# Markbass little mark blackline 250 opinions?



## lewis (Dec 31, 2013)

Hey guys

The Bassist in my band just picked one of these little beasts up, I have heard some markbass stuff before very briefly so dont really know what to expect.

MY band is doing that real modern metal sound. Heart of a Coward/Threat Signal etc. He does have an OD pedal too to run with it and a 4x10 cab. How will it sound or hold up. Anyone have an experiences with it? 

Im sure it will be great as its a Markbass but Im just excited and interested to know what to expect


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## Spinedriver (Dec 31, 2013)

I used to jam/gig with a MarkBass LMII and I had it paired with a Tech21 VT Bass pedal and a Danelectro Transparent OD. I can honestly say that I couldn't have been happier. Sadly, I don't have any recordings of us with it but I can say that we played metal in the style of Lamb Of God, etc.. 

As long as it's loud enough, he shouldn't have any problems getting a great tone out of it.


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## lewis (Jan 1, 2014)

Spinedriver said:


> I used to jam/gig with a MarkBass LMII and I had it paired with a Tech21 VT Bass pedal and a Danelectro Transparent OD. I can honestly say that I couldn't have been happier. Sadly, I don't have any recordings of us with it but I can say that we played metal in the style of Lamb Of God, etc..
> 
> As long as it's loud enough, he shouldn't have any problems getting a great tone out of it.



Thats sweet, one of his fave bands is LOG \m/ sounded a great setup.

we are a band that love a real present bass in our mix. Not quite Korn haha but still very present so going through the PA we always try to get the bass level high so volume shouldnt be a problem esp with the right sound guy.

Thanks for the insight!


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## 7deadlysins666 (Jan 2, 2014)

I'm not familiar with that one in particular but the Markbass stuff is typically awesome. They are very modern sounding, however they don't really do overdrive. They are made to be clean amps, a one trick pony but they do it very well....I'd recommend him picking up a Sansamp to get a gritty tone and blend them. (Use a Y cable, have the Mark mic'd and the Sansamp DI'd) Though i've never tried putting a OD in front of one, I could NOT get any drive out the amp itself.


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## lewis (Jan 2, 2014)

7deadlysins666 said:


> I'm not familiar with that one in particular but the Markbass stuff is typically awesome. They are very modern sounding, however they don't really do overdrive. They are made to be clean amps, a one trick pony but they do it very well....I'd recommend him picking up a Sansamp to get a gritty tone and blend them. (Use a Y cable, have the Mark mic'd and the Sansamp DI'd) Though i've never tried putting a OD in front of one, I could NOT get any drive out the amp itself.



interesting suggestion thanks, i will get him to try this


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## 7deadlysins666 (Jan 2, 2014)

lewis said:


> interesting suggestion thanks, i will get him to try this



You really can't go wrong with blending a clean and gritty bass tone anyway, but from my experience with Markbass in particular, it'll really shine as a clean amp, and let something else bring the grit. 

Actually, here's a demo I did using the markbass and ampeg svt plugins...

[sc]https://soundcloud.com/stoffelmusic/mark-studio-2-and-ampeg-svx[/sc]


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## lewis (Jan 3, 2014)

7deadlysins666 said:


> You really can't go wrong with blending a clean and gritty bass tone anyway, but from my experience with Markbass in particular, it'll really shine as a clean amp, and let something else bring the grit.
> 
> Actually, here's a demo I did using the markbass and ampeg svt plugins...
> 
> [sc]https://soundcloud.com/stoffelmusic/mark-studio-2-and-ampeg-svx[/sc]



The OD tone on this sounds great \m/ love it and is right up my bands street. Thanks for the share


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## 7deadlysins666 (Jan 3, 2014)

lewis said:


> The OD tone on this sounds great \m/ love it and is right up my bands street. Thanks for the share



You mean just the OD tone or blended? The great thing about blending is you get the best of both worlds....notice how much quieter the OD track is compared to the clean track. It squashes everything and by itself would just get overpowered. Blending the two allows to have clarity with the grit still there, and not get buried by everything else.


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## lewis (Jan 4, 2014)

7deadlysins666 said:


> You mean just the OD tone or blended? The great thing about blending is you get the best of both worlds....notice how much quieter the OD track is compared to the clean track. It squashes everything and by itself would just get overpowered. Blending the two allows to have clarity with the grit still there, and not get buried by everything else.



Yeah the OD blended I meant  and I agree. I heard a bass track from Rex in Pantera and he did this exact method of blending clean/dirty (Im sure you knew this )

Sounds sick - Pantera I&#39;m broken bass track - YouTube

Im broken Bass only track


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## GenghisCoyne (Jan 5, 2014)

I'm here (as a markbass owner) to support what appears to be the consensus already. They are a great clean palette to start with. IMO, in order to be present amongst distorted guitars you will need some type of (IMMENSE oversimplification) gain boost. What you use to do that is entirely a matter of opinion. What type of pedal is your bassist using?


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## lewis (Jan 5, 2014)

GenghisCoyne said:


> I'm here (as a markbass owner) to support what appears to be the consensus already. They are a great clean palette to start with. IMO, in order to be present amongst distorted guitars you will need some type of (IMMENSE oversimplification) gain boost. What you use to do that is entirely a matter of opinion. What type of pedal is your bassist using?



hey dude

he is currently using the Behringer V-tone BDI 21 (sans amp clone) od and it sounds very good. Its made of plastic but he is looking after it and so far so good 

SansAmp Bass Driver DI vs Behringer V-tone BDI 21 - YouTube when directly compared the behringer has more balls and just seems to sound better haha 10 times cheaper


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## lewis (Jan 11, 2014)

This arrived and the feedback thus far has been awesome. Im happy he likes it. I will be hearing it in the flesh tomorrow at band practice.

