MusicMan discussion forum

[amptech]

Anybody know where the musicman forum is now? I searched for it, but only find links to the old pages wich now only works as an archive. The page is referring to a 'new forum' but there is no links. Anybody?

[ack1961]

http://forums.ernieball.com/music-man-basses/

try that.

[amptech]

Thanks, I thought the EB forum was an official company forum, not the same as steve kennedy had (until 2010 or so) - but I'll try it out.

[Dave W]

Since you posted this in the Amps section, you must be talking about the Music Man Amps board. The current board is here: http://www.pacair.com/mmamps3/forum

[amptech]

Thanks, Dave - it was the amps discussion forum i was looking for.... sloppy me:-)

[Lightyear]

Any one else see that EBMM has teamed up with Mark Bass and is reissuing Music Man amps?  Supposedly, improved, lighter, better than ever.

I'm waiting on PBG to dissect these with his BS meter! 

[Rob]

I'm waiting on PBG to dissect these with his BS meter! 

[Pilgrim]

I noted on TB that the Genz-Benz development engineer who goes by Agedhorse has moved to Mesa.  I'd be keeping my eye on Mesa to see what they come out with.  If it inherits good ideas from Genz, that would be a smart place to look.

[Dave W]

Any one else see that EBMM has teamed up with Mark Bass and is reissuing Music Man amps?  Supposedly, improved, lighter, better than ever.

I'm waiting on PBG to dissect these with his BS meter! 

IIRC the guy behind Markbass also made the MM Audiophile amp line that was issued about 15 years ago. It was before the Markbass brand was imported here.

Whatever this new line may be, I'll be very surprised if it has much resemblance to the original MM amps.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Any one else see that EBMM has teamed up with Mark Bass and is reissuing Music Man amps?  Supposedly, improved, lighter, better than ever.

I'm waiting on PBG to dissect these with his BS meter! 

AFAIK, the promised "new" HD series of amps from Markbass/EB was supposed to have happened years ago, before the economy tanked in 2007. Thing is- I have three Mark Bass-made Audiophile EB HD212 cabinets that absolutely kick ass (they sound almost EXACTLY like an old SVT 810), but they are without a doubt the heaviest bass cabinets for their size I have EVER encountered.  Those came out prior to Mark Bass being "introduced" as a brand in the US. Almost everything of theirs I've tried that came out since, including their all tube amp, has been very underwhelming. The lone exception was a Jeff Berlin signature combo. The one I tried was killer.

It's 50/50 if the amps will be good. I stay away from the Ernie Ball forum even though I am registered there because Sterling Ball has deep pockets and a propensity to use lawyers to settle disputes, and I think that their basses are excellent and my lone experience with Ernie Ball's customer service was exceptional.  Even back when Eric Clapton was endorsing Leo-era HD amps in the 70's, they had their problems because of poor output tube quality as the US was ending mass production of audio tubes right when these amps came along that required VERY tightly QC'ed tubes, so it's not like there isn't already a legacy of Music Man amps having troubles. To this day, even excellent vintage Music Man amps command less than half the price of their CBS-era Fender counterparts, not exactly vintage gold to begin with.

Mark Bass, before they were openly associated with the EB brand, made a huge name for themselves with dozens of shill posters on Talkbass, strategic "advertising" payments, and crappy amps that died.  Then, they entered into partnerships with Guitar Center and Ernie Ball and quietly began fielding new generations of their "Little Mark" ultra-lightweight amps and expanded their product offerings, but with much less fanfare.  I've tried a bunch of their lightweight cabs and they all sound bad (again excepting that Jeff Berlin combo) and all the other models of their bass amps are generally completely non-functional at my local Guitar Center, but that's hardly a testament to their design quality; almost ALL the amps in the bass section of that GC end up broken by the throng of pre-teenaged morons left there by their worthless parents to be babysat. It's easily been a year since I was in there last, and my job is very close to that store. IIRC, I tried the Marbass tube amp in the Jacksonville store with its accompanying 6x10 cabinet (it may sound good through a better cab but its lack of popularity leads me to believe otherwise) when I was visiting my brother and I've played through some of their other stuff at GC Nashville.

Besides, my life outside of the bass realm has taken a major kick to the teeth and I'm just now starting to recover, so I'm not so prone to be combative or even to be interested in what's going on in the world of new bass amps.

[Happy Face]

"Besides, my life outside of the bass realm has taken a major kick to the teeth and I'm just now starting to recover, so I'm not so prone to be combative or even to be interested in what's going on in the world of new bass amps."

Hope you make it back part way to your old ways. You are much appreciated. Hope things get better for you all around.

[Aussie Mark]

Almost everything of theirs I've tried that came out since, including their all tube amp, has been very underwhelming.

My experience with Markbass gear has been generally positive.  The heads with analog power amp modules (the 500 watt heads) rather than digital modules (the 800 watt heads) sound quite warm and transparent to my ears (eg. the 500 watt version of the Little Mark, and the TTE-500, which has a tube preamp section).  The 800 watt models sound very sterile indeed.  The TTE-500 is the best hybird amp I've owned.

I'm not overly impressed by the ported cabs, but the sealed 4x10 (since discontinued) I've been gigging heavily for the past 3 years is a super sounding mini SVT-style cab and weighs just 60lbs.

[drbassman]

"Besides, my life outside of the bass realm has taken a major kick to the teeth and I'm just now starting to recover, so I'm not so prone to be combative or even to be interested in what's going on in the world of new bass amps."

Hope you make it back part way to your old ways. You are much appreciated. Hope things get better for you all around.

Ditto, hope all goes well for you and things turn around soon!