Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I am looking for a bass amplifier that I can carry. To this end I am considering Mark Bass. Does anyone have any experience with this make of amplifier? Would you go with a combo or head and cabinet? 15, 2X10$ Most events that I play are miked.

Peter

Why get a combo if you want portability? Modular is better weight-wise, no?

If you have a gentle touch, those liteweight rigs work fine. If you are aggressive, some of them cut out due to portective circuits.

I own a couple of ultra-lights but I'm not a big fan. However, many folks here love them and will, no doubt, chime in and say they have never had any issues.

Hi Peter!

I've been a Markbass user exclusively for almost 6 years and about 300 gigs. Everything I have used during that span -- three heads, two cabinets -- has been completely and totally reliable with nary a hint of an issue.

For the majority of my gigs, I use my Traveler 2x10 cabinet. It is very lightweight and provides more than ample volume -- and I play in a LOUD band. If you'll be going through the house as well, this cab will be perfect.

My second cab is a 1x15, which while still being lightweight for what it is, is a bulky monster. When I pair them both together, I rarely need to turn the MV on my amp past 9:00. I'm looking to replace this cab with the smaller, easier-to-carry RJ115 cabinet. I just love using a 15" speaker!

I have three heads; a pair of Little Mark II's, and a RJ500 Randy Jackson Signature. For the majority of the 6 years I've been using MB, I ONLY had one Little Mark II head. After several years with no issues, I started to get paranoid and picked up the second one as a backup, but I never needed it.

Earlier this year, I grabbed the RJ500, which is an absolutely fantastic (and light) tube head with compression. I am smitten with it!

I have played all kinds of gigs and the MB stuff has risen to the occasion 100% of the time.

I would also like to add that, by and large, the stuff stays in the trunk of my car 24/7/365, through frigid winters and hot summers. Still no issues!

Hope this helps!

The amps seem good but I've never gigged one, just demos. I hate the nasty upholstery on the cabs--it gets shredded pretty easily. Weight savings are excellent. Tone of the cabs in my opinion is a little too mid-focused. My experience is mostly with 1x15 and 4x10 models.

I have only good things to say about my Markbass equipment. I have the Littlemark Tube head and the Standard 104HF 4x10. You might not need such a large cabinet.

A CMD 102P combo might be perfect for you or one of the Markbass Littlemark heads with a Traveler 2x10 cabinet. Go with what is easiest and most convenient for you to schelp around and fit in your car. There is now also a lower priced Markbass Blackline series, but those are only designed in Italy and probably made in China or Indonesia. The Blackline series has not been around long enough to say whether the units are dependable even after constant gigging as the units made in Italy.

Happyface wrote:If you have a gentle touch, those liteweight rigs work fine. If you are aggressive, some of them cut out due to portective circuits.

Boy, not in my experience. I play really aggressively and loud and never experienced anything like this.

sloop_john_b wrote:

Happyface wrote:If you have a gentle touch, those liteweight rigs work fine. If you are aggressive, some of them cut out due to portective circuits.

Boy, not in my experience. I play really aggressively and loud and never experienced anything like this.

I've payed through several Markbass units. My own as well as others. Same for me as what JB said!

Besides Markbass, other easily carried bass amps that sound good are the Gallien Krueger MB210 2x10 combo and the Gallien Krueger MB212 2x12 combo.

Another easily carried combo amp is the TC Electronic BG250 1x15 bass combo, however I didn't like it's tone or output. I A/Bed it with the much smaller Markbass CMD 121P 1x12" combo. The Markbass 121P 1x12" combo was the much louder and much better sounding amp.

I've used MarkBass gear for years and found it to be great sounding and utterly reliable. They're a bit sloppy responding e-mails for info or tech support but then, the quality and design of the gear really makes it unlikely you'll ever need handholding.

I have tried out some other commonly available small-format, class D amps but always returned to the MarkBass for the sound. Everyone knows I try to buy American whenever possible but this is one of those exceptions- like a Porsche- where there's nothing comparable.

