Recently I've had an offer to join a decent money making GB (general business and oldies) band as a bass player. I stopped gigging as a bass player last November and sold all my bass equipment so if i take this gig I'll need a new bass amp. Because this is a general function band playing more quietly than my past bands I probably can get away with a smaller bass amp. And of course my back would appreciate that too. I've been doing research and the new big thing seems to be Mark Bass amps. They're small but are suppose to sound much bigger than they are. They are also very expensive.

Has anyone in the forum used a Mark Bass amp as a bass player ... or for the bass end of a Stick? Do you think the 300WT combo with 1X15" speaker would be good enough to power bass pushed at a moderate level with good clearity and headroom? (And warmth?) in a business function environment?

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

I did. And here's what I think :

I didn't like it. Wayyyy too sterile sounding and too much "punch".
My preference, as far as bass is concerned, is still going to the old SWR stuff.

I didn't try it with the Stick yet, but the bass player in my band uses a mark bass amp and speakers. I like the sound very much, especially in a band context. He comes through clearly with a well defined tone. In my opinion it's not sterile at all, but YMMV.

Opinions already ... cool. Thank you gentlemen!

I was at GC yesterday picking up a small Keyboard Amp for practicing in my aparment and there were a few bassists checking out those amps. I actually really liked the way that they sounded, I just felt that they were a bit to bright and I'm sure that can be chalked up to the EQ. I have always liked Eden Amps, and that honestly would be my first choice in a bass amp.

My band did a clinic at a GC a few months ago. I left my SWR cabinets at home and run my SWR head through a pair of Mark Bass 15" cabs and they sounded really nice. They were also a good 15 pounds lighter than my 15" SWR cabs which left me intrigued for sure.

Haven't tried the amps though.

I've played them at Guitar Center and didn't think very much of the sound. I thought they had a dry, honky kind of tone, like the mid was "muffled" & not very defined. It might have been the amp, or the speakers, both were Mark Bass's, but still, I wasn't all that impressed. The G&K and Ampegs had a much rounder, fuller sound to my ears.

Although they carry a steep price tag, you might want to look into an Acoustic Image amp, perhaps with an extension cab. I used an AI Contra for a long time before we switched to the Fishman SoloAmp. I don't think you could find another amp this small (25-30lbs) rated at 300 watts (even more with ext. cab). They spread the sound miraculously and take up almost no room at all.

I was going to mention the AI amps as well. I've used my Coda R Series III several times with my bass - both using it's own cabinet as well as powering an Acme Low B2 and at another time a Hartke HyDrive4x10. The sound was really good, in my opinion. I just sent my Coda in for the Cabrio chassis mod that will allow me to just take the head out and use it with other cabinets. Or, if I decide to buy their Ten10EX Cabrio-ready cabinet I can put it in that. I've also considered the regular Ten2EX expansion cabinet - the Coda sits right on top for a 3x10 system.

The new amps are rated 800 watts and they do have a 2x10 version that is only 17" tall. Excellent for small gigs and if you need something bigger, get an extension cabinet - either AI or someone elses.

I do miss the graphic EQ that my Ampeg Preamp has, but so far I have not really needed it.

I got in on their early bird discount for the new extension cabinet for my CODAIII, but have not received it yet, they are behind schedule for some reason. I no longer have a bass amp - this was it's replacement. Like Ray, I'm curious about the Markbass gear. I was almost going to look into hooking up a Markbass 15", then AI came out with the 2X10 extension.

If I'm not mistaken, Micheal Manring uses some type of custom Markaudio amplification.

I've played basses and my NS through some Eden amps that were really nice (two 2X10's), have not tried their newer lightweight cabs, but I'm told they are better sounding. Euphonic Audio has always had lightweight cabs for a while, looks like more manufacturers are catching on to make lighter bass cabs.