The Music Man/Markbass Connection

[Big Poppa]

OK I get it.....Did you know that the number one demographic for new entrepreneurs is 55?

Seriously. Its because they cant get hired, they are retired and hate it, or they just dont want to work for anybody anymore.

I love mark bass

 

[Grand Wazoo]

I love Mark Bass too, best sounding amp I have ever had, and I've had a few. As everyone else has said, they compliment MusicMan basses perfectly.

All I can add is about their robust reliability, and ease of transportation, light and yet solid, and with a big sound to boot, who can ask for more?

 

[Peter Murray]

Hey friends!

Happy to discover this thread. And very happy to confirm that Markbass loves EBMM, Sterling, the whole EBMM family and community, and definitely loves MusicMan basses!

Sterling has been an incredible friend and supporter of ours since day one, and we are always eager to do whatever we can to support him and his legendary company and products.

In addition, I will say that I do feel that MusicMan basses are especially good matches with Markbass gear. It's no coincidence that so many of our artists play MusicMans.

Myself included! I am a proud owner and player of a 5-string Bongo H, and a 5-string 25th Anniversary HH. They give me everything I need in any musical situation, and I couldn't be happier.

By the way, if any of you ever have any Markbass questions or need any support from us, please feel free to hit me up here or by email at peter at markbass dot it.

Cheers and thanks Sterling!
Peter

 

[Grand Wazoo]

Hi Peter, keep up the good work both at the factory and here, as I've said above I love Markbass amps, my fav is a modified CMD102P with a Little Mark Tube head in it

 

[bovinehost]

Hey, Peter!

Jack

 

[Joey SQUID]

What guitar is Big Poppa playin?? I love it!

 

[bovinehost]

What guitar is Big Poppa playin?? I love it!

Dargie Delight Silo that was given away at the Dallas Bash.

I think in that photo I've fallen briefly asleep.

 

[JayDawg]

Hey friends!

Happy to discover this thread. And very happy to confirm that Markbass loves EBMM, Sterling, the whole EBMM family and community, and definitely loves MusicMan basses!

Sterling has been an incredible friend and supporter of ours since day one, and we are always eager to do whatever we can to support him and his legendary company and products.

In addition, I will say that I do feel that MusicMan basses are especially good matches with Markbass gear. It's no coincidence that so many of our artists play MusicMans.

Myself included! I am a proud owner and player of a 5-string Bongo H, and a 5-string 25th Anniversary HH. They give me everything I need in any musical situation, and I couldn't be happier.

By the way, if any of you ever have any Markbass questions or need any support from us, please feel free to hit me up here or by email at peter at markbass dot it.

Cheers and thanks Sterling!
Peter

Hey Peter, what would you recommend for smaller venues like churches and such? I need something kind of portable but something that has an XLR input.
Thanks,
Jay

 

[Murphy]

My 2 cents
I really love the combo of my Stingray 5vers and my Markbass SA450 head!!

 

[Peter Murray]

Hey Peter, what would you recommend for smaller venues like churches and such? I need something kind of portable but something that has an XLR input.
Thanks,
Jay

Hi Jay,
All of our CMD and Mini CMD combos have XLR inputs, so any one of them would be a good choice.
One great thing about these combos is that any of them (except the CMD 103H) can be connected to any 8 ohm cabinet to draw the full 500W from the internal head.
My fave rig these days is the Mini CMD 121P connected to a New York 121. That's a 500W 2x12 rig, weighs only 2 x 29 lbs, and takes up hardly any room on stage. I use that for all kinds of gigs.
I'm guessing that the combo on its own might be loud enough for your church and other small venues--that really depends on the volume of the group. But again, it's nice to have the option to just use the combo when you can get away with it, and then add an extension cab only when you feel it's necessary.
The Mini CMD 121P is our top-selling combo, and is extremely practical. The CMD 121H is a slightly larger 1x12, with a 1" compression driver and custom horn, so it has a somewhat fuller sound overall. The CMD 102P is also very popular (2x10). And we have two 1x15 combos, the Mini CMD 151P (with tweeter) and the Jeff Berlin Signature model (no tweeter).
I use the Minimark sometimes for smaller gigs, especially jazz/dinner stuff (even with drums) but it has no XLR input.

If you have any followup questions or need suggestions on pairing combos to extension cabs, let me know!

Cheers,
Peter

 

[Kamakiriad]

Hi Peter,

I'm currently using a 104HR cabinet, and while I love 4x10s, it's a little tricky to fit into some cars/backseats. I'd like something more portable and a 2x12 cab sounds perfect. In fact, what you described as your own setup sounds perfect to me. How would you describe the differences in the sound of 4x10 to 2x12?

Markbass are the best amps in the world...

Thanks,
Chris

 

[JayDawg]

Cool, thanks Peter. I will look into those combos.

 

[Jim C]

At one point I had an Ampeg Speaker selector connected to:
LMII; SVT; SVT 3-Pro, SVP pre / power amp, Trace Elliot, and an SWR head
switchable to:
EV TL606, Berg HT322, EV B-15M cabinets

With a Stingray (as well as some other basses) it was surprising that the MB head just plain flat out sounded better than the rest no matter what the combination of cabs and basses (assuming equal volume as the pre/power rig is 1500 watts)

Really remarkable equipment
Only downsides that I can see is that like all the little amps, they don't fair well when being dropped, and that schematics are not available for non-factory sponsored shops for repairs
Will have to try a MB cab in the future

 

[Kamakiriad]

Before the summer is out I'll be placing an order to upgrade from my little mark 250 to this.

 

[Manfloozy]

Before the summer is out I'll be placing an order to upgrade from my little mark 250 to this.

Had that exact setup with the 500w chassis. Loved it!

I would highly recommend it!

 

[five7]

Anyone in denver today that wants to hear a bongo HH thru a markbass tube 800 head and 810 cabinet, come on down to the Larimer Lounge at 4:00 and give it a whirl.

 

[Aussie Mark]

Just scored a used LM800 at a killer price, and then sold my LMII the next day for the same price. Easiest 300w upgrade I've ever done!

 

[five7]

Just scored a used LM800 at a killer price, and then sold my LMII the next day for the same price. Easiest 300w upgrade I've ever done!

You will love the extra 300. I went from a f1 to the 800 and love the extra zip.

 

[Rano Bass]

Just scored a used LM800 at a killer price, and then sold my LMII the next day for the same price. Easiest 300w upgrade I've ever done!

Wow, i cant imagine needing more power than my LMII
Congrats on a good deal.

 

[BassMent]

My fave rig these days is the Mini CMD 121P connected to a New York 121. That's a 500W 2x12 rig, weighs only 2 x 29 lbs, and takes up hardly any room on stage. I use that for all kinds of gigs.
I'm guessing that the combo on its own might be loud enough for your church and other small venues--that really depends on the volume of the group. But again, it's nice to have the option to just use the combo when you can get away with it, and then add an extension cab only when you feel it's necessary.
The Mini CMD 121P is our top-selling combo, and is extremely practical.

The CMD 121P is pretty much all of the amp I ever use. We play smaller bars, pubs and coffee houses, and just running it without an extension cab (300w) I rarely have the master vol cracked open past about 4. It's got amazing tone and punch, and is ridiculously loud.

However, that does not keep me from lusting after a NY 151 cabinet, which will be my next equipment purchase. I took both of my EBMM 5's down to GC and ran a CMD 121P with the NY 151 cabinet, and the fullness of the B string (open) was mind-blowing. I'll probably never need 500w, but that combination of amp and speakers sounded so perfect to me that even if my volume never gets past 1 it'll be worth having that setup... gobs of warmth but no mud.