Another top "mark" for Markbass even on their so called "Lower range" amps! Brilliant


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## Spinedriver (Jan 12, 2014)

I have the Behringer BDDI as well and I found that it doesn't quite have the gain that the original has.

Also, if it helps any, John Campbell (of LOG)'s rig consists of a Mesa amp and a Sansamp BDDI. That's partially the reason why I went with the VT Bass, to get the kind of gain the BDDI has in addition to the fact that it can go a bit higher.


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## lewis (Jan 13, 2014)

Spinedriver said:


> I have the Behringer BDDI as well and I found that it doesn't quite have the gain that the original has.
> 
> Also, if it helps any, John Campbell (of LOG)'s rig consists of a Mesa amp and a Sansamp BDDI. That's partially the reason why I went with the VT Bass, to get the kind of gain the BDDI has in addition to the fact that it can go a bit higher.



good shout dude

I heard it through his new 4x10 and it was not as loud as I thought It would be. He is after another 4x10 cab to stack so that will probably help. It is too clean and too boomy atm. I will help him dial in a more modern tone. I think another OD with more drive would help. People are even using the Maxon OD808 overdrives with bass so ive heard


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## callankirk (Jan 14, 2014)

I used to have a Markbass CMD102p combo, and MAN I friggin' loved that thing. I don't know why I ever got rid of it. Used to run it with a SansAmp VT bass pedal in front of it with my Spector 5 string...friggin BEASTLY sound. Great palette to start with.


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## Spinedriver (Jan 14, 2014)

lewis said:


> good shout dude
> 
> I heard it through his new 4x10 and it was not as loud as I thought It would be. He is after another 4x10 cab to stack so that will probably help. It is too clean and too boomy atm. I will help him dial in a more modern tone. I think another OD with more drive would help. People are even using the Maxon OD808 overdrives with bass so ive heard



He's going to have to be careful with the cabs. The minimum spec load is 4 ohms so, he'll only be able to connect a 2nd cab if the one he has is 8 ohms. I was just looking it up and the LMII that I have is close to 500 watts @ 4 ohms so I had plenty of power to jam. The backline that your bassist has is only 250 @ 4 ohms so depending on how loud the band jams, he could be cutting it close and might have to upgrade. Tone wise the amps are identical, so if you post the settings, I may be able to help a little.

The "VLE" knob is the "Vintage Loudspeaker Emulation" knob that, as you turn it up, gives you a more muffled tone. I have it off completely.
The "VPF" knob I have set at 1 o'clock and it kind of adds/cuts some high end.

It's those two knobs that are the "secret weapon" that made the Little Mark series so popular.


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## lewis (Jan 15, 2014)

Spinedriver said:


> He's going to have to be careful with the cabs. The minimum spec load is 4 ohms so, he'll only be able to connect a 2nd cab if the one he has is 8 ohms. I was just looking it up and the LMII that I have is close to 500 watts @ 4 ohms so I had plenty of power to jam. The backline that your bassist has is only 250 @ 4 ohms so depending on how loud the band jams, he could be cutting it close and might have to upgrade. Tone wise the amps are identical, so if you post the settings, I may be able to help a little.
> 
> The "VLE" knob is the "Vintage Loudspeaker Emulation" knob that, as you turn it up, gives you a more muffled tone. I have it off completely.
> The "VPF" knob I have set at 1 o'clock and it kind of adds/cuts some high end.
> ...




Thanks for all this info dude. Really appreciate it.

Funnily enough we were talking about those 2 knobs and trying to work out what they do haha so thanks for that.

the cab he currently owns is this - Hartke 410 TP - Thomann UK

and he was just wanting to buy another one the same for it. It says its 8ohms on the description. So will running these 2 together with his head work?


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## Spinedriver (Jan 16, 2014)

lewis said:


> Thanks for all this info dude. Really appreciate it.
> 
> Funnily enough we were talking about those 2 knobs and trying to work out what they do haha so thanks for that.
> 
> ...



I've never tried the Hartke cabs so I can't comment on their sound but impedance wise, it looks like they will be safe to use without overloading the head. 
My only concern is that 2 - 300 watt cabs hooked up to a 250 watt head (max output) might end up sounding a little thin.


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## lewis (Jan 16, 2014)

Spinedriver said:


> I've never tried the Hartke cabs so I can't comment on their sound but impedance wise, it looks like they will be safe to use without overloading the head.
> My only concern is that 2 - 300 watt cabs hooked up to a 250 watt head (max output) might end up sounding a little thin.




We are in drop A, G and E (hopefully mostly drop E if I have my way haha) and tonewise aiming for Heart of a Coward. At least its safe to use but yeah that may be an issue. Perhaps a sonic maximizer purely to add in low end and leave the treble 0? Or something similar


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## Spinedriver (Jan 16, 2014)

lewis said:


> We are in drop A, G and E (hopefully mostly drop E if I have my way haha) and tonewise aiming for Heart of a Coward. At least its safe to use but yeah that may be an issue. Perhaps a sonic maximizer purely to add in low end and leave the treble 0? Or something similar



I don't know if that would fix it or not because it's not so much a tone issue as it is there not being enough power to really push the drivers. 

If you do decide to go the pedal route, I'd suggest the Zoom MS-60B or B3 (depending on the budget). I have the B3 and it's a great little tool for bass. It has a graphic eq, tuner and half a dozen tools (like a Sonic Maximizer model) for fine tuning things.

Also, if you guys haven't checked it out already, there's a great resource site called "Talkbass.com" and they can answer any & all questions bass related.


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