Although I play Guitar more than Bass, I do play Bass at some gigs and wanted something with more power and tone options than the vintage Kustom tuck and roll amp I was playing out of.

I looked at and played a lot of stuff but after trying them out, reading online reviews, and talking to some of my friends that are Bass players, I went with the CMD 102P and I'm very happy with it.

Guitar Center had a sale recently (surprise!) and I picked up a Mark Bass Traveler 15" single speaker cabinet to go with the combo because that allows you to pull the full 500 watts from the head (instead of 350), but I haven't had to use it yet.

When I told the guys I had bought a Bass Rig and then showed up with the CMD 102P, which is kind of small compared to what they are used to seeing, I could tell they were skeptical. They aren't anymore

I am not alone on bringing up the issue of class D amps cutting out. Unlike a tube head, they have to use a protective circuit. It's a growing complaint on a number of other forums. Not particular to MB.

The GenzBenz Streamliner are said to be better on the issue, but I have no experience with them.

FWIW, my issue appears mainly when I play one of my Guild basses with Bisonic or Darkstar pickups. Not with my Ricky.

Anyway, I'll leave it at that. I've noticed that Markbass owners have the same kind of brand loyalty that you find with the Apple Army. They accept no criticism and can be very aggressive against those who dare to. So the brand must be doing something right!

Happyface wrote:Anyway, I'll leave it at that. I've found that Markbass owners have the same kind of brand loyalty that you find with the Apple Army. They accept no criticism and can be very aggressive against those who dare to. So the brand must be doing something right!

"Accept no criticism"? I've given these amps and cabinets SIX YEARS (that's 2-3 gigs a week, 4-5 hours a night, without exception) worth of "real world" experience and not ONE single time have I experienced what you mentioned.

I've used the stuff in all kinds of venues (MetLife Stadium, Richmond County Bank Ballpark, countless convention centers, cavernous reception halls, and of course -- bars), using just about every kind of bass, playing HARD, and it simply has not happened.

I don't shy away from critiquing stuff that doesn't work for me, but I have not found it with this stuff.

Oh, I guess they're not as pretty to look at as a Vox AC-30.

Happyface wrote:I am not alone on bringing up the issue of class D amps cutting out. Unlike a tube head, they have to use a protective circuit. It's a growing complaint on a number of other forums. Not particular to MB

I've never, ever experienced this type of problem but better to have a protective circuit than lose the amp or speakers from either external failure of some kind or the stupid things that people do with their gear sometimes. I'm thinking in terms of mismatched speaker impedance, shorting speaker jacks (like typical 1/4" phone jacks/plugs), or incorrectly sized or type of speaker cable. I'll bet that 99% of the problems people report having are due to one of these. "Balls to the wall", everything on 11 is the other 1%.

johnhall wrote: I'm thinking in terms of mismatched speaker impedance, shorting speaker jacks (like typical 1/4" phone jacks/plugs), or incorrectly sized or type of speaker cable. I'll bet that 99% of the problems people report having are due to one of these. "Balls to the wall", everything on 11 is the other 1%.

THIS!

I use a Tecamp Puma 900 and/or a GB Streamliner 900. I had problems with BOTH of these amps kicking on and off with moderate to semi loud sessions. They both started experiencing the problem at the same time with the same cabs and and the same speaker cable. Turned out that the amps were fine....it was the jack/plug on the cab that was causing the problem. Once a savy person (Glenn at Austin Bass) brought it to my attention and had me run several tests with different cabs and speaker cables, the problem become apparent and IT WAS NOT THE AMPS!

Have not had a lick of problems before the incident or after the correction.

Back to the original topic............

I just recently played a local venue (Buffalo Rose) as the opening act for a national touring band.
They asked if we would like to use their backline to save stage space and time....(and being lazy I quickly agreed).

The bass setup was a MarkBass head (sorry I do not know the model number) and a MESA BOOGIE 4x10 cab.

Absolutely massive low end that was tight. Not sure how much was the Head vs the Cab but it sounded amazing good.