Mark Bass Amps

rick_redux · Post by **rick_redux** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 5:29 am

*The difference between our heads could be that yours is completely solid state (I believe) and mine has a tube in the preamp section.*

Could be. I notice the same phenomenon with my Vox Valvetronix guitar amps. They too have a single tube (12AX7), though it functions differently than a standard preamp tube. It could be my ears, but both the Voxes (30W and 50W) seem to sound a little warmer and less shrill after a 1/2 hour or so of playing.

Mmmm, Walter Woods.... First time I've actually seen one!

jps · Post by **jps** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 6:46 am

Notice the rare Kenwood Model 600T FM tuner in the background?

bob_atherton · Post by **bob_atherton** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 7:37 am

Nice tuner. I had a Naim 01 tuner that I sold to get a 4001 about 3 years ago. I think I did the right thing.

jps · Post by **jps** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 2:42 pm

Perhaps, but the 600T goes nowhere! It is too nice to trade for anything, except maybe a Sequerra tuner.

highway_star · Post by **highway_star** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 2:39 am

I did a little A/B comparison yesterday with my other rig. Here are a few observations:

The Mark Bass definitely moves a lot of air. It seems a little warmer (or maybe less articulate) in tone compared to my other rigs. My wife described my other rig as "brighter". The treble boost seems to works better if the tweeter is turned up a bit. Its range doesn't seem to be that wide compared to some other amps. The bass EQ works fine.

The best part of the Mark Bass head is the midrange EQ. It does more shape the sound than my other heads. The tube compression is quite effective, although I find that a little goes a long way. The same goes with the vintage tone circuit (or VLE as Mark Bass calls it). It thickens the sound quite a bit and to me, taking it beyond 10 o'clock just added too much mud to the sound. The midrange contour was a nice feature and once again, a little went a long way.

One thing I noticed is that the Mark Bass head does not have a mute switch. I would like to have one to keep volume down when on breaks or when tuning. Also, the head doesn't have an active/passive control circuit. That means I need to fumble on volume a bit more if I switch between the two types of basses.

The bottom line is that I'm not completely sold on the Mark Bass rig yet. It was certainly lightweight enough, but I somehow still favor my EBS head. I can live with a little more amp head weight if I need to. I'm considering trying out an Avatar 410 NEO cab with my EBS head and if that works, returning the Mark Bass rig and selling all of my Ashdown gear. But I'm going to use GC's 30 day policy to evaluate it further and see if there's some trick to the EQ section I haven't figured out yet.

highway_star · Post by **highway_star** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 5:36 am

So much for the Mark Bass rig. I returned it yesterday since I couldn't find a usable sound I liked. The overall sound was warm, but it seemed to lack clarity. I tried some Epifani UL-series cabinets and loved the warmth and clarity of them. The shop also had a used Thunderfunk TBF420 head in stock and I liked the Thunderfunk/Epifani combination a lot better. The bottom line price was about the same as the Mark Bass rig and so it was an easy decision.

I decided to also go with a 2x10"/1x15" cabinet configuration as opposed to a 4x10" cab. I liked the low-end response better. It costs more, but it's worth it to me to have that sound and gain a little of flexibility in my setup.

Anyone want to buy an Ashdown rig?

rickaddict · Post by **rickaddict** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 6:40 am

Did you try the Epifani heads, Ron?

highway_star · Post by **highway_star** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 8:27 am

The shop didn't have one in stock. Apparently, Epifani is backordered and so it will be a little while before I get to try one. But that's probably a blessing since I need to sell some stuff first before I go out looking for more gear.

grayk · Post by **grayk** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:26 am

