starting to sound nice and looking forward to playing about with it more tomorrow but as I am still using my Behringer amp think that I may not be able to fully utilise it's potential ( trying to talk myself in to buying a new amp )

[Musicman20]

[quote name='tonybassplayer' post='833384' date='May 10 2010, 06:24 PM']Strangely enough that is what happened but I think one of my young daughters had also been playing with the eq on my amp

Only had about twenty minutes playing about with it ( her indoors is now home and said she isn't listening to that noise all night, strangely enough my suggestion for her to go back to work then didn't go down too well )

Set the eq all flat and it's starting to sound nice and looking forward to playing about with it more tomorrow but as I am still using my Behringer amp think that I may not be able to fully utilise it's potential ( trying to talk myself in to buying a new amp )[/quote]

I HIGHLY suggest a LM2/3 for that cab. It will be the best combination and you can add to it to get a cool MB rig

[tonybassplayer]

Managed to get another hour with it today and just done an A/B with my old Behringer cab that I only gig with so it is only really heard with lots of other noise going on ( drummer, guitarists tuning up etc then the gig ) and staggered how much hissing and farting it was doing at low and high volume ( I think the tweeter is the main culprit )

Must admit that my amp settings now bear no resemblance to where they were sat at last gig and I am now playing about with my Vamp and seeing what the potential is.

So looking forward to Fridays wedding gig as it looks like a nightmare load in so may just go with the cab and not bother with the pa bass bins

Tony

PS Getting itchy to go the full monty and buy an MB combi to match

[51m0n]

[quote name='tonybassplayer' post='834269' date='May 11 2010, 02:40 PM']Managed to get another hour with it today and just done an A/B with my old Behringer cab that I only gig with so it is only really heard with lots of other noise going on ( drummer, guitarists tuning up etc then the gig ) and staggered how much hissing and farting it was doing at low and high volume ( I think the tweeter is the main culprit )

Must admit that my amp settings now bear no resemblance to where they were sat at last gig and I am now playing about with my Vamp and seeing what the potential is.

So looking forward to Fridays wedding gig as it looks like a nightmare load in so may just go with the cab and not bother with the pa bass bins

Tony

PS Getting itchy to go the full monty and buy an MB combi to match [/quote]

I'm glad I offered my thoughts then, otherwise you might have been scratching your head and wondering why your expensive new cab sounded plop

I would also say that when you get to the gig, start with the eq flat, get a level, then tweak the eq at that level, then adjust the level again. Its important to eq the amp at the level you will be playing at.

Again try your hardest to use your ears, not your vision when adjusting eq!

Edited May 11, 2010 by 51m0n

[Musicman20]

[quote name='tonybassplayer' post='834269' date='May 11 2010, 02:40 PM']Managed to get another hour with it today and just done an A/B with my old Behringer cab that I only gig with so it is only really heard with lots of other noise going on ( drummer, guitarists tuning up etc then the gig ) and staggered how much hissing and farting it was doing at low and high volume ( I think the tweeter is the main culprit )

Must admit that my amp settings now bear no resemblance to where they were sat at last gig and I am now playing about with my Vamp and seeing what the potential is.

So looking forward to Fridays wedding gig as it looks like a nightmare load in so may just go with the cab and not bother with the pa bass bins

Tony

PS Getting itchy to go the full monty and buy an MB combi to match [/quote]

Pics???

[tonybassplayer]

Will load some pics up later tonight



Reading quite a lot of good things about the Hartke LH500 amp over the last couple of days

Anyone used one with an MB cab ??

[Musicman20]

[quote name='tonybassplayer' post='834336' date='May 11 2010, 03:58 PM']Will load some pics up later tonight



Reading quite a lot of good things about the Hartke LH500 amp over the last couple of days

Anyone used one with an MB cab ??[/quote]

Ive used the Amp on a tour before, its damn loud, pretty musical, but quite one dimensional and fairly heavy. But what a price!

Try a LM3 as soon as you can...