Off Topic I am freakin' sold on Markbass....

[RitchieDarling]

Late to the party as usual. But, I have to say I'd not trade my Markbass gear for any of my old amps. And that includes my SVT-4 Pro that our friend Dave LaRue helped me set up.

I lubs me sum Markbass!!

Ritchie

 

[MingusBASS]

Off topic, and I know some pros use it, but the 4 Pro is an under powered, mediocre sounding dog! Give me my SVT-VR any day.

 

[laneline]

So on my trip to Nashville I had a chance to play a BFR Stingray 5H
Glad to hear your your report as I plan to sell my Ashdown rig, and Markbass is a consideration now even more so, but before I get to worked up about a BFR SR5, am I correct in assuming you mean a rosewood ?

 

[Manfloozy]

Yes, solid Rosewood neck... Beautiful, and a reasonable price too. I will post the pics tonight.

 

[TheStiffness]

our church's bassist bought the Little Mark II a few weeks ago --- Awesome.

 

[RaginRog]

So on my trip to Nashville I had a chance to play a BFR Stingray 5H through a Markbass Mini 121p with a New York 121 extension cabinet... and ... OH.... MY.... GAWD....

I just sold the Ampeg SVT4-PRO with the 115 and 410HE.... and I am not going back. I was really skepticle... and had to try one out because of the reviews I had read... and hearing is believing. This little thing looked like a "toy" practice amp with MAYBE 10 watts.... but I repeat OH MY GAWD.... the "little lunch box" opened up a Sam's Club Sized CAN-O-WHOOP A** (TM) on the store. The freakin' low B was more articulate and full on this thing then on an Ampeg 6x10 with a SWR 750 watt head.

I must have the killer little lunch box from haites rig... and I must have it yesterday.

Seriously though, if you haven't tried their stuff... go do it. You will be really glad you did. It sounded great with that Stingray, and I will definately be buying one. I could use any advice from any of the Markbass Vets out there on which way to go. I don't need anything TOO loud, club gig max. I want it to be able to handle the low B of the upcoming Bongo, and I like warmth. I saw they now have a LM Tube head which is appealing, but I was also REALLY impressed by the Mini 121p. I also considered the 151p for more depth. Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Really.... it was like a Rubics Cube of Doom...... I made the Geetards stop playing..... rattled the ceilings in the OTHER room.... caused an adolecent to have a bowel movement, and had an epiphic revelation all at the same time. But yet I digress. BFR Ray Pics to come. But I really had to share this experience.

No Bongo's anywhere though.... made me kind of sad.

I have the MArkbass 210 combo & 115 extension and was thinking of shrinking up my rig to the same rig you've mentioned. Hell, my band uses a PA, so I'd never need such a monsterous rig.

 

[Peter Murray]

Hello Friends!

First of all I want to thank you all for the great Markbass love. We appreciate all the kind words greatly.

And in case any of you don't know, Markbass loves EBMM... we use MusicMan basses at our factory, at trade shows and wherever we show off our products. Because they make our amps sound incredible!

And personally, I am rocking a beautiful Egyptian Smoke 5H Bongo several nights a week in the Toronto area! I love it to bits and so does everyone who hears and sees it!

Now... to address the shutdown question. Our amps have shutdown circuitry that makes the amp shut down in cases of overheating, impedance mismatch (below 4 ohms) and short circuit.
That means that when this happens, there are several possible causes:
- the amp is overheating because the fan vents are being obstructed in some way, or the amp's fan is defective
- the amp is being used with cabinets that have lower than 4 ohm impedance; this can even occur (rarely) with cabs that are "rated" at 4 ohms but are in fact lower. Or two cabs that are actually less than 8 ohms each.
- there is a short circuit in the cabinet or speaker cable
- lastly (and in rare cases) there could be a defect in the amp that is setting off the shutdown function.

This "shutdown" circuitry is designed to protect your amp, and it's a good thing that the amp shuts down in these circumstances, because it's how your amp is protecting itself from damage. For example, if the problem is related to impedance or overheating or short circuit, the amp will shut down when it detects the problem, but if you fix the problem, your amp should be fine after that!

All electronic equipment has a chance of malfunction, but as it has been pointed out, our reliability rate is very high. We're proud of this, but also constantly striving to improve it. We're also very serious about our service support, and our US warranty allows you to exchange the amp for the first two years, unless there are signs of user abuse, misuse or modification.

If anyone has any more questions, please let me know.

Again, thanks for all the kind words, on behalf of all of us at Markbass!