Well I got to go and try out the Mark bass range at my "local" (90 mile round trip) dealer but when I got there found he had sold nearly all of his range. However he did have the Jeff Berlin signature combo in which I tried out. I was knocked out. This was bigger than the model CMD121H that I was looking at but I could not believe the weight and the quality of the build. It sounded fantastic and I was sold. I went away thinking when he gets restocked I am having one immediately. In the meantime I change my mind "why go for a combo when I can have the Little Mark 2 head and have the flexibility"? It turns out that a friend of mine who has a PA Hire company and shop in my city deals with the UK Distributor of Mark Bass all of the time. I had one ordered and in my hands in 2 days ! Well , what is it like ? The size and weight belie its 500 watt output, just incredible. I plugged it up to my Ashdown ABM 2 x 10 and Wow ! Very nice sound with it set flat but the eq possibilities are endless, and I love the VLE (Vintage Loudspeaker Emulator). I only give it a workout in my house but am rehearsing all day !!! tomorrow so I will be able to pass judgement after that. I intend to purchase a Mark Bass Standard 102HF 2 x 10 when I have off loaded a Trace 2 x 10 and a Peavey Nitrobass head. I reckon it will sing with one of those. Very light as well at only 50lbs. Will report back.

bob_the_bass · Post by **bob_the_bass** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:31 am

Thanks for the update Keith ... keep us posted !!
I'm heading to my "local" next week to try various configs out

Bob

turlu · Post by **turlu** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 1:49 pm

Keith,

Good choice !!!

The 102HF cabinet matches the LMK11 really well too. I still can not believe how good these amps are, they are the dream come true for my needs ( lightweight, portability, monster tone, simplicity, characteristics ).

Honestly, the only thing I would consider buying is the TA503 head, which has a tube preamp and that's it.

I have the 104HF Cabinet and that's all I need for all the gigs I do. If I play bigger venues, I will go through the PA system anyway !!!

grayk · Post by **grayk** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:40 am

Stephane, cheers, it was a good sense choice I think. I have for a long time used an Ashdown ABM 300 head and an Ashdown 2 x 10 and have considered that to be a very portable rig. It does for 80% of my gigs easily with loads of power. Unfortunately my Ashdown blew the transformer out (at a gig) recently and I havent had it fixed yet, its an expensive repair but I will have it done. It did however make me start thinking about a change and thats how my homework and some good advice led me to Mark bass. I know I said just yesterday that I would be using the Mark in anger today but that wasnt to be. I had my rehearsal dates mixed up so I cant report back any further. I do think that we will see more and more mainstream players start to use Mark bass gear over the next couple of years. If the Mark bass dealer I went to is anything to go by it would seem they are selling as many as they can get as soon as they get them!

grayk · Post by **grayk** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:36 pm

Well I can now report back about the Little Mark 2 amp head that I recently purchased. One word..Amazing ! I have played a 2 hour gig with it followed up by a 6 hour gruelling rehearsal with a new band. I am using it with my Ashdown ABM 2 x 10 and there is just loads of power for the size of the set up. I had the volume at "1" for the gig. It was on its own, not being reinforced by the PA and it was competing with a Mic'd up drummer through 2K rig. It breezed it ! Loads of clarity and punch, it has made my ABM cab come alive. I am seriously thinking of forgetting about the Mark 2x10 and just purchasing a 121 traveller with the horn. If I needed more power I would just add the ABM to get the full 500 Watts. I honestly think that that will suffice for most of my gigs. It was great to walk into the gig with a small backpack on my back that contained the amp and the necessary leads etc also. It is a great purchase. Oh and by the way the 4003 sounded fantastic. Ric and Mark go together very well indeed. I got loads of comments about the size of the amp and how great it sounded. I am really happy with my new addition.

bobcat · Post by **bobcat** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 8:26 pm

How would you describe the sound of a Ric through a MarkBass amp? Is it unique, or is it, say, "Ampeg-like" or "GK-like" or what? Warm, cutting, growly, etc.

grayk · Post by **grayk** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 12:04 am

Robert, I cannot make a comparison against the Ampeg or GK as I have never used those makes. I will say that it has a load more cut and clarity than my Ashdown ABM which I have used for years. I still love my Ashdown and wont part with it. However in my Kinks Tribute band I play with fingers and no pick and it was a breath of fresh air to hear the clarity of the notes played that way. I couldnt really say that it sounds anything like any other amp I have used. I would suggest that if you have interest to go and try one in a store if possible. When I did, it jumped out at me immediately. I always think its hard to tell until you play with a band how good an amp is. It was better than I had thought it could be.