Cheers,
Peter

 

[tkarter]

Thank you very much for the info Peter.

tk

 

[Stephen]

...
Now... to address the shutdown question. Our amps have shutdown circuitry that makes the amp shut down in cases of overheating, impedance mismatch (below 4 ohms) and short circuit.
That means that when this happens, there are several possible causes:
- the amp is overheating because the fan vents are being obstructed in some way, or the amp's fan is defective
- the amp is being used with cabinets that have lower than 4 ohm impedance; this can even occur (rarely) with cabs that are "rated" at 4 ohms but are in fact lower. Or two cabs that are actually less than 8 ohms each.
- there is a short circuit in the cabinet or speaker cable
- lastly (and in rare cases) there could be a defect in the amp that is setting off the shutdown function.

This "shutdown" circuitry is designed to protect your amp, and it's a good thing that the amp shuts down in these circumstances, because it's how your amp is protecting itself from damage. For example, if the problem is related to impedance or overheating or short circuit, the amp will shut down when it detects the problem, but if you fix the problem, your amp should be fine after that!
...

Hi Peter!

I am wondering: the protection circuits seem to react to different situations. Is it possible for the user to get hold of that information, maybe via blink codes (blink three times for defect fan, four times for short circuit, etc.)?

I think, this would greatly help finding and fixing those errors - if they happen, that is.

Cheers, Stephen

 

[Big Poppa]

If bass players could count then that would be a great idea.....

 

[T-bone]

If bass players could count then that would be a great idea.....

Ah One
Ah Two
Ah One Two Three Four

No problem.

tbone

 

[rizzo9247]

I'm pretty certain the majority of those shutdowns were due to the drummer trying to hook up the bass rig...just sayin...

 

[lowendgrowl]

I still can't get into the Markbass gear...... I've tried, and still just don't like it. That is the best part about being a musician...... We all have out own individual idea on what we like......... Mark Bass has two things that I love, and that is the fact that their gear is lightweight, and has an awesome color...... I just can't seem to find the tone I'm looking for on any of the stuff I played on.

 

[Basspro]

^+1. Yeah same here, not that markbass is bad, it's just not the tone i'm looking for.

 

[Manfloozy]

How would you describe your tone, and what rig do you use for it? I am curious. I don't have experience with a very large number of amps/cabs... So I am always glad to hear opinions. Thanks!

 

[Peter Murray]

Hi Peter!

I am wondering: the protection circuits seem to react to different situations. Is it possible for the user to get hold of that information, maybe via blink codes (blink three times for defect fan, four times for short circuit, etc.)?

I think, this would greatly help finding and fixing those errors - if they happen, that is.

Cheers, Stephen

Hi Stephen,
Our Classic 300 all-tube head has this kind of functionality--its Amp Management System tells you if the head is overheating, getting too much current, unplugged from the cabinet, suffering from a failing power tube, etc. However this is very sophisticated technology that would add to the cost of the amp.
Although some people would appreciate this, most people like to keep their amp simple, and I believe this is one of the reasons the Little Mark has been so successful. The price is also crucial, and I don't think we'd want to raise the price of an amp by adding a feature that generally customers don't seem to "need".
Cheers,
Peter

 

[Stephen]

Thanks, Peter!

I understand the point about pricing.

As far as keeping the amp simple, I don't really see why this would be a problem as long as the amp management doesn't get intrusive in a Vista kind of way ("You have tried to dial in more bass. This could result in a too fat tone and exploding yaks. Cancel or proceed?") but instead remains silently in the background until needed for protection and a quick diagnosis (Do I just have to check my speaker cable instead of sending the unit in because of a broken fan ... something like that).

Cheers, Stephen

 

[T Alan]

Luuuvin' my MB head. Although, it sounded dreamy slappin' thru an Epifani 3x10", this rig couldn't be more perfect for the small scale stuff I do-

I've also tried it with other cabs, like the Boogie 1x12 and DrBass 2x10' & 2x12", but the Bergantino AE410 was the finest 4x10" setup I've played thru...perfect clarity thru the frequency spectrum.
To me, the LMII is the perfect refinement(where other mfgs missed the mark) of the industry standard GK800RB. A fraction of the weight & size, more power, similar front end, clearer sound.

 

[phat5]

My LM II continues to amaze me. I auditioned several "boutique" cabs and amps the other day with my eub. Out of the 4 amp heads, the MB won out. I also use the LM II as an active direct box in the studio. I'm going back to doing larger rock gigs, and have considered using a large GK rig. Maybe all I need, is a MB 4X10?

 

[T Alan]

My LM II continues to amaze me. I auditioned several "boutique" cabs and amps the other day with my eub. Out of the 4 amp heads, the MB won out. I also use the LM II as an active direct box in the studio. I'm going back to doing larger rock gigs, and have considered using a large GK rig. Maybe all I need, is a MB 4X10?

Personally, not sold on MB's cabs. Glad to hear good reviews tho. To me, a BIG benefit of the cost of the LMII was how it allowed me to allocate more $$$ towards a sweeter cab. Depending on your tone goals, give the Berg or Epi a shot.